ff09 adds 1987 Tom Paciorek, Rangers B4 $100,297,395

Bagwell Your Rod, Putz, or Feller

This version had way fewer potential traps or reason to worry about certain negative outcomes, like getting stuck at a position or having your cap impacted by events outside your control. With no salary cap, the only reason to limit what you spend is draft order. To a certain degree it does help to pick sooner (especially early on), but all in all I’d rather get a better player because the talent pool is finite. If you go cheap somewhere early, especially at a deep position like RP, you wind up without gaining much at that spot and you miss out on better expensive players, too.

I followed that strategy throughout, going for impact over any other consideration. I never came close to running out of options at any position. Without having to save any franchises for R25, I felt free to choose by quality above all. I wound up just under $135M even while drafting between 9-16 much of the time. Aside from my R1 pick that was somewhat aimed at drafting in the top half of R2, I never made a pick based on where it would land me the next round.

I will almost always start a draft like this with a pitcher or two because the quality at the top is essential to have, I believe. As this draft unfolded, though, I started to see less gap between the possible starting pitchers if I turned my attention to the offense. I’ve fielded lineups with average hitters in this league and found them lacking, so I decided not to hold back when difference-makers were available. I wound up with the most salary, so we’ll see if it shows up on the field and whether the big-spender division proves the most dangerous.

Here’s round by round as it unfolded:

Round 1, Pick 16: 2016 Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers, P4
Sure, I would have liked to get more innings at this spot, but the margin from Kershaw (1.20 ERC#) down to the next best pitcher in this group is sizable. I’ll just have to draft heavy innings from my next couple SP to cover the rotation.

Round 2, Pick 8: 1985 Dwight Gooden, Mets, P2
By this point, there had already been 13 P1 or P2 selected, and I wanted to ensure at least one big arm to anchor the staff. I got 277 innings here, and I can be pretty sure I’ll have another in that range coming from P1 later. So it’s pretty likely I can run a 4-man rotation and use the versatility of P5 options later to fill where I need it most.

Round 3, Pick 14: 1994 Jeff Bagwell, Astros, 1B
I usually lean toward an up-the-middle player first to lock down the defense at a key spot while also getting a strong bat. And I was well aware of the depth at 1B. But when I looked at each position, I kept coming back to Bagwell and his ridiculously good offensive production. No one in the draft slugs better. It’s going to cost me draft position, but I’ve got the start of a strong lineup that I think I’m really going to need.

Round 4, Pick 19: 2020 Juan Soto, Nationals/Expos, OF3
If I’d felt there was a P1 or P3 who was much better than anyone else left, I might have grabbed one. But I wanted to keep filling out the core of a loaded lineup while some of the best bats were out there. With a 1.169 OPS#, Soto was the best hitter on the board. His 529 PA should be manageable with a bench player to start against many LHP. Sure, I haven’t filled any key defensive positions yet, but I have two of the best bats period.

Round 5, Pick 14: 1937 Joe DiMaggio, Yankees, OF1
I sweated out this slow round hoping to fill either my CF or SS spot. There were only 20 starting outfielders in the pool with A- or better range, and I nominated 3 of them from the Royals (you’re welcome). The vast majority were at the bottom of each OF group in OPS, however, with one notable exception. I was fairly surprised folks were grabbing relievers instead of locking down stud lineup pieces, but you do you, I guess. This gives me three of the 13 .650+ SLG# hitters in the draft now, and I don’t even mind that it’s going to send me to the bottom of the draft order.

Round 6, Pick 21: 1975 Rod Carew, Twins, 2B
I’ll say I usually prefer stronger defense than Carew’s here, but this is also one of the last places I can ensure grabbing a lefty bat. I figure C and 3B are very likely going to be righties, and there’s not a lot of options left in OF2 either. If I wait on a SS and grab a good glove switch hitter, at least that will be some bit of balance. That said, the biggest argument for Carew is a .360+ average and decent speed with likelihood he can hit leadoff for me. I’ve got the top half of my lineup set now with a slash of .356/.432/.608, and I should be able to get production from OF2 and 3B at least.

Round 7, Pick 16: 2020 Brad Keller, Royals, P5
I was definitely going to fill another hitter spot this round … until I decided I wasn’t as in love with Eddie Mathews at 3B as I thought and didn’t see urgency at any of the spots I needed. Meanwhile, knowing I’ll be getting second-tier P1 and P3 made me realize that using P5 for a quality SP would be a strong move. Keller was one of the last ones left with a sub-2 ERC# and adds 148 quality innings to my rotation (I think I somehow overlooked Howie Pollet, taken a few picks later, with slightly fewer innings). The only downside here is I had loaded up that Royals roster with strong relievers at every spot and nice bench options, all of which I have to forego now.

Round 8, Pick 14: 2019 Christian Yelich, Brewers, OF2
I would have lost a sizable bet if you would have asked me if I’d fill my outfield up in the first 8 rounds, but here we are. This was another case of sizing up the best remaining studs at my open positions and deciding where I could be happier dropping down to a lesser talent. When Josh Hamilton got taken, all the remaining top hitters in this group on my list were RH except Yelich. Having already conceded that my C and 3B are almost certainly going to be RH and give me four, I felt this was the best place to add another potent lefty bat before I ran out of options. My slash for my five lineup members is at .350/.431/.645 now.

Round 9, Pick 15: 1987 Tony Fernandez, Blue Jays, SS
Every pick is a compromise somewhere, and while I was filling other spots the runs on C and SS took stride and cleared everyone from my queue off the board … except this guy and some dude named Ozzie. Fernandez doesn’t put up quite the offensive numbers of several other guys in this group, but he does three things really well that matter a lot: he plays outstanding defense, he runs, and he hits for a solid average. Plus he’s a switch hitter. Those things are all equally true for Ozzie, but with less production. For a guy who will bat 7th or 8th, Fernandez is just fine. And he shores up a critical defensive position that I could have had to compromise if I’d waited and watched both those guys go off the board.

Round 10, Pick 18: 1939 Ted Lyons, White Sox, P3
Endless ways I could have gone here, and I considered them all. The potential run on 3B weighed heavily on me and almost forced my hand, and as I write this I’m still awaiting the fallout. It probably isn’t helping that schwarze just posted about how few 3B have been taken, in case anyone hadn’t been paying attention. Meanwhile, though, I still had two holes in my rotation and only a few owners still needed to fill these spots. As franchises and possible choices dwindled, I started looking at how many choices I could live with. At P3, I was down to Hank Aguirre, Cliff Lee and Lyons on my comfort list. Though Lyons had the fewest innings of the group and that could impact me later, his durability, low HR rate and offensive ability gave him the edge. Also, I wanted to save my Tigers in case I could still get Cabrera at 3B or Freehan at C.

Round 11, Pick 17: 2009 Mike Adams, P10, Padres
The run on 3B was painful and disastrous, and clearly I should have taken one last round before 7 more went off the board. Everyone on my list of top choices was gone once vilefileman took Cabrera the pick before me. So I had to shift at the last minute, and my only other remaining “starting” positions were P1 and C. I didn’t see anyone I felt obliged to grab there, so I sought out the best reliever who was unlikely to last much longer. Only 37 innings here, which isn’t ideal, but he’s going to be my closer. I’ll likely have to sacrifice some quality for innings elsewhere in the pen now.

Round 12, Pick 14: 1982 Doug DeCinces, 3B, Angels
If I would have jumped into the 3B fray before the big run, I would have likely taken Nolan Arenado. I’m landing DeCinces two rounds later, and honestly it’s not as big a dropoff as I initially feared. Arenado has an OPS# of .941 to Doug’s .907. Fielding is good either way, from A/A to B/A+, so at least I still get the glove I need. And with 42 doubles and 30 homers, DeCinces brings ample pop to the lineup as well.

