Red Sox: How to value players for fantasy baseball drafts
By Sean Penney
Boston Red Sox fans planning to join a fantasy baseball league this season will need to know how to value your favorite players in drafts.
As I prepare for the draft in my fantasy baseball league this weekend, I’m faced with the dilemma of how to value players from the Boston Red Sox.
Fantasy owners can feel compelled to draft players from their favorite team. Red Sox fans are already rooting for their team to win. If players from their fantasy team lead the way to victory then it’s a double dip of success. You will undoubtedly spend time watching your favorite team’s games more than other teams. Fantasy is simply more fun to follow when you have the opportunity to watch your players in action.
Rostering Red Sox players on your fantasy squad can make the season more exciting if you are a fan of the team. However, if you plan to win your league then you also have to be realistic about player values.
It’s ok to reach for a player you want to some extent. Fantasy rankings should never be taken as gospel and rarely agree completely from site to site. If the rankings you trust most say the player you want should be drafted at No. 30 but you have the No. 25 pick, don’t be afraid to grab him in that spot. He probably won’t be there the next time your turn rolls around.
Reaching for a certain player by a handful of spots won’t spoil your draft. Reaching by several rounds will. Dustin Pedroia may be your favorite player but if you draft him over Jose Altuve you won’t be taking home the trophy.
With that in mind, I’m going to outline the values of the fantasy relevant Red Sox players to provide a ballpark idea of where to target them in fantasy drafts. All projections are based on 12-team leagues with standard rules.