7 Common Draft Day Traps

Since we still have a week to go before exhibition games begin, let's get this blog kicked off with a look at the one day that will have more influence over their team’s performance than any other – Draft Day.

To help prepare you for this all-important day, I've identified the seven most common draft day traps...and I've tried to give you easy suggestions for avoiding them.

Some of these traps may seem obvious to you – and some of the suggestions for avoiding them may seem like common sense – but it’s amazing how many owners throw common sense out the window and ignore the obvious once the players and dollar figures start flying.

So then, without further adieu, let’s dive right into the seven most deadly “Draft Day Traps”…

Trap #1 – Failure to Plan Is a Plan For Failure

It may sound like common sense, but failure to create – and stick to – a solid plan for a draft is the most common Draft Day Trap that owners fall into.

And when I say, “plan” I do not mean reading a pre-season magazine or two. I don’t even mean putting together a “wish list” of players. What I’m talking about is a carefully constructed strategy for success that takes into consideration not only your team’s needs and tendencies…but also the needs and tendencies of all the other owners in your league.

Think about it. How many times in the past has one of your fellow owners either failed to plan…or planned poorly? Most likely it’s the same two or three owners year after year. They show up with a couple of hand-written notes and nothing more. They constantly bring up players who have already been drafted or protected by another owner. And by the time you get to the final rounds of your draft, they are most likely asking, “Who’s that guy?” Or, “What position does he play?”

Obviously by reading this column and visiting this web site you are a step – or several steps – ahead of those owners. But in order to truly dominate your league you must go the extra mile and create a plan that takes everything into consideration.

As Earl Weaver once said, “Everything matters…and everything changes everything.” That’s true on the field and in a Rotisserie draft room.

If you break Weaver’s quote down, you realize that each and every bid that is made – not just who gets what player…but every single bid made by an owner – is important to you.

Let’s say, for example that an owner with Jimmy Rollins on his roster suddenly bids $30 on Jose Reyes. Is the owner simply trying to drive up Reyes's price? Is he trying to stockpile middle infielders for a potential trade? Or is Reyes just one of his favorite players and someone he’ll spend any price to own?

These are the types of things that must be considered. If you prepared properly for your draft, you will already know the answers – or at least have an educated guess for each answer – to the questions above. Before the owner finished making his $30 bid you’ll already know what it means – as well as how you should respond.

Here are a few essentials that you must take into consideration when constructing your Draft Day strategy:

How much will it take? – No…I’m not talking about how much you’ll need to spend to get your favorite player. Instead, I’m talking about what statistics you’ll need over the course of the year to accumulate points in every single category. Look back at the final statistics from your league over the past few years and write down clear goals for each category. (A typical goal is to finish second in each category.) Then – as you begin to think about how you’ll build your roster – make sure you’re adding stats in those categories that you need. Also – it’s important to take into consideration moves other owners might make that will impact these goals. If, for example, two or three owners are stockpiling closers then you may find yourself lowering your expectations for saves in order to avoid a bidding war.

What happens if…? -- Having a fallback position is an important step that 95% of all owners fail to take. As we said earlier, establishing a plan – and sticking to it – is critical. But you must maintain a degree of flexibility within that plan. In many leagues there are several owners who might be a bit unpredictable in their ways. Or – even worse – there might be an owner or two who doesn’t have any idea what they’re doing. Those kinds of owners can throw a wrench into even the best-laid plans. So…if, for example, adding a power-hitting first baseman is important to your team, be sure to have a backup plan in case a few other owners drive up prices way beyond reason. In this instance you might have to settle on a lesser-known first baseman and make up the power you need at a position – like 2nd base or catcher – that is not normally noted for power production.

Who’s in and who’s out? -- Usually by the mid-point of each draft you can tell which owners are on their way to contention and which owners will drop out of the race by Memorial Day. Take this into account as you move into the final rounds of your draft…as these “non-contenders” will most likely be looking to make trades with an eye toward the future in just a few months. Be sure you are familiar with their roster and use one or two of your $1 picks on players that might be appealing to an owner with no chance to finish in the money. Some of the best trades you can make as an owner might take months to develop…so it’s best to make plans for mid-season acquisitions at draft time.

