{"id":8676,"date":"2014-03-27T09:10:30","date_gmt":"2014-03-27T13:10:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=8676"},"modified":"2014-09-08T09:05:48","modified_gmt":"2014-09-08T13:05:48","slug":"my-2014-fantasy-baseball-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=8676","title":{"rendered":"My 2014 Fantasy Baseball Team"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_8684\" style=\"width: 160px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/JonesAdam-unk.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8684\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-8684 \" alt=\"Adam Jones; my #1 fantasy draft pick in 2014.  Photo unk.\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/JonesAdam-unk-150x150.jpg\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-8684\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Adam Jones; my #1 fantasy draft pick in 2014. Photo unk.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>As with years past &#8230; feel free to skip this post if you don&#8217;t care about fantasy. \u00a0I know for certain that reading about someone elses&#8217;s fantasy sports team can be a bit grating. \u00a0But, if you do play fantasy i&#8217;m sure you&#8217;ll at least appreciate reading the selections and then looking at the team&#8217;s strength analysis at the end.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ll include a jump line so your RSS feeds aren&#8217;t blown out either.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"More...\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/wp-includes\/js\/tinymce\/plugins\/wordpress\/img\/trans.gif\" \/>We had our fantasy baseball draft this week; here&#8217;s how my team turned out.<\/p>\n<p>League overview for context: 12 team 6&#215;6 head to head. \u00a0I had the 10th of 12 picks. \u00a0Our league categories are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Hitting: Runs, HRs, RBIs, SBs, Batting Average and OPS.<\/li>\n<li>Pitching: Wins, Saves, K&#8217;s, ERA, WHIP and Losses.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Most leagues are simple 5&#215;5; we added Losses to combat someone who streamed starters one year and just outlasted everyone else in Wins and Ks. \u00a0When we added losses, we needed a 6th offensive category so we added OPS, even though in some measure OPS is driven by individual measures HRs and BA.<\/p>\n<p>Positions are conventional Fantasy: C,1B,2B,3B,SS, 3 OFs and a util guy. \u00a02 SP, 2 RP, 3 other Ps, 5 bench guys and a DL spot for a 21-man roster\/21-round draft.<\/p>\n<p>Another note: to prevent pitcher &#8220;churn and burn&#8221; there is a transaction limit of 65 moves for the season. \u00a0I&#8217;ve been the only one to hit this limit the last two years thanks to frantic moves to improve crummy teams.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>My 2014 draft strategy<\/strong><\/span>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Do NOT draft starters too high; this was a mistake made in 2013. \u00a0Attempt to get value SPs in later rounds<\/li>\n<li>Focus on hitters first; AL hitters in good hitting parks for good offensive teams.<\/li>\n<li>Reach for positional scarcity at 2b, SS, 3B.<\/li>\n<li>Wait on first base if you don&#8217;t get the right fit.<\/li>\n<li>Wait on outfielders too; there&#8217;s always OF depth<\/li>\n<li>Do not chase Catchers<\/li>\n<li>Get at least 4 closers; more if possible. Do not punt on closers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This strategy was tested quickly by interesting strategies by other players in the league. \u00a0One guy focused on two major things: high end starting pitching and high OBP\/high steals guys. \u00a0His team was staggering by the end of the draft; he held basically the 3 best starters on the board and may get 20 steals a week. \u00a0 We also had two guys in the league who were either completely unprepared or very unconventional &#8230; meaning there were really odd names coming off the boards very early.