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In some ways, drafting a fantasy baseball roster, particularly in an auction scenario, is like being a chef coming up with a recipe. Maybe you make five great dishes, but inevitably, if you try enough new ideas, something just won't taste right.
That was my reaction to my performance in Thursday's CBSSports.com Analysts League NL-Only auction draft. I've been in variants of this league â filled with industry writers and guys with names people know way more than mine â for three seasons now, making this my sixth such super-fancy draft. And bar none, I like this roster the least.
Things happen. I splurged on a few names early, spending a few dollars more than I maybe should have. The later guys I hated targeted as potential bargains ended up being more popular than I expected, meaning I had to settle for second-tier "bargains." And Jonah Keri apparently stole my draft list, because for a big chunk of the draft he was the one going $1 over me on seemingly every daggone guy.
Before I go on, the participants:
- Mike Kuchera, Fantasy Baseball Express
- Mike Gianella, Baseball Prospectus
- Philip Ponebshek, Patton & Co.
- Pasko Varnica and Todd Zola, MAstersball
- Daniel Kelley, Fake Teams
- Al Melchior, CBS Sports
- Scott White, CBS Sports
- Rudy Gamble, Razzball
- Jeff Boggis, Fantasy Baseball Empire
- Jonah Keri, CBS Sports
- Heath Cummings, CBS Sports
- Bernie Pleskoff, MLBlogs.com
It's a strong group, one that maybe I don't belong in. I didn't think that until my performance in the draft, so sure, maybe I'm overreacting. Still, there are some lessons to be learned from the mistakes. Let's talk about a few.
- I splurged early on Clayton Kershaw ($41). Having Kershaw is exhilarating. Barring injury, he almost guarantees you a contending spot on the pitching side. But splurging early makes it harder and harder to find competent complements. So you can't be wrong about your next-tier pitchers. I might not be wrong, but by the time I got to them, I didn't have the money to get the guys I had in mind, guys like Patrick Corbin and Aaron Nola. Anthony DeSclafani and Jerad Eickhoff have potential, but my pitching staff worries me, Kershaw or no Kershaw.
- I waited too long on real power. The big-name sluggers passed by for a dollar or two more than I had envisioned, so I let them pass, assuming I'd find a different home-run hitter later. And then, when Carlos Gonzalez came up, it sort of clicked that he was the last big power bat left. It got me into a spot where I had to spend on him if I wanted any hope of rating well in power, so I put $28 down on Gonzalez. It could pay off, but an oft-injured Rockie who could be on the trading block? Risky.
- NL-only leagues bother me, because so much of the offensive talent in baseball right now is in the American League (seriously, look at the shortstops). So I've made the plans each of my two years in this league that I am punting saves. Spending on saves means you have fewer dollars to use elsewhere, and each dollar on offense is crucial. I'm fine with that decision. But then I went and spent on Jonathan Lucroy and Travis d'Arnaud. It's a two-catcher league, so cool. But catchers carry more risk than other position players, and those two carry more risk than the typical catcher. Silly to save only to splurge and cost yourself elsewhere.
- I bet too heavily on my ability to find guys late. I really thought I'd wind up with Jonathan Villar, John Jaso, Derek Dietrich, but other guys had the same ideas.
- Jonah flippin' Keri, y'all. Dude saved his money early, meaning he could top me at every turn late.
In the end, I still have potential here. Mark Reynolds will hit homers in Colorado. Trea Turner should win the Washington job because he's good. I love Addison Russell's chances this year, as well as the likelihood of a bounceback for Yasiel Puig and even more development from Starling Marte. Jose Peraza at $4 was, for me, potentially the steal of the draft.
But I have a lot of worries on offense, and in the end I hate my pitching staff. Maybe I'm overreacting, but I certainly don't see a repeat of last year's second-place performance. It happens. Not every recipe is a five-star. It doesn't mean I'm the worst fantasy owner in the world, but Thursday at least, I didn't feel great about things.
Am I right? Below are all the rosters, with salaries attached.
