The FSTA draft is held every January at the bi-annual conference. It's the earliest experts draft in the land to help folks get an 
early read on how players are being valued. Two and a half months before opening day is admittedly too early to be doing a draft, but we suffer for our art and for you. How did the club I drafted in January 2014 perform? Let's find out.
OPENING DAY ROSTER
(click on this link to see the preseason write-up).
C: Joe Mauer (4), Alex Avila (27)
1B: Adrian Gonzalez (6), Justin Morneau (14)
2B: Jason Kipnis (2), Howie Kendrick (12)
3B: Brett Lawrie (10)
SS: Jed Lowrie (17), Jhonny Peralta (21)
OF: Ryan Braun (1), Matt Kemp (3), Desmond Jennings (7), Austin Jackson (9), Alejandro De Aza (18), George Springer (22), Justin Ruggiano (24), Chris Young (25)
SP: Cole Hamels (5), James Shields (8), Cory Kluber (11), C.J. Wilson (13), Tim Lincecum (16), A.J. Griffin (19)
RP: Jim Henderson (15), Fernando Rodney (20), Jose Veras (23), Cody Allen (26), Darren O' Day (28), Ryan Cook (29)
WHAT WENT WRONG
Mauer had his worst season. He was injured and underperformed. Avila was just awful.
Kipnis damn near went 15/30 with 85 runs scored and 75 RBIs in 2012 and 2013. He had six homers, 41 RBIs and 61 runs scored. At least he stole 222 bases.
Lawrie may never be on another team of mine. He's dead to me.
Lowrie was, predictably, a shell of his 2013 self.
Braun was drafted before we knew his thumb was going to be an ongoing issue that would dog him all season long. Jennings went 10/15 with 64 runs. I was expecting 15/25 and 90. AJax had a career-low four homers and 71 runs scored. He hit .256. Awfully disappointing. Springer was productive when on the field but he was hurt, only appeared in 78 games, and the five steals were exceedingly disappointing from a guy who stole 45 base in 2013.
Wilson had his worst season on the bump as a starting pitcher.
I was wrong about Lincecum. He stunk yet again.
Griffin lost the season due to Tommy John surgery.
Henderson was awful, demoted, and produced zero saves.
Veras? Not so much.
Cook had his worst season.
WHAT WENT RIGHT
AGone and Morneau were the best duo of corner infielders in the league.
Kendrick was productive as he always is (.293-7-75-85-14). Why does no one like him?
Kemp didn't steal (eight), but his season was still very solid. (.287-25-89-77).
My two Indians rocked. Allen was great as a 26th rounder, and by now you know the story of my love for Kluber. When I took the righty there was an absence of sound in the draft room. There wasn't a single person that thought it was a good selection if I read the proceedings correctly. Turns out I was right about him - and then some. Pat on the back I'm giving myself. Hey, the rest of the team was pretty underwhelming so I'm going to linger for a moment on my success. OK, moving on. Hamels and Shields did their thing, and Rodney was also as good as anyone could have expected.
ADDS
($1,000 FAAB)
Week 1: J.J. Hoover $89, Michael Saunders $11, A.J. Pollock $11, Sean Doolittle $11
Week 2: Josh Fields $37, Aaron Hicks $16
* I bid $31 on Charlie Blackmon. The winning bid was $36.
Week 3: Gerardo Parra $11, Dayan Viciedo $17, Germen Gonzalez $19
*I bid $17 on Hector Rondon. The winning bid was $21.
Week 4: Jason Hammel $13, Kyle Farnsworth $63 (two failed bids were in the 30's)
Week 5: James Loney $11, Jim Johnson $107 (yikes)
Week 6: Finally got H. Rondon $97, Michael Saunders $19
Week 7: Phil Hughes $19
Week 9: Corey Hart $9, Daniel Webb $26
Week 11: Rickie Weeks $11
Week 12: Josh Rutledge $87
Week 13: Stephen Vogt $13, Joba Chamberlain $29
Week 14: Alberto Callaspo $19, Jacob Petricka $16
Week 15: Chris Young $9 (SP), Justin Ruggiano $27
Week 16: Alexei Amarista $7, Neil Ramirez $11
Week 17: J.P. Arencibia $11, Brad Ziegler $3
Week 18: Juan Uribe $13, Josh Fields $7
Week 19: Rickie Weeks $9
Week 20: Wei-Yin Chen $14
Week 21: Matt Dominguez $7, Jake Marisnick $11
Week 22: Abraham Almonte $7
Week 23: Kevin Quakenbush $4, Zach Putnam $4, Jon Jay $37
Week 25: Josh Fields $7, Drew Storen $9, Brayan Pena $6, Joe Panik $11
Week 26: Yunel Escobar $1, Wade Davis $1
WINNER: Colton and the Wolfman of FantasyAlarm and Stacie Stern of Head2Head Sports.
FINISH: 11th out of 13 teams. I led the league in saves. Yippee. Too many of the guys I drafted were hurt or underperformed, and I missed out an a few key players in the FAAB process by a few dollars. Add that up and you get a bottom level overall effort. I certainly tried to battle from behind though, didn't I? Seems like I always have a couple of spots at the end of my bench that I'm constantly tinkering with. I prefer to go early for a player with a small bid a week or two early versus going all in on the guy after he explodes. Be proactive. Doing so allows you more opportunities to strike it rich.
Player News
Padres activated RHP Sean Reynolds off the 15-day injured list.
Reynolds will get a chance to make his season debut after being placed on the injured list on Opening Day with a right foot strain. He should operate in the middle innings for the Padres now that he’s healthy enough to do so.
Tyler Glasnow (shoulder) will start playing catch Friday.
Glasnow will join fellow injured starter Blake Snell in beginning his throwing program Friday. The 31-year-old was placed on the injured list shoulder inflammation April 28 — the same designation as Snell — and there’s no timetable yet for when he will be able to return.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters that Blake Snell (shoulder) will start playing catch Friday.
As will Tyler Glasnow (shoulder). The Dodgers have been without Snell since the start of April with shoulder inflammation, and the club has taken things slow with the southpaw in hopes of having him right for the grueling summer months. He’ll need to make at least a couple of rehab starts before returning but it sounds like the 32-year-old could be back on the bump before June comes to an end.
Clayton Kershaw (toe, knee) may make his next start in the majors after Sunday’s rehab start for Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Kershaw was brilliant in his last rehab start, and while that came against short-season hitters in Arizona, the 37-year-old has reportedly looked the part while rehabbing to rejoin the Los Angeles rotation. This is no longer one of the very best pitchers in baseball, but with that lineup behind him he’s going to get plenty of win chances, and he’s shown that he still can keep hitters off-balance over the last two seasons.
Reds recalled INF Rece Hinds from Triple-A Louisville.
You might remember Hinds for pulling a Kyren Paris in his first stint of MLB action, only to pull a Kyren Paris a few weeks later and plummet back to earth. The 24-year-old plays in a friendly park and offers quality power, but he’s far from a guarantee to put up fantasy fireworks in 2025.
Reds placed INF Noelvi Marte on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to May 5, with a left oblique strain.
Marte will miss a week-plus — at minimum — while recovering from the strain. The former top prospect should be back by the end of May if there are no setbacks at the latest, but oblique strains can have a wide variety of timelines depending on the severity. Rece Hinds is heading up from Louisville to take Marte’s roster spot.