Today's Fantasy Rx

When we launched this site back in 2001, we spent a few days discussing how we value players to give our readers an idea of the methods and rationale that underlie the majority of my fantasy articles. While we hoped to post our 2004 projection files this weekend, we unfortunately won't have them refined and completed until next week. Instead, we'll present a look at how we prepare for our fantasy drafts.

In all our drafts over the past few seasons, we've taken between three and five separate sheets of information to the draft:

1. A single-page depth chart of every player in the AL or NL, stapled on
2. A single-page list of our draft values, sorted from most to least valuable and grouped by position.
3. A list of prospects for Ultra leagues and leagues with minor league drafts.
4. A chart on which to record straight draft results and/or Ultra and reserve drafts.
5. Roster sheet(s) on which to record the draft results by position, providing a quick reference for which positions each team still needs to fill and tracking each owner's available funds in auctions.

Below is a more detailed description of each item, as well as either a template or an example from one of our leagues from last year.

Please remember that all example files that list player names are from old drafts and absolutely cannot be used for future drafts.

Depth Chart

A few years ago we devised a one-page depth chart for each league that includes starters, reserves, platoon players, injured players, and even complete lineups. We haven't previously published this chart because we lack the time in the spring to daily update all of the roster changes. However, as a reference for this discussion, you can access the depth chart we created last year.

Each team column lists a starter, a platoon or possible alternate starter, and up to three backups at each position. We then list four DL slots for injured players. An extended list of pitchers competing for jobs in camp follows. Nine starting pitching slots allow us to keep track of potential starters, and then a loosely structured bullpen places a closer or other likely candidates for saves at the bottom of the column below two top right-handed set-up men, the primary lefty reliever, and the three other relievers expected to pitch for each team.

Each team's probable batting order is present on the right side of each page with the exception of the Cardinals who are placed at the very bottom of the NL page due to space limitations.

Our goal with this design was to provide an easily viewed cross-off list to monitor the depth at each position and lineup slot. When prospecting for at-bats during the middle of drafts, the batting orders provide a welcome reference to see which top-of-the-order hitters remain on the table.

During the draft, simply circle the name of each player you acquire, both in the team column and the batting order, while crossing off every player selected by another owner. In this way, the chart also should prevent you from attempting to select someone previously drafted.

We've employed creative abbreviations for many players, usually dropping vowels, in order to fit everything on one page. Owners without a deep knowledge of rosters might experience some difficulties when using this list due to those abbreviations. However, since AL-only and NL-only leagues historically select over 75% of the players projected to appear on Opening Day rosters, owners should strive to attain a thorough familiarity of the player pool anyway. The ability to quickly see which players remain available by team and position, particularly without the need to constantly flip multiple pieces of paper, helps us focus our energy on drafting the best possible team, rather than on draft tracking minutiae.

Draft Value Sheet

The primary sheet we bring to every draft is a one-page list of what we expect each player in the draft pool to earn. For reference, you can consult this file of one of our 2003 NL 4x4 keeper leagues with inflation-adjusted values.

Draft grids, which are value lists where, for example, every first baseman projected to earn from $20 to $24 is grouped together under a label like "$20-24", certainly can be useful for many owners. Such a system aims to prevent owners from placing too much value on specific dollar figures, since the margin of error in valuation certainly encompasses a few dollars on either side of every predicted price. If you prefer to use this method, simply remove the prices for all save a few players in each column. For instance, in the example sheet, list only the following values next to the first basemen: $30 by Helton, $25 by Thome, $20 by Dunn, $15 by T.Martinez, $10 by K.Young, $5 by Offerman, and $0 by Minor.

Obviously this format possesses some rather irritating limitations. You need a familiarity with every player in the draft pool due to the reduced space for each name, you essentially can't quickly identify who qualifies at multiple positions, and you don't know the category breakdown of players' contributions.

Nevertheless, we've found that the ease of using this list far outweighs the drawbacks. When we acquire a player, we circle him, and when another owners selects someone, we cross off the name. We always know who is available and what each player should earn, allowing us to quickly identify the players we want to offer for bidding and/or draft for our team. By stapling our depth chart on top of this list, we always have the two together and we prevent other owners from peaking at our player values.

Prospect List

Normally, this list is quite straightforward. Here is an example list for a 2003 AL minor league draft. The first two columns list players we expected to contribute in 2003 in the approximate order we wanted to select them, and the third column lists players relatively unlikely to contribute in 2003, but who possess sufficient long-term and/or trade value to merit consideration. We eventually selected Crisp, F.Sanchez, Laird, and Arnold from the first list, and Nageotte from the second.

Again, during your minor league or Ultra draft, simply circle each player you select while crossing-off the names of players acquired by other owners.

Straight Draft List

This template is for a 12-team, 30-round straight draft. We included a second page, which allows you to list each player selected by position and team for non-auction leagues. Simply use this sheet to record players drafted in either a straight or snake draft, which is also the format used for almost all Ultra, reserve, and minor league drafts. If picks have been traded, you can place the initials of the new pick owner or some other marker in the appropriate box. After the draft, you'll have a record of the selection order, which can be an interesting tool when trying to gauge how other owners value their players when you begin trade negotiations. To a lesser extent, studying the list may give you insight into the strategies of other owners when preparing for future drafts with the same group.

Roster Sheet

For auctions, these sheets are vital to allow you to keep track of each team's remaining money and position slots. When an owner rosters a player, write the player's name and salary in the appropriate position, then list his salary in the columns on the right side of each team's panel and subtract that amount from the previous funds. This quick math gives you a running total of how many players each owner still needs to draft and how much money each owner still can spend on those players.

After the draft, you'll have a complete copy of every team's rosters without waiting for them to be entered into your league's website, allowing you the option to pursue trades immediately. Conversely, if you're in charge of entering rosters for your league, you'll have a master list to compare to the rosters submitted by each team.

Together these sheets prevent us from squandering resources, tell us when we need to stretch for the last decent player at a position, and help us find value late in the draft when others frequently are struggling to even identify someone not already selected. For commissioners, the sheets also are useful in identifying illegal selections before the draft advances and complications arise.

Now that you know what lists and tracking sheets we prepare for our drafts, I'll discuss how we conduct the actual drafting of players sometime in the next few days.

Today's Fantasy Rx: You certainly don't need to use the system outlined above, however we recommend you seek to simplify the paperwork you take with you to drafts. While we normally lug a couple of books of stats with us for general reference and peace of mind, we normally don't need to unpack them. The key to drafting with just a few pieces of paper in front of you is that you only need to flip between a couple of pages both to select players and record picks. Drafting in this style obviously requires a great deal of faith in your projections, but as long as you trust the projections you use, we believe this streamlining of materials greatly improves our drafting productivity, specifically the quality of the teams we draft.