What's the ideal spot to draft in the 1st?

[killercars]

if you can't nab 1 or 2... i like 7 or 8... i would love a combo of wright and utley this year... they are clones of each other...

potential for both of them... 100/35/115/17/.300

can't beat havin two of them to start your lineup with...

my 2 cents.

[Madison]

In a typical 12 team league, I'd prefer picks #1, #2, #12, #11, #10. There's so much talent in the middle picks that if I don't wind up with Pujols or Arod (picks #1 and #2), I'd rather pick towards the end of the round, and then have an early pick in the second round.

There's also tons and tons of nice sleepers falling late this year, so even with a middle pick, you can still draft one heck of a team.

[JakeTrain72]

I would say top 4 in a 10 team league since the value at the end of the 2nd-early third is much better than value of late-3rd-early 4th AND you have that STUD from round 1.

BUT if you have a 12 team league that adds 4 more picks between your 1st and 2nd (assuming you have a top 4 pick), i would say 5 or 6 is the best since there is decent value every time you pick compared to everyone else in the first 4 rounds. More importantly you then pick one of the better 1b, followed by one of the best middle innfielder, followed by a top SP or one of the better remaining OF's, then in the 4th you most likely won't get burned by a closer run or you can take a nice SP.

[The Jury]

I would say top 4 in a 10 team league since the value at the end of the 2nd-early third is much better than value of late-3rd-early 4th AND you have that STUD from round 1.

BUT if you have a 12 team league that adds 4 more picks between your 1st and 2nd (assuming you have a top 4 pick), i would say 5 or 6 is the best since there is decent value every time you pick compared to everyone else in the first 4 rounds. More importantly you then pick one of the better 1b, followed by one of the best middle innfielder, followed by a top SP or one of the better remaining OF's, then in the 4th you most likely won't get burned by a closer run or you can take a nice SP.

Would you really want the 4th pick and possible have Vlad still on the board, putting huge pressure on you to take him and his injury risks?

[DevilDriver]

definitely #1 or #2 because ARod and Pujols are considerably better than anyone else, even Vlad.

[Pochucker]

I like drafting in the middle -- not so much for 1st round but the rest of the draft. Sucks when your on top or bottom and its 23picks before it gets back to you!

[acsguitar]

definitely #1 or #2 because ARod and Pujols are considerably better than anyone else, even Vlad.

Yep...AROD is the man.

anyways I want 1st, 2nd or like 7th, or the last of the first round...Its always nice to get to make 2 picks in row!

[MaggsIsMint]

I like 5, 6 or 7 this year.

1 or 2 would be nice to secure ARod or Pujols but I prefer to draft in the middle.

With 5, 6 or 7, you can expect a big bat to fall to you in the first round - Teix, Manny, Ortiz or D. Lee then typically follow up with the best player that falls to you in the 2nd round - Young, Bay, Wright just to name a few.

A few early mocks, I've even seen Ortiz, Crawford and Abreu falling to early 2nd round.

Another thing I like about middle picks is when runs occur you're never too far away to miss out on an entire tier.

I completely agree with this. That's why I like to be at about 6 or 7 too.

I'll take 2 guys who contribute in all 5 cats (Crawford, Wright, Bay) if I can and then build from their w/0 being on the wrong end of any position runs.

[The Jury]

Does you guys like either the second pick or the second to last pick in a draft?

I'd fancy the #2 pick to get either Rod or Pujols but after that, the #2 spot and the second last spot are IMO the "bitch spots." You are at the mercy of the corner drafter - you have to make 2 picks very close to each other and you don't even get to make them in a row to have some type of drafting power

[WittyC]

Traditionally I like the middle picks (5-8), because I feel less pressure knowing there are only about 11 picks before my next turn. Especially in the late rounds, I don't get all fidgety if I pass on one of my sleepers. I hate having to grind out 20-something picks hoping no one snatches them up!

This year, however, due to the value in the early rounds, I agree with several other posters that 1-2 or 10-12 are the best spots to be picking at. Basically the same reasons that were given above, with the combinations that are possible.

Anecdotally, in my first pub draft of the year I grabbed Pujols #1 and got Utley on the flip side. I don't envision that happening in my money leagues, but it's a pretty sweet 1-2 combo!