Inside the Fantasy Baseball Experts Draft: Strategies, Surprises & League-Winning Moves

Step inside one of the most competitive fantasy baseball draft rooms and hear how the experts are building winning teams in 2026.

Hosted by Lauren Jump (RotoWire) and Matt Deutsch (VSiN), this episode features D.J. Short (NBC Sports) and Robbie Reck (HealthyLineups) breaking down the biggest fantasy baseball draft trends, bold picks, and sharp strategies coming out of the FSGA Experts League.

From elite pitching surging up draft boards to late-round value plays and risk management, this is a real look at how top players approach fantasy baseball drafts. If you want an edge in your league, this episode gives you the mindset and strategy to draft smarter.

Tune in, take notes, and get ready to dominate your fantasy baseball season.

https://thefsga.org/

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:05

Welcome back to another edition of the Fantasy Sports and Gaming Spotlight, our FSGA podcast. We've got a treat for you today for all the fantasy baseball people in the audience. We've just walked out of our senior circuit fantasy baseball experts draft, and we're here to tell you some tips and tricks to get yourself ready and have some fun with the MLBCs. And we're joined by DJ Short, Senior Manager of Fantasy Content from Rotaworld and NBC. Lauren Jump, brand manager of RotoWire, and Robbie Reck from Healthy Lineups, the founder. Welcome to the podcast. DJ, tell us about your draft.

SPEAKER_03 0:38

So one thing I noticed right away is just this trend, right? Of three pitchers going in the top 10. So I was picking ninth. Tarek Scuble went right before my pick. I was just hoping he'd fall into my lap, of course, that that didn't work out. So I went with Julio Rodriguez. I was really reluctant to go with Garrett Crochet, but he went next. So there you go, three pitchers in the top 10. I can't remember the last time we've seen that. It's been a little while, right? But obviously Skeens and Scoobyl, two of the most powerful pitchers in the game, uh, can really lead your fantasy staff. So I can understand that. Seeing Crochet in the top 10, that that stuck out to me for sure. Lauren?

SPEAKER_00 1:17

Yeah, I was pick four. I was hoping to get Bobby Witt just to get some steals out of the way and some speed, but Juan Soto came to me. I think it's four or five outfielders, right? So, you know, still nice to get that out of the way. And then I went for a second baseman early. I got Catel Marte in the next round. I just there's not a lot of great ones this year, and I didn't want to have to worry about that. Uh Mason Miller got a little early on the reliever side, and I might need to trade for some starting pitching, but or maybe we'll stream some guys. We'll see.

SPEAKER_02 1:43

Robbie, how about you? What do you feel? What's your takeaways from your draft?

SPEAKER_01 1:46

Yeah, so I was uh the one responsible for taking Garrett Crochet in the 10th spot. Uh and and for my strategy, I wanted to come out of the first two rounds uh being at the turn or near the turn with an elite bat, uh an elite, hopefully power bat. I didn't get a power bat, but an elite bat um and an elite power arm coming out of the first two rounds. So I was balanced and it would give me optionality going into the middle rounds and and then the late rounds.

SPEAKER_00 2:12

Yeah, that's a smart strategy. I in football I normally like to get a receiver and running back in the first two, just so you can like kind of play around after that. But all right, so why don't you tell us a little bit about some players that you are targeting this year outside of this draft?

SPEAKER_01 2:26

Yeah, so I've done tons of fantasy simulations. I am probably a little bit counter to uh what a lot of people how they build their drafts. I build it from the back up. So I start at who is gonna be available at the end of the draft? Where is there really, really deep value that I can count on being available late in the draft? And then I find out who is then, you know, what are the positions that are really, really thin in terms of guys that I want in my lineup. So this year, like most years, it's catchers, shortstop, um, you know, elite arms like the Tariq Scoobles um and the Paul Skeens. Um, so I, you know, for me, I targeted uh one guy late that I loved. Uh that'd be Chandler Simpson picking up uh Steals late in the draft. No draft capital needed um to spend on that. Um so elite speed there, and then um guys that I'm avoiding that I was not gonna draft, regardless of whether they felt me or not. Uh, you know, unfortunately, Cal Raleigh is amazing for headlines, but that power uh it leaks the the average, and it's hard to make the make up for taking such a big hit on average, where you know you've you've got to chase that the rest of the draft. And I just didn't want to put myself in that position.

