There are many different formats and league sizes in the fantasy baseball market, especially in auctions. I’ve played in American League and National League formats with 12 teams plus 15-team mixed leagues. Each league could also have keepers (players held for more than one year) or trading, which changes all players' value during the auction. Over the last 19 seasons, I’ve played in the high-stakes fantasy market where there is no trading, which puts pressure on a fantasy manager to develop a winning plan before the auction.
When doing an auction league with no trading, a fantasy manager has a small margin for error. No other team is going to be knocking on your door looking to take your third closer off your hands via a trade. If your roster is out of balance (strong in some categories and weak in others), you can’t trade hitting for pitching or even speed for saves. You can win an auction many different ways, but many managers can lose the battle due to a questionable game plan or even lack of foresight. Every year the player pool will change slightly. Your job as a manager is to evaluate the inventory and develop a strategy you can execute at the draft table. If you come away with enough pieces to the puzzle, you can manage your way to a championship.
Whatever game plan you decide to use, you must be ready to adjust if you don’t get your key players. A fantasy manager can roster any player they want in an auction, but it comes with a price.
