Quick Thoughts on 2016 LABR Mixed Experts League

The League of Alternative Baseball Reality (LABR) mixed league online draft takes place this evening beginning at 8:30pm ET. LABR is the first experts league to form back in the early 90s.

The participants

2016 LABR Mixed draft order

1. Jeff Erickson, RotoWire
2. *Alan Harrison, The Fantasy Fix
3. *Stephania Bell, ESPN
4. Todd Zola, Mastersball
5. Steve Gardner, USA TODAY Sports
6. Ray Murphy, Baseball HQ
7. **Bret Sayre & Mike Gianella, Baseball Prospectus
8. Jake Ciely, RotoExperts
9. Jason Collette & Paul Sporer, Fangraphs' "The Sleeper & The Bust" podcast
10. *Howard Bender, Fantasy Alarm
11. Mike Podhorzer, Fangraphs
12. Doug Anderson, Fantasy Sports Network
13. Rudy Gamble, Razzball
14. Fred Zinkie, MLB.com
15. Keith Hernandez, USA TODAY Fantasy Sports

*-new to Mixed LABR in 2016
**- defending champions

Link to draft results

LABR Mixed Experts League Draft Results

Quick Thoughts - First Round

Here is how the first round went, along with some quick thoughts on the first round:

1. Mike Trout, Angels

2. Paul Goldschmidt, Diamondbacks

3. Bryce Harper, Nationals

4. Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers

5. Anthony Rizzo, Cubs

6. Nolan Arenado, Rockies

7. Manny Machado, Orioles

8. Giancarlo Stanton, Marlins

9. Carlos Correa, Astros

10. Andrew McCutchen, Pirates

11. Miguel Cabrera, Tigers

12. Josh Donaldson, Blue Jays

13. Kris Bryant, Cubs

14. Jose Altuve, Astros

15. A.J. Pollock, Diamondbacks

• I am very surprised to see Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado to come off as the first third baseman off the board, ahead of Manny Machado and Josh Donaldson. Of the three, I think he has the least chance to duplicate his 2015 breakout season in 2016.
• No surprises with the first four picks. Like Goldschmidt a little more than Harper and Trout right now, but would not be surprised to see Harper running more this season, so his value increases a bit as a result.
• Miggy dropping to 11 could be a steal if he is 100% healthy this season. Same goes for Donaldson.
• I don't like Pollock as a first round pick. I see no way he repeats his 20 home run season in 2016 unless he improves his 29% fly ball rate.
• I like Altuve at 14, as he provides solid to excellent performance in thee of the five categories, and the power improved in 2015.
• There were five starting pitchers taken in the first two rounds: Kershaw, Max Scherzer, Jake Arrieta, Madison Bumgarner, and Chris Sale.....maybe I have MadBum ranked too low?
• Speaking of starting pitchers, there were nine starters take in the third round: Gerrit Cole, Jacob deGrom, David Price, Zack Greinke, Matt Harvey, Carlos Carrasco, Jose Fernandez, Stephen Strasburg, and Corey Kluber.
• Carrasco as the 11th starter off the board? I ranked him at 17 in my early starting pitcher rankings.
• Two of my top 12 starting pitchers are still on the board after three rounds: Dallas Keuchel and Adam Wainwright. I have seen Wainwright ranked at #25 in the NFBC ADP rankings. Seems very low for the ace.
• 17 starting pitchers taken in the first 60 picks. How times have changed. They are the new power hitters in the pitching era.
• My personal fave, Astros outfielder George Springer lasted until the third round, the 37th overall pick to Bret and Mike over at Baseball Prospectus. I think they got one of the best values in the draft with Springer. A healthy Springer should hit 25 home runs, steal 25+ bases, and score 90 runs.
• Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager was drafted with the last pick in the fourth round, #60 overall. Nice value. Jeff Ericsson took Twins slugger Miguel Sano right after the Seager pick. Love both picks.
• The first closer off the board, Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen, went to Stephania Bell from ESPN.

Follow the draft in the link above. Let me know your thoughts.