MSGL - 12 Team AL (AL version of 12TO)

[Big Tymer]

So after the bloodbath that was the Friday night 12TO draft, about half the league shifted over to our AL auction last night. While rules are virtually identical for whatever reason we have lower inflation in this league and lower bidding. Very odd but is the case every year. Perhaps its conditioning at this point where the high prices in 12TO are a self fulfilling prophecy. In any case, I also finished 2nd in this league LY (back to back years losing to Jesse both times) but my team was still in decent shape so I was much more on the fence with regards to my 2016 outlook.

Keepers:
C = Blake Swihart $5
1B = Cabrera $48
SS = Bogaerts $5
2B = Giavotella $2
OF = Buxton $5
SP = Archer $10 (expiring)
SP = Estrada $1
SP = Hill $1
CL = Tolleson $2
RP = Brach $1

I don't generally keep high priced players preferring auction flexibility but all my other keepers were cheap and he would have been the best player available and I knew Steve would bid higher. With more $ going into the auction, my "plan" here was to buy 3 top hitters for about $130 and then speculate with the remaining money. I quickly grabbed E5 for $48 and while missed out on Cain (who went for $42) I later grabbed Justin Upton for $44 and Cano for $39. Cano was an overpay but I wanted him. So now I'd spent $131 on 3 hitters so right on point.

From here it was mainly just price enforcing to my values. Ended up with Quintana that way at $17 when all other SPs were going much higher. Also ended up with a $6 Chase Headley somehow (not sure why he didn't go above $10) and a $8 Gose who I also had LY for $8. Needed SBs at that point.

Unlike the NL, dollar days yielded a lot better players imo such that I think I have an outside shot at the $ so may have me rethink my 2016 plans. Here is full roster:

C = Swihart $5
C = Iannetta $2
1B = Cabrera $48
2B = Cano $39
SS = Bogaerts $5
3B = Headley $6
MI = Giavotella $2
CI = E5 $48
OF = Buxton $5
OF = Upton $44
OF = Gose $8
OF = Ezequiel Carrera $1
OF = Ackley $1
UT = Profar $5

SP = Archer $10
SP = Quintana $17
SP = Estrada $1
SP = Hill $1
SP = Hahn $1
SP/RP = Bauer $2
RP = Brach $1
RP = Sam Dyson $5
CL = Tolleson $2

Reserve = Chris Young $2 (pitcher though I thought I bought the hitter at the time fwiw)
Reserve = Xavier Cedeno $1
Reserve = Will Harris $1
Reserve = Nick Tropeano $1
Reserve = Tyler Duffey $1

And to complete our draft weekend we have RJEL tonight which is an 18-team mixed. Really like having 3 RJ leagues which cover all key formats (AL, NL & mixed).

[frae]

I came into the auction with a pretty good keeper list, but I had kept some pretty high priced guys and a few great contracts. So I had...

$25 Trout
$5 Betts
$5 Springer
$39 Bautista
$16 R Martin

$36 David Price
$2 R Osuna
$12 D Salazar
$5 T Walker
$1 S Doolittle

So in my mind I came in with a very good power base and 2 named closers to go with a pretty good #1-#3 starting pitchers. So I came in and planned on getting some speed. Lorenzo Cain and Carlos Gomez were the most well rounded players with speed, but they were going to near $40 and I didn't have that kind of money. So I targeted Brett Gardner Elvis Andrus or Ian Desmond. I sat through most of the early bidding, I think the closest I came to breaking from my plan was when Sale was in the mid to high 30's. I think I had a $37 or $38 bid, because I had him valued at 42 with inflation. He went for $39.

So anyway I sat there and didn't do much for the first 30-45 minutes. Late in the first hour I got into it for my speed. Gardner went for $28 to me and while I would have preferred $26 I wasn't going to quibble as I wanted the speed and predictability he provides. Desmond went for $26 and I think I stopped at $24, so Andrus was the last guy on my speed list. I was happy to wind up with Andrus for $20, so I had my speed for under $60. At this point I had around $90 and had to decide where to invest it. I considered a closer and bid up Chapman a bit, but backed out. In the end I got in on Tanaka and got him for $24. Health is a huge question mark, but as my #2/#3 the upside is still pretty huge. I like the risk here. So I have Nomar Mazara on my farm and decided to basically punt DH and wait on Nomar, so my choice was CI/MI for about $20. I wound up with Starlin Castro for $19. So that meant I wound up only spending $6 on CI and only one of those guys is any good a $4 Jed Lowrie.

So besides Tanaka I still needed at least 3 pitchers. With Osuna and Doolittle for a total of $3 I decided I would buy Storen for anything $10 and under. I got Storen for $9 and since this is a daily transition league those MR guys have some value as you can use your rsv to hold SP's to rotate in with your MR/Closer base. Grabbed Farquhar and Hendricks for a total of $3 and had some more save speculation and Doolittle insurance if Madson were to get hurt. Also snuck in a $2 bid on Kendall Graveman as I think he could be useful.

