Last night I took part in an "expert" league draft for a 12 team, 5x5 NL-only league put together by Todd Zola of Mastersball. While there was nothing unusual about the league structure, Zola is running the league as part of the Slugging For Jude drive. Jude is the young lad getting his Skywalker on in the picture above (along with the Yoda ear of his little brother Finn), who's currently in a battle with leukemia. Todd has pledged to make a donation based on how many of us manage to beat him in the standings in this league, so the incentive is certainly there for all of us to make sure he finishes as close to the basement as possible.
For my part, I'm going to make a similar donation at season's end based on how many teams finish ahead of me in each individual category. Should I win the league, I'll flip it and donate based on how many teams are below me in each individual category. If you'd like to make a donation yourself, you can use their GoFundMe page, and you can get updates on how Jude is doing here.
My team, and draft strategy, are below the fold.
I ended up getting the second slot in the draft, which afforded me an opportunity to try something I hadn't done yet this season: take Clayton Kershaw with my first pick and then, secure in the knowledge that my pitching staff had the best possible foundation, load up on as much hitting as I could. Here's how the strategy played out:
1 (2): Clayton Kershaw, P, LA - Had Joel Henard taken Kershaw first overall I would have been quite miffed, but fortunately he went with Giancarlo.
2 (23): Starling Marte, OF, Pit - I was planning to go infield/outfield in some order with this set of picks around the turn, and Marte stood out among the OFers in a way none of the infield options did.
3 (26): Nolan Arenado, 3B, Col - In a competitive expert-y type league, I wasn't going to just play the board and hope someone I'd taken a shine to stuck around 20-odd picks until my next turn. I like Arenado's chances of a breakout, and Coors-fueled breakouts win leagues.
4 (47): Matt Holliday, OF, StL - Mr. Old and Boring and Unsexy and Productive was just sitting there at the top of my queue. I kind of felt bad for him, really. Kris Bryant, incidentally, went with pick 35. I would have thought about him at 50.
5 (50): Brandon Belt, 1B, SF - Matt Harvey, the only guy who might have made me waver on my 'Kershaw and all teh batz' strategy, went at pick 49. C'est la vie. I considered Marcell Ozuna here as well, or maybe some more speed, but figured I'd better focus on the infield. Plus, Ben Revere would probably get back to me with my next set of picks...
6 (71): Neil Walker, 2B, Pit - Revere went at pick 63. Nuts. Oh well, back to the infield for another boring productive player.
7 (74): Lance Lynn, P, StL - OK, fine, the pickings were starting to look a little thin at SP, so I grabbed a second one. The choice came down to Lynn or Jacob deGrom, who went two picks after I passed on him. I might regret that one.
8 (95): Jean Segura, SS, Mil - Something of a boom or bust pick, but given my other hitters I could afford to take the risk. You'll notice I still don't have any closers. Every time I thought about taking one or went so far as to add one to my queue in the draft room, he inevitably got snapped up within the next couple of minutes, so I just stopped thinking about them. Ha! Who's laughing now, all you psychic cheaters?
9 (98): Wilson Ramos, C, Was - He'll stay healthy one of these years, right? If he does, cha-ching! If not, well, catchers are easy to find on the wire... Gulp.
10 (119): Ken Giles, P, Phi - I think I got away with this one because he's not a closer yet, and didn't trip the alarms. Either that or I threw them off by thinking about maybe taking Jenrry Mejia instead, who went at 116.
11 (122): Santiago Casilla, P, SF - No one in their right mind would actually want Casilla, so even the psychic cheaters couldn't poach me on this one.
12 (143): Mike Fiers, P, Mil - Wait, three pitchers in a row? Ick. Well, the innings and K's have to come from somewhere.
13 (146): Norichika Aoki, OF, SF - Not exactly who I had in mind as my OF3, but given the solid infield I assembled I can't complain too much, and I needed steals. I also considered Juan Lagares here, who went at 158. Apparently, I hate the Mets because I keep shunning them. Who knew?
14 (167): Jake Lamb, 3B, Ari - I don't like what I've seen from Yasmany Tomas (who lasted until 186) this spring, and Lamb's upside makes him worth a gamble. Plus, pickings were getting slim at CI. Will Middlebrooks went at 168, and Cody Asche at 175, so I started a mini-run with this pick, which is always fun.
