X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Player Comparisons
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

Auction Draft Strategy Part One: How to Prepare for Auction Drafts

Going Once, Going Twice...

An auction is the most exciting way to draft in fantasy baseball, but it can also be the most difficult. For this article and the three to follow, I will be using the assumption that your league’s standard settings give you a $260 allowance. For those unfamiliar with the process, that is your total budget for every player on your team. Before you spend that money, however, you need to get prepared.

 

Player Research

Unlike snake drafts, auctions give you the opportunity to own any player you want. Ample studying of every player is required to have any idea what you are looking for, especially at shallow positions like second base and shortstop. Position scarcity creates a premium on top players at thin positions. Accounting for that premium will help you adjust your cash flow for the rest of the draft. Knowing what lies beyond the top tier will keep you mindful of what you will get if you pass on those guys.

It takes more than knowing basic stats. You also need to know his actual value versus his perceived value. Knowing his actual value will prepare you to recognize a good deal when it arises. Perceived value is a little trickier, but it is definitely valuable knowledge if you have played with the same players for a couple of years. If your league has a couple of Braves fans in it, you can bet that Freddie Freeman will cost more in your draft due to a bidding war. This premium also applies to the top overall players in fantasy. Owners tend to overspend on players that are understood as the best.

 

Budgeting

Part three of this series will delve more into how to properly budget your allowance. For now, it is still important to realize that you will not be able to afford the top 10 projected players in fantasy baseball this year. Learning how to control the urge to try and win every bid for the top players will go far.

The most important part of budgeting is sticking to it. While that sounds redundant, getting caught up in the excitement of bidding on players will leave you strapped for cash. If you budget a certain amount of money for outfielders versus infielders, pitchers versus hitters, or any other combination, you have to stick with it. If not, all that preparation was for nothing.

 

Know Your League Settings

A comprehensive understanding of your league settings can also help you gain an edge. For example, what is your league’s pitching innings limit? Is it 15 innings or lower in a H2H league? If so, grabbing seven starting pitchers might not be your best strategy. Sure, you will sacrifice strikeouts and wins by stacking relief pitchers. However, you can target ERA, WHIP, and saves while re-allocating budget to your offense.

Of course that is not applicable in all league settings. Some counteract that by requiring a certain number of both starting and relief pitchers. Still, knowing the ins and outs of your league settings can absolutely give you a leg up on the competition.

 

Prepare Back Up Plans

As Ron Burgandy once said, “You’ve got to keep your head on a swivel when you’re in the middle of a vicious cock fight.” The same holds true for auction drafts. As much as you have prepared, that plan can get blown up before you know what hit you. Having backup plans and different options can help you avoid having to draft on the fly. Meaning, if your plan does get busted, you will at least know another route to take and avoid drafting without a plan.

 

Know the Other Owners

I’ve already mentioned one benefit to knowing the other owners in your league. Even if this is your first year in a league, there are ways of reading other players. Team names are a fantastic way of getting to know the other owners. Often times, owners will create a team name using their favorite player on their favorite team.

How do you use this? Try nominating players who you have no interest in that play for what might be their favorite team. If you guessed right, you should see these owners pay a premium price for them. Do this often, and you can coax your opponents into wasting their money.  If it happens, you'll be in a position to bully everybody.

Good luck in your preparations this year. If you have not started yet, now is the best time to do so. Also, stay tuned for the three other parts of how to develop a strategy for auction drafts.

 




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Player Comparisons
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

David Montgomery41 mins ago

Likely To Play On Thanksgiving
Nolan Arenado43 mins ago

Willing To Move To First Base
Evan Carter55 mins ago

Swinging A Bat, Expected To Be Ready For Spring Training
Josh Jung57 mins ago

Expected To Be Ready For Spring Training
Aaron Rodgers1 hour ago

Hasn't Decided On Playing Status In 2025
Adolis García1 hour ago

Adolis Garcia Resumes Running
Corey Seager1 hour ago

Nearing Full Baseball Activities
Daniel Jones3 hours ago

Clears Waivers, Officially A Free Agent
Derrick Henry4 hours ago

Notches Another 100-Yard Game
Lamar Jackson4 hours ago

Bounces Back With Three Touchdowns
Aidan O'Connell5 hours ago

Raiders To Start Aidan O'Connell At Quarterback In Week 13
Dallas Cowboys5 hours ago

