Just finished my first NL-only auction, also my first "industry" auction. HDID?

[cavebird]

I agree with the consensus. I think you did decent on your values for players, but your team is very lopsided in SP and speed in lieu of saves and power. I would look to make a deal or two (speed and SP for power and RP) early to avoid getting buried in the power categories. Strange auction where Hill goes for only $5 more than Rutledge.

[Lucky]

Here are the other rosters.

The auction, as most do, had some weird dynamics. Closers went cheap, but I had a lot invested in pitching at that time, so I didn't get in. I had not planned to spend over $40 on my top three starters, but couldn't lay off the three I got. All of the CL2 guys went super high. One of my mistakes...I had my finger on the trigger of Motte at $17 and didn't pull it.

Pagan wasn't intentional, in that I already had Pierre for the steals, and then Pagan stalled at $15, which was way too cheap. I wasn't really price enforcing, there was just too much value there. He's my candidate to trade for some pop, as the ESPN projections have me way out front in steals.

LoMo was the last corner guy, so there was a bit of a bidding war.

Not everything went wrong. Some things went "right", but changed my plan. As everybody knows, 2B is short. I got Neil Walker early, at what I thought was a good price. I knew I couldn't afford Hill, who should have gone for $27 or $28. But when the opening bid was $3, I made at jump bid at $21, and nobody moved.

Bryce Harper was my first buy. I think he'll be this year's Bryce Harper.

So, after all the bloodshed, the ESPN draft evaluator put me in 3rd place with 75 points. Dave Gawron is in first place with 79 points projected. Naturally, I think ESPN has some of my guys a little low, which is why/how I wound up getting them. I tried to get mostly healthy guys, and as someone pointed out, starters. There just isn't as much talent in the NL, especially the OF. And when it is an "only league", it gets thin at the end. I was glad I had my middle sewn up, since guys were fighting for scraps at the end.

So, those rosters:

eXpertLeagues Gawron
C A.J. Ellis 8
C Devin Mesoraco 6
1B Adrian Gonzalez 27
2B Danny Espinosa 16
3B David Wright 30
SS Ian Desmond 22
2B/SS Donovan Solano 4
1B/3B Garrett Jones 11
OF Jay Bruce 25
OF Starling Marte 13
OF Jayson Werth 11
OF Will Venable 10
OF Chris Denorfia 1
UTIL Nick Hundley 1

P Ian Kennedy 15
P Rafael Betancourt 12
P Tim Hudson 11
P Ryan Vogelsong 11
P Steve Cishek 13
P Matt Garza 9
P Jonny Venters 2
P Rex Brothers 1
P Jake Westbrook 1

BE Drew Pomeranz 1
BE Henderson Alvarez 1
BE Ty Wigginton 1
BE Jordan Schafer 1
Total: 264
Remaining: 0

eXpertLeagues Dean
C Carlos Ruiz 11
C Brian McCann 11
1B Matt Carpenter 12
2B Dan Uggla 15
3B Chris Nelson 7
SS Dee Gordon 8
2B/SS Billy Hamilton 9
1B/3B Todd Helton 3
OF Carlos Beltran 17
OF Carlos Gomez 20
OF Carlos Quentin 10
OF Jason Kubel 18
OF Domonic Brown 10
UTIL Scott Hairston 5

P Craig Kimbrel 26
P Zack Greinke 20
P Cory Luebke 3
P Wade Miley 9
P Shelby Miller 9
P Homer Bailey 14
P Drew Storen 7
P Johan Santana 6
P Carlos Marmol 10

BE Mark Melancon 1
BE Mike Adams 1
BE Gaby Sanchez 1
BE Barry Zito 1
Total: 264
Remaining: 0

eXpertLeagues Parsons
C Wilin Rosario 17
C John Buck 3
1B Ryan Howard 20
2B Mark Ellis 7
3B David Freese 18
SS Zack Cozart 13
2B/SS Clint Barmes 1
1B/3B Brandon Belt 17
OF Jason Heyward 27
OF Jon Jay 10
OF Jose Tabata 6
OF Alfonso Soriano 16
OF Ryan Ludwick 12
UTIL Nolan Arenado 2

P Edinson Volquez 5
P John Axford 12
P Dan Haren 16
P Kenley Jansen 12
P Cliff Lee 20
P Gio Gonzalez 22
P Phillippe Aumont 1
P Scott Feldman 1
P Aaron Harang 1

BE Ian Stewart 2
BE Eric Chavez 1
BE Brad Brach 1
BE Charlie Blackmon 1
Total: 264
Remaining: 0

KFFL Dodson
C Jonathan Lucroy 16
C Kurt Suzuki 4
1B Corey Hart 15
2B Brandon Phillips 25
3B Juan Francisco 8
SS Marco Scutaro 15
2B/SS Luis Cruz 7
1B/3B John Mayberry Jr. 7
OF Ryan Braun 44
OF Denard Span 10
OF Tyler Moore 2
OF Gerardo Parra 5
OF Gregor Blanco 4
UTIL Matt Adams 2

