2017 Fantasy Baseball Draft Outline – Which Players I’m Targeting And When

It’s draft season, which means you better get prepped before you’re on the clock without an idea of who you should pick. Lucky for you – and everyone who I’m...

It’s draft season, which means you better get prepped before you’re on the clock without an idea of who you should pick. Lucky for you – and everyone who I’m in a league with – I’m going to outline my entire draft plan for 2017, from who I’m targeting in each round to which positions I’m focusing on getting early in the draft and those to wait on. All my favorite players are here in one place for each position, with a round-by-round outline at the end. The rounds are a rough estimation, and should give you a general idea of when you should be looking to grab them.

Before we begin, there are a few things to note:

– This outline is meant for a redraft, 12-teamer 5×5 league. It still applies to most variants, but obviously it’s not a one-size-fits-all.
– I have purposefully left some holes since drafts are fluid creatures that need affection and constant-attention to nail down just right.
– Don’t follow this so rigidly that when Ryan Bruan falls to the 8th round you ignore him.
– Round targets are created based around Fantasy Pros' ADP, which merges NFBC, Yahoo, and CBS data.

Catchers

I really don't like chasing a catcher in the early to mid-rounds as there is often value to be had deeper in the draft when you can often have you favorite choice of backstop at the 12th or 13th off the board. At that point, I'm hoping Stephen Vogt, Wellington Castillo or Russell Martin are still around to snatch up. There are some interesting upside plays that you can wait incredibly long for, such as Travis d'Arnaud and Cameron Rupp if all else fails.

  • Wellington Castillo/Russell Martin/Stephen Vogt - Round 17/18
  • Travis d'Arnaud/Cameron Rupp - Round 20+

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Nick Pollack

Founder of Pitcher List. Creator of CSW, The List, and SP Roundup. Worked with MSG, FanGraphs, CBS Sports, and Washington Post. Former college pitcher, travel coach, pitching coach, and Brandeis alum. Wants every pitcher to be dope.