SPEAKER_03 3:53

I was in a similar position with third base, which which dropped off pretty sharply. So I ended up with Aujenio Suarez. So you know you're gonna get the power, it's kind of a similar profile, right? But you also go into taking a player like that knowing you're gonna have to balance your batting average in some way. So while the power is enticing, it can pull you down a little bit if you're not being careful with the rest of your roster construction.

SPEAKER_00 4:15

Yeah, yeah. So, how about you any players that you're really targeting this season?

SPEAKER_03 4:20

So for me, I did oh I did manage to grab two. I was really interested in Dalen Lyle with the nationals. So small sample last year, hit a ton had a ton of extra base hits, had double-digit triples. He's gonna have an everyday spot in that nationals lineup, hit for average, get on base. So I think he's a big sleeper for me. Also, Luis Robert Jr. with the Mets now. I'm I'm interested to see how motivated he can be playing for a contender, having Juan Soto in his ear. I think that could be a big plus. The speed is there, we know that. He has massive potential. We've seen him hit for power in the past. I think this could be a year that he breaks through.

SPEAKER_00 4:55

Yeah, how about some players you're avoiding?

SPEAKER_03 4:57

Oh, uh, so Andrew Abbott is one that he fascinates me. Like he managed to manages to overperform his peripherals in a very hitter-friendly ballpark. It's just not one I'm gonna chase. I'll probably be wrong again because he just continues to prove me wrong, but he's just one I can't really stomach drafting. The other's Josh Hayder with the Astros coming off the shoulder injury last year. I think he's just a really poor bet. There's already some whispers in training camp that he's moving along a little bit slowly. So I think Brian Abreu, who's second in line there with the Astros, might be a good value pick.

SPEAKER_00 5:31

Yeah, I was hoping to actually draft him, but that's like is that you?

SPEAKER_03 5:35

Uh no, I didn't get him. Yeah, no.

SPEAKER_00 5:37

Yeah, he went a little earlier than I was expecting, but everyone's on top of their game here, so not that surprising. Well, we have a late round question then, don't we?

SPEAKER_02 5:46

Are we gonna do players to avoid? Yeah, well, we got a few.

SPEAKER_00 5:49

Anyone else you guys want to add?

SPEAKER_02 5:50

Robbie, any players you're avoiding? Did you give them to us?

SPEAKER_01 5:53

Uh yeah, I went with so the first one that I said was Cal Raleigh. Um, the other one that I would probably take a lot of flack for would be Aaron Judge, right? It's the same, it's the same thing. Like, he's not gonna get you stolen bases, right? He's not contributing in a five, in a rotisserie um format. You're gonna like there are so many players that are early of that are available early that they cover all five of the batting um categories. And I I just feel so much more comfortable building a base with someone who's gonna cover everything with a strong floor. Um, and then maybe they have some upside versus have elite home runs and then leak value on stolen base.

SPEAKER_03 6:36

This was the case with Juan Soto for a while, you know, just an elite hitter has the power but never really ran. Last year he did. So be interesting to see if that continues this year.

SPEAKER_00 6:47

That's what I'm hoping. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:48

So a player that can make or break your league, probably have to ask yourself this question going in is are you willing to take Garrett Cole? And where should you be drafting Garrett Cole? Saw young talent for the Yankees, injured all of last year, supposedly doing well with a rehab. DJ and Robbie, how are you handling Garrett Cole?

SPEAKER_03 7:05

He was I was watching him very closely, right, when he went off the board. So, and I think that was what round? I took him in the 17th. So that that sounds like the sweet spot. And I also feel as we learn more as spring training rolls on here, that that ADP is gonna rise. Um, as people realize, like, hey, he might be back in May. And that all you have to do is just get through through April, stash them on your IL. Like, that's great. I mean, 17th round looks like a steal already.

SPEAKER_02 7:32

How do you handle injured players in general, Robbie, if they're not healthy going into the season? Are you are you some some people just avoid them completely? Some people like the value. How would how do you do it and how would you counsel people out there to handle it?

