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Subject: ESPN AAA RIBC 2019 DRAFT RECAP
Posted by: Judy
- [35493114] Sat, Mar 23, 2019, 22:33
Optional...
Managers: This thread is for your (optional) overall comments on the draft. You may use the questions below to structure your comments, or simply say what you want to say.
1. What was your plan/strategy entering the draft? Were you able to execute as you had planned?
2. What were your favourite picks? What picks would you like to do over?
3. Looking over all of the teams, which ones do you like the most (other than your own)?
4. What surprised you most about the draft?
5. If you could start the whole thing over, would you do anything differently? |
| 1 | I_AM_CANADIAN
Sustainer
ID: 01361448
Sat, Mar 23, 2019, 23:35
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1. What was your plan/strategy entering the draft? Were you able to execute as you had planned?
Most years, my draft strategy includes a lot of RPs (closers especially), and very few SPs (often running a FA rotating slot for several weeks).
I felt I had to adjust that this year, as I never had the “taste” for the current level of closers that were available.
I don’t know who was most to blame about this… is it the current question marks, on job positions, is the lacks of truly elite tiers, or was it that the managers around me were better drafters, securing that Category/Position when they needed to?
Truthfully, I didn’t love the way I drafted, as I will be fighting to be relevant in saves all year probably, however, if things fall right, the other areas where I’ve been able to strengthen my team, could leave me with my best squad in recent memory.
2. What were your favorite picks? What picks would you like to do over?
Favorites:
Ryan McMahon @ 20.13 (317th overall) - Upside potential is huge
Corey Dickerson @ 17.04 (260 overall) - Hard to imagine him not performing to this level
Do Overs:
Avisail Garcia @ 23.04 - My gut is telling me he’s going to frustrate me all year. I’ve already sent him to the wire.
3. Looking over all of the teams, which ones do you like the most (other than your own)?
It’s really hard to tell just after the draft. There are still so many question marks going into the season. If I were to pick 1…
JeffG: Trout, and also has the depth at closer that I’m missing.
4. What surprised you most about the draft?
The appetite for Vlad seemed a little early for me, and also how early the later tier of closers were going off.
5. If you could start the whole thing over, would you do anything differently?
No. I like the options of Turner/Merrifield early… gives me some great flexibility IMHO.
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| 2 | jaydog
ID: 33243109
Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 10:38
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1. What was your plan/strategy entering the draft? Were you able to execute as you had planned?
My strategy from year to year is usually to avoid the mistakes I made the prior season, and repeat what worked well. In 2018 my biggest problems were that I drafted aging/declining pitchers too early, and did not draft enough positional flexibility, really hampering my production when players got hurt. This year, I drafted (maybe overdrafted) a ton of positional flexibility, and I spent my early pitching picks on pitchers in (or approaching) their prime.
2. What were your favourite picks? What picks would you like to do over?
I like my top 3 picks (Bregman, Soto, and Belinger). Bregman and Belinger give me a ton of flexibility to cover 3 positions, and all three players should give me great 4 category production. Not a ton of speed in the group, but Belinger should chip in a few at a typically slow position (1B). Outside of the top 3, I feel like I got very good value at a few other slots. Treinan in the 6th, Cano in the 7th, Gray in the 23rd, and Urias in the 24th were all drafted well below their average RIBC draft slot. Picks I don't love are Pham in the 4th (aging, injury prone, and not a ton of upside), Severino (already hurt, although when I picked him the reports were that he would only miss a start or two), and Meadows (like the player, just picked him too early).
3. Looking over all of the teams, which ones do you like the most (other than your own)?
In leagues this deep every team will have strengths and weaknesses. DaveLipman seemed to snipe a lot of players I had as targets (Freeman, O'Hearn, Shaw, Senzel, and Deshields), but its yet to be seen how he will fill his Catcher spot, and he only has 4 SP's, three of whom were drafted after round 16. If he does a good job on the wire, his team could be tough. Also really like Holt's team. If Votto's power rebounds a bit, Albies avoids a sophomore slump, and Vladdy gets an early callup he should be in good shape. Even if some of his young'uns don't pan out, he drafted some nice depth guys I liked with Scooter, Brian Anderson, and Goodrum.
4. What surprised you most about the draft?
Only real surprise (other than a few specific players that went earlier than I expected) was how late the closer run started. Diaz went in the 3rd, Chapman and Jansen in the 5th, and I got Treinan in the 6th, which seemed to start the run. Treinan is ranked by many as the second best closer, and to get him in the 6th round was very surprising.
5. If you could start the whole thing over, would you do anything differently?
Just a few specific picks. Now knowing that Severino is going to miss the first month (at least) I wish I would have taken Greinke when my pick came up, or even taken Taillon or Clevenger in the 4th. Without a healthy Severino, I'm going to need Marquez to continue his second half, and Freeland to outperform his projections too. Relying that heavily on Rockies pitchers is a scary proposition. The other thing I'd like to do-over is my second and third closers. Bradley and May have great stuff, but neither is likely to be announced the defacto closer. If neither of them get consistent save opportunities, I could struggle to stay relevant in that category even if Treinan is elite. With my 3rd closer especially, I probably should have taken someone like Strop or Greene, both of whom have a slightly clearer path to saves.
