The Best Way to Setup for Draft Day

[AT]

All those pitching stats I was looking up for the Top 25 Keepers list got me into my pre-draft preparation thinking and I was getting psyched for next year's drafts. I'm just wondering what materials people have in front of them for their drafts. I think I'm going to do something resembling the following:

1 Big spreadsheet with Teams in the league Across the Top in their draft order and a position listing under each team. I'll cross out those positions as those teams draft them to know what they'll be looking for when their spot comes up.

1 Big Spreadsheet of some conventional ranking service of the top players by position so I know who to expect to come off the board when, the depth left at each position, and I'll cross them off so I know who's gone.

1 Sheet in front of me similar to the last one I mentioned except it will be highlighted to indicate guys I think are overvalued in 1 color and undervalued in another color based on my own expectations.

I probably won't have many stats in front of me at all since I will have reviewed and evaluated them before making the 3rd sheet with the highlights based on my evaluations.

I'll probably line those sheets up 1 above the other in front of me in that order so that it's easily viewable.

What does everybody think?

[Rkiivs]

Lots and lots of beer. Not for me of course, but for everyone else.

[j24jags]

this is really a personal preference..
I have what u talked about, the big spreadsheet of conventional rankings. i also usually have my own cheat sheets, both top 50/100 and position by position. i usually dont mind having some mock drafts with me. lastly, having a fantasy magazine for last minute tough decisions doesnt hurt.

it really helps to know the players tho for late in the draft rather than relying on someone else's rankings.

[Buster Douglas]

AT,
Everybody does it differently, but I used sources #2 and #3 last year. # 1 is a good idea, it would have helped me realize that everyone had already drafted a 3b and I didn't need to go after Glaus until later in the draft.
I also tried something out this year, which involved ranking the players into tiers, so as to get an idea of their relative improtance. Since rankings seem to suggest that there really is a difference between the 74th and 75th guys, I found it helpful to lump players together based on a auction values, and then go with a positional need from that tier.
However, when looking for value in the earlier rounds, I think using your individual rankings in conjunction with other's propensity to rely on conventional mainstream ranking services against them as the best strategy

[raiders_umpire]

basically just 3 things,,,,,, my cheat sheets with my rankings of players at their respective positions, and a spreadsheet for every team and that teams picks so i will know what a certain needs may be late in the draft..... and lastly several beers for me

[Yoda]

I have two sheets. One is a group of players at each starting position. Basically I have draft one guy from each group.

The other is the general rankings to cross off players who have been taken.

[kentx12]

I just use a rankings sheet. I try to rank my players from 1 to 25 at each posistion and 1 to 50 outfielders and as many pitchers as I believe I will need. As the draft goes on I just cross off the players that are taken I guess that isnt as scientific as some of the other ways talked about but it seems to do well for me. Oh yea I also like alot "alot" of cold Yuengling

[AT]

Haha, I forgot!



I try to go with a nice full dark beer for drafts, because if I go with something light I drink it too fast and keep having to get up and take a whizz

[ramble2]

I try to go with a nice full dark beer for drafts, because if I go with something light I drink it too fast and keep having to get up and take a whizz

Now see, that's the kind of fantasy advice that keeps me coming back to the Cafe.

Not only will you have fewer bathroom breaks, but if you push a lager or pale ale on the rest of your league they'll drink more and make their last few picks buzzed.

We've gone to a slow online draft because we are spread over the entire country, but I'll chime in anyways.

I commish, so I tend to have a spreadsheet where I can enter every team's roster. I also like to print out the Yahoo pre-draft rankings position by position so I have a sense of who other teams are likely to draft. Like AT, I also mark it up with players I think are likely to go too early or too late.

I also like to have a copy of Baseball Prospectus handy, along with a fantasy mag (I like Fantasy Baseball Index, because they include the stats I like.)

And beer. And pizza. When you do a slow online draft that takes several weeks that turns out to be a lot of beer and pizza. But I am tough.

[warrick95]

Rotoworld's magazine...I use it as a base cheat sheet and cross off players after they're taken. I usually have all of the players I'm targetting in my head.

It's all in my head.