SPEAKER_01 7:45

So I think structurally, I think there's taking one step back from that, you've got to decide, you have to realize am I in an expert's draft or am I in a more casual draft, right? So that's gonna change how the people you're competing against are going to value those injured players, right? So in the draft that we're doing, uh experts typically undervalue uh injured players and they fall like they've done in our league. So for our league, I have Garrett Cole rated at a uh between picks 250 and 300, right? And with our draft, we only have 350 players being drafted, right? So um, but if I look at just kind of overall consensus, he's a top 100 player, right? So it's you you just have to like, in my opinion, you got to look at who are you going up against, what are their tendencies, and you have to take that into account. Um, because like if you look at someone as a top 100 or a top 300 player, those are completely different outcomes.

SPEAKER_03 8:50

One thing I'd add to that is it also is a matter of how many IL spots you're wherever you're playing is. Like in the draft we just had, it's unlimited IL spots, but you can't pick an injured player up off waiver. So I kind of like taking an injured player during my draft because it's almost like you're getting a free roster spot. Yeah, like from the jump. So for sure. Sometimes it makes sense to do that, and then maybe there's a player who's hot in spring training, you can pick them up and see where that goes. But like if you only have two IL spots, chances are by the end of April you're gonna be you're gonna need those spots. So it can be a balance between your motivations for sure.

SPEAKER_00 9:28

Yeah, and I got Garrett Cole in an auction league, just waited so patiently. I was hoping no one would remember that he existed. Sure enough, and everyone gets down to one dollar, that's how much I got him for. So I was like, this is great value. I I hope this works out, but yeah, we will see that.

SPEAKER_03 9:42

Two other pitchers coming back from injury this year. Joe Musgrove, I who I did pick up in the draft, I like a lot. No restrictions going into spring training. Kyle Bradish, who came back last year with the Orioles. This would be his first full year back from Tommy John surgery. Two pitchers who could maybe they're not being drafted as aces, but they can give you that kind of potential. Uh so I think their value plays for sure.

SPEAKER_01 10:06

Yeah, I was gonna, I I had Bradish on my uh radar as well, and and you got him right one pick before me. Uh so I, you know, I think like when you look at when people know what they're doing, you'll see, you know, the the chalk lineup. Everyone's draft, like it might look like a reach to some people, but it makes sense to an overall strategy. Um and I like the old adage of go get your guys, like that is if you believe in a player, there like you might take some flack during the draft, but when you win the championship, because that player hits the projections that you're expecting them to hit, now you know you've got the bragging rights and and you can stick it in people's faces.

SPEAKER_03 10:48

Right. I feel like sometimes the first couple of rounds are actually the easiest part of the draft, and then it's kind of the choose your own adventure.

SPEAKER_00 10:54

So yeah, the middle is definitely the hardest part, but where you can find the most value and success, honestly.

unknown 11:00

Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 11:00

Well, let's tell people how they could follow you and get more baseball secrets and tips. DJ, Lauren, and Robbie, how do people follow you and uh get their baseball?

SPEAKER_03 11:10

Yeah, so I'm at DJ Short on X. I'm also over at Blue Sky. I don't know what you even tell people to find over there, but I'm DJ Short. You can you can find me and also go to nbcsports.com slash fantasy. We have all of our preseason baseball content up there right now. Lots more we're adding every day, so go check it out.

SPEAKER_00 11:27

Yeah, well, RotoWire has a great fantasy baseball app and also draft assistant um for everyone to check out. So rodowire.com, go check it out there.

SPEAKER_01 11:35

All right, and healthy lineups. Uh to be honest, uh I do have a TikTok account now, so it's at Healthy Lineups. Um but we're my follow I've got over 5,000 followers on LinkedIn. Uh as a founder, uh, I've you know, coming out of the business community, this is my first foray uh in the the fantasy sports app arena. Um, but if uh if you're interested in starting a sports app, uh I can't recommend ChatGPT and Cursor more uh than uh than anything.

SPEAKER_02 12:05

Well, wish you all luck this year. Everybody out there have a great fantasy baseball season. Thanks for another episode of Fantasy Sports and Gaming Spotlight.