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| 3 | JeffG
ID: 5425712
Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 12:00
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1. What was your plan/strategy entering the draft? Were you able to execute as you had planned?
I kind of tweak my strategy year to year, lessons learned. This year my approach was
- hitters - draft towards ratios, ratios, ratios and the counting stats will come
- no need to grab a stud MR, or any MR early, there are always plenty in the late round, get extra bats when everyone else is looking MR
- draft saves early, at least one reliable closer, so I am not chasing all season
- just finish in the middle of the pack in steals so no need to reach.
- get Aces early
- watch the 2B/SS/MI pool, don't get caught late
- and as always, avoid guys with spring injuries, unless a bargain
With Trout 1, I focused on two aces on the first turn 2.16/3.01. I grabbed a closer as the run was starting, and got a second semi-reliable one before the crapshoot fully began. I think I executed all except the MI approach, but think i am ok. Regarding the injury avoidance, I bypassed he very tempting Severino who may miss a month, on four consecutive picks (2 rounds of pairs of picks), also avoided Heaney because of uncertainty, but did draft Foltynewicz in rd 9 who will be missing some time, but he did not respond to my Twitter DM for a health update:) My guys who can steal have value in the other categories or filled a positional need. I only had two RP through round 19 and grabbed 3 good ones to fill in the roster in the last 6 rounds
2. What were your favorite picks? What picks would you like to do over?
1.01 is the chalk answer. What is not to love with Mike Trout on the fantasy roster. I am happy with my SP and RP, other than that nothing to love or hate. I feel like Evan Longoria (16.16) is a likely bust probably a reach. Maybe CarGo can be a lottery ticket late.
3. Looking over all of the teams, which ones do you like the most (other than your own)?
A few things caught my eye during the draft...
Knowing Holt's history of being very successful in RIBC, watched his draft closely. Went with MI in picks 1,2 and 4. We'll see if that pays off with position scarcity. Blue hen went real light on SP, only 1 through 15 rounds only 3 overall. Pete did not grab an SP until round 9. For both of them, I know SP go fewer innings now and wins are tougher to come by from starters but hen will do well in the other pitching categories with his reliever heavy approach. Jaydog just kept taking outfielders, did not check to see if any have positional flexibility, but that is a full bench if not. There are several teams with seven or more SP, which could hurt in the ration, and strikeouts. Seattle Zen who picks 7 after me seemed to have guys fall to him that were the next player off my list at my earlier pick.
I do not think there is a clear cut favorite, everyone had a good draft.
4. What surprised you most about the draft?
Other than a few folks who overloaded on SP or OF, nothing really. Folks showed RP patience and while the closer run was about where the general fantasy sites show with ADP, but thought I'd get more options at 6.16. Everyone showed great restraint with catchers if they did not get the early tier guys.
Surprised more league mates do not comment on the optional rationales, or at least give their thinking in this league recap thread
5. If you could start the whole thing over, would you do anything differently?
Several rounds my queues of targets were picked clean but I do not think I'd do anything different now knowing this.
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| 4 | Seattle Zen
ID: 301361318
Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 12:30
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1. What was your plan/strategy entering the draft? Were you able to execute as you had planned?
I usually don’t have a strategy in RIBC that can be summarized in a simple slogan. I generally draft for value and balance, taking what the league gives me at first then focusing on guys who I think are going to break out in later rounds. In the Yahoo AAA league, their commish Toral claimed that the statement, “I can’t believe Player X was still available!” is a passive aggressive insult to the rest of the league. I disagree. In an auction, perhaps because all 16 teams have equal opportunity to bid on all players, but early in a draft all it takes is two or three managers to pass on a player to create a perceived “steal”. I don’t think y’all are stupid for letting Chris Sale, Charlie Blackmon and Starling Marte slip to me, I can understand managers who don’t want to take their first SP in the second round. I am just grateful. Drafting Christian Yelich, on the other hand, that’s just dumb. I love Tosh, my island dwelling friend, but all four of my first four players will outperform that Brewer.
If I had any sort of plan, it was to hopefully take one of my top twelve closers and that’s it. I do my best not to assume that the results of the past year or two are certain to happen this year, but it sure seems like teams are spreading saves around more meaning that you get more roto points for fewer saves as lots of “vulture saves” are not rostered. I’m not counting on grabbing a new closer on the waiver wire, but hopefully I will get a few saves here and there and Doolittle will keep his job all season giving me enough saves for 8 points in the category. Y’all can fight over the polka dot saves jersey.
2. What were your favorite picks? What picks would you like to do over?
I’ve raved about my first four picks enough. I am very satisfied with my catcher pick in the 21st round as Cervelli should actually help my OBP.
