Pocket Aces is a Winning Hand

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  • By Anthony Kates

    Last Updated on March 6, 2026 4:09 pm by Anthony Kates | Published: March 6, 2026

    Pocket Aces as a draft strategy has been around for some time. You grab two elite arms in the first three rounds of the draft. Lock in 340-plus innings of high strikeouts, low ERA, low WHIP and 22-plus wins, then you focus on tons of home runs and RBI before mixing it all back up again.

    Like any draft strategy, there are pros and cons to the Pocket Aces strategy.

    Pros

    • Establish strikeout dominance early
      • When following this strategy, you should be targeting elite, high strikeout starters, so you don’t have to draft riskier, high strikeout starters later in the draft
    • Provides “safe” options
      • Pitching tends to be more volatile than hitting, with more pitchers suffering elbow and shoulder injuries than ever before (at least, that’s how it seems)
      • Locking in two of the best starters in the game helps to mitigate the inherent risk that is pitchers, which leads to fantasy managers relying on less risky options later in the draft and throughout the season


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    March 6, 2026, 4:09 pm