Remember way back in another carefree era where a 24 year old slick gloved shortstop for the Nationals hit 21 homers and stole 17 bases? He was then drafted in the 11th round by average in the five RIBC leagues during the Obama/Romney campaign of 2012. Danny was taken in between Edwin Encarncion and Max Sherzer that year on average. Some careers are not like the others...

His OPS declined, but he still hit 17 homers and stole 20 bags in 2012, leading him to get picked in the ninth round by average in 2013. It went downhill from there. Last year was the first time he had over 600 plate appearances since 2012. He also had a career high 24 dingers, yet his slugging percentage was a dismal .378.

One guy I’ve been looking at for a couple rounds is Felipe Rivero. His ratios last year were subpar for the bullpen, but I think he pitched better than they show. He increased his ability to draw swinging strikes, but sacrificed a little control at the same time. If he can cut down on the walks a bit, which I think is quite possible, he’ll be a top RP arm. He also profiles as a much more traditional closer than the incumbent Watson. Watson is a very good pitcher who significantly limits hard contact, but he’s 31 and only has 20 career saves to his credit. Pirates management has said all the right things so far, but I can see Watson losing his job relatively quickly if his poor spring performance carries over into April. I should also note the risk of Daniel Hudson getting first shot as closer if that scenario plays out.

Rivero is fairly likely to go undrafted if I don’t take him, so I can probably wait if I see another RP of interest. Hector Rondon may be just the guy. Even in a down season last year, he kept his WHIP below 1.00. It’s unlikely he’ll give up as many homers again, so his ERA should return to the mid 2s with a strikeout per IP. Wade Davis is another closer struggling in the spring, though I give Carl Edwards a better shot at promotion than Rondon.

Hopefully Plouffe's 2017 will be more like his 2014-2015 than his 2016. It's a contract year, and the As generally do a good job getting the most out of their players.

Matt is still only 26 so you cant say his best years are behind him, I think they're yet to come.

the problem I have with catchers is that most of them see probably 120-130 games a year. thats 20% less than other position players. In addition to that the stats of most catchers after the top 5 are bad. They are on the replacement player level, were the playing at a different position.

My favorite RIBC pitcher of all time, Koji Uehara, is one possibility. His WHIP and K rate are still top tier, but age has begun to catch up with him just a little. He’s about to turn 42, so it’s understandable! I think there are three guys in the Cubs pen more likely to close, but it’s not completely impossible that he can snag a few as the year goes along.

I can also go with Darren O’Day, another veteran of past twilson squads. His performance declined more last year than Uehara, but injuries are a likely culprit. He’s looking very strong in spring training. More than a handful of saves are out of the question, but that doesn’t mean he won’t have value as roster glue.

I have two names in mind, Ben Revere and [undrafted]. Revere is a year removed from back-to-back $15 seasons. He has absolutely no power, but does a good job of getting on base (2016 excluded) and stealing when the opportunity presents itself. I like his chance to provide me with cheap steals as long as he gets the playing time. He’s currently behind Cameron Maybin in the Angels pecking order but has outperformed Maybin in spring training.

[undrafted] was suggested by my father, who saw him hit in spring training and came away impressed. He’s definitely an off-the-radar name, and the playing time isn’t there as of yet, but I’m definitely going to keep an eye on him as the season gets going.

my top OF was Markakis. he has an excellent OBP and a bad SLG. There is some talk that he might trade in some AVG for some power which would translate into a slightly higher SLG. I'll take that.

I'm not sure why I hadn't thought to do it before this year: it solves the problem of playing time, and with 14+ options most days, there are usually plenty of matchup advantages to choose from.

It also creates a permanent free slot for me to be creative with. Maybe I want to spot-start a pitcher or middle infielder or add a RP to see how a volatile closer situation plays out: I can just go without a starting catcher for a day or two. I can roster other players for 16 days over the course of the season and still have 162 games started from my C position.

With that in mind, there was no good reason for me to draft a catcher at all, so I took Storen. Iglesias seems like he'll probably be ready for the beginning of the season, but it's no sure thing, and the assumption that he'll get the lion's share of the saves may be wishful thinking. He may not even be the top choice.

I'm also OK with numbers along the lines of what he produced last year. After being called up at the end of July, he posted an ERA of 1.23 and WHIP of 1.09 and struck out 30 batters in only 22 innings, a 12.3K/9 average.