Team | Fantasy Baseball Express | Baseball Prospectus | |||
Owner | Mike Kuchera | Mike Gianella | |||
C | Buster Posey | 27 | Miguel Montero | 8 | |
C | Kyle Schwarber | 25 | Nick Hundley | 10 | |
1B | Lucas Duda | 21 | Brandon Moss | 9 | |
2B | Brandon Phillips | 11 | Kolten Wong | 17 | |
3B | Maikel Franco | 25 | Matt Carpenter | 24 | |
SS | Chris Owings | 1 | Jean Segura | 16 | |
MI | Cory Spangenberg | 8 | Jose Reyes | 12 | |
CI | Justin Morneau | 1 | David Wright | 12 | |
OF | Josh Harrison | 16 | Yoenis Cespedes | 26 | |
OF | Jorge Soler | 17 | Ben Revere | 20 | |
OF | Peter O'Brien | 1 | Jay Bruce | 10 | |
OF | Jabari Blash | 1 | Domingo Santana | 12 | |
OF | Michael Bourn | 1 | Jayson Werth | 8 | |
DH | Wilmer Flores | 1 | DJ LeMahieu | 15 | |
P | Mark Melancon | 21 | Fernando Rodney | 8 | |
P | Trevor Rosenthal | 19 | Shelby Miller | 12 | |
P | Raisel Iglesias | 17 | Kyle Hendricks | 11 | |
P | Francisco Liriano | 15 | Jaime Garcia | 12 | |
P | Julio Teheran | 17 | Aaron Nola | 11 | |
P | Mike Leake | 9 | Jon Niese | 4 | |
P | Tony Cingrani | 2 | Matt Cain | 1 | |
P | Corey Knebel | 3 | Ryan Vogelsong | 1 | |
P | Jarred Cosart | 1 | Tom Koehler | 1 | |
Res | Michael Morse | Nick Ahmed | |||
Res | Randall Delgado | Zach Davies | |||
Res | Tim Lincecum | Robbie Erlin | |||
Res | Chris Johnson | Robert Stephenson | |||
Res | Antonio Bastardo | Nick Williams | |||
Res | Eric Young | Tyler Moore | |||
Res | Clayton Blackburn | Justin Grimm | |||
Team | Patton & Co | Mastersball | |||
Owner | Philip Ponebshek | Pasko Varnica, Todd Zola | |||
C | J.T. Realmuto | 13 | Derek Norris | 13 | |
C | Yadier Molina | 6 | A.J. Pierzynski | 5 | |
1B | Paul Goldschmidt | 43 | Ben Paulsen | 13 | |
2B | Howie Kendrick | 10 | Ben Zobrist | 18 | |
3B | Martin Prado | 6 | Matt Duffy | 17 | |
SS | Ian Desmond | 7 | Alexei Ramirez | 13 | |
MI | Zack Cozart | 4 | Jonathan Villar | 8 | |
CI | Freddie Freeman | 24 | Adonis Garcia | 5 | |
OF | Andrew McCutchen | 34 | Charlie Blackon | 30 | |
OF | Curtis Granderson | 19 | Randal Grichuk | 20 | |
OF | Odubel Herrera | 11 | Jon Jay | 4 | |
OF | Angel Pagan | 2 | Alex Guerrero | 1 | |
OF | Peter Bourjos | 3 | Carl Crawford | 3 | |
DH | Aaron Hill | 5 | Jedd Gyorko | 2 | |
P | Madison Bumgarner | 31 | Jake Arrieta | 30 | |
P | Arodys Vizcaino | 9 | A.J. Ramos | 13 | |
P | Scott Kazmir | 15 | Michael Wacha | 20 | |
P | Jimmy Nelson | 6 | John Lackey | 15 | |
P | Hyun-Jin Ryu | 4 | Kevin Siegrist | 1 | |
P | Daniel Hudson | 1 | Jason Hammel | 14 | |
P | Homer Bailey | 2 | Tony Watson | 1 | |
P | Luis Garcia | 2 | Rubby De La Rosa | 6 | |
P | Archie Bradley | 3 | Robbie Ray | 4 | |
Res | Julio Urias | Justin Nicolino | |||
Res | Tim Cooney | Sean Newcomb | |||
Res | Colin Rea | Tyler Lyons | |||
Res | Darnell Sweeney | Sean Rodriguez | |||
Res | Garin Cecchini | Gregor Blanco | |||
Res | Addison Reed | Christian Bethancourt | |||
Res | Kelby Tomlinson | Carlos Frias | |||
