baseball news on the playeryou’re about to pick. There arevery few feelings worse than justfinding out the player you pickedis out for 6 months or the entireseason.Review offseason moves thatmight impact your target picks. Isthe hitter going to a more hitter-friendly ballpark or vice versa? Isthere a position shift imminentthat might give him moreflexibility?3. …but don’t give up if you had abad draft Too many fantasy baseballmanagers get discouraged if theyhad a bad draft. Hey, it happens.Maybe you just messed up yourpicks. Maybe you weren’tavailable during the live draft andthe system autopicked a mediocreteam for you. One thing is certain.If you give up before the seasonhas even started, you will lose.However, if you pick yourself up,work the waivers and trades, youput yourself in a position to makethe playoffs where anything canhappen.4. Focus on hitters first, pitcherssecond This secret is controversial in thesense that there are many whomay disagree with thisphilosophy, so take it with a grainof salt. Generally speaking, theperformance of pitchers fluctuatesgreatly while hitters are moreconsistent. This leads me to avoidoverpaying for pitchers –startersor relievers—by targeting studhitters early on who have a betterchance of giving me a strongreturn for my pick. Build around acore of solid hitters, then targetconsistent pitchers or up-and-comers for a rotation and bullpenwith consistency and upside.5. Don’t go nuts on rookiesRookies in fantasy baseball arelike penny stocks. You might findthe occasional winner but the vastmajority won’t give you thereturns you need over a longseason. Unlike fantasy footballand basketball where rookies canmake an immediate impact fortheir managers, the jump from theminors to the majors is muchmore difficult for baseball players.Add to that the uncertainty of aguaranteed job with the possibilityof being sent back down, and allsigns point to letting othermanagers take the risk on rookies.6. Regular participation is half thebattleBy the time the All-Star break rollsaround, it is likely that one third of your fantasy baseball league’smanagers have either given up orlost interest. That means if yousimply pay attention and remainan active manager, you can gainan advantage over one third of the league. One hundred andsixty two games is a marathon, sodon’t give up. Be persistent.7. Work the waiver wiresSuccessful fantasy baseballmanagers are those who havewaiver savvy. They grab droppedplayers whose managers gave upon too quickly. They pick up set up
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