The only real reach that I would consider doing over is taking Paul Dejong in the 9th. If I were to try this again, I maybe would have taken Charlie Morton at #135 and Dejong at #186 rather than Pivetta. Here’s to Pivetta outperforming Morton!
3. Looking over all of the teams, which ones do you like the most (other than your own)?
You would have to be a fool to think holt is not the favorite to win. He got great value in Lindor at #20 and he regularly finds the gems at the end of the draft. Alex Reyes at #397 could stay on his team all season and contribute nicely. I don’t like his first basemen and if they don’t work out I’m sure he will mine the waiver wire for one that does. I hope Mondesi, Happ, Straum and Choo all pan out for him as I have them on other teams, and I also hope Michael Pineda does, too, as I’m a Twins fan and he is fun to watch when he is on.
4. What surprised you most about the draft?
That I only complained once about how long some managers were taking to make their pick. That three teams went so light on starting pitching. That Judy only took five Phillies. Things that didn’t surprise me: Blue Hen taking moon shot after moon shot. Very risky roster, I guess I’m surprised he didn’t end up with Vlad Jr., I’m sure if Tosh didn’t take him right before him in the third The Hen would have.
5. If you could start the whole thing over, would you do anything differently?
Nah.
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| 5 | jaydog
ID: 33243109
Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 16:29
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JeffG... several of my OF (Belinger, Mancini, and Gonzalez) have infield eligibility too... I stashed them all in OF in DraftTime to throw you guys off the scent!!
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| 6 | JeffG
ID: 0151257
Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 17:14
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[5].... see I said I didn’t check. :)
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| 7 | Seattle Zen
ID: 301361318
Tue, Mar 26, 2019, 12:43
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Okay, got another surprise. I was the only RIBC squad to draft Alex Wood. He was rostered by 60% of all ESPN leagues (but that is now slipping to 52%) yet he is on the wire in all the other leagues. Yandy Diaz, on the other had, is only rostered in 2.4% of all ESPN leagues and all four RIBC leagues drafted him. Very strange.
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| 8 | GO
ID: 112192620
Wed, Mar 27, 2019, 00:22
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Where is Judy's review? She mentioned a top secret strategy and I'm still left wondering...
1. What was your plan/strategy entering the draft? Were you able to execute as you had planned? I always shoot for hitting 1st, figure out the pitching later and I stuck to that. And I'm light on pitching because of it. I also tried to pick up some Tier 1 talent like Edwin Diaz and Realmuto. I knew I couldn't be chasing Saves in this league with all the waiver wire hawks in this group. Especially with Holland now closing, I don't think I'll have to chase saves much, so I accomplished that goal.
Positional flexibility was important in this format as well -- and I got that done with Muncy, Profar, Hampson I should be able to move some guys around.
And I was trying to get everyone to chip in with steals so I didn't have to use a pick on a Dee Gordon or Billy Hamilton type. Think I found some good speed.
2. What were your favourite picks? What picks would you like to do over? If I knew I'd pick up so many 2B eligible players I wouldn't have picked Altuve. I'd trade him for a comparably ranked power bat or ace SP.
3. Looking over all of the teams, which ones do you like the most (other than your own)? I'm liking Fostens after Eloy and Tatis got added. Of course I felt i got a similar steal with Kingery last year... and well... And I kept a close eye on Pete as he was B2B between me, and his lineup is laid out very similar to me.
4. What surprised you most about the draft?
No surprises.
5. If you could start the whole thing over, would you do anything differently? I would probably follow a similar path. The Altuve 2B thing would only be known in hindsight.
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| 9 | Judy
ID: 35493114
Sun, Mar 31, 2019, 15:29
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Its coming...
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| 10 | Judy
ID: 35493114
Sun, Mar 31, 2019, 17:31
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Ok now.
The basic early plan after Arenado as one of the top 5 guys which is why I picked #5, was to grab as many of the hitting Phillies as possible.
However since I am known as a phillie “homer” and the fact that our lineup is loaded, you guys stole some batters from me!
I used only the espn rankings and only the basic numbered sheets. Did not consult any specific stat totals.
The last 7-10 picks I made were of guys for depth at starting OF and starting SP for various teams. Seriously no idea anything about most of these guys, but some name recognition.
So
1.05. Arenado 3B COL
No brainer. Would have taken JD if Nolan gone. 5 tools for both.
2.12. Nola SP PHL
First Phillie. High expectations for him, perhaps even Cy Young. With this lineup he should not lose any W when the RP come in as I expect big leads.
3.05. Rendon 3B Wash
Wanted Hoskins or Harper, but twilson took Hoskins at 3.03, so grabbed another slugger. Was very surprised to see Harper go at 1.10 by fosten. Didn’t really want a second 3B so soon, but could not pass him up.