Team | Fake Teams | CBS Sports | |||
Owner | Daniel Kelley | Al Melchior | |||
C | Jonathan Lucroy | 19 | Welington Castillo | 13 | |
C | Travis d'Arnaud | 17 | Francisco Cervelli | 9 | |
1B | Mark Reynolds | 1 | Ryan Zimmerman | 16 | |
2B | Trea Turner | 8 | Scooter Gennett | 4 | |
3B | Anthony Rendon | 23 | Yangervis Solarte | 13 | |
SS | Addison Russell | 19 | Corey Seager | 23 | |
MI | Orlando Arcia | 3 | Brandon Crawford | 18 | |
CI | Scott Van Slyke | 1 | Jake Lamb | 12 | |
OF | Starling Marte | 35 | Matt Kemp | 23 | |
OF | Yasiel Puig | 23 | Denard Span | 13 | |
OF | Carlos Gonzalez | 28 | Gerardo Parra | 17 | |
OF | Austin Jackson | 1 | Scott Schebler | 1 | |
OF | Kelly Johnson | 1 | Clint Robinson | 2 | |
DH | Jose Peraza | 4 | J.P. Crawford | 3 | |
P | Clayton Kershaw | 41 | Carlos Martinez | 20 | |
P | Wei-Yin Chen | 15 | Noah Syndergaard | 23 | |
P | Anthony DeSclafani | 8 | Hector Rondon | 19 | |
P | Brett Anderson | 4 | Jason Grilli | 11 | |
P | Jerad Eickhoff | 5 | Shawn Kelley | 2 | |
P | Jorge De La Rosa | 1 | Patrick Corbin | 14 | |
P | Jeff Locke | 1 | Zack Godley | 1 | |
P | Adam Warren | 1 | Sergio Romo | 2 | |
P | Chase Anderson | 1 | Brandon Maurer | 1 | |
Res | Matt Garza | Hunter Renfroe | |||
Res | Josh Bell | Colin Walsh | |||
Res | Marco Gonzales | Jorge Lopez | |||
Res | David Freese | Jimmy Cordero | |||
Res | Stephen Drew | Jorge Alfaro | |||
Res | Jhoulys Chacin | Phil Gosselin | |||
Res | Jordan Lyles | Edwin Jackson | |||
Team | CBS Sports | Razzball | |||
Owner | Scott White | Rudy Gamble | |||
C | Kevin Plawecki | 1 | Carlos Ruiz | 1 | |
C | Tom Murphy | 4 | Dustin Garneau | 1 | |
1B | Wil Myers | 18 | Brandon Belt | 20 | |
2B | Dee Gordon | 32 | Daniel Murphy | 16 | |
3B | Yasmany Tomas | 12 | Hector Olivera | 11 | |
SS | Javier Baez | 12 | Jhonny Peralta | 15 | |
MI | Asdrubal Cabrera | 8 | Chase Utley | 1 | |
CI | Darin Ruf | 1 | Chris Carter | 17 | |
OF | Hunter Pence | 21 | Dexter Fowler | 17 | |
OF | Aaron Altherr | 12 | Gregory Polanco | 24 | |
OF | Jesse Winker | 1 | Matt Holliday | 14 | |
OF | Nick Markakis | 9 | Ender Inciarte | 16 | |
OF | Michael Taylor | 3 | Michael Conforto | 17 | |
DH | Eugenio Suarez | 12 | Rymer Liriano | 1 | |
P | Zack Greinke | 27 | Jacob deGrom | 26 | |
P | Adam Wainwright | 20 | Max Scherzer | 32 | |
P | Santiago Casilla | 14 | Carter Capps | 11 | |
P | Stephen Strasburg | 25 | Andrew Cashner | 10 | |
P | David Hernandez | 10 | John Lamb | 3 | |
P | Will Smith | 7 | Brandon Finnegan | 3 | |
P | Vincent Velasquez | 5 | Drew Pomeranz | 2 | |
P | Jeremy Jeffress | 4 | Jeremy Hellickson | 1 | |
P | Matt Wisler | 2 | Adam Conley | 1 | |
Res | Tommy Pham | Bud Norris | |||
Res | Jarrett Parker | Kirk Nieuwenhuis | |||
Res | Mallex Smith | Mike Foltynewicz | |||
Res | Dilson Herrera | Jameson Taillon | |||
Res | Aaron Blair | Jose Pirela | |||
Res | Brett Phillips | Edward Mujica | |||
