I am currently involved in a 15-team mixed 5x5, industry strength, single season snake draft and hold, high stakes fantasy baseball league. I'm using RotoWire's fantasy baseball draft software to help me track the progress of the entire draft and hopefully the software will help me locate some hidden values in the draft.

First, I set up my category targets... HR 275, RBI 1,050, SB 170, R 1,050, and AVG .275 SV 90, W 104, K's 1,325. WHIP 1.25, and ERA 3.50

Second, I don't really care about the names of players at this point it's more about making sure the RotoWire projections match up fairly well with what I'm looking for in a player. For example, when I'm looking for players who happen to be corner infielders with fulltime jobs; who hit in a good spots in decent lineup and who can give me some power and not kill me in averages. I don't really care who they are as is as long as I feel they can give me the numbers I'm looking for.

Then I start employing my strategy which is built around dual pitching aces and a balanced attack. After nine rounds, my team is very balanced and on a pace to meet my category targets but the team overall appears to be far behind my opponents in the projected standings. I know from experience how frustrating it can feel, but here is the beauty of the software.

After nine rounds using the software, take note of your projected standings and category targets. Now add four players that you can realistically hope to add over the next four rounds. Remember it's the numbers not the names that are important. By doing this, your team will vault to the top of the standings and push you further along in your category targets. Since after nine rounds, it will be a long time before you select again in a 15 team league, you may not get these exact four players. But the numbers these four players represent are the numbers that you need for success at the mid-point of your draft because it is at the mid-point of your draft that champions are made. This is where experienced players take control of their drafts.

It works like this. As your draft continues, you may lose one of your hoped-for players. Don't worry. Let that first one fall off your list. Refresh your projected standings and your category targets. You should still be well at the top of your standings and well on your way to your projected targets. If you lose a second player, again don't worry and follow the same steps. You should still be at the top and on your way to meeting you category. These two players who remain are the players that should pick in your next two rounds. After those two rounds, begin the entire process again. Try it... it works.