Round 13, Pick 17: 2017 J.D. Martinez, B1, D’backs
A bit of a Bench run kicked off in this round, and I had to have a high-quality option to sub for Soto and Yelich with some regularity. Since both of them are lefties, a righty OF with 200+ PA was high on my list. Martinez really only does one thing well, and that’s hit homers. He does that exceedingly well with 29 in 275 PA, and hopefully in this league enough lefty pitchers are susceptible to give J.D. some value. I’ll still try to get at least one more good bench OF from my short list, but there’s less pressure now that I can cover the missing PA from just this pick.

Round 14, Pick 12: 2008 Grant Balfour, P9, Rays
After two rounds detouring to cover pressing areas, I returned to filling out the bullpen before all the best guys disappeared. These rounds are about half relievers or more at this point, so I hope to nab at least a couple more great arms before turning attention anywhere else. I can also start to work backwards on this draft, knowing now that no one else can take Rico Carty at C and that’s likely who I’m stuck with. Also, I’m assured to get either Bob Feller or Greg Maddux at P1, so that leaves 4 RP and 5 bench spots to fill in between. The pen is definitely the priority there.

Round 15, Pick 10: 2014 Andrew Miller, P8, Red Sox
This was a tough call between top choices at P6 (Nen, Murphy, or Cormier), P7 (Putz) and Miller. Putz is objectively a better pitcher, but I think I have more second choices who will be good enough in his group. Also, I have more options I like at P6 and far fewer people still need to fill P7 so the likelihood of Miller making it back around was much lower. Playing the odds, really. His low IP/G don’t make Miller the most useful guy in the pen, but I’m sure he will get his innings in and hopefully be an effective setup option. I’ve had great seasons and poor ones out of him in the past, so here’s hoping for the best.

Round 16, Pick 10: 2007 J.J. Putz, Mariners, P7
Color me genuinely surprised that Putz made it around to me, but playing the odds worked out well. His 1.11 ERC# is the second-best in this group, and only 1st-rounder Devin Williams has a lower WHIP# than Putz’s 0.68. His HR rate is a bit high, which no doubt scared a few people off. At this stage of the draft, though, I feel fortunate to add one of the best arms in the group. I know ERC# isn’t the only useful stat and we are talking about volatile relievers here, but so far my bullpen stacks up with 0.62, 1.29, 1.41, and 1.11 across 258 innings. Considering I didn’t take any until R11, I’m more than happy with that group.

On another note, when happyhours picked Maddux at P1, that ensured I’ll be getting Feller there. So on the one hand he’s not quite as good, but on the other he has 70 more innings and I am now guaranteed to be over 1,420 once the final RP are in place. This also means my final two picks are locked in with Feller and Carty, so I only have to map out to pick 23 now with 2 pitchers and 5 bench spots to fill. It also means my total salary is quite likely to top $135M. Feller and Carty put me at $123M already! I’m guessing I’m destined for the highest-salary division, an interesting contrast to last season when I sneaked into the lowest one and got to the WS.

Let’s see how many players are still available to me at each spot, as of the end of this round …
P6: 5
P11: 11
C2: 8
B2: 12
B3: 10
B4: 11
B5: 12

I don’t care too much which of the remaining P6 I get, nor whether my C2 is all that good or even the quality of my last couple bench spots. But I have to watch out not to get totally cornered and run out of possibilities, too. I should be able to pick and choose based on which group still has a top pick I like rather than anything resembling a desperation pick. For a while anyway.

Round 17, Pick 12: 2021 Craig Kimbrel, Cubs, P11
Well, the bullpen just got even better! We’ve added a second sub-1 ERC# arm, and at 37 innings he’s on the higher side for P11 even. The Cubs really opened up for me as an option when Maddux fell off as a P1 option and then B2 option Todd Haney went earlier this round. So I had to choose between a good backup 2B in Kaz Matsui in B2 or a reliever I really didn’t think would last another round. Matsui might, or at least someone else I can live with will.

Round 18, Pick 12: 1943 Woody Williams, Reds, B2
For the second time in the draft, the player I had set to draft went just before me and I had to settle for a second choice. I was hoping for Matsui here as my backup 2B and also for his speed. There’s nothing wrong with a .380 hitter like Williams, and he can play 2B just fine, though he has fewer PA and may be tricky to keep rested for occasionally spelling Carew. Maybe I’ll land someone else who plays 2B in one of my remaining bench spots, too.

Round 19, Pick 9: 2001 Todd Hollandsworth, Rockies, B3
So far so good in terms of piecing together a bench that can really hit. With no cap to worry about, I’m just trying to cover anyplace I need a backup with the best player possible. Hollandsworth hits a ton (1.075 OPS) and will be the primary LH pinch hitter, and with 80 speed he might get the call to run occasionally. I don’t have a great defensive OF on the bench to use as a late-inning replacement, but I’ve at least covered the needed PA with guys who can hit.

As for other spots remaining, I have 3 lousy C2 options that I don’t think anyone will be in a rush to grab. I have 2 P6 options no one else can take, so I have some franchise flexibility there. That just leaves B4 and B5 as my likely next two picks.

Round 20, Pick 9: 2019 Hunter Pence, Rangers, B4
I could have gone a couple ways here at the end as I wanted to add a good defensive OF if possible and also a backup middle infielder. The options for the latter were limited, and Pence was really the only good defender left. He’s not the hitter Turner Ward in B5 is, but I think I’ll get more value from Pence’s speed and glove since I already have lots of offense on the bench. Also, not taking Ward allows me to use my Pirates pick at P6 for long man Johnny Miljus.

Round 21, Pick 11: 1997 Matt Walbeck, Tigers, C2
Least of 3 remaining evils. Hopefully he doesn’t have to bat too much. The other two left to me (Knizner and Oates) were much worse offensively and neither had a sterling glove to recommend him either. Might as well lock down this guy now.

Round 22, Pick 9: 1936 Mark Koenig, Giants, B5
There were a few better bats available (though hardly anyone great), but his infield position options create more potential to hit for Fernandez occasionally and/or make double switches if need be. I think I have enough bench offense elsewhere to prize his flexibility.

Round 23, Pick 7: 1927 Johnny Miljus, Pirates, P6
The remaining picks were all exclusively mine at this point. Miljus was a better fit than Florida version Robb Nen at this spot because he can pitch way longer in a game, 4 IP/G. Plus 0 homers allowed. He’s by far the weakest member of the pen with a 1.93 ERC# and 1.03 WHIP#, but that’s pretty solid for a guy who likely works essentially mopup duty.

Round 24, Pick 10: 1966 Rico Carty, Braves, C
This pick was also locked in many rounds back, and though I can’t say I’m thrilled with him I think it should work out well enough. Carty isn’t going to help out defensively, but I don’t think this league is filled with great base-stealers anyway. So hopefully his .326 AVG and ability to keep the lineup turning over will prove useful in the bottom of the order. Also, with 588 PA in my pocket here, I didn’t have to worry about getting a C2 early and could just take whoever fell to me later.

Round 25, Pick 10: 1940 Bob Feller, Indians, P1
We arrived fairly early on at a stage where I would be assured either Feller or 92 Maddux in this spot, after Spahn went off the table as a third option. Maddux is statistically a bit better, but he also threw 70 fewer innings. I was happy to keep both possibilities going while waiting to see how my bullpen would shape up. Ultimately, Maddux got picked and took away the question, but in the end I think I likely would have taken Feller for the innings anyway. He gives me 1,438 instead of 1,369, and that could be the difference between a fatigue struggle and no real issues. I just hope he keeps his walks down and whiffs a lot of modern hitters.

