Here at Fantasy Alarm, Howard Bender’s Mock Draft Army has provided a way to help you prepare for your upcoming fantasy drafts.  In July I was given the reigns to run the Army and we had a great summer of preparation for the fantasy football season.  Now it’s time to get you ready for baseball! 

What makes the Army a great tool to prepare you for your drafts?  I believe the most important thing it does is that it gives you live access to a few members of our staff and occasional guests from other sites to ask questions as the draft unfolds.  Don’t be shy to ask why someone picked a player at that point or what we think of your picks.  This interaction is fun for us and that’s why we spend our time doing it.  Where else can you get live feedback? Definitely not on sites that offer mocks that are computer generated.  Not on sites where half the participants drop out and go on auto less than half way through the mock.  One of our rules is that if you participate you must stay for the entire mock and there is no auto drafting.  We ask for that commitment as we are committing our time to help you out.

An important aspect of the mocks is that they give you an opportunity to test out different strategies.  What will your team look like if you take a pitcher in the first round?  Is waiting on pitching the right move? When do you take a closer?  Do you punt the top closers and wait? Some of the answers to these questions depend upon what type of league you are playing in.  Again, the chance to ask questions in the chat room during the mocks are what make these unique.  Take advantage of Greg Jewett’s closer knowledge when he’s in the room.  Ask Howard pretty much anything from if Gerrit Cole is going to be a bust or if he’s had a White Claw or a Jersey Mike’s sub recently.  Whoever is in the room from Fantasy Alarm or another site, they will be able to help you out.

One of the biggest debates each year is what position do you want to draft from?  Try different ones out. The website will randomly assign draft positions, but we can adjust them if you’d like to try out a specific one.  Is it better to have the first pick and take Mike Trout or Ronald Acuna Jr, start in the middle, or get the back end turn?  Combine that with who you take in those spots and you can refine your strategy going into your draft.

Looking at rankings, ADP, and tiers during your draft are all helpful, but nothing replaces the dynamic of drafting live.  None of those can replace the experience of seeing a player go earlier than expected and seeing how that affects the draft.  Why did that guy jump the ADP by 30 spots?  Willing to take someone at 35? Don’t take him and see how long he lasts. Did someone see a huge drop-off in first baseman and take the “last” good one even though he was ranked lower than many players still on the board?  The mocks allow you to see where these drop-offs are and help you decide which positions you can wait on a little longer and those that you have to use draft capital early on. 

Drafting is an art.  You have to have the ability to formulate a team that will compete in all categories in a roto league or will dominate week to week in a head to head league.  You have to see forward and try to predict who will be taken between your picks.  Sometimes you have to jump ADP and take someone you want that will probably not be available when it comes back to you.  Do you start a run by taking the first closer off the board or do you join in later?  The Army will allow you to see when these runs will take place so you are prepared for them when you draft. 

The Mock Draft Army is the best tool out there to help you get prepared for your drafts.  Live mocks, no auto drafting, staff available to answer questions, and the ability to try out different strategies are the hallmarks of the Army.  Howard, myself and the rest of the Fantasy Alarm team hope you take advantage of this unique tool to help you win your leagues!  If you aren’t on the email list send me your email address to mockdraftarmyandy@gmail.com or via DM on Twitter and you’ll be informed when it’s time to sign up for the following week’s drafts on RTSports.com.  If you have questions you can contact me via Twitter @gasdoc_spit