If you want to know how to play fantasy baseball, you will need to pay attention to what is going on in Major League Baseball, and not just on your favorite MLB team. Reading some sort of fantasy baseball guide may give you an edge in learning how to play fantasy baseball, and in potentially creating a winning team.
Knowledge is power when it comes to fantasy baseball. But what if you have never played before? Books have literally been written on the subject of how to play fantasy baseball, but here are a few tips for you.
- Pay attention to your league’s rules: When it comes to how to play fantasy baseball, the way you win in fantasy baseball is by getting more points than the opposition. The points are dependent on what the particular player does on the field. Depending on the rules, you might get points for things like hits, home runs, RBIs, runs scored, and stolen bases when it comes to hitters. Pitchers may be judged by wins, saves, strikeouts, ERA, and WHIP. Some leagues may add more categories for points; others less. Generally speaking, as a fantasy baseball guide, most teams and leagues in fantasy baseball do not place any weight on defense; nor are setup men generally tracked. So those types of players are not ones you want to consider for your fantasy league, as what they do best will not show up in your league’s numbers.
- Real-life skills don’t always translate into fantasy baseball success: One of the things you may learn when it comes to how to play fantasy baseball, is that a player who may be very important to their real-life team, might not matter much in a fantasy team. For example, as previously noted, setup men are not really tracked in most fantasy leagues – they don’t pitch enough that their ERA or WHIP or K numbers matter, and they don’t get saves. In addition, a scrappy team leader who does the little things, as the cliché goes, will not see those skills translated into fantasy baseball points.
- Look for players who have skills in multiple categories: A batter who can hit well, and who also steals bases, will be more valuable than a regular hitter. The same goes for a pitcher who has great strikeout numbers, ERA, and WHIP. Just winning games isn’t enough to make a pitcher give you good numbers for your fantasy league.
- Some positions have a scarce number of stars; others have plenty of stars: One truism on how to play fantasy baseball is to draft scarce positions first. What that means is this, as a fantasy baseball guide: since not many MLB catchers hit well, there aren’t all that many great catchers worth having on your fantasy team (remember, defensive statistics and how catchers handle pitchers generally do not count in MLB), you might want to draft a catcher before picking an outfielder, where great hitters are plentiful.
- Check your rooting interest at the door: When it comes to how to play fantasy baseball, many of the best players out there could be on your real-life favorite team’s worst rival. So you might want to put your pom-poms down, as much as it may pain you, and pick a good player, even if he does play for the MLB opposition.
Related Articles:
What Is Head-to-Head Fantasy Baseball?
Daily Fantasy Baseball Games
What Is a Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft?
