Fantasy baseball strategy ideas to help you compete — Part 1

Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Ladies and gentlemen, it has been fun three years, writing alongside — virtually — two of my dear friends, Clave and Dixon. We have added some incredible talent along the way to our little outfit. We have been graciously accepted into the Fansided family. Though, sadly, all great things must come to an end. This is my final post with the Fantasy Baseball Crackerjacks team. Well, kinda.

Since it’s something of a long post and the offseason is only just beginning, I decided to split it into two pieces. Here is Part 1 of what I will leave you with — the Nash Rules. Fantasy baseball strategy ideas that will help you compete every year in your fantasy league.

1. Know your league
2. Set goals
3. Build for balance

They seem simple enough, but even good players don’t follow them. If followed, they will get you in the mix each and every year. So digging a little deeper, what goes into these steps?

1. Know your league

It is imperative that you know your league inside and out. Not just the basics like scoring categories and format, those should be obvious.

Make sure you know when your trade deadline is, if there are any innings maximums or minimums, and some leagues have interesting keeper rules that can sneak up on you and mess up your draft plan. So be completely aware.

Also it is helpful if you know a lot about your league mates, favorite players, teams, type of players etc. This can help you gear trade offers to their specific likings much easier.

2. Set goals

If you do not have goals set before the draft, it will be tough to really set draft targets. It is very tough for most people to wing a draft and feel good about their team afterwards.

Setting goals also gives you a way to gage your team. I certainly like the sense of security after a draft when I can take my guys projected stats and they add up to my goals. I really like to be a little over, but either way, I can sleep easy that night if they are generally close.

You may have to reassess your goals depending on how your league plays out, so pay attention, but generally aiming for top three spot in every category (or finishing with that average) should get you there.

3. Build for balance

There is always some sort of cutting edge, some what extreme strategy. My advice is to steer clear and just roll with balance. You are always going to struggle to fill in for a top flight guy if he gets hurt.

However, if you have a guy that you are expecting 40+ homers or steals from and he goes down, you will definitely struggle to replace him. So if you have a bunch of guys that are going to give you 20 homers 15 steals, you can plug in other guys fairly easily.

Also, don’t have a whole team of sleepers or old guys that you hope have a little left in the tank. Never load up with too many guys from the same team, and lastly, avoid a team of all highly touted rookies. You need balance in every aspect.