OBSERVATIONS: So I've been in this league awhile and have always been confident in anticipating auction pricing but within 10 minutes it was clear I needed to adjust my settings as pitching prices were out of control which in turn meant hitters were going a little less than I expected. Initially I thought that maybe it was just the top shelf SP but higher than expected prices continued even into the lower tiers. Thankfully I was never intending to invest in much SP but still it had an effect on the hitters and in turn my draft execution.
PRE-AUCTION STRATEGY: Going in, I was pretty confident that I had the best set of keepers and farm players which in turn gave me confidence that I could fill in any post-draft holes fairly easily should I need to. I had a fair amount of SBs in the bank with keepers so my plan was to buy OBP and power or at least lean that way. Didn't have hard targets and as most likely observed in the draft room I generally am in the bidding on everyone up to my bid limits. Part of this is price enforcing and part is you never know where the value will come and if you have the right bid targets then imo you should be willing to pay to that amount. On the P front, I had 4 strong, cheap SP in the bank and maybe 2 closers. Thus, I wanted to buy a top-closer and then find some value and depth at SP. I had Benintendi, Swanson and Glasnow in the farm so knew I would be dropping some guys post draft and thus could live in dollar days a bit. As others mentioned, this league allows for mid-week roster changes and thus having strong MR is essential imo. Maybe the trend won't persist, but it always seems the relievers in Baltimore pick up Wins so was targeting that bullpen more than most.
KEY AUCTION MOMENTS: Bought Kimbrel with the first toss so checked the box with closer pretty quickly. Not long after, I somehow ended up with Goldy at $61 which was not something I ever planned for but would have paid more. Love the OBP cushion and extra SB but it caused me to shuffle the money around a bit. Bought Cargo for $32 not too long after and felt ok about that but then followed that up with more OF buys in Gordon and Granderson. In general I was fine with the prices but I have a lot of OFs in the minors not to mention Benintendi so would have preferred a CI option but again you can't pick and choose your spots when looking for value. For SP, I got Samardzjia for $13 which I was happy with given other SP prices and the fact that he'll give me innings on a good team in a pitchers park. No auction is perfect and I'm at a loss for why I was in the bidding on Chris Carter let alone to $7 but oh well. I wanted power but not even sure he'll get ABs. 2B ended up a position I punted and as a result I chased 3 dollar players in Dietrich, Merrifield & Utley hoping one works out but not sure they will. Thus, CI and 2B are positions I will need to upgrade but not too bad on the whole.
TEAM:
C = Russell Martin $11
1B = Goldy $61
2B = Dietrich $1
SS = Russell $6 (keeper)
3B = Jose Ramirez $2 (keeper)
MI = Dansby Swanson $0 (minors)
CI = Chris Carter $7
OF1 = Mookie Betts $20 (keeper)
OF2 = Lorenzo Cain $16 (keeper)
OF3 = Benintendi $0 (minors)
OF4 = CarGo $32
OF5 = Alex Gordon $16
UT1 = Granderson $14
UT2 = Justin Smoak $1
Bench (likely cutting one of these for callups): Merrifield $1 and Utley $1
SP1 = Thor $2 (keeper)
SP2 = Porcello $7 (keeper)
SP3 = Taillon $6 (keeper)
SP4 = Fulmer $5 (keeper)
SP5 = Shark $13
SP6 = Eduardo Rodriguez $6
CL1 = Kimbrel $23
CL2 = Bedrosian $2 (keeper)
CL3 = Watson $5 (keeper)
Bench = Triggs $2, Givens $2, Brach $2, Volquez $1, Bailey $1 (wanted someone I could DL for a callup)
FARM (excluding callups slotted in above roster:
Hitters = Brinson, Zimmer, Senzel, Albies, Maitan, Acuna, Kyle Tucker, Devers, Frazier, Meadows, Alford
Pitchers = Glasnow & Reyes
FINAL THOUGHTS: CI and 2B aside I'm very happy with how this played out but want to reiterate what Eno has recently said in that you need to have a decision tree type structure for the auction as you never know how it will really go. Inevitably you won't get all the guys you want and you'll likely get guys you were never planning to. This is why I am such an advocate of draft software like Rotolab as it really helps to work thru your roster as it comes together and identify gaps before they become too problematic.
