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I didn’t participate in either of the drafts that follow.
I will be in New York for the Tout Wars Mixed League Auction, March 25th.
I will be in the SiriusXM Host League Draft on the next go round (the one below began at 6 AM PST and there was no way this guy was getting up at 5:30 AM since the sun isn’t even up at that time).
With that explanation, here are some thoughts on the two drafts that I didn’t participate in.
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*Note: This is a 15-team mixed league that uses on-base percentage league (it replaces batting average).
Clayton Kershaw fell to 10th overall, a point that Ambrosius couldn’t pass up on him. Greg changed his whole approach thinking he would be grabbing a hitter at that spot when Kershaw fell, and he doubled-down in the second round taking Madison Bumgarner. I’m not a fan of one, let alone two starting pitchers in the first two rounds. It’s a massive advantage on the bump, not to mention that he also added Zack Britton, one of the best relievers in baseball, but does he Ambrosius have the offense to overcome that pitcher heavy start? At least he has two strong catchers, a good move given his plight, in Willson Contreras and Matt Wieters.
Josh Donaldson, sore calf and all, was taken 8th overall by Van Hook. I would have taken Nolan Arenado and Manny Machado ahead of Donaldson.
Gamble pulled a fast one taking Bryce Harper second, this is an OBP league though so it’s not as crazy as it seems off the top. Later he pulled the pitcher thing with five of his last seven picks being arms. Murphy used 5-of-6 picks at the end to bolster his pitching staff.
Gonos spread the wealth early going with four separate positions the first four rounds: Nolan Arenado, Starling Marte, Daniel Murphy and Stephen Strasburg.
McLeod took Trea Turner in the first round, not something I recommend, but if I was going to go in that direction I would take a rock-solid option in the second round. He went with Noah Syndergaard. He then took Wil Myers, who I have concerns with (Player Profile), before taking a catcher in the fourth (Lucroy). He then went with three pitchers (Aroldis Chapman, Jose Quintana, Roberto Osuna) giving him four arms his first seven picks. I just don’t see how that is going to work.
Perri made a nice move with his last two picks roster potential speed (Raul Mondesi) and power (Joey Gallo).
Short racked up pitchers at a breakneck pace late with his last four selections being arms and six of his last eight. Moreover, nine of his last 14 picks were arms. All told, he rostered 14 pitchers. That’s simply too much with a 29 man roster.
Wiegert went for up the middle thunder with Jose Altuve, Xander Bogaerts and Robinson Cano his first three picks. He then went all in with the strategy grabbing Buster Posey in the fourth round. That’s a smoking start up the middle that no one can touch. Going 2B/SS/MI the first three picks does rob you of some flexibility later in the draft if a middle infield option falls, but I have no quibble with any of the selections. Charlie went full-Ray in this one with only one starting pitcher in his first 12 rounds. That’s pretty aggressive even for me.
The Player Profile Series, in the Fantasy Alarm Draft Guide, is up and running. We will have videos and articles on players like: Rick Porcello, Jake Arrieta, Danny Duffy, Felix Hernandez, Andrew McCutchen, Randal Grichuk, Adam Duvall, Gary Sanchez and so many more. To gain access to the profiles, and the rest of the Guide, click on the link that will take you to the on-going greatness.
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Lisa Ann did a really nice job at the top. She grabbed power (Paul Goldschmidt), speed (Jonathan Villar) and an ace hurler (Chris Sale). She then went with infield stability in Kyle Seager and Daniel Murphy. I also like what she did at catcher with J.T. Realmuto in the 10th round and then late she grabbed her second in Francisco Cervelli (26th).
Howard Bender went stability the first two rounds – Arenado and Freeman – before going rouge with Giancarlo Stanton in the 3rd. I like the Andrew McCutchen in the 5th spot. Howard loves him some Buxton who he took in the 10th round. I paid $19 for Buxton in AL LABR. For a full breakdown of Howard's squad check out his team review..jpg)
Our program director at Sirius is Matt Deutsch... let’s make fun of his team. He double tapped young speed the first two rounds with Trea Turner and Starling Marte, before getting some power in J.D. Martinez in the third. He grabbed three ubdertalented power arms in Yu Darvish, Carlos Carrasco and Dany Salazar. Lots of risk though given the track records of all three. Julio Urias as his fourth starter is another impressive arm, though he too has concerns about being able to rack up innings. Four strong late picks: Yoan Moncada (20th), Brandon Drury (21), Raisel Iglesias (22) and David Peralta (25).
Let’s look at Kyle Elfrink’s team. Big fan of the first five picks, okay six. The Andrew Benintendi one in the 7th round of this 12-team league is a bit high, wonder if he did it to tweak me, but it does give him a great start to his offense. David Price in the 9th is super risky at this point, he should throw this weekend as a big test, but he did add some nice, underrated arms later (Jake Odorizzi, Jeff Samardzija, John Lackey, Taijuan Walker). He was also smart about how he used his bullpen selections going with Alex Colome, Dellin Betances, Nate Jones and Addison Reed. Great pen arms with saves upside.
Walter Kuberski took Kershaw in the first... and then didn’t take another starting pitcher until round 11. Waiting so long forced him to take some chances on talented arms that have somewhat muddled outlooks because of health/performance concerns; Carlos Rodon, Michael Pineda, Vince Velasquez. Risky, but if the performance matches the talent...
Pilar Lastra rocked the top-6 picks, and while I’m not a Gary Sanchez fan, at least she didn’t reach waiting until the 7th round. Big fan of her Julio Teheran #2 SP grab, and Seung Hwan Oh in the 10th certainly looks like a nice pull too. She took plenty of risk in Matt Harvey and Steven Matz, something I wouldn’t have done, and she continued to take that all-in route through the draft with Drew Smyly, Drew Pomeranz and Anthony DeSclafani. Yangervis Solarte was a nice pull in the 29th round.
Lenny Melnick went rouge and took two starting pitchers on the 1-2 round turn (Madison Bumgarner and Jacob deGrom) which he claimed were both auto-picks. He then took a third arm in the 5th round. Really aggressive for my liking. He was able to get some multi-position guys in Eduardo Nunez, Javier Baez and Brad Miller which is a smart move given that he lacks those early elite hitters because he went pitching heavy. He gave himself plenty of directions to turn in if injuries strike, and that’s a key when you aren’t deep offensively.
Devon Travis in the 22nd round is fantastic value. Good pick Brandon Mariann.