Certain mistakes made during the fantasy baseball season can be very costly to a team owner. There are a few wrong moves than can ultimately take any team out of league championship contention.
Most of these errors result from a lack of overall awareness from team owners. At the same time, others may take some bad advice or maybe even just lose interest. Whatever the case might be, fantasy futility is probably in their future.
Here are five of the most common fantasy baseball mistakes to avoid making.
1. Not Understanding the League
Fantasy baseball leagues vary when it comes to such things as competition settings, scoring options and categories used. If a team owner does comprehend all of this, he may be doomed to fail. Nearly any move that is made should be done with league settings in mind.
One example could be a league that does not use the runs scored category. Team owners not aware of this might unnecessarily draft certain players with a knack for crossing the plate. Lacking such knowledge can quickly put any owner at a disadvantage.
2. Punting Categories
When filling a roster, certain team owners purposely ignore or “punt” categories to bulk up in other areas. For example, an owner might take several hitters which produce well in home runs and RBI, but few to none with good batting averages. Considering fantasy baseball is typically based on balance, this concept is generally a bad idea on draft day and when making free agent transactions.
Some fantasy baseball “experts” and strategists actually advise owners to go this route. A few fantasy veterans may even find a way to make this work for them. Chances are though that punting categories will only hurt a team in the long run.
3. Being a Homer
Every MLB fan has their favorite teams and players. However, deliberately filling fantasy rosters with them can be a recipe for disaster. To succeed in fantasy baseball, team owners need to avoid this temptation.
At draft time, rankings are readily available and serve as a guide as to who the best overall players are. During the season, fantasy site waiver wires usually include past and present statistical information of all free agents. When it comes to picking players, both aforementioned options are the primary things to consider and any favoritism should be put aside.
4. Falling for Bad Trades
Trading is a fun and important aspect of fantasy baseball. Despite this, being on the wrong side of one can be very detrimental. Team owners should analyze every trade proposal before they accept it.
When considering a potential trade, the best course of action is to thoroughly examine its potential value. A team owner first needs to determine whether he really wants to lose the player(s) that is being asked for. Also, he must evaluate the overall potential of who is being offered in return.
5. Failure to Keep Up
The fantasy baseball season is very long, making it easy for team owners to occasionally lose track of things. If a team is ignored too long or too often, chances at success will usually dwindle away. The reason for this is that necessary changes will not be made if an owner does not pay attention.
Things like suspensions, injuries and demotions will leave rosters with inactive players. If an owner does not check his team, such players might stay in a starting spot and waste production possibilities. Even though certain leagues are only adjusted weekly, it is always beneficial to check on team rosters frequently.