all star baseball 2003 PS2 ********************** fantasy draft faq ***************** by: austin ingraham ******************* Thanks to Inks71 for some format ideas. *********************************************************** I always loved doing fantasy drafts. From the olden days of ASB 99 to the new age of 2003. I would like to say that over the years, I have become an "expert" on drafting. So, I gathered all of my strategies and put them here on this FAQ for all to read. Enjoy. *********************************************************** I rate this game a 9 out of 10. *********************************************************** CONTENTS 1. Update history 2. Copyright info 3. Ratings 4. Strategies 5. My draft 6. Lineups *********************************************************** UPDATE HISTORY June 19 -- First release. *********************************************************** COPYRIGHT INFO This document is copyright 2002 Austin Ingraham. Email me at AAIchiro5127.com for permission to link this FAQ to your site. No copying onto a CD, putting into a book or magazine, and no selling. Thanks. *********************************************************** RATINGS In this section, I will tell you the amount of A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, and D- players at each position for you too look over and review the talent pool from each position. OFFENSE (order of numbers: A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-) catcher-0,1,1,1,3,7,11,31,6,3,0,0 1b-0,1,2,4,8,23,40,38,14,3,0,0 2b-0,0,1,2,4,14,36,31,13,2,0,0 3b-0,0,1,2,8,12,31,39,12,2,0,0 ss-0,1,2,3,4,10,32,28,17,2,0,0 of-0,1,6,18,28,33,62,44,10,3,1,0 dh-0,0,0,1,3,4,3,0,0,0,0,0 DEFENSE (order of numbers: A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-) starters-2,0,4,7,30,33,53,24,5,0,0,0 middle relievers-0,0,0,2,16,32,47,31,4,3,0,0 long relievers-0,0,0,0,3,2,3,20,4,0,0,0 closers-0,0,4,4,7,11,4,1,0,0,0,0 Obviously, a lot of people want to lean towards picking offensive powerhouses with their first few picks, but it's a little thing I like to call PITCHING. I mean, look at these staggering numbers. There is an average of 2 "A" players at each position of the offensive side. But on the pitching side, there is only .85. More positions to fill? More better players. Less positions to fill? Less better players. That is how it works, my friend. And here is how to use all of your selections wisely. *********************************************************** STRATEGIES Basically, there are 3 different types of drafting. There is the Barry Bonds lover, who puts much more emphasis on offense then there needs to be. Then, there's the Schilling freak, who only drafts talented pitchers. (Which is a little more tough.) Here is a breakdown of each type, and how you should handle your picks if you want to have a decent team. TYPE: BONDS LOVER (OFFENSE) STRATEGY: I know all you want to do is draft Bonds, Sosa, A-Rod, ect., but we're going to have to be a little bit realistic, here. First of all, those guys are all gone by the 7th pick in the first round. Second of all, You are going to have to have a little but of pitching if you want to compete in your division. Here's the way I see it. Draft an offensive powerhouse, (AHEM-BONDS-AHEM) then go right back with your next pick and take yourself a Mussina, Glavine, or a Lowe for an ace. Then, go for a reliever. Pick a few more silver bats, then pick a few more pitchers. When it gets to the point when you have 2 or 3 decent starters and a good reliever, this is when you go batting mad. Go get yourself a David Justice, a Carlos Pena, or a Nick Johnson. This way, you still will be favoring offense, but your pitching won't stink HALF as bad as a cab driver's armpit. TYPE: SCHILLING FREAK (PITCHING) STRATEGY: Schilling. Martinez. Johnson. Kennedy. Those are just a few of the names when you think of great hurlers, right? Wait a minute! Who put Joe Kennedy's name in there? Actually, it makes sense. Those are the kind of guys that are going to make your pitching staff great. Terry Adams. Elmer Dessens. Erik Hiljus. Jon Garland, just to name a few. If you took the time to look over my ratings