Ballpark: Wrigley Field. I initially was going to play it straight up the middle with essentially neutral Forbes Field, but as I looked deeper I decided that emphasizing my team’s high average and significant power threats seemed wise. Wrigley will boost the hits and the homers, so my pitching staff will be tested a bit more. I just think I’m in a better position taking advantage of what we do better than most teams.

Outlook: There are assuredly no easy divisions here, and I sympathize with ff09 for having to take the only salary penalty and getting pushed up here with over $10M less on the field. Some salary may be wasted everywhere, so that may not matter in the end. I’ll take a guess that our division is the favorite to land the wild card, and I’ll predict 88 wins and a playoff spot for this group.

Brew's on 1st

Pick 1.15: 2020 Devin Williams [P7]
I'm pretty sure I took Devin Williams in another recent draft, maybe an earlier Re-Distribution version? Anyway, I'm the anti-schwarze when it comes to bullpens...I love them! Williams was near the top of my value list and would vault me to the top of Round 2. I do always worry about the run on starting pitchers, but I'm also comfortable with a strong offense and bullpen if that's they way things shake out.

Pick 2.3: 1928 Rogers Hornsby [2B]
Dinelson Lamet was the top pitcher on my board--he's average for P4 innings and I know I essentially have to balance out the average innings per bucket. For hitters, it's not as much of a concern as there should be excess at-bats to go around. A couple relievers are also near the top, but none as clear of a choice as Devin Williams. On the hitting side, the top options are are a few slugging 1B/OF but also Rogers Hornsby. He's easily the best-hitting 2B in this draft and the defense isn't terrible (B-/D+). I usually end up with high-slugging teams, but Hornsby gives me the option to build a non-HR hitting team (although fat chance of that!).

Pick 3.7: 2020 Nick Anderson [P11]
The best SP left is either 1995 Randy Johnson or 1935 Cy Blanton. However, both rate out far below Nick Anderson. He's only 44 innings but that's above average for P11 bucket and both the bucket and his franchise fail to offer much else. The best hitting options left continue to be some premier sluggers (Bagwell, Thomas, Cash) as well as a handful of 3B. In particular, I'm starting to eye Ke'Bryan Hayes who has a monster half-season (257 PA) from the B3 bucket. Not sure how to make it work yet, but it's not quite time to pull the trigger. I now have two relievers but at least I have 100+ lights out innings to anchor my staff.

Pick 4.2: 1972 Steve Carlton [P1]
Bagwell goes but Big Hurt and others are still there. So are the 3B--Hays, Bautista, Beltre, etc. I know I'm going to want to go big on the best per-inning pitchers out there, so I need to build up some volume elsewhere in case I need to take a hit in another bucket. Steve Carlton ends up being a very nice fit. His 360 IP are +77 for the P1 bucket. His 2.05 ERC# is one of the best as well. And he's relatively low HR#, so I can stick my team in a hitters park if I need to. Hoping this pick not just helps now but with future picks as well.

Pick 5.5: 2011 Jose Bautista [OF3]
Okay now Bautista is the best position player left on my board. Hayes is right up there as well. I looked at Mookie Betts and Al Simmons as well, but what I like about Bautista is the flexibility. If I need to him to play 3B, great. But he's also good enough to play a corner OF spot if I need. And if I can get Hayes, maybe he can split time at 3B/OF, though I'm not sure how that will work with my other spots. It's hard to find great platoon options since almost all players are either 500+ PA or bench guys. Still, Bautista gives me options and I like that. Of the pitching options, a pair of P3s top my list (Peavy and Lincecum), but I'm not in love with them.

Pick 6.9: 2000 Darin Erstad [1B]
My top pitcher options go. Juan Marichal is interesting to me as he's a +42 innings compared to his bucket average. However, his higher HR/9 numbers scare me a bit and I'm also not sure I need THAT many surplus innings given Carlton gave me so many. Looking at hitters, Hayes is still high but I'm worried I'm overvaluing the bench buckets a bit. Erstad catches my eye--up until this point, I had NOT considered him. But now he's near the top of my value list and two things jump out. First, which I guess others saw before me, he's a 1B bucket player but who is best as an OF. Second, the CF options are dwindling and he's actually the best of the bunch for pure CFers. The difference with Bautista is that Erstad isn't a GREAT option if he's a 1B, so I really do need to utilize him in CF to make this work. Now I start planning out the musical chairs--Bautista [OF3 bucket] plays 3B, Erstad [1B bucket] plays CF, and that means I need my 3B bucket player to likely play 1B. Or I can put them in the OF and play an OF at 1B, I'm comfortable with guys playing out of position. Quick look at the 3B bucket and...hey, this could work. Miggy Cabrera, Thome, Killebrew, Kris Bryant...plenty of options. Erstad it is!

Pick 7.12: 2020 Ke'Bryan Hayes [B3]
Marichal is still there but I'm still scared of the HRs. Nothing else pops out among the pitchers. But Hayes is now WAY out in front in my value metric. Can I make this work? Bautista now splits time at 3B and either OF or 1B. That does give me the ability to get some low PA hitters (Josh Hamilton, JD Martinez, Trea Turner, etc.). And Hayes is a monster. The other thing I'm looking at is my SS options are dwindling. But I still have some time there, I think. Let's splurge on Hayes.

Pick 8.7: 2010 Josh Hamilton [OF2]
Marichal goes, at least that makes the decision for me. Could go with Righetti but he's not that much better than some other P4 options. I need somebody for the middle of my lineup, preferably a lefty. There are two standouts left--Blackmon and Hamilton. The other thing I'm looking at is SS and the best hitter left for me there is actually Alex Bregman...who is in the 3B bucket. Can I make that work?! That would mean I would need a SS to play somewhere else (1B/OF) or I'd have to punt the position and cobble together a 1B or Corner OF spot from Bautista's extra PA and the bench spots. Seems not worth it. That leaves Larkin as my top option there. I end up going with the big lefty bat, choosing Hamilton over Blackmon as he's the better hitter and I don't need Blackmon's two advantages--better fielding and more PA.

Pick 9.8: 2011 Jose Reyes [SS]
Crap, Larkin went. After stsaring at Bregman more, I really don't like my options to work my way out of that one. I decide to bite the bullet on Jose Reyes as my other options are even worse. I figure Reyes + one of the 3B bucket guys at 1B (Killebrew, Thome, etc.) is better than Bregman + whatever I can turn the SS bucket into.

Also, at this point, I'm getting close to a few guys becoming exclusive to me, mostly in the P2-5 buckets. Hoping a couple of those get locked in soon, but for now keeping a few of those teams open.

Pick 10.10: 1981 Rich Gossage [P8]
Have a couple players where I'm one of two or three owners left that can take them, but nobody exclusive. Ugh. Gotta keep a bunch of teams open still. I go looking for a team without a starter in my pool that has a good option left. I'm eyeing some guys like Bill Freehan at catcher, Killebrew or Cabrera at 3B, and Mel Ott at OF1 but I need their teams still. Surprisingly, the Yankees don't have much left and I find Goose Gossage with a 71-IP (+6 vs average) and 1.20 ERC# (best in P8 left for me). At this point I still just have the 3 pitchers, so sure...let's add to the bullpen. I like this pick as I can wait out and see if any players become exclusive for me.

Pick 11.7: 1969 Harmon Killebrew [3B]
Alright, Jim Thome goes. He doesn't actually have 1B ratings but he was the lefty option among my 3B bucket that I would play at 1st. I'm down to Killebrew and Cabrera as my top options. Tony Perez or Edgar Martinez are next in line but (a) they have poor defense at 1B and (b) I need the Reds (P2 Bucky Walters, P5 Bill Henry) and Mariners (P2 Freddy Garcia) still alive for me. The Twins do have Tom Hall, a nice P5 option, but I have other ways to go there. Time to complete the circle and take Killebrew to play 1B.