Res | David Dahl | Christhian Adames | |||
Team | Fantasy Baseball Empire | CBS Sports | |||
Owner | Jeff Boggis | Jonah Keri | |||
C | Tyler Flowers | 2 | Cameron Rupp | 5 | |
C | Wilson Ramos | 8 | Yasmani Grandal | 14 | |
1B | Anthony Rizzo | 34 | Ryan Howard | 7 | |
2B | Danny Espinosa | 4 | Cesar Hernandez | 5 | |
3B | Kris Bryant | 34 | Justin Turner | 15 | |
SS | Erick Aybar | 5 | Adeiny Hechavarria | 3 | |
MI | Jace Peterson | 1 | Trevor Story | 3 | |
CI | Adrian Gonzalez | 25 | Matt Adams | 7 | |
OF | Giancarlo Stanton | 37 | Billy Hamilton | 24 | |
OF | Jason Heyward | 27 | Ryan Braun | 28 | |
OF | Derek Dietrich | 1 | David Peralta | 19 | |
OF | Adam Duvall | 1 | Joc Pederson | 20 | |
OF | Juan Lagares | 1 | Stephen Piscotty | 22 | |
DH | Pedro Alvarez | 1 | Melvin Upton | 2 | |
P | Matt Harvey | 28 | Kenley Jansen | 22 | |
P | Steven Matz | 17 | Brad Ziegler | 11 | |
P | Kevin Quackenbush | 6 | Yimi Garcia | 2 | |
P | Tyler Glasnow | 9 | Taylor Jungmann | 4 | |
P | Kenta Maeda | 11 | Jeff Samardzija | 15 | |
P | Alex Wood | 3 | Hunter Strickland | 5 | |
P | Zack Wheeler | 2 | Joe Ross | 15 | |
P | Chris Heston | 1 | Jake Peavy | 4 | |
P | Jason Motte | 2 | Lucas Giolito | 5 | |
Res | Austin Hedges | Pedro Strop | |||
Res | Brandon Drury | Jose De Leon | |||
Res | Jason Rogers | Tyler Goeddel | |||
Res | Chad Bettis | Cody Reed | |||
Res | Williams Perez | Justin Miller | |||
Res | Josh Bell | Dansby Swanson | |||
Res | Jim Johnson | Alex Reyes | |||
Team | CBS Sports | MLBlogs.com | |||
Owner | Heath Cummings | Bernie Pleskoff | |||
C | Devin Mesoraco | 14 | Andrew Susac | 4 | |
C | A.J. Ellis | 2 | Brayan Pena | 1 | |
1B | Joey Votto | 32 | Justin Bour | 17 | |
2B | Joe Panik | 15 | Micah Johnson | 1 | |
3B | Cody Asche | 2 | Nolan Arenado | 36 | |
SS | Jung Ho Kang | 19 | Jordy Mercer | 3 | |
MI | Neil Walker | 15 | Alen Hanson | 1 | |
CI | Will Middlebrooks | 1 | Juan Uribe | 1 | |
OF | A.J. Pollock | 36 | Bryce Harper | 43 | |
OF | Marlon Byrd | 2 | Christian Yelich | 24 | |
OF | Andre Ethier | 7 | Socrates Brito | 2 | |
OF | Alejandro De Aza | 1 | Marcell Ozuna | 13 | |
OF | Enrique Hernandez | 3 | Travis Jankowski | 2 | |
DH | Freddy Galvis | 1 | John Jaso | 6 | |
P | Johnny Cueto | 19 | Jon Lester | 24 | |
P | Gerrit Cole | 25 | Jonathan Papelbon | 17 | |
P | Jeurys Familia | 21 | Jose Fernandez | 26 | |
P | Jon Gray | 2 | Jake McGee | 15 | |
P | Tyson Ross | 16 | Jumbo Diaz | 3 | |
P | J.J. Hoover | 10 | Gio Gonzalez | 15 | |
P | James Shields | 15 | Bartolo Colon | 1 | |
P | Tyler Clippard | 1 | Wily Peralta | 4 | |
P | Brandon McCarthy | 1 | Tanner Roark | 1 | |
Res | Trayce Thompson | Mac Williamson | |||
Res | Charlie Morton | Jake Cave | |||
Res | Kyle Parker | Elias Diaz | |||
Res | Emilio Bonifacio | Michael Lorenzen | |||
Res | Arismendy Alcantara | Jonathan Broxton | |||
Res | J.P. Howell | Yusmiero Petit | |||
Res | Manny Banuelos | Ruben Tejada |