HDID: 12 Team NL Only

[BuckyBuckner]

I guess I'll throw my team out to the wolves to see how you guys think I did. It's a 12 team NL only league with 14 hitters and 10 pitchers; normal 5x5 categories except saves + 1/2 hold and a $265 budget.

I knew I didn't have a strong keeper list so I looked for values when I could find them. I did want to get a big bat, tried to get Arenado, who I've had since a minor leaguer in this league, but he went for $48 and I chickened out at $45. The only other real target I had was Bumgarner. Grandal and Renfroe were on my radar as I had them last year and got them back for $14 less overall.

I wanted to look for a few upside rookie kind of plays but really Camargo and Renfroe are the only ones. I guess Pivetta and Folty count as well.

It's an ok team and ERA and WHIP could be a problem. I think my offense should be solid.

C - Grandal $10A
C - Vogt $2
1B - Zimmerman $15
CR - Camargo $2
3B - Spangenberg $15
2B - Owings $9C18 (keeper)
MI - Crawford $12
SS - Seager $20C20 (keeper)
OF - Blackmon $13C18 (keeper)
OF - Yelich $42
OF - McCutchen $24
OF - Renfroe $10
OF - Parra $3
UT - Kemp $5

P - Wacha $8B (keeper)
P - Wood $8B (keeper)
P - Garrett $5B (keeper)
P - Bumgarner $29
P - Foltynewicz $8
P - Pivetta $3
P - Cishek $3
P - Glasnow $3B (keeper)
P - Barraclough $12B (keeper)
P - Vizcaino $1B (keeper)

Have at it

[harmon]

Curious about the $265 budget. Do you throw $5 in for food or something?

I like Spangenberg and Owings, but not at those prices. I was questioning myself a little about keeping Owings at $3. Was Spangenberg an end auction squeeze with money left on the table? Zimm could be a good buy at $15 if healthy, been a very strange spring for him. Yelich should be a monster in Milwaukee.

Bearclaw is expensive as a keeper. How much did Steckenreider go for? Were you trying for him?

[B-Fly]

The Spangenberg price seems crazy to me. Was it a matter of him being the last palatable MI on the board? I'm also not high on Renfroe. I think your other players and prices are good, though. The Blackmon and Wood keepers are my favorites, of course, but I also think the Yelich and McCutchen buys were very good.

[chancellor]

The good: Zimmerman at 15 looks like a solid to very good buy, Crawford at 12 is solid, Cishek at 3 could end up being a steal and at a minimum is solid, and while I'm not a Folty fan, I can certainly see making a buy on him at 8 given his potential and upside. Seager, Blackmon, and Vizcaino at those keeper prices are steals. The catcher combo for $12 could be very solid, though you'll need to watch Vogt's progress closely. Power and R/RBI should be good to great.

The bad: With MadBum out for an extended time, your ratios are most likely going to be awful. Folty, Wacha, and Glasnow will all need to make major improvements just to keep you competitive. Speed is mid-pack, too, unless Yelich and Spang really step it up. Barraclough at 12 for a keeper is brutal. Spang at 15 is about a $10 overpay. That $27 for those two positions spent in a different way could have made a big difference on your team.

[BuckyBuckner]

Spangenberg was a little high, he's 3B and OF, not 2B eligible and there just wasn't much out there for 3B. I don't see him as a $10 overpay at all. At the time Rotolab had his inflation price right at $15. Arenado went for $48 and Rendon went for $34. Then you are looking at Longoria $17, Flores $14 (would have been better), Moran $13, Brian Anderson $10. There just weren't great choices out there. I like his mix of speed and pop and I think he'll play all over the field. He's not an everyday player but I'm hoping 4-5 times a week maybe. Plus, do we really think Headley will last the entire season on their roster? Asuaje could crash and burn.

Renfroe was too much but he's more of a future potential, hoping for a trade (to an NL team) and he'll have value then.

Barraclough and Owings weren't great keeps, but Rotolab had them right around those prices, with inflation factored in. A few bucks less for each. I can live with that. I like a guy like Owings who will add value by playing all over the place; we use 1 game in season for position eligibility. Steckenrider went for $10. Middle relievers were going in the $8-$10 range. So yeah, Barraclough was overpriced, but not by a lot. AJ Minter went for $10, for example.

I don't think I'll need to worry about Wacha's ratios, I'm pretty high on him this year. Glasnow will be in the bullpen and I think that will be good for him. If Folty starts getting lit up he'll be gone. He was higher than he should have gone but it was the very end of the draft, I missed out on a few other guys and had money left over, he was my second to last buy with Pivetta being my last and I left $3 on the table.

[Teenwolf]

I echo everybody else, $15 Spang doesn't look great, and I'm also not a fan of Barraclough $12, but nothing too egregious. I happen to prefer Steckenrider for the closer's job, but it's close to a toss-up.

In a 2 catcher league, I love Grandal $10. Could easily be a top 5 NL catcher producing close to $20. I think Barnes takes over primary 2B and backup C, and Grandal has his usual low BA, 20+ HR year.

I love almost every other buy except for Bumgarner $29... Bum should've had a better discount considering he likely misses 30-50% of the season... I like the other pitching buys, Pivetta $3 is one I wish I'd double-dipped, didn't save a roster spot for him in 1. Cishek $3 is an underrated ratio beast, and seems more likely than Edwards Jr. to take over closing if Brandon Morrow breaks down (which seems highly unlikely, right?). Also hate Folty, but hopefully he's serviceable, and $8 is fine SP flyer pricing. Offense, I love Zim $15, McCutchen $24, and Kemp $5 to all outproduce their auction prices. McCutchen is a seriously discounted 2nd tier stud. Went for $38 and $36 in my 12 team NL Only's.