For those scoring at home, that's:
- OF1 Jose Bautista will split time between 3B and RF
- 1B Darin Erstad will play CF
- B3 Ke'Bryan Hayes will play the other half of 3B
- OF2 Josh Hamilton will essentially platoon with Hayes (with Bautista switching positions to make that work)
- 3B Harmon Killebrew will play 1B

Was it worth it? Probably not. Was it cool? Absolutely yes.

Pick 12.9: 1934 Mel Ott [OF1]
Ugh, still no exclusive players. I still don't want to take Freehan since Hank Aguirre is an option at P3 for me. Hack Wilson and Giancarlo Stanton are probably better options, but I really could use another left-handed bat. So for my OF1, I opt for Mel Ott. He'll play LF and slip in between a couple of righties in the middle of my lineup.

Pick 13.11: 1979 Gene Tenace [C]
It's a big game of chicken now between a few of us for a few different buckets to see who blinks first. I'm still eyeing Hank Aguirre at P3, but I'm also not sure if I'll need Catfish Hunter's surplus innings (and swallow the bad HR9 pill). In P2, Bucky Walters would give me a bunch of innings, but I'm really hoping to land Bill Henry as my P5 and he's from the Reds as well. Henry only has 52 IP (-81 vs bucket) but his sparkling 1.45 ERC# is huge and that's why I took Carlton. Shifting back to hitting, I need a catcher still. My beset options are Freehan or Gene Tenace. The Padres are low on options for me--Heath Bell is the best P6 but I have lots of other relatively close options there--so I opt for Tenace to keep the Tigers open.

Pick 14.10: 2020 Jesse Hahn [P10]
Well, Hang Aguirre goes with the very next pick after Tenace. My starting hitters are set--at this point my main needs on offense are just a backup 2B to help Hornsby and maybe some extra PA at Catcher or SS. So shifting back to pitching, I'm still in a staredown at P2/P3/P4 and even P5. There's one reliever that's actually been near the top of my pure value list for a while, but I hadn't paid him much attention as I went about my position-player-carousel and pitcher-staredown strategies. But the Royals are running out of options. The main cost to picking Jesse Hahn is losing Roger Nelson, and he's not significantly better than the other P4 options I have (and has a slightly elevated HR9). Hahn is a lights out 47 innings, with a 0.077 OAV# (!), 0.00 HR9# (!!) and 0.70 ERC# (!!!). The walks are a bit high, but if you never allow a HR or even a hit, what does it matter?! My bullpen is gonna be great...that is, if my starters can ever hand them a lead!

Pick 15.8: 2021 Max Scherzer [P6]
Main targets on offense: Cubs B2 Todd Haney (to be Hornsby's backup) and A's C2 Gene Tenace (to be...Gene Tenace's backup). Still holding out on either since Kyle Hendricks (Cubs) and Catfish Hunter (A's) are still in play for me. Good news though, I have my first exclusive players!!! Brandon Webb (P3, D-Backs) and Bill Henry (P5, Reds) are all mine if I want them. For Webb, I'm okay with him but still eyeing Catfish Hunter if I need the innings. And part of why I might is I really want to lock in Henry at P5. He eats up almost all my surplus from Carlton, so if I skimp anywhere else, I may need the extra innings and Hunter is my only option left with a +20 or higher innings-vs-bucket-average.

I'm also holding out a few other teams for P2 and P4, so I go searching for a team I don't need. The Dodgers are that team. Scherzer isn't quite as good as a couple other P6 options but he's close and he doesn't cut off any options for me. Plus, maybe he can start a game or two for me in the playoffs if we make it there.

Pick 16.9: 2017 Ryan Madson [P9]
Now locked into a P2, Freddy Garcia! Can start branching out a bit. If I want, I can now lock in Garcia (P2, Mariners), Webb (P3, D-Backs) and Bill Henry (P5, Reds). I still need to keep my P4 options open, which include the Cubs so I can't take Todd Haney yet, although he would be very nice to complement Hornsby. And still waiting on Catfish as an option, so holding out on Tenace as C2. That shifts me to my only other pitching bucket, P9, and Ryan Madson is one of three preferred options there. He keeps a lot of options open for me, so I go with him.

Pick 17.8: 1995 Todd Haney [B2]
Finally, I get some P4 options exclusive to me. In fact, both Kyle Hendricks and Josh Johnson. They are very similar and since I have my eye on another Cub, it's an easy decision. Welcome aboard, Todd Haney. His 92 PA boost my 2B total to a robust 748 between him and Hornsby, so don't need to worry about saving PAs. And Haney's 1.051 OPS# is right on par with Hornsby, plus his C/A glove is an upgrade so he can serve as a defensive replacement. Great fit.

Pick 18.7: 1970 Gene Tenace [C2]
At this point, I can lock in my P2-5 options (Garcia, Webb, Johnson, Henry) if I want and have enough innings. Time to get greedy on the offense. I don't actually need anything, but there's one player left who is actually an UPGRADE on my starter and that's 1979 Gene Tenace's younger self, 1970 Tenace. Since I don't need the Catfish innings any more, it's time to pull the trigger. After a long wait, Tenace makes it to me and I snag him. At the very least, I get 128 better catcher PA.

Pick 19.8: 2006 Jeff Baker [B5]
There's one more guy I've been eyeing as he's by far the best pinch hitter left for me--Jeff Baker of the Rockies. Luckily again, he makes it back around. His .811 SLG# will be a great option off the bench and he can play 1B or OF if needed (just 58 PA though).

Pick 20.6: 1931 Lew Fonseca [B1]
Just filling in some holes now. All I have left on the hitting side is B1 and B4. I also have a couple pitchers I could take if I prefer them--Bob Knepper (P2) or Harry Brecheen (P4). Lew Fonseca is a nice fit for me as a bench player. He is one of the best hitters left, so can be a bat off the bench. He also has B+/A- defense at 1B, where he can replace Killebrew late in games. And he has eligibility at 2B, 3B, and the OF to help out with versatility.

Pick 21.6: 1981 Bob Knepper [P2]
Magglio Ordonez was the best B4 option on a $/PA basis and Schwarze guessed I was taking him. Truth be told, I was thinking about him, but I had a couple other B4 options in mind as well. Instead, I decided to pull the trigger on Knepper, who I preferred over Freddy Garcia by a smidge. But also, it freed up the Mariners so I could potentially take...

Pick 22.14: 1985 Danny Tartabull [B4]
Magglio is a nice hitter and has C/B grades in the OF, but Tartabull is an even better hitter. And while he doesn't have great grades at SS (C/D-), I don't have another player on the roster to spell Reyes, who only has 586 PA. Tartabull's 69 PA can both spell Reyes if needed but also be a strong enough bat to be a useful pinch-hitter too.

Pick 23: 1964 Bill Henry [P5]
Pick 24: 2006 Brandon Webb [P3]
Pick 25: 2010 Josh Johnson [P4]
Time to make my final decisions. I was going to wait and see if my choices affected my division, but it turned out I was locked into the NL East regardless. My main decision was between Johnson and Brecheen at P4, but Brecheen only has 143 innings (-43 vs bucket) which is 41 less than Johnson and I'm not even sure he's better. I'm already a little light on innings so Johnson it is. Webb also has more innings than the other P3 options and that allows me to comfortably take Bill Henry to strengthen my bullpen even more (and finally get a lefty arm in there).

BALLPARK: Polo Grounds (V)
I end up with the 2nd-highest salary, just behind redcped. He has a monster offense (I have him and Schwarze as the top two). calhoop is the other team in the NL East for sure, we are very similar in our team makeup except he is more starter-heavy and I'm more reliever heavy. But we spect within $1m of each other on both hitting and pitching. My team actually has the lowest slugging of the group and my HR9 pitching numbers are just ok. Decide on the Polo Grounds (V), thanks to Mel Ott, for it's neutral 1B and HR and high 2B factors.