I wound up in dollar days and just couldn't win anyone so I got to make the last 5 buys of the auction after everyone was done. Grabbed R Elias, Drew Hutchison, Jesse Chavez, Jerry Sands and a 3rd catcher.

So in the end it looks like this..

C R Martin 16
C Chris Gimenez/Christian Vazquez $1 each
1B J Loney $1
2B S Castro $19
SS E Andrus $20
3B M Duffy $1
CI J Lowrie $4
MI O Infante $2
OF Bautista $39
OF Betts $5
OF Springer $5
OF Trout $25
DH J Sands $1

P D Price $36
P M Tanaka $24
P D Salazar $12
P T Walker $5
P R Osuna $2
P D Storen $9
P S Doolittle $1
P L Hendricks $2
P D Farquahr $1

RSV
K Graveman $2
R Elias $1
Drew Hutchison $1
Jesse Chavez $1

RJEL tonight, I am spent, but I will get it together...I hope.

[Hornsby]

I suppose that I can add to this thread, I came into the auction with a GREAT keeper list, IMO. But it's young. Keepers in bold.

C. Hank Conger $1
C. Giovanni Soto $1
1B. Jose Abreu $48
2B Rougned Odor $5
3B Manny Machado $15
SS Carlos Correa $5
MI. Eduardo Nunez $1
CI. Mike Napoli $10
OF. Carlos Beltran $10
OF. Billy Burns $5
OF. Kole Calhoun $11
OF. Hanley Ramirez $32
OF. Michael Saunders $8
DH. Miguel Sano $5

P. Zach Britton $12
P. Carlos Carrasco $13
P. Wade Davis $11
P. Danny Duffy $2
P. Mark Lowe $1
P. Chris Sale $39
P. Ervin Santana $11
P. Koji Uehara $2
P. Tom Wilhelmsen $1

Reserves

R. Mike Aviles $1
R. Franklin Gutierrez $3
R. Hyun Soo Kim $1
R. Yu Darvish $10
R. Ubaldo Jimenez $1


Going into the auction with a good keeper list that's also cheap was really a new experience. So I targeted a stud pitcher and a stud hitter. I got Sale for 39, which was slightly less that I thought he go for, then I let several hitters run off the board at value, which was a mistake. The last guy I had in the top Tier was Abreu, and I hoped to pay about 40 bucks for him, but obviously that didn't happen. So I bit the bullet and paid 48. Probably no profit there but a consistent close to .300 average with 30/100 average during the last 2 years, so I can't complain. Two $1 catchers with some power fits the plan nicely, and getting 2 useful OFers and a CI for 28 worked alright as well. Hanley was a target, and I probably overpaid for him at $32, but if he's happy at 1st, he's still young enough to rake.

Pitching I had a nice anchor staff with the 2 stud relievers and Carrasco, and Darvish waiting in the wings, so I decided to go stud and ended up with Sale at $39, a good buy, IMO. Overpaid for big Erv at $11, but got crickets for Ubaldo, so it balances out. Took 1 buck (or 2) MI's the rest of the way, since this is a daily moves league. Like my reserves for versatility, and factored in Sano and Hanley getting an extra position each as well.

[Big Tymer]

FWIW - my Rotolab software has you way, way ahead of the pack. Draft day winner is usually the kiss of death so you have that going for you, which is nice...

[Hornsby]

FWIW - my Rotolab software has you way, way ahead of the pack. Draft day winner is usually the kiss of death so you have that going for you, which is nice...

LOL...yep, I can sleep like a baby now.

How bad does it have me doing in the 12to?

[Big Tymer]

LOL...How bad does it have me doing in the 12to?

Not well. Very low offense totals right now. It has Rounding Third in 1st by a healthy margin

[Mithrandir]

I suppose that I can add to this thread, I came into the auction with a GREAT keeper list, IMO. But it's young. Keepers in bold.