4.12 Segura SS PHL
Phillie #2. Back to the master plan. Will thrive in this lineup and steady the defensive infield woes. 9th SS taken and those below were not too good. Actually shocked he is ranked so low. Will thrive in Phillie.
5.05. Conforto OF NYM
6.12. Haniger OF Sea
8.12 Polluck
#21, 24 and 34 OF taken by us. Ranked 23, 19 and 26 by espn. With 4 OF, need depth. Conforto and Haniger are #1 OF for each of their teams. Polluck loves hitting in Dodgers stadium in the middle of a strong team. Thought McCutcheon would slip to me in next round (9) but twilson took him as OF #35 in 8.14. Damn. My bad. I think ‘Cutch will absolutely thrive in Philly. Needed to fill the OF with clear power guys. There are so many stats available in this position. Here’s hoping...
7.05 Gordon 2B/OF Sea
Snuck in between my OF run.
Looking for MI and some steals. Dee is all grown up now and I expect a solid season. Our 9th 2B. Hoping Cesar (our #15) would last to me for MI #2, but snatched by zen at 10.10 right before I had to grab a 1B (Desmond).
9.05 Seranthony RP PHL
Bad Pick but RP going fast, long time to next pick...
Should have gone for Giles (10.04 holt/former Phillie) or Bradley (10.08 jaydog) for closer saves...
Stayed with plan to grab PHL. Will close when needed.
10.12. Desmond 1B/OF
Some SP I wanted gone (Marquez 8.08 jaydog, he read the same article I did...) (10.02 Hamels/former PHL). Not much left of powerful 1B but not too worried for CI as I have two sluggers in Rendon and Arenado.
PAUSE, BREATHE...
So now have 3 OF, 1B, 2B, SS, and 3B (2) that I am very happy with. Nola as SP is ready to be special.
But I am not doing a very good job drafting Phillies. I guess everyone else knows their lineup is loaded...
So time for more SP. ooops not too many left. Oops.
11.05 Porcello SP Bos
12.12 Arrieta SP PHL
Preferred picks (Marquez, Hamels) snatched from me here — see above
Porcello is a workhorse, very surprised he was still here. Our #37 SP, ranked 43 by espn.
Wanted happ but holt grabbed at 12.04. So back to Phillie plan: Arrieta, our #46, espn #51. not sure how he will do, not super excited here, BUT he is a phillie!!!
Time for flexible options
13.05 A Cabrera TEX
Wiley veteran with eligibility at 2B, SS and 3B. Works for me. Coulda taken Franco (13.14 Perm) but have 2 3B already. Think pressure will be off Maikel with the other smashers in the lineup. He can relax and star at the bottom end.
14.12. Jones OF AZ
Adam found a job! Yeah. OF #4 for me. Shoulda gone Herrera (18.02 GO) Wiley veteran...seem to have a lot of them...
15:05.Molina C STL
Ya need a C. Listed at espn #5. We shall see. Another Wiley veteran on a refurnished STL team? Maybe. OBP will help. Our 7th C drafted.
16.12 Neris RP PHL
When he is hot, he’s hot, when he’s not, oh brother. First game 1 IP gives up 2 R. Come on Hector.
17.05 Bruce 1B/OF Sea
Another Wiley veteran. Should have taken Herrera (18.02/GO). Can’t believe I didn’t. Must not have been paying attention.
18.12. Teheran SP Atl
Opening day starter for ATL. Why available so late? No idea. Los Bravos supposed to contend in East
19.05. Alonso 1B CWS
A sub, bottom of barrel 1B, but expected to bat 3,4,5 in lineup so maybe some counting stats...?
Ok. Need some SP, any SP. so I looked over some rotations with SP not yet taken. Found these guys who play for decent teams...yah?
20.12. Whitley SP Hou
21.05 Britton SP NYY
22.12 Sanchez SP Wash
23.05. Trumbo — already on DL
24.12 Schebler OF CIN
No idea who this guys is but he is a starter. Espn #80 OF. Third OF for CIN. Whatever.
25.05. Giolito SP CWS
Last SP (#80) on espn list. Whatever.
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| 11 | Judy
ID: 35493114
Tue, Apr 02, 2019, 20:42
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What? No comments?
Not even from blue hen?
So disappointed...
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| 12 | GO
ID: 112192620
Thu, Apr 04, 2019, 23:30
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I think BH also was shooting to get all the Phillies too...
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| 13 | blue hen
ID: 5511361810
Fri, Apr 05, 2019, 16:51
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Fine, you talked me into it. Britton is not a SP. That's my comment.
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| 14 | Seattle Zen
ID: 301361318
Mon, Oct 28, 2019, 00:12
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I like to do a post mortem of the season for a few reasons. I realize that I do not know how every player finished the season and reviewing the draft gives me an opportunity to see how the top 200 or so players drafted performed this year. I have hoped that I may spot flaws in my pre-season drafting and draft performance if I conduct this review but I am not sure that I have. I do try to remove as much bias as humanly possible, but as you can see from my pre-season dissing of Christian Yelich, I am prone to bouts of stubborn human fallibility.