=====================

LINEUP:
CF Erstad
2B Hornsby
RF/3B Hamilton/Hayes
1B Killebrew
LF Ott
3B/RF Bautista
C Tenace & Tenace
SS Reyes

PITCHING STAFF:
SP1 1972 Steve Carlton
SP2 1981 Bob Knepper
SP3 2006 Brandon Webb
SP4 2010 Josh Johnson

Long 1981 Rich Gossage
2017 Ryan Madson
1964 Bill Henry
2021 Max Scherzer

Setup 2020 Nick Anderson
2020 Jesse Hahn
2020 Devin Williams

I am really looking forward building big early leads against you footballmm11, with my dominant offense and superior starting pitching, only to watch you crush my soul when your deep bench destroys my mediocre bullpen and your great relievers shut me down in innings 7-9.

My writeup is coming later today/tonight.

Posted by schwarze on 11/10/2022 9:44:00 AM (view original):
I am really looking forward building big early leads against you footballmm11, with my dominant offense and superior starting pitching, only to watch you crush my soul when your deep bench destroys my mediocre bullpen and your great relievers shut me down in innings 7-9.

My writeup is coming later today/tonight.

I knew football was building that team shrewdly, but seeing it all laid out is really impressive. I feel like I'm playing for the WC now.

The Team formerly know as Consumers ReDistributing (Was Consumers Distributing even a thing in the States? - it certainly was in 1970s/80s Canada)

Pick 1.04
1929 Babe Ruth, Yankees (OF3)
This is what I posted when I made the pick:
This is an impossibly difficult decision. So many good players to choose from that won't be there when my pick returns for Round 2.
However, In one of the first iterations of this redistribution format I had the chance to take Babe Ruth and passed (I believe for Frank Baker of all people) and instantly and forever more regretted it.
So, yes, I know that 29 Ruth isn't even one of the best 15 Ruth years, that there are hundreds of other similar and better available outfielder choices, that he plays defense like my grandmother wearing a bucket on her hand, that it stops me from taking any of the other good Yankee options, and generally doesn't make sense in any way.
Nevertheless, I learned my lesson - if the Bambino is available, don't screw it up.

I still agree with my assessment and like the pick overall. My decision going into the draft was to go with a high home run lineup and surround it with low hr/9 pitching. And if you’re talking home runs, Ruth (even the lesser 29 version) is generally unparalleled. However, I also liked 37 Dimaggio and considered him here as well with his high normalized home runs and great defence. And, of course, taking Ruth immediately shut off Dimaggio and also prevented any hope of playing in Yankee Stadium 3 which is the best park for this type of strategy.

Pick 2.10
1927 Rogers Hornsby, Giants (P2)
1933 Foxx is the only hitter I see in the same home run hitting tier as Ruth. There are, of course, lots of good to great home run hitters in this available talent pool but Foxx and Ruth stood out to me due to their proven history and high normalized hr/9. But first base has lots of sluggers and I was confident Foxx would last another round or two due to all the other high end options available there. On the other hand, second base had the least amount of available homer hitters so I decided to take a high end option there. 27 Hornsby and 76 Morgan were the two choices I struggled with. Morgan has great speed and OBP but would need to be platooned somewhat. Hornsby had the plate appearances to bat near the top of the line-up the entire year but would also prevent me from my top starting pitcher choice of Carl Hubbell.

Pick 3.10
1935 Cy Blanton, Pirates (P2)
My biggest ‘damn it’ of the draft occurred when Alice surprised me and scooped 33 Foxx up at the end of the second round. I was really hoping for him here and was counting on Bagwell, Cash, Thomas and others going before Foxx. In his absence, I figured I better grab some quality starting pitching seeing how fast it was going off the board the first few rounds.

Pick 4.12
1981 Nolan Ryan, Astros (P3)
I decided to keep going with pitching. Ryan gives up walks for sure but is stingy with hits and especially home runs. I had also decided by this point on going with what later became known as the footballmm11 strategy. I identified Killebrew as the best third base hitter and home run slugger. But I figured his D/D defence at third would make him unpalatable to many. However, his defence is tolerable at first (A/D-). With no DH and limited bench options with high plate appearance totals, this would require someone to take his spot at the hot corner. I blocked 2011 Bautista with my Ruth pick but 2010 Bautista was available in the OF1 slot and also plays good third base defence. And, in my experience, 2011 Bautista always underperforms on offence and I was confident that 2010 Bautista would out homer him and every other third baseman. And, as football also determined, this move requires a first baseman to play outfield. I identified Erstad and 94 Larry Walker as the options in that regard. I liked the strategy as I hoped 10 Bautista would last awhile before being picked (in fact, he didn’t get selected at all), Killebrew would fall because of his 3B defence, and Erstad and Walker would fall because there are better hitters available at first. Therefore, it would free me up to concentrate on other needs for the next number of rounds.
.

Pick 5.12
1955 Ernie Banks, Cubs (SS)
Yes, he’s disappointed me every time I’ve taken him. But his defence is OK and he can hit homers as a shortstop so let’s give it another try. As an aside, I was flabbergasted DiMaggio lasted to this round – as mentioned, I seriously considered him at 1.04.

Pick 6.13
1944 Tex Hughson, Red Sox (P4)
Damn it! I wasn’t initially worried when I saw footballmm11 take 2011 Bautista. But now that he took Erstad over other better first basemen it was clear he was on to the same strategy. Some panic and I considered taking Killebrew here. But that defeated some of the initial allure of allowing Killebrew to drop to the bottom half of the draft due to his poor defence. Also, as I’m sure we have all struggled with in this theme, its very difficult to pull the trigger on multi-pronged strategies. What if I took Killebrew but lost out on Bautista and was stuck with Harmon at third making 83 errors? Maybe start with 2010 Bautista? But again, taking him in the sixth round didn’t make sense value-wise. So I decided to stay the course, convinced myself that footballmm would take Cabrera as his third baseman to move to first, and I would still be OK taking Larry Walker, Killebrew, and Bautista in a few rounds.


44 Hughson is actually one of my starters in schwarze’s Best 100m league so I obviously trust him. He also had more innings than most SP4 so I was confident I could run out a four man rotation and not need another hybrid starter out of the P5 or 6 spots.

Pick 7.13
1923 Dolf Luque, Reds (P1)
The debate here was between Luque to finish off my low hr/9 rotation or Mike Napoli who I identified as the best home run hitting catcher. Luque is a favourite of mine in many leagues but I also think I value pitching differently than some others here in the draft. Likely, he could wait a number of rounds. So I literally started typing in Napoli’s name….But last minute second thoughts intervened – namely, I realized my extreme frustration at losing out on Luque would outweigh the frustration I would feel having to use Plan B at catcher. So, I deleted Napoli’s name. Whatever else transpired in the draft I was content I had a rotation of 1000 ip+ I was happy with.

Pick 8.22
2020 Trevor Rosenthal, Padres (P11)
Well, Napoli did indeed go after I passed on him. And my second choice, Chris Hoiles, also went. I liked Gary Carter but I needed the Nationals left open for Larry Walker. So, was it time to snag Bautista or Walker or Killebrew and start the three prong strategy there? Again, I chickened out because I wasn’t sure which one to start with first and I wouldn’t be happy unless I got all three. So I went with Rosenthal who is the best pitcher in the sim. Yes, he has limited innings but who would you rather have coming in for the 9^th inning of an important game?

