There's something restrictive about the snake drafts that have become the norm in fantasy baseball (and fantasy sports at large) these days. You show up to the draft, get a number, and in a sense, many of your decisions have already been made for you. Rankings and talent decide you will take one of Mike Trout, Miguel Cabrera or Ryan Braun in the top three, or you will take Robinson Cano at number four. And from there on, decisions of roster composition down the road have already been made for you based on who fell in the first round.
Fantasy baseball is about agency, right? The ability to build your own team, to make your own player personnel decisions?
The auction format -- the format used dating back to the original Rotisserie League over 30 years ago -- shreds the binds the snake draft places on the fantasy player. Every player can be yours, if the price is right. A wide number of strategies unavailable to the snake drafter is open to the auctioneer. Want to load your lineup with stars and then pick from the scrap heap to finish it? Want to build the most balanced attack in the league from 1-23? Either extreme and anything in between is fair game.
But of course, with so many options available, you have to be prepared. That's where Adam Aizer, Al Melchior and Nando Di Fino come in. They'll tell you how they go about an auction draft. When do you spend money? What positions? How many $1 players can you safely go after? How much can you justify on a closer, like Craig Kimbrel? And more...
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