Draft Results

     Today one of my two fantasy baseball leagues had its live draft, which ended at about 1:00. So, no cards today, but the results of said draft. 

    The categories for the batters are: R, H, HR, RBI, SB, AVG, OBP, SLG
    The categories for pitchers are: W, CG, SV, K, HLD, ERA, WHIP, K/BB

    You get 26 players, and the positions are as follows: C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OF, OF, OF, UTIL and SP, SP, P, P, P, P, P, as well as 8 bench slots, 5 IL spots, and a NA spot. So, here are my round-by-round picks:

1: Corey Seager TEX, SS
    Seager's coming off an MVP-2 worthy season, and with a fairly small shortstop crop and a ninth overall pick, it seems like a good choice.

2: Austin Riley ATL, 3B
    I've had Riley on my team since 2021, and since the 3B crop is very thin, I got the best one on the market (in my opinion).

3: Bryce Harper PHI, 1B
    Everybody who wants a good team needs a first baseman who can carry the team. With Matt Olson and Freddie Freeman taken in the first round, I was very content with Harper in the third.

4: Max Fried ATL, SP
    It was my goal to grab a starter in the fourth round. I also have a bit of a bias because I really like Max Fried. He was on my team last year, and I haven't forgotten his stellar 2022 season.

5: Jordan Romano TOR, RP
    One of the fellow competitors grabbed 7 closers, so I needed to get a few as fast as possible. With Edwin Diaz, Emmanuel Clase and Josh Hader gone, Romano was a good option.

6: Gabriel Moreno ARI, C
    Need a catcher. However, I drafted Moreno over Will Smith. I only needed to be shown the error of my way once (by GTT) to regret it. Oh well, he's still solid.

7: Jhoan Duran MIN, RP
    Somehow Duran was still around in the seventh round, and with closers being nabbed up fast, it was only logical for me to grab him.

8: Tarik Skubal DET, SP
    Love Skubal, and he was really good last season. Granted, he wasn't playing top-tier teams, but I'll take a chance anyway.

9: Shane Bieber CLE, SP
    Shane Bieber has been at the top of the game for a while now, so I won't let an injury season keep him from being considered an elite starter in my eyes. I really like this addition.

10: Zack Gelof OAK, 2B
    I may have made this pick a little early, but I needed a second baseman, and seeing as how Gelof is raking in spring training (.412/.459/.853 slash line), I didn't want to wait too long and miss out on him.

11: Craig Kimbrel BAL, RP
    The final closer that I got, he was the best available option because somebody was grabbing every closer he could get his hands on. With Felix Bautista out for the year, Kimbrel will be racking up the saves for Baltimore.

12: Eloy Jimenez CHI, OF
    Last year I waited until the eighth round to draft an outfielder and freaked out because it was too long. Well, I drafted my first one in the twelfth round, so we'll see how the rest pans out.

13: Chris Sale ATL, SP
    I let my heart choose this player rather than my head. He's done well in spring training and has impressive control, so we shall see. And he's not playing for Boston anymore as a lefty in Fenway, so that may help also.

14: Kris Bryant COL, 1B, OF
    Yeah, running out of outfield options. I dislike getting Bryant this early because, though a good player, I could have drafted him later as a sleeper.

15: Jordan Montgomery NA, SP
    Montgomery has yet to find a team, which is probably why I was able to draft him so late. Hope he finds one before opening day (fingers crossed it's the Rangers).

16: Jung Hoo Lee SF, OF
    Grandfather of the Wind was my 16th choice. I wish I wasn't so desperate on outfielders because I know I could have drafted him later.

17: Jackson Holliday BAL, SS
    Holliday should be on the opening day roster, but I wanted another shortstop because though they expect he'll be fine, Seager may not be playing on opening day.

18: Tyler Rogers SF, RP
    This league is a holds league, so naturally I should get somebody who gets holds, and not many more are better at it than the submarine-throwing Tyler Rogers.

19: Kyle Harrison SF, SP
    As we neared the end of the draft I wanted to get some more starting pitchers. Harrison was a decent choice, located in my 'Okays' section of the starters.

20: Christopher Morel CHI, 2B/OF
    I needed another outfielder as well as a backup second baseman, in case Gelof gets hurt or the A's are dumb enough to bench him. And Morel hit 26 bombs last season, so he was a good choice.

21: Bryce Miller SEA, SP
    Miller definitely has potential. I'm not super confident with this addition, but at the 21st round, I'm not complaining.

22: Jackson Chourio MIL, OF
    Up to this point, my only actual base-stealer was Zack Gelof. So I needed somebody else who could run, and though I didn't particularly want to draft him (since he has no big-league experience), Chourio will do for that.

23: David Robertson TEX, RP
    If Jose Leclerc struggles, Robertson may take over the closer role. I dunno. I will explain more about DaveBob with my next draftee.

24: Kirby Yates, TEX, RP
    Since Robertson and Yates are both on the late inning crew for Texas, I figured it would be nice to get double the holds for a Rangers victory.

25: Tyler Stephenson CIN, C
    I definitely wanted a backup catcher, and though I planned to draft Garver, I completely forgot about him until somebody else got him, so Stephenson was the next-best option.

26: Jordan Hicks SF, SP
    Though shown as a reliever on Yahoo Fantasy, the Giants are giving Hicks the chance to start in 2024. Maybe not a great choice since he's never been a starter before, but it's the last round; what the heck?

And, here is what I expect my starting lineup to be at the start of the season (for batters, because pitchers depends on who's starting that day).

C- Gabriel Moreno
1B- Bryce Harper
2B- Zack Gelof
3B- Austin Riley
SS- Corey Seager
OF- Eloy Jimenez
OF- Kris Bryant
OF- Jung Hoo Lee
UTIL- Jackson Holliday

Team Strengths: I think that home runs won't be a problem with Harper, Gelof, Riley, Seager, Jimenez, and even Bryant, with Morel as a backup. I think starting pitching is good, and my friend getting 7 closers may help me because my three will be the second most.

Team Weaknesses: My team will probably lose steals most or every week (trying to trade for Esteury Ruiz), and I think I drafted too many unproven prospects, so we may crash and burn.

    So, that wraps it up for my first fantasy baseball draft. Please read, enjoy, and tell me what you think of my team (which is called The Fighting Uruk-Hai). My next draft is an online draft on this coming Tuesday. Thanks for reading.