Pick 9.13
2020 Chris Martin, Braves (P9)
I like to pair up Rosenthal with a similar light’s out, low whip option in the closer spot. I have had success (as much as anyone can have bullpen success in the WIS) with Rosenthal/Santos and Rosenthal/09 Adams combos but, of course, Adams and Santos and many of the other low inning, low whip pitchers were blocked from me. The best option I could find was Martin. So now, I had my rotation and closer(s) spots filled and I was feeling good about the pitching

Pick 10.7
2021 Salvador Perez, Royals (C)
He doesn’t walk much but he has good defence, lots of home runs, and provided enough plate appearances that I won’t have to worry about the C2 position until the end of the draft.

Pick 11.8
2003 Rafael Soriano, Mariners (P10)
Usually, I’m checking my phone or computer constantly during the draft and am aware of every player being picked. But that Thursday I was in an important work meeting all morning and taught all afternoon and I remember coming out to the parking lot and checking my phone to catch up the day’s draft events. I had missed the start of the run on third basemen which included my Plan Bs – Arenado, Donaldson and Mathews – and most importantly, footballmm11 took my plan A – Harmon Killebrew – with the pick right before mine. Damn, damn, damn. I knew I could still do my Bautista at third strategy by taking Cabrera at third but I was planning on playing in Tiger stadium and that would prevent that. Mike Schmidt was another good option I considered at third. I decided to forego the third base decision another round or so and went with Soriano for the back of the bullpen.

Pick 12.4
1920 Baby Doll Jacobson (OF2)
Juice surprised me by taking Larry Walker at first. Somehow, I was worried about 2010 Bautista going the past few rounds (and he actually went undrafted) but thought Walker would last to the end. Either way, the long teased football-implemented 3b-1b-OF plan was now officially dead. I couldn’t decide which way to go with third now as there were still many options that seemed so similar – Longoria, Beltre, Harper, Williams, Ventura, etc. I did have Happy Felsch pencilled in as my planned OF2/ center fielder/ lead off hitter and he just went earlier this round. So I figured I better move on plan B for those roles and took Jacobson.

Pick 13.8
2017 Giancarlo Stanton, Marlins (OF1)
I deemed 2010 Bautista and 2017 Stanton as the two best home run hitting options still available. I went with Stanton because of his better outfield offence.

Pick 14.9
1980 Tug McGraw, Phillies (P5)
At this point I was looking at first and third base and filling out the bullpen. I liked many other pitchers much better at other spots but there wasn’t much left at P5 and I was getting very concerned about being stuck with someone I really, really didn’t want there so I went with someone I only kind of didn’t want.

Pick 15.9
1981 Andy Rincon, Cardinals (P7)
I was targeting Rincon the past couple of rounds and was very happy he fell to me here. A solid, versatile bullpen piece with 0 hr/9 and high ip/9. He made the list of most selected players in schwarze’s best 100m league so he’s proven to be valuable.

Pick 16.7
2017 Roberto Osuna, Blue Jays (P8)
I had stopped worrying too much about first and third. I was happy enough with Carlos Pena at first and had identified Chisock as the only one who could snipe him and it didn’t seem like Pena fit well into the type of team he was drafting. Carlos Santana would suffice as plan B if that did happen. And there was still many options at third. I was wary that a frantic run might happen there at some point but it seemed over the last few rounds that all the other owners needing third were content to wait as well. So, I grabbed Osuna as another valuable bullpen piece.

Pick 17.6
1992 Phil Clark, Tigers (B5)
The plan was to finish off my pitching completely with Mel Rojas at P6 - the last remaining low hr/9 option available there. Alas, he went before I could pick. Instead I went with Clark – as much to secure Tiger Stadium as my home park as it was to get some .400+ pinch hit at bats.

Pick 18.6
1938 Merv Connors (B3)
I liked 1970 Gene Tenace at C2 but I needed a back-up at first base more than catcher so went with Connors and his high normalized slugging.

Pick 19.5
1970 Stan Williams, Twins (P6)
There were still lots of good bench options available but I wanted to complete my pitching staff. Williams was the best of those remaining and brings me to 1500ip of 1.03whip and .18 hr9.

Pick 20.4
2016 Adrian Beltre, Rangers (3B)
I’ve been waiting for the others to move on third base but no one wanted to jump in. I’m perfectly happy with Beltre with good defence and decent slugging. It also put me at ease. There was a small chance I could get shut out of third base if pedro took Beltre and the perfect storm of other picks by calhoop, jtspops and threeday took my remaining options. Taking a 300k player at any position other than one of the bench spots or possibly one pitching spot would be the death sentence to any team. Now I was safe with Chisock having previously taken a Rays player and knowing I was locked into Pena at first.

21.13 - 1925 Walter French, A’s (B1)
22.12 - 2006 Stephen Drew, D’Backs (B2)
23.13 – 2007, Carlos Pena, Rays (1B)
24.21 – 1997 Todd Greene, Angels (C2)
25.21 - 2009 Ian Desmond, Nationals (B4)
The last few rounds were just completing the jigsaw puzzle of available options and teams. I have plenty of innings and at bats so there were no crucial needs I worried about.

Overall, I’m fairly happy with this team although it is right hand heavy and one dimensional on offence. I naively thought at the beginning that I would make my final couple of picks based on salary to try and fit into a division of my choosing – ie. one with pitching staffs and ballparks that give up lots of homers. However, there is just too much chaos and unpredictability going on at the end to even think of attempting this. I ended up in the American League and in a tough division, but there are no gimmies with this group of owners.

Wambsganns and the Wompers

Scwarze's Re-Distribution concept and his drafts are always a lot of fun and very well run. A day or two after the draft, I find myself on auto-pilot double checking the site just to see when I draft next. Too much fun! Like our previous drafts, I start by trying to pick a player of value - either a high quality starter or hitter and don't worry too much about the cost. I try to split my first 6-8 rounds 50/50 between starting pitching and hitting, and then try to take the best player available in rounds 9-18. I don't worry too much about my bench other than trying to get a couple of high quality pinch hitters. Also, I generally don't worry about the franchises until the second half of these drafts.

This draft was a little different due to what I felt were unique challenges that were different from our previous versions of the theme. The first was player quality. Although there were many high quality/relative cost players to pick from, there also were a fair number of average-below average players in key positions. Many needed to be put into to starting roles. The second challenge for me was the 11 pitcher limit. I almost always draft 12 pitchers and like to have the flexibility of adding say a low cost mop-up or a high quality low-cost/low IP set-up type for my bullpen. Last, I determined early in the draft that I would be using a 5-man rotation which put further pressure on my bullpen.

When all was said and done - I have no clue how this team will fare, but I like its construction and hope to be competitive. Below are my short notes I took throughout the draft:

Pick	Comments
1	Pedro Martinez WAS P1 - like his numbers. If not him, Koufax 63 or Sutton 72 were my next options. Solid 1st pick.
2	Johnny Niggeling MIN P11 - I love to use this guy as a closer. Also, his $2.99m salary will lower my total and move my draft position up in Round 3. Hopefully "Double X" will be available in round 3.
3	Zac Galen ARZ P5 - Was hoping for Foxx, but he was snatched. Strategy will be spend low dollars on 3 remaining starters and will use a 5-man rotation.
4	Harry Heilmann DET OF2 - My number 3 in the lineup
5	Lefty O'Doul PHI OF1- Trying to get some punch on offense
6	Adrian Beltre LAD 3B - It was him or '65 Mays for some HR punch
7	Bret Boone SEA 2B - It was him or Altuve, but went with Boone to keep the Astros in play. With Boone, I'll close out SP soon and hope my leadoff hitter Cedeno will still be there after a few picks.
8	Nolan Ryan TEX P2 - Best available with low OAV for P2 slot
9	Hoyt Wilhelm CWS P6 - Quality relief with a lot of innings. Needed with the 5-man ro
10	Sid Fernandez NYM P3 - Picked him a little early and hopefully Nelson will be available later.
11	Cesar Cedeno HOU OF3 - Got my leadoff hitter. What's next? 1B, SS or SP4
12	Travis Jackson NYG SS - One of the better hitting SS remaining but lacks ABs. Will need a quality back-up.
13	Sandy Alomar Jr. CLE C - I like his bat and he's a quality defender. Best available catcher and can hit. Will need a good backup with some ABs.
14	Ray Grimes CHC 1B- decided to go with Grimes after all at 1B. Took BA and OBP over power. His .572 SLG % is very solid. May be my #2 hitter.
15	Brian Harvey CAL P10 - very good short guy. Next will take my P4
16	Roger Nelson KCR P4 - Almost took him in 3rd round. I've always liked this guy due to his OAV and WHIP. 4 of my 5 starters have OAV below .200. 3 have WHIP below 1.00.
17	Stu Miller BAL P7 - Solid relief and need his innings
18	Pat Borders TOR C2 - needed a good back-up to play when Alomar is fatigued.
19	David Robertson NYY P10 - Maybe too soon to nab him, but I know Berenguer is a lock for my P8
20	Bill Wambsganns As B4 - Missed out earlier on a couple of better backups at short. Will need to get every ounce of stamina out of him.
21	Milton Bradley SDP B1 - Solid bench player with some "pop."
22	Daniel Vogelbach MIL B3 - decent bat off the bench
23	Nick Johnson MIA B5 - Best I could do at this point but not a terrible PH option. I'll likely get stuck with Wilber in the 25th
24	Juan Berenguer ATL P8 - Completes the bullpen
25	Del Wilber STL B2 - Everyone needs a third catcher that can't hit or field. Hopefully he's good in the clubhouse because I put him on "rest" all season.

Play ball!!!

Suboptimal Redistribution

My plan was...I had a plan?!

It's not quite that bad. My goal was to build an OBP-heavy lineup with very good defense in most spots - which is my general plan in all one-shot leagues. Given the unique qualities of this league, I was always going to prioritize players from teams with fewer good options.

1.6 - Alex Torres (TBR) - P10

A quick glance told me that Tampa would be the team with the worst options overall, and one way to not get stuck having to pick Tampa dregs was to find a good player to begin with. Torres was probably too clever by half, but I knew he'd put me near the top of the pool for the next few rounds, and he's a pitcher with truly good stats.

2.1 - Randy Johnson (ARZ) - P2

The other 1998 expansion team. Johnson was a no-brainer...but which one? Take the extra innings or the better innings?! I chose quality over quantity, figuring there were lots of options to add bulk innings later.

3.5 - Joe Cronin (MIN) - SS

This was an easy choice. I'd go ahead and take 1996 A-Rod, knock another expansion team off the list, and...

(THIS JUST IN. 1996 A-Rod is off the board!)

...well, crap. I probably missed some better picks here by being focused on SS, but Cronin is one of my favorites, and he has the fielding to go with the stick.

4.5 - Carl Hubbell (SFG) - P1

I hoped to get Randy another time - the 1995 Mariners P1 version, but he was snatched near the end of Round 3. 1972 Carlton was my fallback pick, except he went before I got to pick in Round 4. Fully half of teams had their P1 positions filled by the time this pick came up, Hubbell was next on my list, though I wound up cursing it several times when players I wanted were now unavailable to me.

5.10 - Jake Peavy (SDP) - P3

Five players I really wanted (Foxx, O'Doul, Seaver, Ryan, Rickey) went in the intervening 28 picks. I felt like I need to stake a claim to a P3, and with Peavy putting up good numbers and being from another expansion team, this pick made too much sense to not make it.

6.11 - Spencer Strider (ATL) - P4

He's short on innings, but the innings he provides should be fantastic. I'm no stranger to tandem pitching setups, and there were plenty of guys with similar IP totals that would have fit well in a tandem. Being cheaper should also help move me closer to the top of Round 7.

7.7 - Mike Trout (LAA) - OF3

At some point I was going to need to pay attention to my offense - it had been neglected as 5 of my first 6 picks had been pitchers. That doesn't mean I wasn't eyeing Keuchel for my P5/Strider tandem partner, but when he was gone I needed to worry about offense. Getting a classically great Trout season to plug into OF3 (even if it is a bit short on PA) made too much sense to pass on.

8.8 - Bobby Doerr (BOS) - 2B

He was my favorite of the 2B remaining, and I figured it wouldn't be a big issue getting additional 2B PA among my bench players. (Narrator: There was a problem.) I've got solid defense up the middle now with Doerr, Cronin, and Trout - all I have to do now is get one more good-range OF and a good defensive 3B and I'll be happy.

9.7 - Mike Piazza (MIA) - C

That long unforgettable Marlins career for Piazza gets him onto my roster. The two guys I wanted at C after picking Doerr (Berra and Hartnett) were part of an abbreviated catching run, but I really didn't like my other options, so I'm going to have to learn to love the noodle arm.

10.5 - C.C. Sabathia (MIL) - P6

I have decent options everywhere I'm looking at, so I decide to take the best option to tandem with Strider and make up my 4th SP Voltron.

11.6 - Minnie Minoso (CWS) - 3B

Note to self: All of those decent 3B options can vanish in a flash if someone starts a run on the position. Plink, plink, plink - every guy I really wanted to play 3B vanished in the space of one round. Minoso is a decent hitter, and his short time at 3B yielded an average defensive rating, so he's clearly the standout available to me at this point. Can't afford to wait on him.

12.8 - Shin-Soo Choo (CIN) - OF2

It's about this time when schwarze mentions the paucity of lefty/switch hitters left in the pool...and I look at my rostered hitters and see nothing but righties. I was planning on Berra at C to give me some balance, but no such luck. Grabbing Choo was the best lefty option I could find in either of the two remaining OF spots - I'm also pretty certain I'll be able to claim a lefty 1B as well after seeing what's left in my pool.

13.10 - Hack Wilson (CHC) - OF1

If I'm not the only person that can draft Mayberry at this point (I can't remember for sure), I'm one of a few, so I try to fill a more competitive position with the best player that fits. Hack isn't a total hack on D, and I can hide him in a corner with Trout and Choo covering the other two spots. I should also be able to find a bench player to be his defensive replacement.

14.14 - Robin Roberts (HOU) - P7
15.11 - Dale Murray (WSH) - P8
16.12 - Aaron Loup (NYM) - P9

I've got my rotation settled, and there's lots of ways to get bulk innings from P5, so I decide to fill up on the best relievers I can grab in these three rounds. Depending on who I fill my last two spots with, I should have at least 1425 IP, which SHOULD let me limp through the season. Of course, that includes getting 50-60 relief IP out of Feller in addition to 41 6IP starts. Getting Sparky to do that may be a trick...

17.9 - Ken Phelps (SEA) - B1

I had a feeling this would be a draft-altering pick for me. I was considering Phelps, Brett Lawrie, and Kaz Matsui at this point. Lawrie would give me a good bat with a defensive replacement for Minoso. Matsui would pick up the stray 2B PA that Doerr couldn't handle and play strong defense. Phelps does nothing except mash, but he hits lefty, and this team could use a big lefty bat on the bench. I locked myself out of Lawrie by taking Phelps, but I felt good about Matsui hanging around one more round...

18.8 - Freddy Galvis (PHI) - B3

...and then Matsui gets sniped 5 picks before I would have a chance to draft him. UGH!!!

