It’s that time of year again. Time for me to take on the folks that I work with in my “other” job on the radio. Me and 11 other radio show hosts from SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio got together on the eve of the 2017 baseball season for one final draft. Below, you will see how my squad turned out.
PARTICIPANTS
Here are the 11 other teams that were involved in the festivities besides yours truly.
David Kitchen, Fantasy Insiders
Michael Waldo, Fantistics Insider Baseball
Rick Wolf, Colton and the Wolfman, presented by Head2Head Sports
Craig Mish, SiriusXM Fantasy Baseball
Steve Phillips, Fantasy Fill-Ups
Jim Bowden, SiriusXM Fantasy Baseball
Raphael “Real Talk Raph” Rabe, RotoBaller Radio
Anthony Perri, Fantistics Insider Baseball
Jody McDonald, SiriusXM Fantasy Baseball
Ray Flowers, SiriusXM Fantasy Drive
Adam Ronis, Scout Fantasy Sports
Jeff Mans, Fantasy Alarm
SETUP
Mixed League, 12-teams
23 starters: 14 hitters, nine pitchers
six bench spots
5x5 scoring with daily lineup changes
MY ROSTER
* Number in parenthesis is the round.
C: Buster Posey (5), Mike Zunino (25)
1B: Joey Votto (1)
2B: Dustin Pedroia (11)
3B: Kris Bryant (1)
SS: Elvis Andrus (13)
MI: Ben Zobrist (15)
CI: Todd Frazier (9)
OF: George Springer (3), Ryan Braun (4), Hunter Pence (14), Kole Calhoun (16), Jason Heyward (20)
UTIL: Brandon Belt (21)
PITCHERS: Carlos Martinez (6), Zach Britton (7), Mark Melancon (8), Julio Teheran (10), Marcus Stroman (12), Aaron Nola (17), Jake Odorizzi (18), Nate Jones (22), Hector Rondon (26)
RESERVES: Yoan Moncada (19), Ben Revere (23), Manuel Margot (24)¸ Kyle Barraclough (27)¸ Ervin Santana (28), Tyson Ross (29)
THE ANALYSIS
| Player | Round | Comment | ||
| C | Buster Posey | 5 | I wanted Christian Yelich but perennial champion Adam Ronis grabbed him. My default ended up being the top catcher off the board in Posey. Posey rounds out an excellent first five rounds. | |
| C | Mike Zunino | 25 | I started off so strong in batting average with Bryant/Votto/Braun/Posey that I could totally afford to take on average risk for the power potential. | |
| 1B | Joey Votto | 2 | My guy. He's just so rock solid stable that it's never a bad idea to take him in the second round. His average advantage will open up later options with guys who struggle in average. | |
| 2B | Dustin Pedroia | 11 | He's old and boring. He's also a guy who can still hit .300 with 10 homers, 10 steals while pushing triple-digit runs. Only injury will ruin this selection. | |
| 3B | Kris Bryant | 1 | Falling to me at fourth overall, Bryant would have been my choice if I had the second selection. Pleased to get the young, multi-position start to lead things off. | |
| SS | Elvis Andrus | 13 | I needed a speed boost so why not grab the only man in baseball who has stolen at least 21 bags each of the last eight seasons. Still just 28 years old too. | |
| MI | Ben Zobrist | 15 | He qualifies in the outfield as well, a position that I'm a bit thin as of this pick, so the flexibility of the wily vet is welcomed. | |
| CI | Todd Frazier | 9 | So underrated. Frazier is the only man in baseball who has gone 29-80-80-13 each of the last three seasons. I can afford his average hit with my early strength in average. | |
| OF | George Springer | 3 | I was tempted to go with Xander Bogaerts who is on so many of my clubs, but I'll buy Springer to give me another young ascending star. If only he will run a bit more... | |
| OF | Ryan Braun | 4 | I was tempted to go with Yelich or Posey here, but instead I went with the guy folks love to hate - Braun. A 20/20 guy is never a bad things, despite what some folks seem to think. | |
| OF | Hunter Pence | 14 | Boring. Yes. I'll have to get another option at outfield quickly just in case. Telling you, folks are looking past him way more than they should in 2017. | |
| OF | Kole Calhoun | 16 | Calhoun is boring, but he's really productive and will hit ahead of Trout/Pujols yet again. For more, see this Ray's Ramblings report. | |
| OF | Jason Heyward | 20 | He's on my Tout Wars club and my FSTA unit. Folks are just out on Heyward. As my fifth outfielder, I'll take this talent all day. | |
| UT | Brandon Belt | 21 | The Giants first sacker will never be a star, but his .868 OPS last season was better than the following list of first baseman: HanRam, Santana, Abreu, Myers etc. Really like the approach as well (see his .394 OBP). | |
| Player | Round | Comment | ||
| P | Carlos Martinez | 6 | Others don't see Martinez as an ace. He may not be. But is a legit top-20 arm? The answer is yes. I'm fine with him as my top starting arm. You should be too. | |
| RP | Zach Britton | 7 | I wanted to get a closer that I felt very confident in since I'm waiting on pitching. I also think guys like Teheran, Stroman, Quintana... One should be around at my next selection. | |
| RP | Mark Melancon | 8 | Ok, so I changed it up. I went with another closer instead of a starter. I see both Britton and Melancon as top-5 closers... So what the hell. One of the starting pitchers will be there next round. | |
| P | Julio Teheran | 10 | Look at that. Teheran is still there in the 10th. Gotta love that. Patience can pay off. Watch as I play this draft like a fiddle. Starting pitcher in round 12. Book it. | |
| P | Marcus Stroman | 12 | See. I'm strumming my fiddle as if I invented the instrument. Check out this Ray's Ramblings piece for more on Stroman. | |
| P | Aaron Nola | 17 | He's my guy this season, a potential breakout. His spring has been uneven, but his arm appears totally sound. See his Player Profile. | |
| P | Jake Odorizzi | 18 | Solid is as solid does. He's better than most folks think he is. See my AL LABR writeup which notes just how effective Jake is. | |
| RP | Nate Jones | 22 | David Robertson will be dealt at some point, and Jones was one of the top-10 setup men in baseball in 2017. | |
| RP | Hector Rondon | 26 |
| |
| Bench | Player | Round | Comment | |
| 2B | Yoan Moncada | 19 | I'm playing a hunch here. At this point of the draft there isn't a more talented guy to roster. It's a total upside play, one I will have to be patient and wait on. I have patience... | |
| OF | Ben Revere | 23 | No way that Cameron Maybin stays healthy. Don't forget that Revere has hit .300 with 20 steals in 3-of-4 seasons. | |
| OF | Manny Margot | 24 | The talent to produce across the board right off the hop. He could easily produce a Josh Harrison type effort this season with the talent for more. | |
| SP | Kyle Barraclough | 27 | In a league where we can make daily lineup changes a power middle reliever like this, with huge strikeout totals, is a nice get even if the saves upside is limited. | |
| SP | Ervin Santana | 28 | Boring, stable, but since I've said his name about 113 times on my show the last three months, figured I might as well grab him late to round out the starting pitchers. | |
| SP | Tyson Ross | 29 | This league has DL spots, so I grabbed Ross with the understanding that he heads to DL and I get to roster a healthy pitcher, in essence, getting 2-for-1. |
Adam Ronis snaked me twice with Christian Yelich and Cesar Hernandez. We've already touched bases on a possible Margot for Hernandez deal since I snaked Margot from him.
Finally, here's how the entire draft played out from pick one all the way through the 29th round.