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Here&#8217;s my team<\/strong><\/span>, round by round:<\/p>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>1st round (#10 overall): Adam Jones-OF<\/li>\n<li>2nd round (#15): Adrian Beltre-3B<\/li>\n<li>3rd round (#34): Alex Rios-OF<\/li>\n<li>4th round (#39): Giancarlo Stanton-OF<\/li>\n<li>5th round (#58): Kenly Janssen-RP<\/li>\n<li>6th round (#63): Greg Holland-RP<\/li>\n<li>7th round (#82): Mark Trumbo-1B\/OF<\/li>\n<li>8th round (#87): Carlos Santana-C\/1B\/3B eventually<\/li>\n<li>9th round (#106): Shelby Miller-SP<\/li>\n<li>10th round (#111): Hyung-Jin Ryu-SP<\/li>\n<li>11th round (#130): Aaron Hill-2B<\/li>\n<li>12th round (#135): Danny Salazar-SP<\/li>\n<li>13th round (#154): Tony Cingrani-SP<\/li>\n<li>14th round (#159): Jim Henderson-RP<\/li>\n<li>15th round (#178): Shane Victorino-OF<\/li>\n<li>16th round (#183): Chris Archer-SP<\/li>\n<li>17th round (#202): Asdrubal Cabrera-SS<\/li>\n<li>18th round (#207): J.J. Hoover-RP<\/li>\n<li>19th round (#226): Tim Hudson-SP<\/li>\n<li>20th round (#231): Brandon Belt-1B<\/li>\n<li>21st round (#250): Jake Odorizzi-SP<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>Below are my round-by-round picks with discussion about thougth processes and players considered at each spot.<\/p>\n<p>Yahoo O-Ranks are given; this is Yahoo&#8217;s rank for the player for the 2014 season. \u00a0I&#8217;ll also list Yahoo&#8217;s actual 2013 rank. \u00a0Lastly I&#8217;ll put the Average Draft Rank (ADP) is listed as per <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fantasypros.com\/mlb\/adp\/overall.php\">FantasyPros.com<\/a>, which pulls ADP from 5 major sites for a meta-ADP ranking and lists each player by their rank and then their ADP across the systems (so a player can be the 3rd best ADP but have his actual average be like 4.2 &#8230; so we&#8217;ll list both numbers). \u00a0 \u00a0I use the abbreviation &#8220;BPA&#8221; to indicate &#8220;Best Player Available&#8221; at the time of the pick &#8230; this comes up often when considering draft value.<a href=\"http:\/\/www.mockdraftcentral.com\/report_adp.jsp\"><br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>1st round (#10 overall): <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Adam Jones<\/strong><\/span>-OF. \u00a0(Yahoo o-rank #11, 2013 #7, ADP 10th\/11.4). \u00a0So, I hated this pick. \u00a0I was targeting\u00a0<strong>Ryan Braun<\/strong> and then\u00a0<strong>Hanley Ramirez<\/strong> at this pick; they were the two names that went just before my pick. \u00a0Hanley especially irked me; the guy picking just before me was MIA on the call so we just went Yahoo&#8217;s BPA for his pick and he got Hanley. \u00a0Suddenly I was looking at Jones versus\u00a0<strong>Robinson Cano<\/strong> (who I don&#8217;t like this year b\/c I think his team will be awful and he&#8217;ll regress offensively in a bigger ballpark) and\u00a0<strong>Jacoby Ellsbury<\/strong> (who I also hate in fantasy; he&#8217;s always hurt, he&#8217;s already dinged up this spring and I think he&#8217;s over-rated). \u00a0You can&#8217;t reach 5 picks in the first round without really looking awful &#8230; so I took the only name on the board that I didn&#8217;t have warning signs about. \u00a033 homers, 108 RBIs, 100 runs scored last year can&#8217;t be all bad, right? \u00a0He&#8217;s still protected by\u00a0<strong>Chris Davis<\/strong> (who went a few picks earlier). \u00a0He still plays in a hitters paradise in Baltimore. \u00a0 For what its worth, it looks like I got good value on Jones based on his 2013 stats (7th in my league, drafted 10th overall), and I got him right in line with his ADP ranking (11.4 but 10th overall, tied with Hanley). \u00a0Maybe this isn&#8217;t the disaster I think it is.<\/li>\n<li>2nd round (#15 overall): <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Adrian Beltre<\/strong><\/span>-3B. \u00a0\u00a0(Yahoo o-rank #13, 2013 #15, ADP 13th\/13.2). \u00a0On the way back around, the way the draft worked out this was an either\/or pick: Beltre versus homer-pick\u00a0<strong>Bryce Harper<\/strong>. \u00a0As much as I like Harper in fantasy this year &#8230;. I had to go with positional scarcity and not pick a second outfielder back-to back with a gap of 20 picks coming. \u00a0That would have been disaster. \u00a0So we went with Beltre, who put up solid numbers last year in a hitters park. \u00a0Beltre represents some slight draft value: I got him two picks after he should have been going. \u00a0Fair enough. \u00a0I had so much issues with 3B last year that Beltre&#8217;s 30 homer capability should help. \u00a0I know