I’ll tell you one thing, the changes ESPN made to it’s platform were AWFUL. They removed the page where you could see each individual contribution to your squad. That was a great way to see how a trade panned out, who were your best waiver wire pick ups and just how bad Player X was when you cut him, just before he went on his hot streak and helped Holt win the title. They never adequately fixed the lag. It was like they had turned on the lights at the bar and implied it was time for us to go, they didn’t want us there anymore. Seriously disappointed.
The first round this year was maybe the most rewarding first round of the decade or even farther back. So many great performances with really one three out of sixteen picks being duds. Trout had a great season. I hadn’t heard anything positive about Mookie’s season so I was surprised he is the 8th rated batter on the player rater. Top player being Yelich despite his shortened season. Arenado, Bregman, Harper, Acuna, and Turner were all top 17 batters. My pick of JD Martinez was pretty good, he didn’t produce like he had the last two years but the 23td overall batter is pretty decent. Max Scherzer’s season as the tenth best starter only gets him honorable mention this year, pretty amazing, really.
The worst pick of the round and what I think is the second worst pick in the draft was the Perm Dude reaching for Cory Kluber and Kluber delivering a real stinker of a short season. G Stanton did a reverse metamorphosis from a 50 HR butterfly into his familiar, oft injured, high strikeout pupa. Thanks to this format with its lack of DL slots and short bench, Aaron Judge’s less than half season was more damaging as he was a black hole until he finally came back. Paul Goldschmidt won’t be a first round pick ever again, will the same be true of Manny Machado?
The Second round was also pretty well done. The best pick was by IAC 2.13.29 Justin Verlander, the best pitcher of the year. His teammate was the next pick at #14 by twilson and he also finished just behind Verlander on the player rater. Juan Soto was the best bat of the round by jaydoghall, followed by Trevor Story, Freddy Freeman, then Jason de Grom by gramazins was the next best pick on the rater. Lindor and Rizzo were also good picks.
You know who didn’t win this league? The Mayor, Perm Dude, who also had, by far, the worst pick of the second round, too. Khris Davis did not Krush. Joey Votto and Blake Snell disappointed.
The third round, now we start seeing more poor performances. Cody Bellinger, on the other hand, was phenomenal. Second overall bat thanks to a powerful five category year – 121 runs, 115 RBI to go with 15 steals and a 1.035 OPS. Wow! Anthony Rendon basically did the same thing but with only 5 steals, making Judy’s 37th overal pick the sixth best bat of the year. Jack Flaherty, X Boagarts, Walter Buehler and Charlie Blackmon were all good picks for holt, Peter N, gramazins, and myself. Charlie had only two steals, but his 198 RBI/R and 944 OPS were enough to make him the 28th most productive bat on the year.
Jeff G took Blake Snell and Carlos Carrasco around the turn and I think Carlos’s proximity to Snell’s gave him the leukemia? If you can’t make fun of cancer on the internet, well, could you point me to someplace where it’s okay? I had both of those arms on my ottoneu squad, I know Jeff’s disappointment. Vlad Jr. did not become this year’s Kris Bryant, quite the opposite. Perm Dude, you insured demotion when you took a third straight turd in Matt Carpenter. The only thing that kept you from feeling the cold floor of the cellar was the decomposing carcass of Team Hickey. So disappointed that his squad was abandoned like this is some public league.
The player rater REALLY loves closers. I think they are overvalued in their formula but I certainly do not have the math chops to devise something better. So it is funny that the first closer taken, Edwin Diaz by GO, ends up as one of the worst picks of the third round. Andrew Benintendi was also a dud, but I called that one in my draft rationales. Carlos Correa’s short season made Blue Hen’s pick a disappointment.
The fourth round was filled with some great values. Steven Strasburg was a great pick for Blue Hen as he was the forth best pitcher of the year – 251K, 18 wins, 3.32/1.04. George Springer had the huge year many people had been waiting for. I’m more than satisfied with the season I got out of Starling Marte. His twenty five steals came with 180 RBI/R and a 845 OPS, good for 24th best bat. It wasn’t ideal to take three outfielders in the first four rounds as it prevented me from getting some other productive outfield bats later in the draft, but all three produced. Tommy Pham had a quietly productive year while Eugenio Suarez maybe should start getting noticed. If he had just crossed the 50 homer threshold… he did only score 87 times, so if you took away the 49 times he brought himself home, that means his teammates knocked him in 38 times all year?!?! Mike Cleveniger had a stellar year. Even though he missed a good chunk of time, the 43 steals from Alberto Mondesi make up for his 120 RBI/R and meager .293/.425 and according to the player rater, he was the 52nd best bat this year. I don’t know if holt kept him during his injury or how many of those 43 steals ended up in his end of the year total. Gleybar Torres was 53rd. Don’t think I agree that Mondesi’s season was better than GT’s.