Cowboys Won't Rule Out Mike McCarthy Extension
Kyle Filipowski5 hours ago

Sits Out Second Consecutive Game
Jameson Williams5 hours ago

Won't Face Legal Action
Jordan Clarkson5 hours ago

Back On The Shelf Tuesday
Devin Vassell6 hours ago

Expected To Return On Wednesday
Joe Ingles6 hours ago

Listed As Questionable For Tuesday
Mike Conley6 hours ago

Iffy For Tuesday's Action
Taurean Prince6 hours ago

Questionable To Face Heat
Giannis Antetokounmpo6 hours ago

Considered Probable For Tuesday
Macklin Celebrini6 hours ago

Records First Career Three-Point Game
Connor Hellebuyck6 hours ago

Stops 43 Shots In Win Against Wild
Seth Jarvis7 hours ago

Returns With A Three-Point Effort
Sebastian Aho7 hours ago

Racks Up Four Points In Impressive Win
Nico Hischier7 hours ago

Nets Historic Hat Trick Versus Predators
Jakob Chychrun7 hours ago

Tallies Three Points In Monday's Win
Brandon Hagel7 hours ago

Dishes Out Career-High Five Assists
Demarcus Robinson14 hours ago

DeMarcus Robinson Arrested On Suspicion Of DUI
Aidan O'Connell15 hours ago

Raiders To Open Aidan O'Connell's Practice Window
Ja'Tavion Sanders15 hours ago

Avoids Serious Injury
Tommy Devito15 hours ago

Tommy DeVito Avoids Injury Report To Open Week 13
J.K. Dobbins16 hours ago

Won't Return On Monday Night
Jerami Grant17 hours ago

Injured Versus Memphis
Robert Williams III17 hours ago

Won't Return On Monday Night
J.K. Dobbins18 hours ago

Questionable To Return On Monday
Jonathan Kuminga18 hours ago

Inactive On Monday Night
Keldon Johnson18 hours ago

Listed Probable For Tuesday Night
Daniel Jones18 hours ago

Won't Join The Raiders
Jalen Green18 hours ago

Questionable For Tuesday Night Against Timberwolves
Dennis Schröder18 hours ago

Dennis Schroder Available To Play On Monday Night Against Warriors
Malik Monk18 hours ago

Officially Active On Monday, Won't Have Minutes Restriction
Miles McBride19 hours ago

Active On Monday Night Against Nuggets
Karl-Anthony Towns19 hours ago

Available For Knicks On Monday Against Nuggets
Peyton Watson19 hours ago

Officially Active For Monday Night Game Against Knicks
Nicolas Claxton19 hours ago

Officially Ruled Out For Monday Night
Aaron Gordon19 hours ago

Now Without Timetable For Return
Jordan Poole19 hours ago

Is Questionable For Tuesday
Talen Horton-Tucker19 hours ago

Probable For Tuesday
Baltimore Ravens20 hours ago

Roquan Smith Out On Monday Night
Ladd McConkey20 hours ago

Officially Active On Monday Night
Jake Ferguson20 hours ago

Looking Like A "Long Shot" To Play On Thursday
Ladd McConkey21 hours ago

Expected To Play On Monday Night
Patrik Laine21 hours ago

Practices In Regular Jersey
Mason McTavish21 hours ago

Returns To Ducks Lineup Monday
Chris Kreider21 hours ago

Unavailable Versus Blues
Artem Zub22 hours ago

Out With Fractured Foot
TB22 hours ago

Nicholas Paul To Remain Out For At Least One More Week
Pyotr Kochetkov22 hours ago

