An interesting draft theory

[Maris09]

I don't think that hoarding a position is ever actually a good idea. You are going to leave yourself with holes that are bigger than the ones you think you are creating for other teams. Sure in theory you can trade those guys for players that are drafted 2 rounds earlier and you think you have leverage, but what are you going to do when the other guy points out that you can't play all of those guys anyway so they're rather useless to you. I really don't think you should draft anyone with any intention other than using them on your own team.

Yeah with the original poster's example he'd be able to use those guys at 3B/1B/CI/UTIL.
With my example you'd be able to play the guys at 3B/CI/2B/MI/UTIL.

It would pretty much just give you the option to trade someone a 3B if they were desperate.
If not then you could just use those guys at your CI, MI, or 2B spots (along with 3B). As long as you get them in a decent draft spot, it seems like it might work. However if the 3B pool is drying up extra quickly because you are taking all the 2nd/3rd tier guys, then people may start to reach for them.

Again I'm not saying I would do either of these, just that maybe the 2nd one is a better plan than dedicating your first four picks to the strategy.

[drob681]

I'm glad we're clearing up the notion that somebody would be sitting on the bench...obviously that wouldn't be the case, and would be a horrible idea. but since it's not the case the only real flaw with the plan as suggested is that I may not be able to take advantage of a 'great deal' that came along.

I'm not sure I agree with the idea that I would be creating holes in my lineup though...the obvious 'holes' created would be SB and 2B, SS players. There are so many good OF available after the 4th round that it's not even funny. Guys like Bruce, carlos Lee, Manny ramirez, Quentin, Hamilton... just to name a few all have significantly low ADP's and could provide excellent value. So back to the supposed 'holes'...

SB - There are several speed guys that could be hadlate this year...Juan Pierre, Nyjer Morgan, Rajai Davis, all would help cure any SB neds and could be drafted after the 12th round. borbon would have been an excellent sleeper until yahoo went and ranked him at 113 (doh!) So I don't think a good argument can be made that this strategy causes a huge SB problem. In fact, most people are suggesting to draft steals later b/c they're coming so abundantly now...

SS/2B/MI- this is the only legitimate concern I have with this 3B theory. i would have to hope and pray that one of the top 5 2B fell a long ways or else I'd end up with a disaster. I'd have to pray that I landed Zobrist with the #60 pick and then target a guy like alexei Ramirez or Elvis andrus later on. Regardless, I'd be guaranteeing that I'd have to land a mega-value at SS. Andrus, or Escobar would have to be fnatasy gold or else I will be hurting. i really do think this is the only legitimate argument that can be made against this strategy. granted...it is a pretty large concern.

I may try it in this league just to see what happens and revisit this post later in the year. It isn't one of the leagues that I play in that involves money, and it will be the first year I play in this league, so I'm not super attached...

[galante22]

agree with everything you said except i think your missing one thing. sbs are not a concern at all either is your of...you mentioned your concern for 2b/ss/mi which is a huge issue, but also the fact that while drafting these guys you may be missing out on better players. i like to draft for value in the first few rounds, keeping in mind position scarcity and other factors of course. with that being said passing on certain players that may be there in the first 4 rounds could be a huge negative. if the 3b is one of the top players available at your pick (this applies in the first 4 rounds obviously) then by all means take him, but i wouldnt suggest you passing on a player like kinsler in the 4th round for pablo sandoval ya know? no sayin kinsler wil ldrop there but im sayign if there is a player of higher caliber left id go with that guy over tryin to fuck ppl over...just my opinion on it

[Bloody Sox]

agree with everything you said except i think your missing one thing. sbs are not a concern at all either is your of...you mentioned your concern for 2b/ss/mi which is a huge issue, but also the fact that while drafting these guys you may be missing out on better players. i like to draft for value in the first few rounds, keeping in mind position scarcity and other factors of course. with that being said passing on certain players that may be there in the first 4 rounds could be a huge negative. if the 3b is one of the top players available at your pick (this applies in the first 4 rounds obviously) then by all means take him, but i wouldnt suggest you passing on a player like kinsler in the 4th round for pablo sandoval ya know? no sayin kinsler wil ldrop there but im sayign if there is a player of higher caliber left id go with that guy over tryin to **** ppl over...just my opinion on it

I don't think there is any doubt that you would take the best player with those first 4 picks if there was one available. The thing is, it is extremely likely that if Longoria and Wright are there at #12 and #13 that they will be the best players available or very close to it. Obviously if Miguel Cabrera or someone like that falls then you break from the plan at take him. The same thing applies with the #36 and #37 picks - based on the MDP values right now, if Zimmerman and Youkilis or Sandoval are there they will most likely be among the best players available. If someone clearly better falls, then you go with the better player and move on.

[micemi]

I agree with the last post, if those players are indeed the best players available, then do it. But don't reach just to corner the market because you will then have too many holes to fill. I'd rather take a Cano, Roberts, or Pedroia with my 3rd/4th round picks to get some solid MI production as opposed to nabbing more 3B.

[Fantasy Guru]

If you land Beckham with that strategy, you will have 2B covered, since he's being slid over there this season.
And he'll steal a handful of bases.

[Maris09]

If you land Beckham with that strategy, you will have 2B covered, since he's being slid over there this season.
And he'll steal a handful of bases.

Which is why I offered my strategy of taking a bunch of the "Ramirez through Stewart" third basemen. (Aram, Figgins, Beckham, Stewart)
You still hurt teams at 3B.
You still have a bunch of 3B's to potentially trade people.
You don't handcuff your first 4 picks at all.
You will get some steals with Figgins and Beckham.
You will get players that can be used at 2B and MI with Beckham and Stewart, thus allowing you to use all the guys you have at 3B/CI/2B/MI/UTIL.

Way better strategy in my opinion if you're attempting to hurt others at 3B without hurting yourself.

[kab21]

I almost did take beckham in my 14 teamer to put the hurt on other teams at 3B since 2 other teams had 2 3Bman each. And I needed a 2Bman but there was one player that I liked more.

It's not a horrible strategy but you have to make sure you get a good value at each pick. And the other problem is that there are OF'ers and 1Bman going after a guy like Aramis that I like better if I'm filling the CI or UT spot. Aramis' draft position (and other 3Bman) is based on him playing 3B. And that takes a hit if you're not drafting him as a 3Bman.