When establishing a fantasy baseball Position scarcity must always be kept in mind when drafting a plan and deciding on early round targets.
Some positions are rich in talent and give you the opportunity to wait much later to draft a player at that spot, while others have a wide disparity in the number of players from the top five to the next tier.
Second base is a perfect example of this, with players like Mookie Betts, Ozzie Albies, and Marcus Semien rivaling players like Andres Jimenez, who is widely considered a top-10 second baseman.
But does that mean you have to attack the keystone in the first two rounds of the draft? No.
You can also find quality help further down the draft board.
Based on how the first few rounds play out, there are some second basemen to consider outside of the early rounds. If you have a lot of power and expect to struggle with batting average and on-base percentage, you might want to select Luis Arraez in the 13th round.
He may not be able to hit for power or steal bases, but he has won batting titles in both leagues and has a career .326/.379/.427 slash line.
With over 600 at-bats, these numbers have a huge impact on the overall total.
If they want more power than that, there’s nothing wrong with waiting until the 15th round to take Cardinals second baseman Nolan Gorman.
He is expected to be the full-time DH this season, but thankfully he still has second-line eligibility.
His batting average is weak and he isn’t very good at stealing bases, but the fact that he hit 27 home runs in just 119 games last season not only showed off his raw power, but also showed that he is more than capable of hitting 30 home runs. ing. major.
Of course, everyone is looking for a late-round talent who can contribute overall, and that could be the Twins’ Edouard Julien.
Last season, he hit 16 home runs and posted a slash line of .263/.381/.459 in just 109 games, showing he’s ready for the big leagues.
He stole only three bags, but showed potential for 20 stolen bases throughout the minors. As stolen bases continue to increase, his numbers should follow suit. He’s only 24 so there may be some risk, but he could do much worse in 18 rounds.
While it’s important to pay attention to positional deficiencies, there’s no need to overreact and build your entire draft around it.
Top tier players are great, but you have to pick your moments.
Let’s hope the rest of the league raises the ADP of second basemen like Matt McClain and Ketel Marte. Keep your top targets wise and build well with one of these late round gems.
Howard Bender is responsible for the following content. fantasyalarm.com. Follow him on X @rotobuzzguy Catch him on the award-winning SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Channel on the “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” weekdays from 6-8 p.m. Fantasy Baseball News and Advice.