he&#8217;s dealt with some ST injury issues &#8230; but he also just inherited major lineup protection in\u00a0<strong>Prince Fielder<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>3rd round (#34): <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Alex Rios<\/strong><\/span>-OF\u00a0\u00a0(Yahoo o-rank #44, 2013 #25, ADP 34th\/35). \u00a0 \u00a0So, sitting here at pick #34 &#8230; the BPA was\u00a0<strong>Evan Longoria<\/strong>\u00a0&#8230; except that I already have a 3B, and I hate Longoria&#8217;s injury issues in fantasy. \u00a0I really wanted<strong> Freddie Freeman\u00a0<\/strong>here and he went 1-2 picks beforehand. \u00a0<strong>Giancarlo Stanton<\/strong>\u00a0was also sitting there. \u00a0I could have dropped down a couple slots from Rios and taken a pitcher &#8230; but the two SPs just after Rios in Yahoo&#8217;s rankings both have warts of their own (<strong>Felix Hernandez<\/strong> &#8230; is he 2013 version or 2011 version? \u00a0And\u00a0<strong>Cliff Lee<\/strong>: do you want the best pitcher on a 90 loss team?). \u00a0So I said to heck with it and got Rios. \u00a0This was a reach by 2014 Yahoo rankings but not by his 2013 production &#8230; and was exactly in line with his ADP. \u00a0 He gets some steals, he gets some homers. \u00a0I guess there&#8217;s worse players out there. \u00a0Plus he&#8217;s moved into a hitter&#8217;s park and joins a pretty fearsome lineup. \u00a0His numbers all ticked up after the trade last season, and if he&#8217;s hitting ahead of these big boppers his runs and OBP should only go up. \u00a0I dunno, we&#8217;ll see.<\/li>\n<li>4th round (#39): <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Giancarlo Stanton<\/strong><\/span>-OF\u00a0(Yahoo o-rank #23, 2013 #222, ADP 24th\/27.8). \u00a0One problem with the 3rd and 4th rounds is that its filled with outfielders. \u00a0People reach for the skill and pitchers (especially the pitchers, thanks to the weird strategy described above by one player). \u00a0So all that was here were Stanton and a couple of lesser outfielders in\u00a0<strong>Jay Bruce<\/strong> and\u00a0<strong>Jose Bautista<\/strong>. \u00a0Stanton s hould have gone at the end of the second round by ADP; why was he still available? \u00a0I audiby stated, &#8220;I have to take him&#8221; and drafted my third outfielder in four rounds. \u00a0But Stanton represents a pretty significant draft value here; ADP of 24th, drafted more than a round later. \u00a0My reservations about Stanton are simple: he plays for a sh*tty team with little lineup protection and he&#8217;s constantly hurt. \u00a0Buuut he can frigging hit. \u00a0He averages a homer every 16 ABs for his career. \u00a0One of these seasons he has to stay healthy right? \u00a0Either that or get traded to a contender in a major block-buster. \u00a0Nonetheless; this was too good a value to pass up, being the BPA by nearly a round an a half. \u00a0Had to take him.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>However, taking three OFs presented me with a little bit of a problem. \u00a0I was now into the &#8220;gap&#8221; between the high-end middle infielders and the lower-end ones. \u00a0I had no problem waiting for a 2B and SS &#8230; but now I&#8217;d waited too long and was had to adjust some strategies on the fly. \u00a0However another issue arose that we&#8217;ll soon see: there&#8217;s still a TON of outfielders on the board who are of high quality &#8230; but I just can&#8217;t take a fourth outfielder this early. \u00a0So now I&#8217;m in jeopardy of overdrafting a bit for other positional players.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>5th round (#58): <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Kenly Janssen<\/strong><\/span>-RP\u00a0(Yahoo o-rank #58, 2013 #52, ADP 49th\/53.2). \u00a0 One of my strategies this year was to get high-end closers &#8230; and I had my chance here and took it. \u00a0#1 closer <strong>Craig Kimbrel<\/strong> had just gone off the board two picks earlier.\u00a0 Instead of looking at the likes of\u00a0<strong>\u00a0Hunter Pence<\/strong> or\u00a0<strong>Matt Kemp<\/strong> with this pick (I thought I could sneak out Pence and i&#8217;m not about to let Kemp torpedo a third successive fantasy season), I grabbed the 2nd best closer out there in Janssen. \u00a0This pick was exactly in line with Yahoo&#8217;s ranks but looks great when looking at ADP. \u00a0I&#8217;m happy with this: I&#8217;ll take a dominant healthy closer on a certain playoff team.