[BuckyBuckner]

I echo everybody else, $15 Spang doesn't look great, and I'm also not a fan of Barraclough $12, but nothing too egregious. I happen to prefer Steckenrider for the closer's job, but it's close to a toss-up.

In a 2 catcher league, I love Grandal $10. Could easily be a top 5 NL catcher producing close to $20. I think Barnes takes over primary 2B and backup C, and Grandal has his usual low BA, 20+ HR year.

I love almost every other buy except for Bumgarner $29... Bum should've had a better discount considering he likely misses 30-50% of the season... I like the other pitching buys, Pivetta $3 is one I wish I'd double-dipped, didn't save a roster spot for him in 1. Cishek $3 is an underrated ratio beast, and seems more likely than Edwards Jr. to take over closing if Brandon Morrow breaks down (which seems highly unlikely, right?). Also hate Folty, but hopefully he's serviceable, and $8 is fine SP flyer pricing. Offense, I love Zim $15, McCutchen $24, and Kemp $5 to all outproduce their auction prices. McCutchen is a seriously discounted 2nd tier stud. Went for $38 and $36 in my 12 team NL Only's.

As far as Bum goes, in a keeper league you are going to overpay his value this year in order to get a bargain the next few years. I knew this team wouldn't be competitive and I've always loved Bumgarner so I went for it. Initially I was going to stop at $25 but went up to $29. My only I just want this guy bid of the draft.

I appreciate the feedback, I guess Spang sucks, now I know

With 1/2 hold as part of the saves category Barraclough should get me some value, but as long as he stays in the set up role he's overpriced. It's a toss up between him and Steckenrider. Time will tell.

Glad you like the other buys though.

[Pauly]

Offensively it looks like an upper-third type of team, but I think you really struggle in the dominant pitching categories with this team. I see a bunch of ERA and WHIP destroyers (Pivetta, Glasnow, Folty, Garrett, even Bearclaw) without enough to balance it out, especially with Bumgarner's issues. Not many Ks either. Is this a no-bench league?

[BuckyBuckner]

Offensively it looks like an upper-third type of team, but I think you really struggle in the dominant pitching categories with this team. I see a bunch of ERA and WHIP destroyers (Pivetta, Glasnow, Folty, Garrett, even Bearclaw) without enough to balance it out, especially with Bumgarner's issues. Not many Ks either. Is this a no-bench league?

It is a no bench league. I agree, lots of gambles on the pitching side. I'm coming off a run of finishing in the money seven out of the last eight years and six of those was top 3. I had some great keepers' contracts run out so I took some risks on some pitchers. It's a transition year for me. Blackmon isn't happy with management but he's putting on a good face around the clubhouse.

[BuckyBuckner]

Curious about the $265 budget. Do you throw $5 in for food or something?

The extra $5 is for the 10th pitcher.

[cavebird]

I agree with the consensus on Spangenberg, but think you should have done something different with the money. Just go with a scrub at 3B because the hitting looks good already, then add the extra 10-14 from Spangenberg to what you spent on MadBum and turn him into a healthy stud pitcher. That would be a much more balanced team. Of course, you really wanted MadBum, and I am sympathetic to those kinds of attachments.

[The Dane]

I guess I'll diverge a little from my peers, as that is often my wont.

I think you had a fine draft. I really like what you did here. I doubt this is a championship team, but I think you'll end up better than you fear. Here's why:

1) This is the depth of league I'm most familiar with and you have far fewer ciphers than is common. Every player on offense is a contributor, and that's not easy on a 12-teamer. I bet several other teams have a few $45 guys and a bunch of $1 guys who aren't even going to play. And with this depth, they are not easily replaceable. You have spread the risk pretty well and I think it'll counter great.

2) As far as I can see, you have one glaring need and that is above-par innings from your SPs. Until Madbum gets back, you'll be hurting. Not high on Wacha, but he's good at only $8 of exposure. I love Wood, but he's due for some correction from last year, and that injury history is ugly, so you can't really write him in ink. Then you have Garrett, Folty, Pivetta and Glasnow. That is a TON of upside and I'm high on every one of those guys. But all together like this, they're a little scary, even on a 12-teamer where pitching staffs can be horrifying and still finish mid-pack. I wonder what the line is on how many times those four guys make it into the 7th inning all season; I'll take the under. Plus, they're all on crappy teams. If one or two of them step up, you could be okay, but the other two could wreck those gains very easily. Once MadBum comes back, things look a lot brighter. I really like your relievers. I'm not convinced they'll generate many saves, but they should keep you out of the basement in that category and provide good peripherals. This staff, even though it has some problems, needs only a little luck and it could be an asset.

3) On offense, you seem to be covered on all categories and I bet you're top 4/5 in ABs, which pushes up Rs and RBIs. You won't be blowing away anyone in HRs or SBs, but your OBP should be solid.

I like this team. I think you could surprise yourself.

[Ken]

I like this team. I think you could surprise yourself.

I'm with The Dane. Great offense for an Only team.

I like Wacha and Wood, they are good SP to have in this type scenario.

Pitching still needs some help, but any Only team of reasonable depth is going to need some help somewhere. In your case you have help on the way in a couple months (hopefully).

Until then I'd recommend grabbing some cheap MR options to improve the ratios in the short term, and in the long term you'll get your ace back.

I like it.