Drafting Pitchers

Some people believe in selecting the top tier pitchers early on in fantasy baseball drafts. Johan Santana was a first round selection in many leagues this year. While he should have a Cy Young quality season, is he really worth passing up a player like Chase Utley or Prince Fielder? I say no. In every fantasy league there will be quality free agent starting pitchers, as well as middle relief guys that can lower your ERA and WHIP. A position player plays almost every day, whereas a pitcher may only pitch one time in your weekly matchup, and if he has a bad start, he can significantly hurt your team. I think it would be hilarious if Jake Peavy only pitched one time in a fantasy playoff matchup and had an ERA around 6.00 or 7.00 while the other team had Brian Bannister mowing down opposing hitters. Not to mention the fact that the team with Bannister would also have a player like Ryan Braun or Brandon Phillips hitting HR's and stealing bases while you're praying Mike Lowell can heat up that week. My advice would be to draft the top hitters, because you don't want your line-up to be watered down. Pitching categories can be taken care of with a little luck and a lot of strategy.

Jayfro