Offense vs. Pitching – In the weeks leading up to your draft, you must make a determination about how much you plan to spend on offense as compared to your spending on pitching. There are several theories on this topic, the most common of which recommends a 65%-35% split in favor of offense. (Typically, this imbalance is due to the lack of predictability among pitchers.) It’s important, though, to realize ahead of time that every league is different…so the “65/35” rule may or may not apply to your situation. But whatever you come up with…having this budget prepared prior to Draft Day will put you one step ahead of the competition.

Trap #2 – Draft Day Distractions

Distractions. They’re everywhere on Draft Day. Have you seen one – or more – of these?

* Late-arriving owners

* Owners more concerned with food than their teams

* Owners more concerned with beer than their teams

* Chain-smokers…or cigar smokers

* Owners who call “time out” every three minutes

* Owners who start their own conversations while bidding is going on

* The owner who makes a wisecrack about every player drafted – except theirs

* Having a television on in the background

* Owners who constantly bring up players already on other rosters


Here is the only advice I can give you on how to deal with Draft Day distractions: Block them out. Don’t fall victim to them at all. While it might be fun to throw in a wisecrack or two throughout the draft…any more than that and you’re most likely just encouraging more distraction.

Don’t get me wrong – Draft Day is the most important day of the year for a rotisserie owner…and you should absolutely have fun during yours. But don’t let that fun get in the way of drafting a good team. Otherwise you’ll take away the six months worth of enjoyment you’ll get from a wire-to-wire first place finish.

Think of your draft this way: A good hitter always “visualizes” his at-bat before getting in the box. You can do the same. Using your plan, take an hour or so to try and go through the list of available players and anticipate how much they will sell for and who will wind up with them. That way – on Draft Day – you’ll have already gone through the exercise once and if you do get distracted for a moment or two you won’t feel as lost when your focus returns.

Another word of caution: don’t attempt to distract others. While the idea of throwing someone else off their game might sound appealing…you’ve got too much to worry about to spend your time and energy on someone else. Stay focused on the task at hand: building a championship ballclub!

Trap #3 – Seeing Stars

At some point in your pre-draft preparation you must ask yourself why you are playing rotisserie baseball. I’ve always found that there are essentially two types of owners. The first type is the guy who is “just happy to be there.” He always picks up his favorite players and spends the entire season talking trash about how great his top two or three players are. Of course…he also spends most of the season at or near last place, so that’s just about all he has to talk about.

The second type of owner is more interested in winning than in collecting his favorite players. He would rather see Johan Santana go to someone else for $48 than spend the money…even though he may be wearing a game-used, autographed Santana jersey during the draft.

Falling in love with star players is one of the oldest fantasy traps there is. And it’s an easy one to fall into. Let’s face it…there is something rewarding about owning the player who’s on the cover of all the pre-season magazines. The trash-talking power alone is enough to make you consider wrecking your budget.

But…don’t do it. No matter how tempting it might be to say “I’ll bid $49 for Giambi” you have to remember that – unlike George Steinbrenner – you are operating under a strict salary cap. Spending too much on one player might give you some short-term feelings of invincibility…but you’ll be left out of the rest of the draft with no money to spend.

Another problem with “superstar” players is that they are not always “rotisserie superstars.” You have to remember that the game you are playing – rotisserie baseball – is very different from “real” baseball. Being a great team guy…or a leader in the clubhouse…or even a defensive wizard – is worth absolutely nothing to you.

Think of the slugger who only produces when the game is out of reach. The rotisserie equivalent would be a power hitter who produces for you in the HR category but kills your average…provides no speed…and is only mediocre in the RBI department. Those are the kinds of players that are usually overpriced. Novices are in love with the long ball…let them have the Dave Kingmans of the world while you spend your money on more productive alternatives.

OK...that's all for now. In my next post, I'll identify the four remaining Draft Day traps and how you can avoid them.