More Draft Results!

     My second league's draft was yesterday. This league has eight teams and 24 roster spots. I got the sixth pick out of eight -- in hindsight this was a good thing since it's a first-year league that I started. My pitching staff was not what I wanted in the last draft, so I was hoping to fill out an even team this time around (another holds league). Let's see how I did.

First Round (6th overall): Juan Soto (OF, NYM)
    Juan Soto helps with a ton of different categories. I was eyeing him immediately upon getting the sixth overall pick.

Second Round (11th overall): Tarik Skubal (SP, DET)
    I wanted Skubal so badly. I had already abandoned the idea of waiting until later to grab starters, so I jumped at the opportunity to draft who I think is the best in the league. 

Third Round (22nd overall): Freddie Freeman (1B, LAD)
    With Vladdy and Harper gone, Freddie seemed the next best option. I hope he bounces back from last year, which had its excuses (his son was paralyzed due to illness; prayers go out to them).

Fourth Round (27th overall): Austin Riley (3B, ATL)
    I chose Riley over Devers, ha! I think Riley's an amazing option at third, and a steal for the fourth round.

Fifth Round (38th overall): Corey Seager (SS, TEX)
    My first Ranger of the draft! I was also surprised to see him left, but I guess too few remember his epic 2023 season.

Sixth Round (43rd overall): Dylan Cease (SP, SD)
    Another starter for the team. Cease is kind of inconsistent, but he throws really hard and is coming off a really nice 2024 season. I think he'll be fine.

Seventh Round (54th overall): Teoscar Hernandez (OF, LAD)
    He's not the most consistent outfielder in the world, but I wanted another outfielder, and he was ranked at the top, so I grabbed him. Good move?

Eighth Round (59th overall): Ryan Helsley (RP, STL)
    The closers were starting to move, so I had to jump on the bandwagon. Helsley was so good last year, hopefully he can have another outstanding campaign.

Ninth Round (70th overall): James Wood (OF, WSH)
    He was amazing in AAA (.353/.463/.595 slash), showed talent in the majors, and has amazing hair. There is no reason not to believe he'll be a beast.

Tenth Round (75th overall): Felix Bautista (RP, BAL)
    Coming off of an injury, I suppose it could be a bit risky. But Bautista was so good when he played last, and the closers were moving, so I'm confident this was a good pickup. 

Eleventh Round (86th overall): Lawrence Butler (OF, ATH)
    I really like Lawrence Butler. I hope he does well this year, because as of right now he's my utility guy.

Twelfth Round (91st overall): Yainer Diaz (C, 1B, HOU)
    Adley was grabbed a few rounds before, literally by the guy right ahead of me when I was going to get him. I'll settle for Diaz. He's pretty good.

Thirteenth Round (102nd overall): Roki Sasaki (SP, LAD)
    Well if I can't have Yamamoto I'm gonna have Sasaki. Hoping he can ramp that velo back up.

Fourteenth Round (107th overall): Spencer Strider (SP, ATL)
    He's going to be out a month, but he's such a dominant force when he's on the mound. I hope he can find his true form once again in 2025.

Fifteenth Round (118th overall): Jared Jones (SP, PIT)
    By this time I was yanking starting pitching. And I like Jared Jones. So you put two and two together, and yeah, he's on my team.

Sixteenth Round (123rd overall): Nico Hoerner (2B, SS, (CHC)
    Nico's always my sneaky pick. I love neglecting that second base spot just to drop a consistent guy like Nico down there who'll play the whole season and get you 30+ steals. I know he'll miss the Tokyo series, but he should be good to go for the regular Opening Day. I can live with that.

Seventeenth Round (134th overall): Kevin Gausman (SP, TOR)
    I'm just about ready to wrap up on starting pitching. I think Gausman will be good.

Eighteenth Round (139th overall): Matt Chapman (3B, SF)
    As of right now he's on the bench, but I believe that he'll be a very valuable addition to this team to pop into UTIL when I need a quick offensive stat.

Nineteenth Round (150th overall): Dylan Crews (OF, WSH)
    I really wanted a few more steals, and I let the projections get the best of me a little bit. At least he's hitting well in spring.

Twentieth Round (155th overall): Pete Fairbanks (RP, TB)
    You can never have too many closers -- even when they get injured every year.

Twenty-First Round (166th overall): Zach Eflin (SP, BAL)
    I didn't realize he was starter #7 for me. No matter, he's still a good pitcher.

Twenty-Second Round (171st overall): Justin Martinez (RP, ARI)
    I really like Justin Martinez. I can sneak a closer in the later rounds, which comes in mighty handy.

Twenty-Third Round (176th overall): Bryan Abreu (RP, HOU)
    He led the league in holds last year (38). In a holds league, it comes in pretty handy, even if he did plunk Adolis Garcia.

Twenty-Fourth Round (187th overall): Tyler Rogers (RP, SF)
    I love Tyler Rogers. He has that wacky arm slot which nobody can hit, and gets a lot of saves.

    So concludes my second and final draft of the 2025 season. Like I said, there are only 8 teams in the league, so they're all pretty stacked. This is the starting lineup for my team, British Dudez Next Door. (I am slightly English by the way)

C: Yainer Diaz
1B: Freddie Freeman
2B: Nico Hoerner
3B: Austin Riley
SS: Corey Seager
OF: Juan Soto
OF: Teoscar Hernandez
OF: James Woos
UTIL: Lawrence Butler
BN: Matt Chapman
BN: Dylan Crews

What I Like: This team has a ton of power, as well as the ability to run, which is something I usually neglect.

What I Don't Like: A few of these guys are a bit unproven. Butler has new-found success that may not carry over, and Dylan Crews has minimal MLB time in which he wasn't amazing.

    Onto the pitching staff:

SP: Tarik Skubal
SP: Dylan Cease
SP: Roki Sasaki
SP: Spencer Strider
SP: Jared Jones
SP: Kevin Gausman 
SP: Zach Eflin
RP: Ryan Helsley
RP: Felix Bautista
RP: Pete Fairbanks
RP: Justin Martinez
RP: Bryan Abreu
RP: Tyler Rogers

What I like: The starting staff is really good, and I think the amount of closers I have is just right.

What I Don't Like: Uhhhhh.....maybe one too many starters? Eflin makes a good seven, but I could have added another hitter.

Overall:

Offense: A
    I really like the lineup and don't think there's a ton to improve upon, other than maybe some more multi-positional players.

Pitching: A+
    I may be a little bit generous, but I think I aced the pitching staff on this one.

Overall: A
    There may be some small moves I should have made to push this up to A+, but I think this was a really nice draft.

    And there you have it. All the teams are pretty good (since it's a small league), but I think my team is looking great, and like it a lot more than my other team (which I don't hate, don't get me wrong). 

    Thanks for reading this rather long recap. Don't worry; I've got plenty of baseball cards to show off in my next few posts. Thanks for stopping by, have a great start to the week, and happy collecting!