<\/li>\n<li>6th round (#63): <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Greg Holland<\/strong><\/span>-RP\u00a0(Yahoo o-rank #73, 2013 #36, ADP 62nd\/62). \u00a0At this point I wrote down &#8220;<strong>Hosmer<\/strong> or\u00a0<strong>Pence<\/strong>&#8221; as BPA. \u00a0But the a-formentioned OF issues made me hold off on Pence (as much as I wanted him; I think he is vastly underrated in fantasy this year), \u00a0Meanwhile I felt like there was still value on the board for 1B so I didn&#8217;t want to lock up the position just quite yet. \u00a0So I did a bit of an over-draft and grabbed Holland, the #3 closer on the market. \u00a0I like that; his numbers in 2013 indicate he performed better than his 2014 ranking, so perhaps I&#8217;ve got even better value here.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I now have two of the best closers out there. \u00a0<strong>Aroldis Chapman<\/strong> is hurt, Kimbrel went early and I&#8217;ve got the two next best guys. \u00a0They say never chase saves &#8230; and that the closer position is fraught with danger. \u00a0But these guys are solidly in hold of their jobs and shouldn&#8217;t be chased out of saves. \u00a0They both play for winning teams and should help me really get some saves this year. \u00a0I&#8217;m now in a position that I need to fill out the fielders so I can start finally focusing on pitchers. \u00a0I&#8217;ve got my eye on a couple of 2B and SS candidates &#8230; the trick is going to be to see how far I can wait to grab them. \u00a0There&#8217;s no need to grab them in the 7th\/8th if I know they&#8217;re going to be there in the 12th&#8230;. that&#8217;s the game I will now play with 1B, C, 2B and SS. \u00a0Lets see how it plays out.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>7th round (#82): <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Mark Trumbo<\/strong><\/span>-1B\/OF \u00a0(Yahoo o-rank #80, 2013 #66, ADP 53rd\/56.0). \u00a0Nearly 20 picks roll past and when it comes back around to me Trumbo is by far and away the BPA by value. \u00a0Trumbo was 10 spots BEFORE Holland, who I got in the previous round. \u00a0I had to take him here. \u00a0This pick represents 30 picks of value by ADP. \u00a0 34 homers, 100 rbi last year but middling .230 BA. \u00a0So far, I&#8217;m loaded up on power bats. \u00a0I&#8217;m happy enough with this pick frankly; i&#8217;ve got him as the 11th best 1B and he was probably the 15th such player taken.<\/li>\n<li>8th round (#87): <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Carlos Santana<\/strong><\/span>-C\/1B\u00a0\u00a0(Yahoo o-rank #94, 2013 #134, ADP 69th\/74.0). \u00a0I&#8217;m not entirely happy with this pick: i had Santana last year and he hurt me. \u00a0It wasn&#8217;t that his numbers were bad; he just was constantly dinged up and missing time. \u00a0 But when looking at the middle infielders I wanted, combined with the players who were in the BPA discussion right around this pick (<strong>Josh Hamilton, Elvis Andrus<\/strong> and <strong>Aroldis Chapman<\/strong> &#8230; all three of them hurt or major injury concerns), I grabbed Santana. \u00a0Catcher eligible but playing more 1B, 20 homers last year, still pretty good value when looking at ADP but a slight over-draft when looking at Yahoo&#8217;s rankings. \u00a0Sometimes you just have to grab who you can. \u00a0After-the-draft update: news came out today that Santana will be playing THIRD for the Indians, giving him a ton more positional flexibility. \u00a0Gotta like that.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Twenty more picks rolled by, and my decision to wait on middle infielders was still in play. \u00a0I had my eyes on two players in particular:\u00a0<strong>Aaron Hill<\/strong> and\u00a0<strong>J.J. Hardy.<\/strong> \u00a0I will admit that I waited too long on Hardy and he got snapped up, but as you&#8217;ll see I eventually grabbed Hill. \u00a0Instead of over-spending on middle infield at this point, I started grabbing pitchers that I liked.