PRE-AUCTION STRATEGY: Going in, I was pretty confident that I had the best set of keepers and farm players which in turn gave me confidence that I could fill in any post-draft holes fairly easily should I need to. I had a fair amount of SBs in the bank with keepers so my plan was to buy OBP and power or at least lean that way. Didn't have hard targets and as most likely observed in the draft room I generally am in the bidding on everyone up to my bid limits. Part of this is price enforcing and part is you never know where the value will come and if you have the right bid targets then imo you should be willing to pay to that amount. On the P front, I had 4 strong, cheap SP in the bank and maybe 2 closers. Thus, I wanted to buy a top-closer and then find some value and depth at SP. I had Benintendi, Swanson and Glasnow in the farm so knew I would be dropping some guys post draft and thus could live in dollar days a bit. As others mentioned, this league allows for mid-week roster changes and thus having strong MR is essential imo. Maybe the trend won't persist, but it always seems the relievers in Baltimore pick up Wins so was targeting that bullpen more than most.
KEY AUCTION MOMENTS: Bought Kimbrel with the first toss so checked the box with closer pretty quickly. Not long after, I somehow ended up with Goldy at $61 which was not something I ever planned for but would have paid more. Love the OBP cushion and extra SB but it caused me to shuffle the money around a bit. Bought Cargo for $32 not too long after and felt ok about that but then followed that up with more OF buys in Gordon and Granderson. In general I was fine with the prices but I have a lot of OFs in the minors not to mention Benintendi so would have preferred a CI option but again you can't pick and choose your spots when looking for value. For SP, I got Samardzjia for $13 which I was happy with given other SP prices and the fact that he'll give me innings on a good team in a pitchers park. No auction is perfect and I'm at a loss for why I was in the bidding on Chris Carter let alone to $7 but oh well. I wanted power but not even sure he'll get ABs. 2B ended up a position I punted and as a result I chased 3 dollar players in Dietrich, Merrifield & Utley hoping one works out but not sure they will. Thus, CI and 2B are positions I will need to upgrade but not too bad on the whole.
TEAM:
C = Russell Martin $11
1B = Goldy $61
2B = Dietrich $1
SS = Russell $6 (keeper)
3B = Jose Ramirez $2 (keeper)
MI = Dansby Swanson $0 (minors)
CI = Chris Carter $7
OF1 = Mookie Betts $20 (keeper)
OF2 = Lorenzo Cain $16 (keeper)
OF3 = Benintendi $0 (minors)
OF4 = CarGo $32
OF5 = Alex Gordon $16
UT1 = Granderson $14
UT2 = Justin Smoak $1
Bench (likely cutting one of these for callups): Merrifield $1 and Utley $1
SP1 = Thor $2 (keeper)
SP2 = Porcello $7 (keeper)
SP3 = Taillon $6 (keeper)
SP4 = Fulmer $5 (keeper)
SP5 = Shark $13
SP6 = Eduardo Rodriguez $6
CL1 = Kimbrel $23
CL2 = Bedrosian $2 (keeper)
CL3 = Watson $5 (keeper)
Bench = Triggs $2, Givens $2, Brach $2, Volquez $1, Bailey $1 (wanted someone I could DL for a callup)
FARM (excluding callups slotted in above roster:
Hitters = Brinson, Zimmer, Senzel, Albies, Maitan, Acuna, Kyle Tucker, Devers, Frazier, Meadows, Alford
Pitchers = Glasnow & Reyes
FINAL THOUGHTS: CI and 2B aside I'm very happy with how this played out but want to reiterate what Eno has recently said in that you need to have a decision tree type structure for the auction as you never know how it will really go. Inevitably you won't get all the guys you want and you'll likely get guys you were never planning to. This is why I am such an advocate of draft software like Rotolab as it really helps to work thru your roster as it comes together and identify gaps before they become too problematic.
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