The Tout Wars Mixed Draft League was held on Tuesday, March 5 with the draft positions were pre-determined (1st place last year gets first choice of where to pick and then down the standings until all fifteen spots are filled). I did some basic homework and review of last years’ standings.
Once I found out I had the sixth spot in the draft I could go more in depth on how to approach the first few rounds and saw that I would likely have the choice of either top starting pitcher Max Scherzer or Yankee masher Aaron Judge (tout Wars is an OBP league). But of course, right before the draft Bryce Harper finally had a team and playing all his home games in friendly Citizens Bank Park put him among the choices.
The draft opened as normal with Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, and Jose Ramirez and then Max Scherzer went at 1.04. So now just the hitting choice and I decided that Judge was the better bet as Harper might need some time to get his swing honed and might feel some pressure in the short term. Judge will likely have a higher OBP and more home runs so he was my pick at 1.06.
Now what would be left at 2.10? I would take one of the top starting pitchers if they were still in play – maybe double aces in the unlikely event another of my top tier was still on the board at my third round pick. Yes, I noticed that Francisco Lindor was still on the board but if I took Lindor, Aaron Nola would not be available on the flip side, so I happily drafted him at 2.10. Good news for Adam Ronis as he got to roster Lindor at 2.14 between picks of Blake Snell and Trevor Bauer.
The third round started Juan Soto, Carlos Carrasco, Anthony Rizzo, Walker Buehler and Cody Bellinger, so while I had my eye on Charlie Blackmon he was pushed down the board by my pick of Noah Syndergaard at 3.06. A great start and now another long wait for my next pick.
This was an easier choice as despite the number of shortstops already drafted I thought I could wait on the one on the top of my list or comfortably go a few tiers down on that position. Thus I took Tommy Pham who could score a lot of runs for the Rays and have a good chance for a 20-20 season with a very high OBP.
Daniel Murphy or Gleyber Torres might have been good second base choices had they lasted but I was glad to add Phillies shortstop Jean Segura who will help in R/SB/OBP while having double digit homers even if a little light in RBI.
In round six I might have been swayed by the lack of top first basemen still left, but still EE and the parrot have made thirty two to forty two round trips over the past seven seasons so 6.10 was Edwin Encarnacion for my squad. Round seven was one of those where someone in the middle of the draft is the beneficiary of value falling from one of the ends but I was delighted to select Mitch Haniger at 7.06.
Second and third base were thinning and I chose to draft Dodger favorite Justin Turner to be my third sacker at 8.10 over Robinson Cano who went a few picks later. The ninth round started with several pitcher picks but there two starting pitchers from my second tier still looking for work and with Folty’s arm concerns I drafted Kyle Hendricks at 9.06
I thought both the tenth and eleventh rounds saw some players drop from previous drafts I have done and was happy to add Mets’ outfielder Brandon Nimmo in the tenth and Japanese pitching star Yusei Kikuchi in the eleventh.
I was pretty happy with the first half of my team – sure sniped a few times, but still happy with the players I had and the state of the construction of the roster, although I would have to address 2B and I was light in steals. Yeah I know I didn’t have any saves yet but I think if you look at the draft board https://draft.shgn.com/nfc/plain/dp/473/grid you will see that as usual many rushed the net on saves when they could have done better by waiting. True the stud closers will have more strikeouts and perhaps better ratios but better starters can manicure that more effectively than the relievers can manicure the starters’ numbers.
Here are the rest of my selections:
12.10 Francisco Cervelli – some home runs but more importantly a plus OBP
13.06 Will Smith – speaking of saves
14.10 Hunter Strickland – felt so nice I did it twice
15.06 Asdrubal Cabrera – filling my second base slot for now but also giving me an infield chess piece
16.10 Chris Taylor – qualifies at SS and OF now and will add second base (MI for this team now)
17.06 Alex Reyes – hopefully he is in the Cardinals rotation AND can stay healthy for a change
18.10 Justin Bour – undervalued in many drafts but will deliver the homers
19.06 Drew Steckenrider – getting some cheap closers on draft day means less money spent in FAAB
20.10 Christin Stewart – 20 hr potential for the Tigers left fielder and my fifth of
21.06 Corbin Burnes – may have been a product of my computer freezing but I still love the arm
22.10 Omar Narvaez – strong OBP for a second catcher and will deliver more home runs than projected
23.06 Chase Anderson – I will bet on improved numbers all the way around for the Brewer hurler
24.10 Lourdes Gurriel – 2B/SS who could well be the Blue Jays leadoff hitter this year
25.06 Kendrys Morales – twenty plus hr for my UT slot (if not switched out for steals)
26.10 C.C. Sabathia – good win potential and better numbers last year than you think
27.06 Keon Braxton – attempt to boost my steals from poor to mid pack
28.10 Sergio Romo – I don’t think Steckenrider fails but just in case
29.06 Keynan Middleton – yes will start on the DL which I can replace before stateside opening day (a gambit not used as much as it should be) and he might be the Angels closer in the second half of the year
Impossible at least for me to track numbers in a draft with a one minute clock and by now I have a pretty good feel for most all players and their categorical contributions. But after the draft I put the squad through START and feel very good about HR/R/RBI/OBP. Yes still light in steals but can adjust via trade or free agent additions. Pitching always needs work but the base is fine and you add wins throughout the season. And a little luck never hurts.