Anyone have any thoughts or advice on drafting in the amateur draft? I looked in the forums but didn't see anything, but I may have missed it.

For instance, even money on HS vs. College scouting? More on one? 

How many players do you try to sign?

How many rounds do you list as balanced? aggressive? etc?

Don't draft 1B vs. Draft the best 1Baseman possible? Draft more SS and move them around?

Thanks for your thoughts, guys. This is year 3 for me and I've drafted some decent prospects, but am wondering what others do.

JTedford

If I have the budget available, I prefer to go even money on both HS and college.  $14m is a number that I'm comfortable with and have been fairly successful with.  If I have to use budget elsewhere, I would prefer to keep college at $14m and drop HS down.

When evaluating prospects and where I think they will fit in, I go by their projected defensive ratings and not their listed position when ranking them.  So if I see a guy listed as a SS but I see his defensive ratings better suited for a 3B, then I'll evaluate him and rank him with 3B in mind.  I'll have a different standard for what I would expect offensively from a 3B than I would a SS.

For instance, even money on HS vs. College scouting? More on one?
          You'll find answers across the board on this one.  Some concentrate on one or the other, some go for both, some go for none.  It seems there are more college prospects than HS prospects, however.

How many players do you try to sign?
          As many as I can.  I always want 30 players in Rookie league, and at least 5 inactive pitchers in my lower minor league levels.

How many rounds do you list as balanced? aggressive? etc?
          I don't see any point in doing anything besides Very Conservative past round 5.  Future major league players are going to be few and far between past round 5, so there is little to gain by drafting a questionable player.  Conservative in the first few rounds allows you to draft the questionable player (and they typically sign for more than their original demands), but stays away from the "Probably won't sign" guys.

Don't draft 1B vs. Draft the best 1Baseman possible? Draft more SS and move them around?
          I go for best possible players, and fill positional holes through free agency or trades.

1.  I balance them....  somehow the way I move through their "training" I should probably spend more money in HS
2.  I try to sign almost all of them.  Sometimes Billy Beane likes to get me 4 DHs or 18 pitchers so then I leave some off or some guys with their mommy as their "consultant" and demands 8 million for their snowflake, but besides that, I try to get all of them.
3.  I usually go balanced in the early rounds and then conservative anything after 5.  That way I can fill my positions in the minors.
4. I try to get the best players possible, regardless of position.  Usually I try to give preference to SP, SS, CF/2B, and C and sleight RP, 1B,  and DHs.  I would only take a DH if he is going to be an everyday player and if he is a total stud.  They don't come by that often.

I like the 20/0(college or HS) budget.   Just draft players from the 20 group(although you won't see many from the 0).

I rank every player I think could play a BL role.  Sometimes I end up with 3 defensive catchers but they are nice to have as "add-ons" in trade.   I sign every player who could be a BL player.   I then sign every position player who'll sign for slot money.   I generally don't sign pitchers who won't be BL players because I can fill my minors with training camp pitchers.   If, at the end of the season, I have some prospect money left, I'll sign everyone that wasn't signed earlier.

I generally run balanced for all rounds. 

I seldom draft by position.  But I will rank a versatile player higher than a 1B/LF despite lesser hitting ratings.

"Balanced or agreessive" - I generally go balanced for first round, and also for rounds 2-5.  Conservative for supplemental, and very conservative for rounds 6 and beyond.

Conservative for the supplemental round because unless you screw up, you're going to get a ML quality guy.  You don't want to waste that pick on somebody who will not sign because you won't get a Type D pick for an unsigned 1* draftee.

Very conservative for rounds 6 and beyond because the odds of getting a ML quality guy these is so unlikely (though it can happen), just assume you're getting roster filler from those rounds. 

Depending on how well you draft, the guys from the 18th-19th round and on will be career Lo A guys.  Unless you have to have them for depth, dont sign them, and spend that money on an IFA. 

1)  Depends on my current roster.  If my team is older and will need 'reinforcements' soon, I'll skew College.  If it is young and/or a long way from contending I'll skew HS. 
2) Sign all the potential ML players you can, sign all the career minor league guys you can, with one exception, the 9th rounder who is askign for 3M...skip him...
3) Depends on how much money I expect to have available to draft and where my draft position is.  If I have a high Prospect Budget and a high draft pick I may opt for aggressive.  I'll also opt for aggressive in rounds 2-4 and conservative after that...
4) I typically rank on hitting ability first and then adjust players who likely to be starters at SS/CF/2b/3b/C accordingly...

I generally target MIF and CF types and then plan to move them to other positions as needed once they are in my system.  I look at all available though, so if  1B with lead feet can bang the ball I will notice him.  But my philosophy is to build teams that are above average to excellent defensively at each position that can run the bases well.  So a drafted SS may very well become a LF in my system.  As for pitchers, I really only target future ML quality guys. 

Pitchers are generally more important to me than position players in the draft.

I'm a big best available guy.  I don't try to draft a position, I just rank guys I like in an order I'm comfortable with.  Since I don't get to truly pick, I try to get all of the guys I'd be comfortable with into my top 40.  Typically I'll get 2 of them, sometimes 3 depending on depth of draft, where my picks are and luck.

I have (8) first round picks coming up picks 19,25,43,46,48,56,61,63. and $15mil in prospect money what would be a good approach on a strategy, balanced, conservative, aggressive etc., i am a newbie so any advice would be appreciated. I suppose it will take 5-6 seasons to bring them up to ml status if at all.

I'd use conservative and just rank by best available at least 25 deep. 15m will be more than enough to sign them all.

Posted by WoopAss on 2/15/2017 1:45:00 PM (view original):
I have (8) first round picks coming up picks 19,25,43,46,48,56,61,63. and $15mil in prospect money what would be a good approach on a strategy, balanced, conservative, aggressive etc., i am a newbie so any advice would be appreciated. I suppose it will take 5-6 seasons to bring them up to ml status if at all.

Holy Crap! 8?

I'm not doing the math on this but I'd suggest going back and seeing how much 8 slot picks in those spots adds up to. That will give you an idea if you want to go conservative or very conservative.

Just doing some quick math in my head, I'd say go very conservative for your first round picks. Then you can go balanced afterwords for rounds 2-5.

Good luck. 8 first and supplemental picks. Sounds like a fun draft.


A few things it took me forever to learn. Aka - good advice.

1) Make your supplemental round very conservative. If they don't sign, you don't get compensation.
2) Don't use the formula builder. Look at the thread we posted on that. Rank the guys you want
3) Don't use the ratings threshold. It'll cost you good players in exchange for trash. (set to 'none)
4) Probably a good idea to set 'Any' under position settings to between 3 and 5. Ensures you get the best guys in the first few rounds. Set all 'player types to 'none' and set the 'weight' to 0. This way it gives you the best change of picking the guys you rank.

thanks for the advice, since i have (14) picks in rounds 1-5 ,and a total of 34 picks all together i figure most will be busts so i have to be as close to spot on as i can.