Do you feel a draft?  Yeah, me too.  It’s that breezy time of year when we are all experiencing fantasy baseball drafts.  You probably like to have your abode air-tight and safe from the elements, but what about your draft preparation?  And nooo, I’m not talking about doing 1500 mock drafts, though making a mockery of your self does have its time and place.  Just like spontaneity.  Get it? You can’t plaaaan spontaneity…oh, nevermind.

Annnywaaaay, you’re about to embark on a journey that will last 6 months and could bring wealth and reward beyond your wildest dreams!  So, is it really asking too much to spend a little effort properly preparing for the big dance, the draft?  Okay, good.

Now, perhaps you are not exactly sure what you need to do to get yourself transformed into a state of total wellness.  I’m talking about inner peace and calmness unlike anything you’ve ever even pondered before.  You need to become a lean, mean, drafting machine!  *picture Bill Murray urging on the chubby kid during the hot dog eating contest in the movie, Meatballs!*

No worries, bro-ham.  Johnny Archive’s gotchya back.  I mean, I will assist as you dive into transcendence and total bliss.  Now, before we begin, please go ignite approximately 50 candles, preferably white and in varying sizes, all around the room in which your computer is located.  Huh?  No candles, alright then turn off the lights or at least squint for a second and pretend there is flickering lumination surrounding you.

Deep Draft Prep by Johnny Archive

• Get some alone time – Free yourself of children, parents, spouses, girl/boy friends.  Sometimes it’s best to let your significant others know how important these few hours are to you.  Perhaps offer to take them out to dinner if they allow this precious time.  Maybe offer to do that project around the house you’ve been putting off or go to that movie they really want to see that you find torturous.  If all else fails, cash is always king!
• Know your league rules – I know, reading the league rules is like reading the directions on the back of a new bottle of shampoo, but it really is important.  Nothing like constructing this flawless plan to punt Starting Pitching only to discover after the draft there is a minimum innings rule and the only starters available are Livan Hernandez, Eric Milton and Kenny Rogers.  Eeewwww!!!
• Do a mock draft at the site of your league – There are a lot of places to do mock drafts these days.  MockDraftCentral.com for example is great, but if your league doesn’t use MDC.com for your real draft it won’t do you much good. You will be at a real disadvantage if you are not familiar with the draftroom setup and process of your league’s site.  Nothing like accidentally drafting Ryan Braun the pitcher instead of the stud OF in round #1 because you didn’t know how to sort the players properly.
• Don’t drink & draft – That includes other mind-altering substances as well.  Should be obvious as to “why.”  But just to make sure, drafts last about 2 hours and if you polish off a 12-pack in that time, your last 3 picks might wind up being Livan Hernandez, Eric Milton and Kenny Rogers.  Eeewwww!!!
• Don’t overload yourself with data – You might turn into the blue screen of death!  Seriously, there’s no need to to have 12 magazines, 8 cheat sheets, 120 different colored highlighters and 15 browsers open on a pc and 2 laptops plus 45 stickies surrounding your monitor.  Clutter-free, is the way to be!
• Prerank your players and use your que – Have players in your que at all times.  This is a component of knowing the draftroom of your site, as you need to know how to properly put players in the que.  I don’t care how great your computer is, there is always a chance something could happen to cause you to lag or lose connection to the draftroom and if you don’t have a player you want in your que, you may get Jeff Francis as your top SP in round #5.  Preranking your players, especially your sleepers, will make it much easier to find these winners during the draft.
• Follow the 5-second rule – Don’t let the timer get below 5 seconds before you make your pick.  You run a major chance that you will get an auto-picked player if you get below 5 seconds.  Then in some leagues, once you have a player auto-picked the software thinks you are gone and then automatically auto-drafts your next player unless you manually turn off the autopick feature.
• Create a wish list – Write down a list of the players you really have an eye on this year, especailly if you think they are going to be big time sleepers and/or difficult to find during the draft.  You don’t want to spend your entire alotted draft time searching for Giant Outfielders because you forgot the name Fred Lewis.  Players coming over from Japan are sometimes very difficult to find, for example.
• Have a basic plan – Every draft is different, but if you know you are going to wait on C and 1B until the middle to late rounds and draft OF and 2B early you can get a feel for how the draft is shaking out and be ready to adjust your strategy on the fly.  Plus, having a plan will allow you to spot players who are dropping and represent solid value for where they are currently available.
• Be a Steady Eddie – Don’t be distracted by the ****-chat in the draftroom, the picks of another owner, or an auto-picked player for your team.  Stuff happens; don’t be so frantic by something unexpected that you allow yourself to miss out on a player dropping 2 rounds further than you think he should go.
• Observe other owners – Also known as the 3-O maneuver!  Even in a chatroom setting, you can tell a lot about your opponents.  Sometimes their team name or their team logo can give you an idea about their home town or favorite team.  Watch to see if certain owners take popular players from specific teams a little higher than they are valued.  Information like that can help during the season when it comes to trade talks, faab money and/or waiver wire moves.
• Be polite and have fun – The draft is the first time the rest of the league will get a feel for who you are.  Don’t be overly talkative in the chatroom, but don’t ignore people either if you can help it.  The draft is a good time to start cultivating relationships for future trade talks.  Don’t be “the jerk” who thought he was too good for everyone at the draft or the guy who wouldn’t shut up!  And don’t defend your picks to anyone during the draft.  A simple “lol” can actually be more than enough of a response.

Okay, there you have it.  I’ll try and add to it if I can think of anything else or remember something I missed from last year.  If you can think of something, please contribute!

Bye-Bye

-Johnny Archive