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If you’re late to the party, all I need you to do is imagine Jacob deGrom and German Marquez in the cushy confines of Comerica Park, and you’ll get an idea of where this is headed.
So. Much. Fun.
Imagining this fantasy world has been a load of fun so far, despite a draft that really seems to be dragging. Hopefully we’ll pick up speed during the work week—I mean, who doesn’t want to avoid work in the name of fantasy baseball?
You can check out the draft board here. For my part, I’m going to share the most fun combinations I’ve seen so far. And no, I’m not talking about my own team (though I do think Trea Turner and Matt Olson in Cincinnati is fun).
I’ll hit on the top five alternate realities and share a few thoughts as to why. I should note, these are not the “best” teams in my humble estimation. Through only two rounds, it’s tough to find a bad team. These are just the pairings that stuck out to me, for one reason or another. Let’s have some fun!
Combo No. 5 (@roto_Greg): Gerrit Cole and Blake Snell, Los Angeles Dodgers
It should say something about how good this team is in real life that many Dodgers fans could look at this pairing and maybe be uninspired. But we are doing a three-year simulation with this revision of the MLB, and Cole’s talent alongside Snell’s is a fun way to look at the new-look Dodgers’ competitive window...especially if Snell returns to form. The window is wide open in this alternate reality.
Combo No. 4 ( @MichaelWaterloo): Juan Soto and Joey Gallo, Pittsburgh Pirates
This combination made the list simply because of the morale boost it would give actual Pirates fans. Can you imagine all the dingers flying out of PNC Park? It will be fun to see where this offense heads next.
Combo No. 3 (@celslagerFL): Freddie Freeman and Austin Meadows, New York Yankees
Holy mother at the abuse the short right field porch would take in Yankee Stadium with these two lefty sluggers doing work. And how many runs would Meadows score, hitting in front of Freeman? It will be interesting to see how this offense winds up, too.
Combo No. 2 (@TheRealVandyMan): Fernando Tatis Jr. and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Minnesota Twins
It appears the new-look Twins are all about hitting dingers, just like last year’s real life Twins. They also appear to be all about drafting the offspring of former big league players. That might be a pretty thin player pool moving forward, but Cavan Biggio is still on the board. Anyway, the defense on this team is pretty suspect, but there’s no denying how exciting the offense could be over the next three years.
Combo No. 1 (@SPStreamer): Jacob deGrom and German Marquez, Detroit Tigers
Comerica Park is where baseballs go to die. Add in stud ace deGrom and take a look at German Marquez’s road splits, and it’s easy to see why this is a really exciting pair given the home locale of Detroit. We all should have known that we’d see Mike drafting pocket aces...
So who has the best team so far? Who has the worst? Where does my humble Trea Turner/Matt Olson pairing rank in your book? Let’s have some quarantine fun!