Our first negative value on the rater was delivered by James Taillon. I drafted Daniel Murphy in another league and was equally as excited about the prospect of Murph hitting in Coors as Fosten was. Yuck! Jeff G, third straight poor pick with Lo Cain. If it wasn’t for Perm Dude, you would have been resting on the rotting carcass. In my draft rationales, I stated I was very keen on Jean Segura. I’m so glad that Starling was there and Judy ended up with him.
Watching the World Series on Juan Soto’s birthday. This Nats squad is really fun to watch. Love that outfield. The sixth round had a bunch of profitable closers and one dud. Kirby Yates contributed to two squads, he gave Jeff G 27 saves from 35.1 innings. 56K 1.23/0.85. I got only 14 saves out of similar numbers: 25.1 innings, 45K, 1.07/0.95. He was the headliner of our trade around the Fourth of July where I gave him Adam Eaton and Mike Fiers, he gave me Kirby and Ryon Healey, who was hurt and cut. Adam was my 13th round pick and had given me 47 runs, 21 RBI with six steals .355/.377 as my fourth outfielder. He blew up for Jeff G 56/28 RBI and 9 steals with .372 and .490 slugging! I had picked up Fiers off the wire right after his no hitter. I think I had him for 50 innings, 6 wins, 28K 2.88/1.02. Of course, I would know for sure if ESPN hadn’t let methed out chimps redesign the platform. Jeff got 77 2/3 IP with 56K, six wins and 3.94/1.30. Eaton outearned Yates alone, I feel pretty confident in stating.
Clayton Kershaw was one of the best picks of the sixth, Nelson Cruz has really defied Father Time and had an outstanding year for the Twins. Roberto Osuna had legal troubles in 2018, but that’s behind him and he had a great 2019. Felipe Vazquez had a great 2019, too, but, oh man, he has far more serious legal troubles ahead of him. Max Muncy was a great pick for Great One, Brad Hand was also a Player Rater favorite. Jose Berrios was nervous and overthrowing in the ALDS, but in the regular season he performed great for Fosten. Last year Blake Treinin had one of the greatest fantasy seasons by a reliever. This year he was the fourth closer taken by jaydoghall and stunk so bad he lost his job. But at least he had both testicles unscathed. Because Mitch Hanniger ruptured one of his, he didn’t play much or pay off Judy.
The seventh round was not lucky for this league as most of us had poor picks. Best pick by far was Carlos Santana. “Oye como va” Carlos? Must have been a Black Magic Woman that cursed you in Phily. You changed your Evil Ways back in The Land and put up career highs in both OBP and slugging. Blue Hen also had a good pick in Yoan Mocada. It’s telling when someone steals ten bases and that is considered good production, but in 2019 if stealing 10 bags with a .900 OPS at second base is a top 40 bat. My pick of Sean Doolittle was the third most productive of the round much to everyone’s surprise. Helps that the rest of the Nats’ bullpen was pretty bad allowing Sean to keep his gig. Elvis Andrus had a productive season because he stole 30 bases to go with a decent set of runs and RBI. Mallex Smith is said to have had a well above average season and Fosten drafted him and he was on his roster at the end of the season, so he probably kept him all year, but by the end of the season he was only on 67% of all teams, hardly the overwhelming support you would expect. He stole 46 bases to lead all of baseball and scored 70 runs, but a .335 slugging is awful, a mere 37 RBI is painful and a .300 OBP is rather lame, really. Was he better than Eddie Rosario? They shared a .300 OBP but Eddie knocked in 109 and scored 91, stole three and slugged an even .500. The player rater says, “yes” Mallex was better, but Eddie was rostered by 98% of the country, so the customers might not agree.
Who was the worst pick of this round? The three candidates are Jesus Aguilar, Robinson Cano and Justin Upton. Robby’s godawful contract was the loadstone the Mets had to take in order to pry Edwin Diaz from the M’s :) What a horrible trade for the Amazings! He missed plenty of time this season as he only had 390 plate appearances but he played a little each month. He went into the All Star break with a .287/.360 slash. Much to my surprise, his final line of .327/.408 was not a career worst. He stunk in 2008 where he had a -0.2 WAR and a .305/.410 line. Yuck! And he is due $24million a year for the next four years, good god y’all. Way to go Mets! Jesus Aguilar was a complete bust out of the gate. He went into May with a .163/.300 slash line and I think he had lost his starting job at first. I think the only reason he stayed on Jeff’s team all season is because Jeff G’s squad was terrible. He finished with 39 runs, 50 RBI and .325/.389 and nary a steal. Justin Upton only had 219 at bats, I don’t even remember why. He knocked in 22 runs in August, probably the best month any of these three had. Brandon Nimmo couldn’t find himself healthy enough to get 200 at bats this year. J Profar was disappointing as was David Price, Nomar Mazara, Wil Myers and Jose LeClerc, though 100K out of the pen ain’t awful.