P Tim Lincecum 19
P Johnny Cueto 19
P Rafael Soriano 17
P Jaime Garcia 13
P Wily Peralta 3
P David Hernandez 5
P Ross Detwiler 7
P Jacob Turner 1
P Tyler Clippard 6

BE Hyun-Jin Ryu 6
BE Trevor Rosenthal 2
BE Shane Robinson 1
BE Stephen Lombardozzi 1
Total: 264
Remaining: 0

SportingNews Bender
C Buster Posey 29
C Rod Barajas 1
1B Anthony Rizzo 20
2B Daniel Descalso 3
3B Chase Headley 23
SS Willie Bloomquist 6
2B/SS Kolten Wong 1
1B/3B Tyler Colvin 8
OF Matt Holliday 26
OF Dexter Fowler 17
OF Andres Torres 5
OF Delmon Young 7
OF Eric Young Jr. 4
UTIL Brett Jackson 1

P Clayton Kershaw 30
P Zack Wheeler 2
P Francisco Liriano 6
P Andrew Cashner 7
P Huston Street 15
P Bobby Parnell 13
P Jeff Samardzija 17
P Chad Billingsley 6
P Mike Fiers 3

BE Roger Bernadina 1
BE Mike Leake 3
BE DJ LeMahieu 1
BE Jordan Walden 1
Total: 256
Remaining: 8

RotoProfessor Stashin
C Ramon Hernandez 1
C Michael McKenry 1
1B Brent Lillibridge 1
2B Skip Schumaker 1
3B Hanley Ramirez 33
SS Cliff Pennington 12
2B/SS Jimmy Rollins 21
1B/3B Luis Valbuena 1
OF Andrew McCutchen 38
OF Collin Cowgill 1
OF Mike Baxter 1
OF Jesus Guzman 1
OF Marlon Byrd 1
UTIL Dioner Navarro 1

P Adam Wainwright 25
P Matt Harvey 15
P Jonathon Niese 14
P J.J. Putz 18
P A.J. Burnett 10
P Trevor Cahill 12
P Gerrit Cole 1
P Wilton Lopez 1
P Juan Nicasio 1

BE Jose Arredondo 1
BE Tom Gorzelanny 1
BE Alexi Amarista 1
BE Gerald Laird 1
Total: 215
Remaining: 49

RotoExperts Riley
C Miguel Montero 15
C Yasmani Grandal 8
1B Adam LaRoche 20
2B Daniel Murphy 14
3B Pablo Sandoval 20
SS Andrelton Simmons 15
2B/SS Pete Kozma 1
1B/3B Adeiny Hechavarria 1
OF Giancarlo Stanton 33
OF Ben Revere 21
OF Lucas Duda 9
OF Cody Ross 6
OF Travis Snider 3
UTIL Nate Schierholtz 3

P Mike Minor 16
P Aroldis Chapman 21
P Jonathan Broxton 12
P Josh Beckett 10
P Frank Francisco 2
P James McDonald 10
P Brandon Beachy 3
P Scott Baker 3
P Julio Teheran 5

BE Darin Ruf 4
BE Daniel Hudson 2
BE Jorge De La Rosa 1
BE Yasiel Puig 6
Total: 264
Remaining: 0

RotoExperts McCullough
C Miguel Olivo 1
C Tim Federowicz 1
1B Freddie Freeman 23
2B Jedd Gyorko 13
3B Aramis Ramirez 24
SS Joaquin Arias 1
2B/SS Logan Forsythe 4
1B/3B Joey Votto 38
OF Matt Kemp 36
OF Oscar Taveras 5
OF Michael Cuddyer 14
OF Hunter Pence 18
OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis 1
UTIL Alex Presley 1

P Cole Hamels 28
P Lance Lynn 12
P Shaun Marcum 6
P Sergio Romo 16
P Jason Grilli 14
P Ricky Nolasco 1
P Kyle Kendrick 1
P Ronald Belisario 1
P Josh Collmenter 1

BE Matt Belisle 1
BE Jeff Karstens 1
BE Jeremy Affeldt 1
BE Javier Lopez 1
Total: 264
Remaining: 0

FB Sherpa Swanay
C Welington Castillo 6
C Rob Brantly 3
1B Allen Craig 28
2B Darwin Barney 10
3B Todd Frazier 16
SS Everth Cabrera 15
2B/SS Ruben Tejada 8
1B/3B Paul Goldschmidt 22
OF Adam Eaton 19
OF Shin-Soo Choo 20
OF Justin Ruggiano 13
OF Carl Crawford 16
OF Jordany Valdespin 6
UTIL Kyle Blanks 1

P Roy Halladay 20
P Jordan Zimmermann 19
P Wandy Rodriguez 7
P Clayton Richard 5
P Edwin Jackson 11
P Brandon McCarthy 7
P Jhoulys Chacin 4
P Luke Gregerson 3
P Brandon Lyon 1

BE Alex Gonzalez 1
BE Santiago Casilla 1
BE Christian Yelich 1
BE Anthony Rendon 1
Total: 264
Remaining: 0

