MLB Snake Draft Strategy

MLB Daily Snake Draft Strategy
By Adam of Rotopicks.com

On Draftstreet, you can play in a MLB Daily Snake Draft League, where the roster consists of C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OF, OF, OF, Utility, Utility, SP, SP, RP, P and 2 reserves. Here are some guidelines to follow that have brought me success.

Before Drafting

Always draft as close to the deadline as possible so you know which offensive players are starting. Rotoinfo.com is known to have the earliest releases of daily MLB lineups. When you draft, if you do not know whether a player is starting, NEVER draft him. Having a roster spot that takes a zero is a major disadvantage.

Check on the weather for all games. Avoid any player who is expected to play in questionable weather. If your player's game is rained out, you get zero points. Check the starting pitchers and single out the games where an "Ace" is taking the mound. Defining an Ace varies depending on the person judging, but in the broadest sense, a sub 3.20 ERA and a winning record is good enough for me.

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The Draft

Before the draft begins, list all of the starting pitchers. Queue ALL of them in the order you see fit. The default rankings are usually pretty safe to use. I always try to avoid pitchers pitching in hitter-friendly ballparks, and I will list a few of those ballparks later on. I also look to see who the worst offenses are facing. Sometimes, you have teams that are so bad offensively, that you can safely play any starting pitcher that faces them. Finding these pitiful offenses is very easy. Go to MLB.com, click on stats, and sort the team stats by runs. Pitchers facing the teams at the bottom of the list are golden. On the other hand, it is also good to see which offenses are powerhouses and steer clear of the pitcher that has to face them.

For your first 3 picks, ALWAYS draft 3 starting pitchers. They are the most limited of any position and only about half will be good SP. Bad pitchers can actually give you negative points as well. You also want to fill that P spot with a SP because relievers obviously can't be predicted to get into the game.

ALWAYS draft a closer with your very last pick. The reason for this is because there are plenty of closers to go around because leagues are usually only 2, 3, 6, or 10 teams deep, and each team will most likely only draft one closer. When you do pick a closer, the only rule is to avoid any closer who has pitched the day before. Other than that, it is impossible to predict who will get a save opportunity in any given day.

After your first 3 picks (all SP), you can delete all those other SP in your queue (unless there's a stud on the board still, that you would like to take as a reserve in order to block your opponent from drafting him).

Your next step is to draft the 5 best offensive players available, regardless of matchup and position. Obviously, you can only have 3 first basemen, so if it happens that you draft 3 first basemen and the next best is also, a 1B, just move to the next player. Immediately before choosing each of these 5 studs, check their stats over the last 15 games (you can sort/toggle their stats so these numbers appear). Avoid any stud if they hit less than .200 over their last 15 games. Ideally, you're looking to select guys hitting .350 or above for their past 15 games.

After those first 8 picks, you start looking at matchups and positions. Check back to your list of Aces going that day and avoid anyone facing those pitchers. Also check in on your opponents' teams. If everyone has a C, 2B, and/or SS, do NOT draft that position until the end.

If there aren't a lot of aces going, you can also eliminate players who have to hit in a bad hitter's park. The worst parks to hit in are San Diego, Citifield in NY (Mets), Seattle, Tampa Bay, and Oakland. Conversely, take note of any games being played in hitter-friendly ballparks, such as Colorado, Arizona, Chicago (especially in the summer or when the wind is blowing out), Texas, Boston, and Yankee Stadium (especially for lefty power hitters).

And that's about it. Seems pretty simple, but if you follow these guidelines you'll be surprised at how focused your draft becomes. One other nifty trick to use if you're ever stumped on a pick is to sort the available players by average points per game over their last 15 games. This will show you who's been on a tear. Just make sure they've been getting ample at bats, and if they're starting, then you can never feel bad drafting a player high up on this list.

Good luck, enjoy, and as always, thanks for reading.

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