Lands In Concussion Protocol
Kirill Kaprizov22 hours ago

Considered A Game-Time Call For Monday
Romeo Doubs22 hours ago

Picks Up DNP On Monday
Brock Purdy22 hours ago

Does "Light Throwing" On Monday
Devin Williams1 day ago

Brewers Plan To Hang Onto Devin Williams For Now
1 day ago

Blue Jays Could Make Aggressive Play For Anthony Santander
Alec Bohm1 day ago

Phillies, White Sox Have Discussed Alec Bohm, Garrett Crochet
1 day ago

Mets The Clear-Cut Favorites To Land Juan Soto
Yusei Kikuchi1 day ago

Signs Three-Year Deal With Angels
Yan Xiaonan1 day ago

Gets Back In The Win Column
Tabatha Ricci1 day ago

Drops Decision At UFC Macau
Muslim Salikhov1 day ago

Gets Highlight-Reel Knockout Win At UFC Macau
Song Kenan1 day ago

2-2 In Last Four Fights After UFC Macau Loss
Zhang Mingyang1 day ago

Gets TKO Win At UFC Macau
Ozzy Diaz1 day ago

Gets TKO'd At UFC Macau
Jack Roslovic1 day ago

Continues To See Success With Hurricanes
Alex Lyon1 day ago

Starts For Red Wings On Monday
Mikhail Sergachev1 day ago

Collects An Assist In Sunday's Loss
Logan Cooley1 day ago

Leads Utah's Offense Sunday
William Nylander1 day ago

Enjoys Another Multi-Point Outing
Mitchell Marner1 day ago

Extends Multi-Point Streak With Pair Of Goals
Anthony Cirelli2 days ago

Riding Career-Best Goal Streak
Volkan Oezdemir3 days ago

Drops Decision At UFC Macau
MMA3 days ago

Carlos Uberg Extends Win Streak At UFC Macau
MMA3 days ago

Cong Wang Gets Submitted In Upset Fashion At UFC Macau
Gabriella Fernandes3 days ago

Pulls Off Massive Upset At UFC Macau
Deiveson Figueiredo3 days ago

Falls Short At UFC Macau
Petr Yan3 days ago

Gets Dominant Win At UFC Macau
4 days ago

Nationals Non-Tender Kyle Finnegan On Friday
4 days ago

Rays Non-Tender Dylan Carlson
4 days ago

Rockies Non-Tender Brendan Rodgers, Cal Quantrill
Mike Yastrzemski4 days ago

Avoids Arbitration With Giants
4 days ago

Blue Jays Non-Tender Closer Jordan Romano
Dustin May4 days ago

Dodgers Sign Dustin May To One-Year Deal To Avoid Arbitration
Brady Singer4 days ago

Shipped To Cincinnati
Jonathan India4 days ago

Traded To Kansas City
Shohei Ohtani4 days ago

In Early Stages Of Recovery From Shoulder Surgery
Tabatha Ricci4 days ago

Looks To Extend Her Win Streak
Yan Xiaonan4 days ago

Looks To Get Back In The Win Column
Muslim Salikhov4 days ago

A Favorite At UFC Macau
Chris Sale4 days ago

To Have Normal Offseason
Garrett Crochet4 days ago

Drawing Plenty Of Interest
Song Kenan4 days ago

Looks To Win Back-To-Back Fights
Zhang Mingyang4 days ago

Set For His Second UFC Fight
Ozzy Diaz4 days ago

An Underdog At UFC Macau
Carlos Ulberg5 days ago

Looking To Cement Himself As A Title Contender At UFC Macau
Volkan Oezdemir5 days ago

Eyes Another Knockout At UFC Macau
Gabriella Fernandes5 days ago

A Big Underdog At UFC Macau
Austin Eckroat6 days ago

Heads To The RSM Classic After Win
Harris English6 days ago

Finding Form Heading To The RSM Classic
Ben Griffin6 days ago

Continues Playing Well Heading To The RSM Classic
Denny McCarthy6 days ago

Returns to The RSM Classic
Ludvig Aberg6 days ago

Looks To Defend RSM Classic Title
Si Woo Kim6 days ago

An Intriguing Option At RSM Classic
Maverick McNealy6 days ago

In Solid Form Ahead Of RSM Classic
Eric Cole6 days ago

Chasing First Tour Victory At RSM Classic

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP