5X5 Fantasy Baseball Tips

Drafting

• Rank the players before a draft. Most websites allow you to do this to prepare for the possibility that you won't be available at the time of the draft. Even if you are certain you will be at the draft, ranking the players early will give you a guide to help you during the draft. You will only have a few minutes for each pick and sometimes a minute or less in the late rounds, so you need to be prepared.

  Stay well read. When you are ranking the players, take into consideration things like injuries or if players have been traded recently, which can affect their stats. The more information you have, the better prepared you'll be.

  Well-rounded players are key. Because you need players who do well in the most statistical categories, look for players who will help you in four or five categories.

  Adjust rankings for positions. Premium defensive positions such as the middle infield, center field and catching tend to have less-premium hitters. You want to go for the top hitters at these positions early in the draft or you could end up with very little production from these spots. Even if you are the last to draft a first baseman, you can still get good production from this spot. Also, players who are eligible for more than one position are more desirable because this gives you more flexibility in your lineup.

  Wait on choosing pitchers. Starting pitchers tend to fluctuate more than hitters in their production from season to season and relievers don't pitch enough to help you much in any category except saves, so its a good idea to focus on hitters early in the draft. However, don't wait too long. This is a common strategy among veteran fantasy owners, so don't be afraid to draft a top starting pitcher in the third or fourth round.

Maintaining Your Team

• Most 5X5 teams allow you to shift your lineup before the start of the first game each day. Adjust your lineup every day to make sure you get the most starts, which leads to the most stats that count---home runs, stolen bases, wins, etc..

  Keep more starting pitchers on your bench, if you have one, unless your league has a limit on innings pitched. Backup hitters have only a handful of at-bats in a week, while starting pitchers can be rotated around on their days off so you should be able to start them on the days they pitch.

  Keep an eye on the list of available players. Even if you are happy with how your team is doing, you never know what kind of gem will end up being available because a frustrated owner couldn't wait out a slump. Go through the list of the top available players every week or two. Most leagues will have a list of recent transactions that will include players who were recently made available.

Trading

• Don't be afraid to get into the trading game. This is one of the most fun ways to get involved in fantasy baseball, plus taking advantage of a fellow owner is a great way to acquire bragging rights. But don't continually make ridiculously lopsided trade offers in the hopes that an owner will accidentally click the accept button. This is a good way to make sure you won't get invited back to play next season.

  When looking to make a trade, don't just look at your needs. Also check into the needs of the other owners. You often can find someone whose strength is your weakness and vice versa.

  If you are given a trade offer that is not acceptable, make a counteroffer. The other owner often is asking for more than he would accept and usually expects a counteroffer.