The Mad Bum was the highlight of the eighth round. A WHIP of 1.13 and 203K should have produced more than 9 wins and a better than 3.90 ERA. His FIP and xFIP have been identical the past three seasons so what made him profitable this year was his 207 IP. Wonder where he will be next season and what he has in store. R Iglasias kept his job all year and finished with 34 saves and a ton of Ks. Victor Robles had a very good season for gramazins, he won’t be an eighth rounder again any time soon. I loved my pick of Edwin Encarnacion until he was traded to the Yankees and then getting hurt. He was amongst the early league leaders in homers and RBI. He ended with 81 runs 86 RBI and .344/.531 in only 418 at bats. Was on pace to be in the top 50 bats…
Miguel Andujar was a the biggest bust of the round and there were a lot. Scooter Gennett finally had the terrible season most of us had been expecting the past three seasons. He only played in 42 games and put up a putrid .568 OPS, explaining why it was only 42 games. Jose Peraza, who the hell are you? Can’t say I watched a lot of Reds games, so I had to look at some box scores to figure out why he ended up with only 376 at bats. He started slow and lost at bats to Derek Dietrick, which I now remember because I picked up the power crazed Dietrick in another league. When you go 7 for 13 in steals for the year and you are relegated to the bench because Jose Iglasias and Double D out hit you, you were probably drafted by Jeff G! Cody Allen, David Robertson and Craig Kimbrell were all bad picks. Allen and Robertson because they couldn’t get major league batters out, Kimbrell because the Major League Player’s Association negotiated a contract that left Craig at home bagging groceries until July. His 23.14 ERA for September wasn’t pretty, either. Perm Dude forgot he was in this league and let four players get picked after he was skipped. Three of the four were awful, so PD said, “Hey, let me join the fun, I’ll take Brian Dozier.” He cut him on 4/17 after fifty plate appearances and a total of seven hits for a .220/.217 line. I took a flier on him and he had a decent ,808 OPS the rest of the way, not bad for a fourth middle infielder. 49 runs and 49 RBI, only 3 steals. Don’t know what he contributed to my bottom line, but it sure was more than what PD got out of his eighth round pick.
Watching Game 5 of the World Series, wow, the momentum has shifted. I would hate to have bet a ton of money on the Nationals to upset the Astros. The giddy feeling you get when you go up 2-0 and head back to DC for three home games. Now the sinking feeling of the win slipping away. So I occasionally switch to the Rugby World Cup matches I have saved on my DVR. I was amazed when England squarely beat down the All Blacks in the Semis. Now I’m hoping for Wales to get to their first World Cup Final to face their neighbors. I can’t imagine how crazy Cardiff would get during that match.
Round nine had two of the best picks in the first half of the draft, Josh Hader by the Canuck and Raphel Devers by Great One. I had to try to remember why Hader taken after the closer run, I mean, he did have a great season last year. We all thought that Corey Knebbel was going to be the closer? Hard to imagine that being said from this vantage point. Devers put up Coors like counting numbers with 129 runs and 115 RBI. 702 plate appearances was by far the most the 23 year old has ever had. Even though his walk rate dipped, because he hit .311, his OBP went up from .298 to .361! Eight steals! .555 SLG. That’s a great line. Michael Brantley, Kyle Hendricks and Yu Darivsh (finally!) had good years, too.
As good as Hader was, the guy picked right ahead of him, Wade Davis, was awful. Somehow the Rockies let him gather 15 saves while giving up nearly a run an inning. An 8.65 ERA and a 1.88 WHIP. GoodGodYall! Seranthony Dominguez wasn’t much better, zero saves and only 24 innings pitched. Knebbel put up a goose egg for Blue Hen. Billy Hamilton and Aaron Hicks were unproductive outfielders.
Was Miguel Cabrera really taken in the ninth round? Actually, yes, and gramazin was the last of the four RIBC managers to pick him, he was a seventh round pick in one league. Miggy looked awful, I couldn’t imagine trying to explain to a young fan why he is still getting 549 plate appearances. He crossed the plate 41 times, knocked in a meager 59 and had a .346/.398 slash line. His 2017 was worse, so the mere fact that he had an in jury shortened .395/.448 line last year gave the prognosticators some selective amnesia. I went back to look at Steamer projections for both Miggy and Devers and it was enlightening. Miggy was actually the sixth highest projected first bagger by wRC+ with a 130. It thought he would go .370/.481 with 68/72 over 523 plate appearances. Miggy is a REALLY old 36 year old. Not to be confused with David Ortiz or Nelson Boom Stick. Devers, on the other hand was the 18th best 3rd baseman coming into 2019 by projected wRC+ with a 111. He was predicted to come to the plate about as often as Miggy, 534 times, but only hit ,328/.476 with 69/78 counting stats. Hell, he almost had that many runs alone this year. Fun with projections in hindsight!
