With a 60 game season, fantasy baseball owners have to adjust their draft strategy. This season will test all fantasy baseball owners as we are used to a marathon season, and not a sprint to the finish. In today’s article, I go through one of my favorite draft strategies to use this fantasy season! Without further ado, I present my Fantasy Baseball Draft Strategy: 60 Game Edition.

Load Up On Batters

One of my favorite fantasy baseball draft strategies to execute this season is to load up on batters in the early rounds. I would recommend using your first four to seven picks on batters. I’m skeptical of how many innings SPs will see in the first few weeks of the season. Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos said that Braves pitchers will most likely be pulled after the first three to four innings. Although only the Braves GM came out and said this, I expect lots of other teams to do the same. Even if the inning limit is only in place for two weeks, that’s three to four starts. In most years, three to four starts don’t mean much, but this year, four starts are 33 percent of an SPs starts.

On the other hand, position players/batters play almost every day. Therefore, if a guy like Anthony Rizzo or Gleyber Torres misses 12-16 at-bats (three to four games), the time missed is much less costly than of an SP. There are a few SPs who I would take in rounds one to four if the value is there. However, for the most part, I’m building a great offensive team in this year’s shortened season.

Finding Solid Later Round SPs

If you followed step one of my draft strategy, then you’re probably wondering how am I going to find a half-decent SP1 and SP2? Let us assume you’re in a 12 team league and used your first six picks on batters. Using ADP, I’m going to name a few SPs who should be available for you. Jose Berrios, Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer, and Brandon Woodruff. While you don’t have top tier pitchers, these SPs are quality fantasy players to own. In round 10, Madison Bumgarner could very well be there for you to take. If I have Berrios and Bumgarner as my top two pitchers after going batter heavy, I’m feeling confident in the team I’m building.

Pass on Closers Early

In a 60 game season, closers lose a lot of fantasy value in my eyes. Josh Hader, who is usually the first closer off the board, has an ADP of 54.0. A few batters with similar ADPs are DJ LeMahieu, Manny Machado, and Anthony Rizzo. I would rather any of those three guys over Hader because their respective teams will plug them in every day.

Even if you want to go the route of drafting an SPs here, a guy like Chris Paddack or Tyler Glasnow I would take over a closer because I know that they are going to pitch 5-15 innings a week. Hader may pitch five innings a week, which is probably on the higher side. With an SP or position player, I know they will pitch once every five days or be plugged in every day if healthy. With a closer, there are a bunch of factors that must occur for him to pitch. In a shortened season, I would wait until the later rounds to draft a closer because SPs and batters give your team much more consistency and production.

Drafting Power Hitters Late

In the last few rounds of the draft, I recommend you draft pure power hitters to stash on your bench. The reason for this is if one of your starters doesn’t pan out or goes down with an injury, you have an instant threat to plug into your lineup. When a player hits an HR, he fills four out of the five fantasy baseball hitting categories (HR, R, RBI, AVG). A perfect example of a pure HR hitter is Edwin Encarnacion, Khris Davis, and Franmil Reyes. In a 60 game season, having one of these guys on your team can win you the championship. If any of these guys catch fire, picking them in the later rounds will be a great value pick. In a shortened season, drafting a few streaky HR hitters can pay great dividends and give your team the extra boost to win a championship.

Opening day is right around the corner! If you liked what you read, make sure to follow me on twitter @NateHerman27! Do you like my draft strategy? Let me know what your go-to draft strategy is this season. Be sure to stay on the lookout more fantasy baseball articles! While you’re at it, check out Belly Up Fantasy Sports and Belly Up Sports for more great reads!