15 (170): Jung-Ho Kang, SS, Pit - Speaking of gambles, Kang's got some adjusting to do in the bigs, but he's got power and the Pirates seem committed to getting him at-bats. Also, the MI positions were even thinner than the CIs. The next MI taken was Joe Panik! (I really think he should legally change his name to add the exclamation point) at 184. Also, there was a highly amusing run on Peraltas at the end of this round, as Wily, David and Joel went 177-178-179.
16 (191): Raisel Iglesias, P, Cin - Almost 200 picks into an only draft, you are either drafting for ceiling or floor, because you can't have both. This is definitely a ceiling pick.
17 (194): Mike McKenry, C, Col - Potentially vaguely useful backup catchers were just about gone and the only other guy I'd have been interested in (Francisco Cervelli) got snatched at 188, so I made the move. When in doubt, go for those magical Coors at-bats, no matter how infrequently they might occur.
18 (215): Anthony DeSclafani, P, Cin - At least one of him or Iglesias should hang onto a rotation spot when Homer Bailey returns, right?
19 (218): Brandon Maurer, P, SD - My closer dark horse. His stuff played up very well in relief last year, and I just have a hunch he'll jump the line ahead of Quackenbush should Benoit fall by the wayside.
20 (239): Melvin Upton, OF, Atl - Don't call him BJ, he's been here for years. Or something. We get one DL spot in this league, so I might as well find someone to fill it on Opening Day. Plus, getting a guy who can possibly provide double digit HR and SB this late is actually pretty good value, no matter what dark fantasy cloud hangs over his head.
21 (242): Tommy Medica, 1B/OF, SD - Around about the time I was taking Upton, I realized OF was barren. I mean, there was nothing left. So, might as well go for a guy with some kind of power upside, even if he's in the wrong park to take advantage of it and is completely buried on the depth chart. Insert Lloyd Christmas gif here.
22 (263): Corey Seager, SS, LA - This filled my Ut slot. Sure, he probably spends most or all of the year in the minors. But Jimmy Rollins is ancient and the Dodgers don't actually have a third baseman yet, so if Seager's ripping it up and the club needs him in a tight NL West... plus, who else was I going to take here, Corey Hart?
23 (266): Corey Hart, Hitter, Pit - Cough. He's looked like he can handle the outfield this spring, so he could develop some extra (or any, really) position eligibility down the line, and power is power. If I get a dozen dingers out of him, I'm happy.
24 (287): David Buchanan, P, Phi - He doesn't strike guys out, but replacing Rollins' worn-out legs and glove with Freddy Galvis can only help a groundball pitcher, he tried to re-assume himself immediately after clicking the 'Draft Player' button.
25 (290): Eric Stults, P, Atl - Hey, look, a pitcher with a rotation job! Quick, grab him!
26 (311): Tyler Moore, Hitter, Was - He's out of options, the Nats outfield is a casualty ward, and he's been tearing it up this spring. Good enough for me. Who else was I going to take, Skip Schumacher? (Note to self: grab Schumacher as soon as Upton is eligible to be moved to the DL).
Here's the final lineup. Back of the staff and the outfield are weak, and I'll probably need saves, but in an only league everyone comes out of the draft with weak spots. Also, those are arguably the easiest places to pick up talent through FAAB, so I can live with them. Looking around the league, I would say I easily have the best offense (especially if Segura has any kind of rebound), so from that perspective at least the strategy was a success:
C - Wilson Ramos, Mike McKenry
1B - Brandon Belt
2B - Neil Walker
3B - Nolan Arenado
SS - Jean Segura
CI - Jake Lamb
MI - Jung-Ho Kang
OF - Starling Marte, Matt Holliday, Nori Aoki, Melvin Upton, Tommy Medica
Ut - Corey Hart
P - Clayton Kershaw, Lance Lynn, Mike Fiers, Raisel Iglesias, Anthony DeSclafani, David Buchanan, Ken Giles, Santiago Casilla, Brandon Maurer
Bench - Corey Seager, Tyler Moore, Eric Stults