Rotoworld Grimm
C Wilson Ramos 5
C Ryan Hanigan 6
1B Michael Young 14
2B Chase Utley 18
3B Martin Prado 19
SS Troy Tulowitzki 32
2B/SS Jerry Hairston Jr. 3
1B/3B Pedro Alvarez 16
OF Justin Upton 31
OF Andre Ethier 18
OF David DeJesus 7
OF Tony Campana 1
OF Gary Brown 2
UTIL Brandon Crawford 1

P Stephen Strasburg 28
P Jonathan Papelbon 20
P Marco Estrada 11
P Joe Kelly 3
P Paul Maholm 6
P Brandon League 10
P Dillon Gee 4
P Nate Eovaldi 1
P Travis Wood 1

BE Randall Delgado 1
BE Chone Figgins 1
BE Mitchell Boggs 1
BE Casey Kotchman 1
Total: 261
Remaining: 3

RotoInfo Gilroy Pichan
C Russell Martin 11
C Erik Kratz 1
1B Ike Davis 21
2B Rickie Weeks 16
3B Ryan Zimmerman 21
SS Starlin Castro 27
2B/SS Jean Segura 12
1B/3B Josh Vitters 1
OF B.J. Upton 26
OF Carlos Gonzalez 35
OF Cameron Maybin 14
OF Logan Schafer 1
OF Laynce Nix 1
UTIL Chris Johnson 6

P Jason Motte 16
P Kris Medlen 17
P Matt Cain 23
P Robbie Erlin 1
P Tyler Skaggs 4
P Chris Capuano 3
P Carlos Villanueva 1
P Ted Lilly 1
P Patrick Corbin 1

BE Greg Dobbs 1
BE Hunter Morris 1
BE Kyle McPherson 1
BE Hector Sanchez 1
Total: 264
Remaining: 0

Advanced FB Crumpler
C Yadier Molina 20
C Travis d'Arnaud 5
1B Yonder Alonso 14
2B Neil Walker 17
3B Jordan Pacheco 6
SS Josh Rutledge 16
2B/SS Aaron Hill 21
1B/3B Logan Morrison 12
OF Bryce Harper 28
OF Norichika Aoki 16
OF Angel Pagan 16
OF Juan Pierre 12
OF Chris Heisey 2
UTIL Placido Polanco 1

P Madison Bumgarner 20
P Yovani Gallardo 19
P Mat Latos 18
P Kyuji Fujikawa 11
P Sean Marshall 2
P Bronson Arroyo 1
P Fernando Salas 1
P J.J. Hoover 1
P Eric O'Flaherty 1

BE Edward Mujica 1
BE Antonio Bastardo 1
BE John Baker 1
BE Tim Stauffer 1
Total: 264
Remaining: 0

[BigJonEmpire]

Hey guys, Lucky just wrote up his experience in a bit more detail. Please, check it out - http://www.advancedfantasybaseball.com/2013/03/triple-crown-national-league-auction.html

While I'm in promotion mode, I'd appreciate if you guys checked out my 2013 Breakout Players - http://fantasyjudgment.com/the-art-o...eball-volume-2

[Sour Masher]

I like your team a lot. I agree it may be speed heavy, but based on the other rosters, I see some trade potentials for power. LoMo was a risk at that price, but he could pay off. I'm confused by all the concern over Gallardo. What is it based on? Poor defense? Poor bullpen? The skills are there.

[Lucky]

I tried to focus a lot on guys who will get playing time (as opposed to part-timers), guys who will hit a decent average, and most importantly healthy guys. The immediate post-auction ESPN projection had my squad finishing a strong 3rd, just four points out of first place. Of course, my own projections for the players I purchased are a bit more optimistic than ESPN, so I think it could possibly be a winner.

Through free agency I have added Constellanos from LA and Torrealba. Looking at the LA outfield, I imagine Constellanos could get quite a few at bats.

mlj is right, no big stars. It was strictly an STR auction. The guys who bought the big bats left some pretty big holes. My home runs are spread throughout the roster. I should get 30 out of the Catchers, and 40 out of the middle infielders.

We know that a large chunk of pitching value is not rostered on auction day. I'll be looking for another starter, and will probably trade some speed for some power, as soon as things settle in and some of the other owners realize they don't have enough speed.

Thanks, all for the comments and the analysis.

[gcstomp]

Wow, the RotoProfessor Stashin was such a poor showing. $49 left, absurd number of $1 nothings throughout team, skews the numbers. Wonder what his thought process was. Your team of course looks very solid and you performed under pressure admirably.

[bryanbutler]

Wow, the RotoProfessor Stashin was such a poor showing. $49 left, absurd number of $1 nothings throughout team, skews the numbers. Wonder what his thought process was. Your team of course looks very solid and you performed under pressure admirably.

maybe he's trying the RJ Free Agents 2K13 technique

[BigJonEmpire]

Wow, the RotoProfessor Stashin was such a poor showing. $49 left, absurd number of $1 nothings throughout team, skews the numbers. Wonder what his thought process was. Your team of course looks very solid and you performed under pressure admirably.

His computer crapped out and he missed the 2nd half of the draft.