section, you will see that there is a lot more talented hitters then there are pitchers. That is where the Kennedy's come in. Start your team around a Schilling, Johnson, Pedro, or if you get a lower pick, a Jeff Weaver, Derek Lowe, Brad Penny, or Barry Zito. Then, get a few strong bats. When I say a few, I mean 2 or 3. Then, pick about 5-6 Carl Pavano's, Matt Clement's, and Jamey Wrights. Get a few more bats (2-3), then draft 2-3 more Pavano-ish pitchers. Fill up your lineup, then fill up your pitching staff. Now you're ready to go. TYPE: HALF AND HALF STRATEGY: Pretty Simple. Pick a pitcher. Then pick a batter. Then pick another pitcher. *********************************************************** MY DRAFT Here is the way I went with when I had a draft with the Minnesota Twins. PICK: 1. Alex Rodriguez, SS 2. Rafael Palmeiro, 1B 3. Jason Kendall, C 4. Derek Lowe, SP 5. Bartolo Colon, SP 6. Kenny Lofton, OF 7. Luis Castillo, 2B 8. Alfonso Soriano 2B (He's going to play 3rd.) 9. Juan Pierre OF 10. Roger Cedeno OF 11.Kyle Farnsworth, MR 12. Jose Jimenez, CL 13. Jerrod Riggan, MR 14. Paul Byrd, SP 15. Odalis Perez, SP 16. Kip Wells, SP 17. Todd van Popple, MR 18. Brandon Inge, C 19. David Eckstein, SS 20. Placido Polanco, 3B 21. Chad Allen, OF 22. Vicente Padilla, MR 23. Aubrey Huff 3B 24. Milton Bradley, OF 25. Ricky Ledee OF ...and here's how I set things up... LINEUP 1. Juan Pierre LF 2. Luis Castillo 2B 3. Alex Rodriguez SS 4. Rafael Palmeiro 1B 5. Jason Kendall C 6. Alfonso Soriano DH 7. Placido Polanco 3B 8. Kenny Lofton CF 9. Roger Cedeno RF ROTATION 1. Derek Lowe, RHP 2. Bartolo Colon, RHP 3. Paul Byrd, RHP 4. Kip Wells, RHP 5. Odalis Perez, LHP *********************************************************** LINEUPS Ok, so you're done with your draft. Got a few good players, right? But now it's time to do your lineup, and you're stumped. Never fear! I am here! (Below) A breakdown of every lineup slot, and the ideal player for each. 1. Great speed on the base paths, great contact in the batters box. Just because it is the first slot in your order, that doesn't mean that you need your best player here. 2. Decent speed on the base paths, good contact in the box. If the leadoff man gets on, his job is to either get him into scoring position, or better yet, get him home. 3. Your best overall hitter. If either the first or second guy gets on, he needs to move them up with power. If they don't, he needs to get on base with contact. 4. Pure Power. If the bases get juiced, and you have Ichiro tugging on his arm in the batter's box, then I have a funny feeling that you are only going to score 1 run, rather than scoring 4 if you have Manny Ramierez or Todd Helton up there. 5. This is generally where you should put your 3rd or 4th best overall hitter (It would help if he had a little bit of speed). It is kind of the same case as the 3 hitter, but a lot of times he will leadoff the second inning, so it is kind of the same case as the 1 hitter. 6. Probably should lean towards a little bit more power rather that contact, because this is the guy you need to spark a rally in the late innings if the bottom of your order is up. 7. This is the part of the order where things start to get a little tricky. Most people think that the last 2 or 3 slots in the order are where all the horrible players go. But like I said in 6, this is part of the order where there needs to be at least 1 guy who is even a decent hitter. This is that guy. Not the best on your team, but definitely not the worst. 8. There are two different scenarios here. If you are in the American League, then this is where you would put your worst hitter. But if you are in the National League, think like you are in the American for a minute. Knowing that your pitcher is coming up next, and if there is any chance of a rally, it's going to have to start here, you put the guy who would bat here in the AL and put him 7th, and you move the 7 hitter back down to 8. 9. Again, two different scenarios. If you are in the NL, your pitcher bats here. In the AL, you put your second worst hitter, keeping in mind the whole "getting the rally started" thing. MORE SECTIONS COMING SOON!!!!