Your fantasy baseball draft is complete, your player scouting has been abundant, and you are now diligently watching games hoping to soak in as much knowledge as possible.
You are following every detail of every injury, identifying hot and cold starts and with every strikeout you witness and every run you see crossing the plate, you are ready to fine-tune that well-oiled machine you call your fantasy team.
Now it’s time to pump the brakes.
Excuse me? What do you mean “pump the brakes?” You need to make moves, change-up your roster.
There is guy on your team hitting just .185 with no extra-base hits, a first-round pick with an ERA higher than the number of stars in the sky. You have to make changes, right?
No, you don’t.
OK, let’s qualify that a bit here. If you are suffering through injuries such as Justin Verlander’s shoulder or Jose Altuve’s thumb, yes, you need to pick up replacement players. Put them on your IL and make some waiver claims.
But when it comes to trades or drops from your roster, you have to exhibit significant patience at this time of year. Just because “it’s a marathon, not a sprint” is the oldest cliché in fantasy doesn’t mean it isn’t true.
For starters, this April is going to be an interesting transitional period for a lot of players. The new rules — such as the pitch-clock and how often a pitcher can throw over to first — might take some players longer to adjust to than others.
The bigger bases and the aggressiveness you will see from some managers will also affect things. And, of course, the change in weather is routinely a factor.
If the ace of your staff needs more time to adjust, you need to give it to him.
We have routinely seen players struggle in April, only to turn things around in May and provide you with the production you originally expected.
Dropping or trading away a struggling superstar is a common mistake in fantasy, especially for new players.
Many fantasy managers believe they always need to tinker with their roster.
They’re talking trades with every competitor, and they are continuously turning over their players who may not be performing up to task.
But doing that will only sabotage your chances to win.
They say idle hands are the devil’s playthings, and that couldn’t be more apparent when you watch fantasy owners in April. Understand the need for patience and you likely will enjoy breakout performances you never thought possible.
Howard Bender is the head of content at FantasyAlarm.com. Follow him on Twitter @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the award-winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 6-8 p.m. Go to FantasyAlarm.com for all your fantasy baseball advice.
