Greetings as we shut out January, digital baseball mates! I’m going to do one thing this week that I’ve by no means performed right here at Razzball earlier than and put up a great old style draft recap. We’ll be a group I drafted again in December after deciding to throw my hat into the ring of an NFBC 12-team, normal 5×5 roto combined league. I haven’t participated on this format in fairly a couple of years, opting as an alternative for draft and maintain model leagues at NFBC, primarily as a result of I used to be making an attempt to be life like in regards to the time it could require in-season to handle a shallow combined league with very aggressive weekly waivers. I actually felt a bit like I’d entered a Willy Wonka-esque sweet manufacturing unit throughout this draft in comparison with the mono leagues and deep 50-round codecs I’m used to. Even on the finish of the draft, there existed a plethora of gamers accessible who I really wished on my group, and it was typically troublesome to make selections, leading to a brand new set of challenges I’m not essentially used to. As an alternative of feeling like I wanted to be accustomed to each member of each bench and each bullpen in baseball, I used to be as an alternative making an attempt to navigate by way of a myriad of decisions with the unfamiliar sensation of realizing that irrespective of who I selected, there can be gamers that I appreciated nonetheless accessible, even after the draft was over. I additionally needed to take into account that, when confronted with inevitable accidents and disappointing play, I might be capable to discover reinforcements by way of the free agent pool. Since this alone is a mainly exceptional idea in comparison with most of my leagues, it was one thing I had to consider when it comes to adapting to the league format… ought to I’ve been drafting with a a lot greater emphasis on upside over flooring, particularly so early within the offseason, since I’d really be capable to repair my group’s issues as soon as March arrived?
Properly, in all probability. However with out additional ado, right here’s the group, for which I had the seventh choose of the draft. A number of feedback to observe, and talking of feedback, I’d love to listen to from you and your ideas about this group, its potential wants or explicit gamers… or anything in your thoughts in terms of the great world of baseball.
Place/Participant/Spherical
C: Connor Wong (19)
C: Alejandro Kirk (30)
1B: Matt Olson (4)
2B: Jose Altuve (5)
SS: Francisco Lindor (2)
3B: Alex Bregman (12)
CI: Maikel Garcia (18)
MI: Bryson Stott (16)
OF: Juan Soto (1)
OF: Teoscar Hernandez (7)
OF: Seiya Suzuki (8)
OF: Tyler O’Neill (15)
OF: Alec Burleson (20)
U: Brendan Donovan (23)
Bench: Michael Busch (25)
SP: Logan Gilbert (3)
SP: Shota Imanaga (6)
SP: Freddy Peralta (9)
SP: Bryan Woo (10)
SP: Seth Lugo (13)
SP: Sean Manaea (14)
SP: Zach Eflin (17)
RP: Lucas Erceg (11)
RP: A.J. Puk (24)
Bench: Michael Kopech (21), Kutter Crawford (22), Chad Inexperienced (26), Seth Halvorsen (27), Jose Ferrer (28), Jameson Taillon (29)
Some notes (for which I’ll blatantly rip off Gray’s draft recap notes/questions and solutions format, although the crucial voice in my head speaks in italics quite than all caps 😉 :
Did you keep away from drafting a more in-depth on function? I really feel I’m fairly good at avoiding high closers and discovering worth later in a really early draft, and felt much more emboldened to attend given the FAAB nature of this league’s format. Often, I can draft 4 or 5 guys in November or December and by March no less than a few them shall be on the high of their group’s nearer depth chart and I’ll be in respectable form. On this draft, nevertheless, my guys acquired fairly brutally counterfeited. Because the draft occurred, 1) it was introduced Kopech was damage and the Dodgers signed two extra closers, 2) the Blue Jays signed Jeff Hoffman, sending Inexperienced’s worth spiraling, and three) the Royals signed Carlos Estevez, making Erceg’s position unclear at greatest. And that doesn’t even rely the Nationals including to their bullpen to make Ferrer’s paths to future saves even murkier. So, I’m going to need to be extremely vigilant trying to find saves on this league from the get-go; SAGNOF to the rescue, I hope!
Wow, isn’t everybody in your infield not named Lindor previous, boring, and possibly going to be sort of unhealthy at baseball this season? I instructed you final week that after I began drafting I used to be stunned on the value of younger gamers with upside, and made some (doubtlessly problematic?) selections concentrating on a hopefully strong flooring as an alternative. Olson, in the meantime, was a mistake choose: I discovered the laborious manner that the NFBC web site is caught in one other decade and doesn’t refresh by itself correctly, and at present, they actually don’t have an app to make use of in case you, say, have to make a draft choose out of your child’s highschool band live performance that you simply have been current at for a couple of hours longer than regular since you are superior and volunteered to assist with each setup and clear up. I used to be completely irate after I acquired residence and noticed that Olson had been auto picked onto my group; I had no intention of drafting him and amongst different issues, it pressured me to shift my plans later within the draft. Weirdly, although, as soon as all was stated and performed, I not solely like this group fairly a bit, I don’t thoughts Olson on it in any respect. Once more, I’m hoping my deep league roots and expertise will assist me spot accessible younger gamers with promise in 2025 a step forward of my competitors all through the season, and that I’ll have a small steady of reinforcements to interchange the drained previous guys if wanted.
Third spherical’s a bit early for a beginning pitcher, isn’t it? I assume I sort of figured that I would as properly begin sooner with the pitching in a league this shallow in an try at getting a real ace, however maybe I ought to have performed the other given the pitching that may theoretically be accessible within the free agent pool all season? So we’ll see how that works out. Whereas we’re speaking in regards to the third spherical, although, I’ve observed one thing this draft season that I’ll write a complete put up about: in my estimation, there’s a bizarre lull across the third, possibly fourth spherical of a 12-team draft, the place there’s about 20 gamers on the highest of the queue primarily based on ADP that I don’t actually like in any respect. So, as an alternative of reaching for a hitter I do know I’ll be capable to get a spherical or two later anyway, I figured it would make sense to take a high SP (or, gasp, even a more in-depth, which I really did in one other draft) at this level.
Didn’t you inform me final yr you’ll by no means, form, or kind, be rostering Freddy Peralta this season? That I did. (Sighs). That I did. I’m undecided how this occurred, however I can solely evaluate it to seeing a sweater that doesn’t fairly suit you and isn’t your shade at your favourite clothes retailer, and buying it anyway as a result of it’s on sale and it simply appears like too good a deal to go up, though as you’re doing it you realize it’s possible an epic mistake. So hopefully 2024 Laura shall be fallacious about Peralta being somebody to fade at any value this yr, and/or 2025 Laura will be capable to, as soon as once more, work that waiver wire and discover some juicy SP streamers with the assistance of her fellow Razzball writers to advise her.
Did you imply to draft Alejandro Kirk? Have I discussed that you could add gamers through waivers on this league? It’s laborious to not begin daydreaming about all of these beneath the radar, positive-value catchers I’ll be capable to uncover! Okay, that won’t occur, however no less than I do know I can spend the season looking for this yr’s model of 2023 Yainer Diaz if I have to. (Additionally, I say there’s a strong 6- 8% probability Kirk doesn’t utterly suck once more this yr).