The big fish in the 10th round was Charlie Morton. In my draft analysis, my one possible regret was not taking him instead of Paul Dejung in the ninth. Yep, I got that one wrong. Nice pick Tosh. Pete Alonzo was a stretch in the 10th, he went in the 17th in another RIBC league. But we all know what he did, break Judge’s rookie home run record, get a cool nickname, be the toast of New York. A fine example of Fosten’s foresight to finish fourth. Luis Castillo was other worldly early, still ended up as the 20th most valuable pitcher. He had 8 wins and 124K at the All Star Break with a 2.29/1.08. ERA of 4.78 after the break, but still, great season. Ken Giles, Y Grandal and Kyle Schwarber were all good picks. Max Kepler was a stretch by Blue Hen, but he paid off. A big reason why the Twins were the first team to hit 300 HR, he crushed 36 of them. That lead to an improvement in SLG from .408 to .519. His walk rate dropped to 10% but his OBP went up to .336 thanks more hits. 98 runs and 90 RBI were the big reason he was a steal at pick #150
There were only two poor picks in the round, so does that mean that this was the least worst round? David Peralta didn’t play enough and when he did play in 99 games, well, he was better than Miguel Cabrerra. I think he will be a profit center in 2020. Ender Inciarte is a fun name to say at live draft, I can attest, but I do remember cursing him as I cut him. Why did he only get 230 plate appearances? Maternity leave? Running for the Senate in the Philippines?
The rest of the draft had it’s ups and downs. As much grief as I give Jeff G for his poor upper half of the draft, I believe he had the best pick of the entire draft with the jaw dropping surprise performance of Ketel Marte. .389/.592. That little guy crushed a .592 SLG?! The 11th best bat taken at #192. an OPS of 1.062 with six steals after the All Star break. Probably the second best pick of the draft was Fosten taking a chance on DJ LeMahieu in the 24th round. He was the 26th best bat of 2019. The next great pick, the 29th best bat of 2019 was Jorge Soler by GO in the 16th round. Josh Bell was the 31st best bat and Thumpqer took him in the 11th. Jeff McNeil was a lucky guess by holt in the 18th. He best waiver wire pick ups were Danny Santana and Yordan Alvarez, the 42nd and 44th best bats.
The best pitcher bargain was Shawn Bieber by Pete N in the 14th. He was the 7th best pitcher of 2019 according to the player rater. He was also sold for three absolutely magicless beans back on July 1. It wasn’t only a bad trade in retrospect, he was actually mocked on the boards by otherwise tight lipped holt. What did Bieber do after leaving The TTU Cowboy? 8 wins, 3.03/1.06 and 126 K in 110 IP. Jarrod (pronounced Ja AWFUL) Dyson gave him a .274/.266 line with 27 runs and NINE RBI over 209 plate appearances. But there were 11 games where he didn’t start, he came in as a pinch hitter or runner. Oh, he did chip in 11 steals, but for Shawn Bieber?
I had drafted Ryu in two prior drafts when the 14th round came around. I had Hyun-jin ranked above Kenta Maeda, but I went with Kenta instead of Ryu in order to “Diversify”. Fu&kin stupid! He was the 10th best pitcher by season end, a great pick for Twilson in the 15th. He was the best pitcher in baseball going into the Break. 1.73/0.90 10 wins and 99K. Luis Giolito was a great pick by Judy in the 25th. Her thoughts in her post draft write up - “whatever”. He was the 17th best pitcher of 2019. Will Smith was the 18th best pitcher, picked in the 11th by… Blue Hen. Wow, for a guy fighting relegation all season, you sure had a lot of good draft picks. Itchy cutting finger? Sonny Gray, the 21st best pitcher surprised everyone but jaydoghall. He took him in the 23rd round and yeah, I’m sure Sonny’s family was just amazed at what happened, no one saw that coming. The best undrafted pitchers were Liam Hendricks, the 16th best overall arm, Lance Lynn the 24th and Mike Soroka, who only had 142K, but was still the 25th best pitcher in 2019 with his 13 wins, 2.68 ERA and 1.11 WHIP. Not bad for a 22 year old.
There wasn’t much written up during the draft or recaps, so I can’t look back and see what you guys were thinking. I am Canadian was not very good at prognosticating, he didn’t like his squad, thought Jeff G had a good draft, liked his Ryan McMahan pick and panned his Avasail Garcia one! Jaydoghall said his Blake Treinin pick and Robby Cano picks were bargains – ah, nope! He wasn’t hopeful for his Tommy Pham and Austin Meadows picks. Oh for Four on those.
Fun time looking back, hope to make The Show in 2021!
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| 15 | holt
ID: 491153264
Wed, Oct 30, 2019, 18:57
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Hilarious, and informative! Kind of a post-season roast. Good idea.
I also hate the lack of a team log. It seems like such an easy thing to implement but nope.
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Post a reply to this message: ESPN AAA RIBC 2019 DRAFT RECAP
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