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>9th round (#106): <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Shelby Miller<\/strong><\/span>-SP\u00a0(Yahoo o-rank #105, 2013 #76, ADP 110th\/113.0). \u00a0So, the first starter I got is St. Louis&#8217; #3 starter\u00a0<strong>Shelby Miller<\/strong>. \u00a0 I like this guy and cannot for the life of me understand why he&#8217;s Yahoo ranked 30 spots lower than his actual performance last year. \u00a0He&#8217;s only going to be better this year; the innings limits are off, he&#8217;s got a full year under his belt, and his 2013 peripherals were already great. \u00a015 wins, nearly a K\/inning. \u00a0Is it because he&#8217;s overshadowed in his own rotation by the specatular performance of\u00a0<strong>Michael Wacha<\/strong> in the playoffs last year? \u00a0Maybe so; i&#8217;m happy with this pick.<\/li>\n<li>10th round (#111):<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong> Hyung-Jin Ru<\/strong><\/span>-SP\u00a0(Yahoo o-rank #103, 2013 #85, ADP 124th\/127.2). \u00a0Another under-valued guy, in my opinion. \u00a0Yahoo performer #85 last year; why does anyone think he&#8217;s regressing? \u00a0Plays for a near certain-playoff contender, plays in a huge home NL ball-park, has great stats. \u00a0I like these two starters.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I grabbed these two starters knowing I&#8217;d have another 20 picks to go &#8230; Hill and Hardy (my targets) still was available. \u00a0\u00a0From here on out I needed merely a 2B\/SS, one-two extra bats and the rest were filling up on starters and closers when I could get them.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>11th round (#130): <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Aaron Hill<\/strong><\/span>-2B\u00a0(Yahoo o-rank #119, 2013 #402, ADP 124th\/115.8). \u00a0 Hill is one of the few guys who I targeted ahead of time as a guy to get. \u00a0He was hurt most of last year and thus his value has been depressed. \u00a0I think I got good value for him in the 11th round and feel he could be a contributor. \u00a0I wrote his name down as my target about 10 picks before hand and I got him. \u00a0SI.com&#8217;s fantasty team, it should be noted, *really* likes this guy and ranked him in as a 5th round talent.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>12th round (#135): <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Danny Salazar<\/strong><\/span>-SP\u00a0(Yahoo o-rank #125, 2013 #336, ADP 154th\/150.4). \u00a0Perhaps a bit of an overdraft here. \u00a0Yahoo had him ranked 25 spots higher than his ADP elsewhere.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I decided to wait, again, on Hardy b\/c he was yahoo ranked #169 and I gambled he would get back to me. \u00a0 I was also really targeting cuban slugger\u00a0<strong>Jose Abreu<\/strong> (Yahoo #155). \u00a0I lost out on both just prior to my 13th rounder. \u00a0Damn. \u00a0Now I have no short stop solution and I missed out on a big slugger who I think may be a 30-homer guy.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>13th round (#154): <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Tony Cingrani<\/strong><\/span>-SP\u00a0(Yahoo o-rank #141, 2013 #152, ADP 156th\/156.8). \u00a0Another guy whose lower ranking I don&#8217;t get: Cingrani had a sub 3.00 ERA with 120 K&#8217;s in 104 innings last year. \u00a0All he does is wipe out hitters. \u00a0One of the guys in the room asked me if Cingrani was going to be &#8220;allowed&#8221; to throw enough innings in 2014 &#8230; the only reason he didn&#8217;t throw more was because the Reds kept sending him back down or to the bullpen when\u00a0<strong>Jhonny Cueto<\/strong> returned from his D\/L trips each time. \u00a0 In 2014 Cingrani is in the rotation to stay and I fully expect a 200k season for a playoff-calibre team. \u00a0Works for me.<br \/>\n14th round (#159): <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Jim Henderson<\/strong><\/span>-RP\u00a0(Yahoo o-rank #157, 2013 #130, ADP 170th\/175.0). \u00a0My strategy here was BPA for closers at the time. \u00a0Henderson was the 19th ranked closer on my sheet at this point and has good numbers. \u00a0His 2014 rank discounts his good 2013 performance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I now have three established closers and there&#8217;s still some out there. \u00a0But, I&#8217;m still short a middle infielder and a couple of hitters. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0From here out we&#8217;ll do some bargain shopping.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>15th round (#178): <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Shane Victorino<\/strong><\/span>-OF\u00a0(Yahoo o-rank #111, 2013 #67, ADP 125th\/129.0). \u00a0Victorino was sitting there as BPA with a 2013 ranking of #67 .. in the 15th round. \u00a0He&#8217;s next to Ryu in ADP, who I grabbed 5 rounds earlier. \u00a020\/20 capability, still healthy and happy in Boston. \u00a0I like this pick as a 4th outfielder.<\/li>\n<li>16th round (#183): <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Chris Archer<\/strong><\/span>-SP\u00a0(Yahoo o-rank #175, 2013 #175, ADP 208th\/209.0). \u00a0At this point I&#8217;m looking for the best SPs I can find, and I like Archer. \u00a0ADP however does not like Archer, at all. \u00a0I like this guy; yes its the AL east, but he&#8217;s on a strong Tampa team and he gets results.<\/li>\n<li>17th round (#202): <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Asdrubal Cabrera<\/strong><\/span>-SS\u00a0(Yahoo o-rank #133, 2013 #267, ADP 171st\/177.4). \u00a0Finally got my SS; BPA. \u00a0Actually getting yahoo #133 at pick #202 is pretty solid. \u00a0I don&#8217;t know anything about this guy; i see now that he was a 25 homer guy in 2011. \u00a0Interesting; lets hope he doe some rebounding.<\/li>\n<li>18th round (#207): <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>J.J. Hoover<\/strong><\/span>-RP\u00a0(Yahoo o-rank #340, 2013 #237, ADP 344th). \u00a0This is my speculative 4th closer for this league; instead of doing a crapshoot on Colorado or Houston&#8217;s closer-by-committee nonsense, I went with Hoover, who seems to be in line to cover for Chapman while he recovers. \u00a0 We&#8217;ll see how it goes; if it turns out he&#8217;s not hte guy and Cincinnati is going with\u00a0<strong>Sean Broxton\u00a0<\/strong>or <strong>Sean Marshall<\/strong>\u00a0I think they&#8217;re still available and I can be fast on the waiver wire.<\/li>\n<li>19th round (#226): <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Tim Hudson<\/strong><\/span>-SP (Yahoo o-rank #276, 2013 #299, ADP 311th). \u00a0Another speculative pick; I had Hudson marked down as a &#8220;late round flier&#8221; based on his moving to the cavernous ATT Park in San Francisco. \u00a0At this point in the draft i&#8217;m just looking for starters on either playoff-bound teams or worthwhile starters who are NL based and play in big parks &#8230; and that&#8217;s Hudson. \u00a0Remember, he&#8217;s a year removed from being the Ace of a division winning team. \u00a0I don&#8217;t think he&#8217;s done.<\/li>\n<li>20th round (#231): <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Brandon Belt-<\/strong><\/span>1B\u00a0\u00a0(Yahoo o-rank #136, 2013 #106, ADP 142th). \u00a0I just happened to scan my master list and I couldn&#8217;t believe that Belt was still here. \u00a0He was Yahoo #106 performer last year and that was after a very slow start. \u00a0If he started slow and still finished nearly as a top 100 fantasy player, maybe he&#8217;s a top 50 player this year. \u00a0All that for a 20th round pick. \u00a0I got the #136 ranked yahoo guy at pick #231. \u00a0That&#8217;s some serious value.<\/li>\n<li>21st round (#250): <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Jake Odorizzi<\/strong><\/span>-SP\u00a0(Yahoo o-rank #608, 2013 #548, ADP 445th). \u00a0 With my last pick I went with best SP available and got Odorizzi, who is absolutely installed as the #5 starter in Tampa. \u00a0He&#8217;s young but he&#8217;s also well recommended and is the latest in a longer line of excellent pitching developed out of Tampa&#8217;s farm system. \u00a0My commissioner didn&#8217;t even know who Odorizzi was &#8230; which makes me wonder if he wasn&#8217;t a slight over-draft. \u00a0Nonetheless; my quick scan of the rest of the rotations didn&#8217;t leave much to be desired.