ADP is the dumbest way to draft a fantasy sports team. But EWB, you shout through a nougat-filled mouth, what if I miss value? Drafting by ADP (average draft position) is like going holiday shopping and choosing the presents nobody wants. Kids, gather round the Festivus Pole and look at this snow blower I got for 50% off! Doesn’t matter that we live by the equator and it hasn’t snowed in a decade — nobody else wanted it and it was a value! 

ADP is a social construct. ADP is the draft price that people expect to pay for a player; it’s not an objective rating. Maybe you’ve seen my previous Bible-length essay about ADP. I wrote it while contemplating the holographic principle. Is a baseball even a ball? I digress. 

The best use of ADP is to know where the rest of your league is heading. When you see them take the lure, you cut away from the pack and draft the league winner. The easiest way to deploy this tactic is to realize the worst ADP values on the board when you’re drafting. If there are players you know that you’re avoiding, it makes it easier to identify your desired targets and compose a superior team. 

Here are the top Starting Pitchers to avoid at current ADP values. ADP values are taken from National Fantasy Baseball Championship drafts that have completed in January — 61 drafts at the time of writing.