C. Hank Conger $1
C. Giovanni Soto $1
1B. Jose Abreu $48
2B Rougned Odor $5
3B Manny Machado $15
SS Carlos Correa $5
MI. Eduardo Nunez $1
CI. Mike Napoli $10
OF. Carlos Beltran $10
OF. Billy Burns $5
OF. Kole Calhoun $11
OF. Hanley Ramirez $32
OF. Michael Saunders $8
DH. Miguel Sano $5

P. Zach Britton $12
P. Carlos Carrasco $13
P. Wade Davis $11
P. Danny Duffy $2
P. Mark Lowe $1
P. Chris Sale $39
P. Ervin Santana $11
P. Koji Uehara $2
P. Tom Wilhelmsen $1

Reserves

R. Mike Aviles $1
R. Franklin Gutierrez $3
R. Hyun Soo Kim $1
R. Yu Darvish $10
R. Ubaldo Jimenez $1


Going into the auction with a good keeper list that's also cheap was really a new experience. So I targeted a stud pitcher and a stud hitter. I got Sale for 39, which was slightly less that I thought he go for, then I let several hitters run off the board at value, which was a mistake. The last guy I had in the top Tier was Abreu, and I hoped to pay about 40 bucks for him, but obviously that didn't happen. So I bit the bullet and paid 48. Probably no profit there but a consistent close to .300 average with 30/100 average during the last 2 years, so I can't complain. Two $1 catchers with some power fits the plan nicely, and getting 2 useful OFers and a CI for 28 worked alright as well. Hanley was a target, and I probably overpaid for him at $32, but if he's happy at 1st, he's still young enough to rake.

Pitching I had a nice anchor staff with the 2 stud relievers and Carrasco, and Darvish waiting in the wings, so I decided to go stud and ended up with Sale at $39, a good buy, IMO. Overpaid for big Erv at $11, but got crickets for Ubaldo, so it balances out. Took 1 buck (or 2) MI's the rest of the way, since this is a daily moves league. Like my reserves for versatility, and factored in Sano and Hanley getting an extra position each as well.

You have way more faith in Hanley than I will ever have! One year he has to produce..I guess...

Nice team Horns.

[Teenwolf]

I came into the draft with 2 straight titles, and a so-so keeper list because of it, zero FARM support after emptying the cupboards. Plan of attack: 1) stack offense with the 3 closest to value $25+ guys, 2) buy 1 elite closer to avoid trade desperation, and offset my $1-$3 SP's ratios, 3) Save a few $$$ for value stashes, RSV bidding. Bought Cain $42, C. Davis $36, and Dozier $28. Cain was at value, but I would've paid up to $44 for Crash, so I'm ecstatic to get him for $36. I think his BA concerns are overblown. 2014 floor is factored too much, given his 50 HR pop, and .260+ BA in 2013 and 2015, plus I love the offense around him this year, and he'll get 1B/OF eligibility... Spent $18 on Texeira when I should've saved it to spread around a bit, but endgame bargains were far between, so I didn't have many regrets. Already owning Andrew Miller at $6, I decided to diversify my risk portfolio for saves and go with whichever of Kimbrel/Allen/Giles fell to me in the $25-$30 range. With 8 SP's between $1-$3, and only Stroman to anchor, I'm hoping that I can get near the top in W/K/SV without tanking my ratios too badly, for $50. I guess that's LIMA for you. Worked in 2015, and that was holding an injured Stroman all year! So it could work again.

I need some luck to win my 3rd straight title. Some would say A LOT of luck. But at least I didn't leave $29 on the table.

C. R Perez $1
C. J Saltalamacchia $1
1B. C Davis $36
2B. B Dozier $28
3B. T Saladino $1
SS. K Marte $5*
MI. C Sanchez $1
CI. M Texeira $18
OF. L. Cain $42
OF. M Brantley $22*
OF. A Eaton $21*
OF. K Kiermaier $8*
OF. D Deshields $1*
DH. A Rodriguez $11*

P. M Stroman $5*
P. N Karns $2*
P. M Perez $1*
P. T Skaggs $3
P. D Norris $3
P. J Tomlin $2
P. C Kimbrel $27
P. C Smith $2
P. A Miller $6*

Reserves

R. D Pompey $2
R. H Owens $2
R. M Shoemaker $1
R. M Latos $1
R. B Rondon $1

[Erik]

3B Manny Machado $15
SS Carlos Correa $5

Holy hell, let's just give you the title now.

[wombat104]

Unlike the other fella's I came into the draft coming off 3 abysmal seasons, and will be rebuilding yet again. I focused on securing moderately priced talent to leverage my ability to improve keepers over the course of the season. My hitting counting stats are weak, especially power. Pitching will be an issue too, couldn't pull the trigger on a full price closer. Here is the sad team:

C: Suzuki $5 and Murphy $5
1b: Smoak 3*
2b: Pedoria 20
SS: Desmond 26
3b: Plouffe 15*
MI: A. Escobar 17*
CI: Santana 20
OF: K.Davis 25, Aoki 19, Hicks 3*, Cabrera 13, Reimold 1
Util: Fielder 31*

Pitchers: Betances 1*, Givens 4, D. Holland 6*, C. Rondon 5*, Madson 2*, May 3, Porcello 11, Medlen 4, McAllister 1

Reserves: Maybin 11, Salas1, Cobb 9, Chisenhall 3, Iglesias 1*