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>After the draft\/Who is left:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>I have a whole slew of names to monitor once the waiver wire hits. \u00a0There&#8217;s absolutely pitchers out there who I like and hitters who I think can contribute. \u00a0 I sort of lost track towards the end of the draft, but think there&#8217;s still names out there on the waiver wire like\u00a0<strong>Justin Morneau,<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>Adam Lind, Anthony Rendon,\u00a0Christian Yelich, John Lackey, Mike Leake, Wade Miley, Brett Oberholtzer, Jarred Coasrt, Jenrry Mejia<\/strong> and <strong>Nathan Eovaldi<\/strong> who I like and who I&#8217;ll be watching. \u00a0I also think I could be doing some quick waiver wire work to replace one of these lesser starters with the likes of\u00a0<strong>Joe Kelly<\/strong> or\u00a0<strong>Tanner Scheppers<\/strong>. \u00a0Or even\u00a0<strong>Wade Miley<\/strong>, who amazingly didn&#8217;t get picked (unless my notes are failing me).<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s also some higher-end prospects out there who may hot get callups for a bit but who could be impactful. \u00a0<strong>Javier Baez<\/strong>, <strong>George Springer, Avisail Garcia, Erik Johnson<\/strong>, and a few others who got dinged up in the spring. \u00a0These will be important names to monitor as we head into June and hit the Super-2 cutoff.<\/p>\n<p>So, there&#8217;s some wiggle room.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>So, here&#8217;s your team by position:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>C: Santana (1B eligible, soon 3B eligible)<\/li>\n<li>1B: Trumbo (OF eligible), Belt<\/li>\n<li>2B: Hill<\/li>\n<li>SS: Asdrubal Cabrera<\/li>\n<li>3B: Beltre<\/li>\n<li>OF: Jones, Rios, Stanton, Victorino<\/li>\n<li>SP: Miller, Ryu, Salazar, Cingrani, Archer, Hudson, Odorizzi<\/li>\n<li>RP: Janssen, Holland, Henderson, Hoover<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Team summary<\/strong><\/span>: \u00a011 hitters, 8 starters, 4 relievers. \u00a0I have one extra hitter. \u00a0Looking at my team put together here&#8217;s where I think I&#8217;ll have strengths and weaknesses:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Hitting Strengths: I have a ton of power. \u00a0three 30+ homer guys to go with Stanton. \u00a0That will drive HR and RBI categories. \u00a0OPS to a certain extent will be good.<\/li>\n<li>Hitting weaknesses: I don&#8217;t have much in the way of SB; Rios had 42, Victorino had 20. \u00a0Also, my average BA is only in the .275 range; that could be a weakness (Trumbo and Stanton really drag that down, as do my SS Cabrera).<\/li>\n<li>Pitching Strengths: I don&#8217;t have a single pitcher with a whip above 1.2, and I have two premium and two decent closers, so Saves will be good. \u00a0I have good K\/9 rates but not a ton of starters who have experience pitching a whole season; i&#8217;m definitely inexperienced there. \u00a0Also, my starters seem to be the kind of guys who go 15-9, not the kind of guys who go 18-6. \u00a0So I may struggles with lossses. \u00a0Most of my guys are also low ERA<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A great week for me will see wins in HR, RBI, OPS and Runs on the hitting side, Wins, Saves, K&#8217;s and WHIP on the pitching side. \u00a0It may be tough for me to capture BA, Steals, Losses and ERA on a regular basis.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Draft Summary<\/strong><\/span>:<\/p>\n<p>I got very few of the players that I really targeted ahead of time. \u00a0Lots of over-drafting in my league thanks to very specific strategies and very poor players. \u00a0 Of course there were a ton of guys in the top 30 picks who I really wanted but I really got none of them. \u00a0<strong>Prince Fielder, Freddie Freeman, Strasburg\/Kershaw\/Darvish\u00a0<\/strong>(I would have liked to at least get one of those three). \u00a0Further down I liked\u00a0<strong>Matt Holliday,\u00a0<\/strong>I really liked\u00a0<strong>Matt Carpenter<\/strong>. \u00a0Once again\u00a0<strong>David Ortiz<\/strong> seems vastly underrated and got snapped up too soon. \u00a0I really targeted\u00a0<strong>Brian McCann<\/strong> as a catcher but got caught up with my Carlos Santana pick. \u00a0I&#8217;m not happy with myself over that one.<\/p>\n<p>The big names that were deeper dives that I missed out on:\u00a0<strong>Jose Abreu<\/strong>,\u00a0<strong>Sonny Grey<\/strong> and especially\u00a0<strong>David Murphy<\/strong>. \u00a0Someone snapped up newly minted KC #5 starter\u00a0<strong>Yordano Ventura<\/strong> as I was contemplating getting him; that one hurt.