One of the things we pride ourselves on here at Fantasy Alarm is a team approach to fantasy sports analysis and guidance. There’s more than one way to win a championship and while Jim Bowden is guiding you through the rankings and Howard Bender is helping you along with the Ultimate Cheat Sheet, there are plenty of other champions here who can offer a different perspective on what works best for them. What you will see below is an incredibly helpful draft tool created by Brett Talley which, similarly to the Cheat Sheet, provides you with round-by-round guidance for when you are in the war room on Draft Day. His suggestions may be different than what Bender and Bowden say, so the best way to utilize all of the information is to examine everything and find out what works best for you, according to your league format.  We hope you enjoy the additional perspective.

Brett Talley’s 2019 Fantasy Baseball Flow Chart

Pictured to the right is a flow chart you can follow during your fantasy baseball draft. This chart is geared toward 12-team snake drafts for standard 5×5 mixed leagues assuming the following roster construction: C 1B 2B 3B SS CI MI OF OF OF OF OF UTIL SP SP SP SP SP SP RP RP RP BN BN BN.

It will probably get the job done for 10- or 14-team mixed leagues as well. However, if you’re playing in an AL- or NL-only league, a league with non-standard categories, or some sort of keeper league, you might look for another draft tool.

You can use the chart above with the round-by-round player lists below to guide you through your draft, though this article is more about the structure than it is the specific names below. If you have players you like more than those listed below that still fit within the structure, feel free to deviate.

Round 1

Whether you’re going outfielder or pitcher in the first round essentially comes down to what draft position you draw. If you get one of the first two picks, go with Mike Trout or Mookie Betts . But if you miss out on those stud outfielders, grab an elite starting pitcher as the quality of pitching drops off quickly. First-round pick quality pitchers include Max Scherzer , Chris Sale and Jacob deGrom .

Round 2

SP: Justin Verlander , Corey Kluber , Gerrit Cole , Blake Snell

OF: Bryce Harper , Giancarlo Stanton

Round 3

1B: Anthony Rizzo

OF: Charlie Blackmon , Juan Soto , Starling Marte

Round 4

OF: Khris Davis , Cody Bellinger

SP: Noah Syndergaard , Luis Severino , Clayton Kershaw

Round 5

SP: Stephen Strasburg , Patrick Corbin , Zack Greinke , Jack Flaherty

Round 6

SS: Adalberto Mondesí , Corey Seager

Round 7

2B: Daniel Murphy , Scooter Gennett , Travis Shaw , Rougned Odor

Round 8

SP: Mike Foltynewicz , German Marquez , Miles Mikolas , Charlie Morton

OF: Yasiel Puig , David Dahl

Round 9

OF: Michael Conforto , Aaron Hicks

1B: Matt Olson, Joey Gallo

Round 10

RP: Sean Doolittle , Raisel Iglesias , Kirby Yates

Round 11

OF: Andrew McCutchen , Ender Inciarte , Nomar Mazara

SP: Kyle Hendricks , Chris Archer

Round 12

3B: Rafael Devers , Mike Moustakas

Round 13

CI: Miguel Cabrera , Eric Hosmer , Carlos Santana

Round 14

RP: David Robertson , Cody Allen

Round 15

SP: Rich Hill , Andrew Heaney , Kenta Maeda

OF: Kyle Schwarber , Adam Eaton

Round 16

OF: Corey Dickerson , Jackie Bradley Jr.

SP: Joey Luccesi, Collin McHugh , Alex Wood , Ross Stripling

Round 17

UT: Franmil Reyes , Justin Smoak , Nelson Cruz

Round 18

MI: Andrelton Simmons , Marcus Semien , Marwin González

Round 19

RP: Dellin Betances , Mychal Givens , Chad Green , Jeurys Familia , Ryan Brasier

Round 20

C: Francisco Cervelli , Robinson Chirinos , Welington Castillo , Francisco Mejia , Tucker Barnhart , Yan Gomes

Round 21

OF: Ryan Bruan, Randal Grichuk , Domingo Santana , Shin-Soo Choo

SP: Marco Gonzales , Luis Castillo

Round 22

SP: Sonny Gray , Marcus Stroman , Zach Eflin , Chris Paddack

Rounds 23-25

Feel free to complete your roster however you prefer. I would recommend you add another starter, but outside of that it’s up to you. If you feel like you’re weak at a position, feel free to take a backup. If you have DL spots available to you, feel free to stash an injured guy. And if you’d like to stash a prospect that may not be in the minors too long, go right ahead.