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Going in, I felt I had one of the worst keeper lists, dollar-for-dollar. I had one outstanding keeper in Bellinger, and a couple of very good ones in Knebel and Herrera, but the rest were pretty close to at-value, and I gambled on Claudio keeping the Texas ninth, and lost. As a response, I kept a couple of big bats at or near value, so that I could focus my attention elsewhere. Keeping Freeman and Davis were just lay ups.
My plan:
1) Get Kela for less than $18, so at least I'd have ONE closer and a good MR for $25 which is about the going rate in this league.
2) Avoid the first round of high-salary guys. I figured Freeman was my get there.
3) Get one second-tier ace in the low $30s.
4) Spread the risk with the rest of my hitters, not paying more than $30 for any one guy.
5) Focus on young starters. If I get them cheap enough, I don't lose much when they fizzle and if one or two hit, I could be mid-pack this year, and maybe better off in the future.
6) When it comes to late game scrubs, target the WAS bench first. I see a lot of positive ABs there. Kendrick, Adams and Goodwin could all produce WAY more than is expected of them. Practically every starting hitter on that team has a substantial or recent injury history. That bench will get USED.
My team: (keepers in bold)
C- MZunino 3
1B-FFreeman 44
2B-JPanik 10
3B-KSeager 28
SS-PDeJong 1
CI-WFlores 4
MI-COwings 5
OF-KDavis 35
OF-CBellinger 5
OF-OHerrera 2
OF-CGonzalez 12
OF-LMartin 6
UT-BGoodwin 2
UT-MAdams 3
B- JMcCann 1 (just until Zunino is back)
B- DDietrich 3
SP-CMartinez 35
SP-AWood 7
SP-TWalker 17
SP-LGohara 11
SP-TMahle 3
SP-CSmith 1
RP-AClaudio 7
CL-KKeone 13
CL-CKnebel 4
B- DPeters 1
B- TWilliams 1
How I felt I accomplished my plan:
1) Got Kela for $13, $5 below my bar.
2) I avoided the high-salaries in the early going. Freeman at $44 looks about right. Not cheap, but not an overpay either. Davis at $35 may be a little cheap.
3) I got Martinez at $35. A few dollars more than I would have liked to pay, but I needed an anchor.
4) My highest price hitter was Seager for $28. I'm pretty happy with my down-roster offensive acquisitions.
5) Well, I did say I wanted young starters. So, getting Walker (25), Mahle (23), Gohara (21), Smith (26), Peters (25), and Williams (25) probably just increases the likelihood that I get a ton of learning-curve innings that kill my ratios, but I may end up with one or two gems there. I was pleased to get them on shitty teams, because -while I'll certainly be hurting for wins- those teams have fewer options and they'll have longer leashes, and a better chance of getting to usefulness. Walker was an overpay, but at that point, I thought he was the best SP left, and I had the budget to spend. Andy pushed me to $11 on Gohara, who I was hoping to get for $5, but we both had money at that point and he had the best intersection of upside and proximity on the board.
6) I got Goodwin and Adams.
Overall: I really like my hitting. My pitching is suspect, but not terrible. I have very little help from the minors this year, maybe only Cristin Stewart or Jordan Hicks before he gets sent back down. I'm pretty weak there. I thought my <$6 late-game hitters were good gets. I got beat out on Garrett Cooper in dollar days, but I got every other one I had my eye on. My team is a bit threadbare, but serviceable. I feel like I went into the draft in last place or close to it, and drafted my way into the middle. If I languish there, I think I'm in a good place to sell, with some attractive players at not-insane prizes.
My plan:
1) Get Kela for less than $18, so at least I'd have ONE closer and a good MR for $25 which is about the going rate in this league.
2) Avoid the first round of high-salary guys. I figured Freeman was my get there.
3) Get one second-tier ace in the low $30s.
4) Spread the risk with the rest of my hitters, not paying more than $30 for any one guy.
5) Focus on young starters. If I get them cheap enough, I don't lose much when they fizzle and if one or two hit, I could be mid-pack this year, and maybe better off in the future.
6) When it comes to late game scrubs, target the WAS bench first. I see a lot of positive ABs there. Kendrick, Adams and Goodwin could all produce WAY more than is expected of them. Practically every starting hitter on that team has a substantial or recent injury history. That bench will get USED.
My team: (keepers in bold)
C- MZunino 3
1B-FFreeman 44
2B-JPanik 10
3B-KSeager 28
SS-PDeJong 1
CI-WFlores 4
MI-COwings 5
OF-KDavis 35
OF-CBellinger 5
OF-OHerrera 2
OF-CGonzalez 12
OF-LMartin 6
UT-BGoodwin 2
UT-MAdams 3
B- JMcCann 1 (just until Zunino is back)
B- DDietrich 3
SP-CMartinez 35
SP-AWood 7
SP-TWalker 17
SP-LGohara 11
SP-TMahle 3
SP-CSmith 1
RP-AClaudio 7
CL-KKeone 13
CL-CKnebel 4
B- DPeters 1
B- TWilliams 1
How I felt I accomplished my plan:
1) Got Kela for $13, $5 below my bar.
2) I avoided the high-salaries in the early going. Freeman at $44 looks about right. Not cheap, but not an overpay either. Davis at $35 may be a little cheap.
3) I got Martinez at $35. A few dollars more than I would have liked to pay, but I needed an anchor.
4) My highest price hitter was Seager for $28. I'm pretty happy with my down-roster offensive acquisitions.
5) Well, I did say I wanted young starters. So, getting Walker (25), Mahle (23), Gohara (21), Smith (26), Peters (25), and Williams (25) probably just increases the likelihood that I get a ton of learning-curve innings that kill my ratios, but I may end up with one or two gems there. I was pleased to get them on shitty teams, because -while I'll certainly be hurting for wins- those teams have fewer options and they'll have longer leashes, and a better chance of getting to usefulness. Walker was an overpay, but at that point, I thought he was the best SP left, and I had the budget to spend. Andy pushed me to $11 on Gohara, who I was hoping to get for $5, but we both had money at that point and he had the best intersection of upside and proximity on the board.
6) I got Goodwin and Adams.
Overall: I really like my hitting. My pitching is suspect, but not terrible. I have very little help from the minors this year, maybe only Cristin Stewart or Jordan Hicks before he gets sent back down. I'm pretty weak there. I thought my <$6 late-game hitters were good gets. I got beat out on Garrett Cooper in dollar days, but I got every other one I had my eye on. My team is a bit threadbare, but serviceable. I feel like I went into the draft in last place or close to it, and drafted my way into the middle. If I languish there, I think I'm in a good place to sell, with some attractive players at not-insane prizes.
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