<\/p>\n<p>I did not pick up a D\/L guy; I usually like to do that so that I can stash him immediately.<\/p>\n<p>I look at my team and I guess i&#8217;m just kind of underwhelmed; I don&#8217;t have a superstar really to count on, I don&#8217;t have too many guys who I really wanted and think will overachieve. \u00a0In that respect I don&#8217;t like my team. \u00a0Maybe solid and boring will be a better recipe for success this year.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Did I follow my own pre-draft strategy<\/strong><\/span>? \u00a0For the most part yes. \u00a0I waited on SPs, reached for a 3B, waited on 1Bs, and got 4 closers. \u00a0I got a lot of NL-closers and AL-hitters. \u00a0I did not show much patience waiting for OFs and I feel like I reached for a catcher.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Best pick<\/strong><\/span>: you can&#8217;t argue with the value of Victorino and Belt.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Worst Pick<\/strong><\/span>: Maybe Salazar was too speculative at that point.<\/li>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">First guys dropped:\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Probably the lkes of Hudson and Hoover, maybe Odorizzi if he struggles out of the gate.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Best Upside\/Chances of Overperforming<\/strong><\/span>: \u00a0Belt for sure; 20th round guy who might hit like a 4th rounder.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Worst Downside\/Chances of Underperforming<\/strong><\/span>: Stanton is always an injury risk. \u00a0 The rookie starters like Odorizzi and Salazar could be problematic.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As with years past &#8230; feel free to skip this post if you don&#8217;t care about fantasy. \u00a0I know for certain that reading about someone elses&#8217;s fantasy sports team can be a bit grating. \u00a0But, if you do play fantasy i&#8217;m sure you&#8217;ll at least appreciate reading the selections and then looking at the team&#8217;s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2592],"tags":[2367,485,689,796,492,185,569,2370,2379,1668,2375,1154,164,1644,1263,1030,2374,426,246,961,2025,2087,605,286,1307,415,2229,472,407,187,2378,795,814,455,786,2018,281,1304,1888,2377,1750,1911,2369,2368,1210,2371,1260,306,2017,404,238,2373,2366,409,1183,303,710,145,1953,893,2059,183,1167,388,2372,1215,1142,1333,2028,38,2376,219,1739,1178,2232,300],"class_list":["post-8676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fantasy","tag-aaron-hill","tag-adam-jones","tag-adam-lind","tag-adrian-beltre","tag-alex-rios","tag-anthony-rendon","tag-aroldis-chapman","tag-asdrubal-cabrera","tag-avisail-garcia","tag-brandon-belt","tag-brett-oberholzer","tag-brian-mccann","tag-bryce-harper","tag-carlos-santana","tag-chris-archer","tag-chris-davis","tag-christian-yelich","tag-clayton-kershaw","tag-cliff-lee","tag-craig-kimbrel","tag-danny-salazar","tag-david-murphy","tag-david-ortiz","tag-derek-holland","tag-elvis-andrus","tag-eric-hosmer","tag-erik-johnson","tag-evan-longoria","tag-felix-hernandez","tag-freddie-freeman","tag-george-springer","tag-giancarlo-stanton","tag-greg-holland","tag-hanley-ramirez","tag-hunter-pence","tag-hyun-jin-ryu","tag-jacoby-ellsbury","tag-jake-odorizzi","tag-jarred-cosart","tag-javier-baez","tag-jay-bruce","tag-jenrry-mejia","tag-jhonny-cueto","tag-jim-henderson","tag-jj-hardy","tag-jj-hoover","tag-joe-kelly","tag-john-lackey","tag-jose-abreu","tag-jose-bautista","tag-josh-hamilton","tag-justin-marneau","tag-kenly-janssen","tag-mark-trumbo","tag-matt-carpenter","tag-matt-harrison","tag-matt-holliday","tag-matt-kemp","tag-michael-wacha","tag-mike-leake","tag-nathan-eovaldi","tag-prince-fielder","tag-robinson-cano","tag-ryan-braun","tag-sean-broxton","tag-sean-marshall","tag-shane-victorino","tag-shelby-miller","tag-sonny-gray","tag-stephen-strasburg","tag-tanner-scheppers","tag-tim-hudson","tag-tony-cingrani","tag-wade-miley","tag-yordano-ventura","tag-yu-darvish"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8676"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8676\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9683,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8676\/revisions\/9683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}