I perused all of the available bench players looking for a passable version of Lawrie, and amongst players I could take, he didn't exist. I had to choose between a bat and a glove for 3B - I could find bats elsewhere, but there were no other good defensive 3B available to me. Galvis can also play a great 2B or SS, but any PA he gets outside of a blowout is a failure IMO. Fortunately, my fallback 2B option (Randy Velarde) is still there for me to pick - he's not great, but he's versatile and brings more bat than Galvis.

19.7 - Bob Reynolds (BAL) - P5

I'm set to grab Velarde here, but I realize the number of P5s I'd want to roster is dwindling fast. Reynolds has a good number of IP and good advanced stats, so I decide to wait a round on Velarde (there's better B2 options out there for other teams) and fill that hole. Reynolds guarantees me 1450 IP, which should take some of the strain off Sparky's plate in how to get Feller a bunch of relief innings.

20.10 - Turner Ward (PIT) - B5

I passed on Velarde here because Ward was still available, and he was about the best bat left available to me. With pitchers hitting, I'm going to need a couple good PH; Velarde beats a pitcher hitting, but he's not a threat off the bench like I want.

21.9 - Corey Knebel (LAD) - P11

I should take Velarde here, but that leaves me with Knebel and Vern Handrihan as available pitchers to finish out my roster. Knebel's no great shakes, but his innings could be useful, whereas Handrihan would be my mop-up guy. The risk is too great, so I draft Knebel and will draft Velarde next round...

22.7 - Les Nunamaker (CLE) - C2
23.9 - Jerry Kenney (NYY) - B4
24.?? - Omar Infante (DET) - B2
25.?? - John Mayberry (KCR) - 1B

...except my dastardly plans are foiled by Velarde going at the end of round 21. At this point it's just about filling spots. Kenney has a decent bat. Nunamaker has a decent arm. Infante's bat is better than Galvis, so he'll probably pick up a handful of starts at 2B. Mayberry had been on my radar for a while - lefty, hits reasonably well for a 1B.

Normalized Stats:
Hitting: 6156 PA. .315 AVG#, .413 OBP#, .527 SLG#
Pitching: 1455.2 IP, 1.89 ERC#, 0.99 WHIP#

Through 55 games
1st round Picks:

Pick	Owner________	Player__________	55 Games
1	alice	1948 Stan Musial	213AB, 66Hits, 9HR, 35RBI, .310BA, .376OBP, 549SLG, .925OPS
2	joerat1	1968 Bob Gibson	16 Games, 102.3IP, 9-4W/L, 79K, 34BB, .242OAV, 1.26WHIP. 4.40ERA
3	midknight	1997 Pedro Martinez	11 Games, 69.3IP, 2-6W/L, 79K, 34BB, .294OAV, 1.69WHIP, 5.58ERA
4	ronthegenius	1929 Babe Ruth	215AB, 50Hits, 25HR, 51RBI, .223BA, .288OBP, .605SLG, .892OPS
5	vilefileman	1986 Mike Scott	14 Games, 92.7IP, 6-4W/L, 93K, 39BB, .206OAV, 1.18WHIP, 3.50ERA
6	reddtrain	2013 Alex Torres	19 Games, 19.3IP, 0-1W/L, 5/6Saves, .145OAV, .88WHIP, 2.33ERA
7	schwarze	1999 Pedro Martinez	16 Games, 69.3IP, 6-1W/L, 80K, 21BB, .235OAV, 1.20WHIP, 2.47ERA
8	NebHusker	2015 Jake Arrieta	13 Games, 88.3IP, 6-3W/L, 60K, 33BB, .225OAV, 1.22WHIP, 2.95ERA
9	BeAllEndAll	1963 Sandy Koufax	14 Games, 107IP, 6-5W/L, 89K, 23BB, .255OAV, 1.21WHIP, 3.45ERA
10	firesalt	1996 Kevin Brown	13 Games, 81.3IP, 6-4W/L, 49K, 21BB, .296OAV, 1.49WHIP, 4.43ERA
11	bheid408	2021 Jacob deGrom	21 Games, 30.7IP, 0-3W/L, 10/11Saves, .182OAV, .88WHIP, 3.23ERA
12	3dayrotation	1980 J.R. Richard	16 Games, 45.3IP, 2-2W/L, 2/4 Saves, .234OAV, 1.46WHIP, 3.97ERA
13	bigsteve12	2021 Corbin Burnes	18 Games, 54.3IP, 0-4W/L, 47K, 21BB, .335OAV, 1.82WHIP, 7.62ERA
14	mllama54	1972 Don Sutton	15 Games, 103IP, 8-3W/L, 74K, 36BB, .236OAV, 1.22WHIP, 2.97ERA
15	footballmm11	2020 Devin Williams	24 Games, 27.3IP, 3-1W/L, 30K, 18BB, .126OAV, 1.10WHIP, 2.30ERA
16	redcped	2016 Clayton Kershaw	9 Games, 58.3IP, 5-0W/L, 56K, 6BB, .267OAV, 1.18WHIP, 3.55ERA
17	Jtpsops	2006 Cla Meredith	17 Games, 20.3IP, 2-1W/L, 1 Save, .244OAV, 1.03WHIP, 3.10ERA
18	pedrocerrano	1964 Dean Chance	18 Games, 93.3IP, 7-5W/L, 41K, 47BB, .261OAV, 1.50WHIP, 4.53ERA
19	ff09	2011 Justin Verlander	16 Games, 96.7IP, 7-6W/L, 77K, 34BB, .307OAV, 1.28WHIP, 4.47ERA
20	Chisock	2004 Johan Santana	14 Games, 84.7IP, 3-3W/L, 80K, 27BB, .185OAV, .98WHIP, 2.44ERA
21	thejuice6	2017 Corey Kluber	13 Games, 70.3IP, 2-7W/L, 88K, 27BB, .256OAV, 1.38WHIP, 4.86ERA
22	calhoop	2020 Tony Gonsolin	27 Games, 44IP, 3-2W/L, 4/7Saves, .229OAV, 1.11WHIP,3.68ERA
23	happyhours	1968 Dave McNally	16 Games, 99IP, 5-7W/L, 61K, 32BB, .270OAV, 1.37WHIP, 5.91ERA
24	njbigwig	1978 Ron Guidry	14 Games, 85.3IP, 6-2W/L, 61K, 46BB, .279OAV, 1.63WHIP, 4.22ERA

55 Games played	Hitters	Pick = Round/Slot
AB = 242	1944Lou Boudreau	5th/#19
Runs = 53	1994Jeff Bagwell	3rd/#14
Hits = 78	1937-Joe Dimaggio, 1930-Chuck Klein, 1922-Ray Grimes	5th/#14, 3rd/#12, 14th/#11
2B = 27	1922-Ray Grimes	14th/#11
3B = 7	2014-Jose Altuve	8th/#15
HR = 25	1929-Babe Ruth	1st/#4
RBI = 69	1937-Joe Dimaggio	5th/#14
BB = 50	2015-Joey Votto	12th/#3
SO = 89	1971-Willie Stargell	10th/#11
HBP = 12	2007-Chase Utley	4th/#11
SB = 30	1985-Tim Raines	6th/#19
CS = 14	1972-Cesar Cedeno	11th/#12
AVG = .376	2020-Juan Soto	4th/#19
OBP = .467	2020-Juan Soto	4th/#19
SLG = .679	2020-Juan Soto	4th/#19
OPS = 1.146	2020-Juan Soto	4th/#19
	Pitchers
Games = 33	2022-Drew Rasmussen	17th/#14
GS = 20	1940-Bob Feller, 1972-SteveCarlton	25th/#10, 4th/#2
CG = 3	1992-Curt Schilling	5th/#15
SHO - 1	Ten Pitchers tied	xxxx
Wins = 10	2004-Randy Johnson	2nd/#1
Losses = 9	1939Walters, 2006Webb,19 93Appier, 1920Adams	14th/#14, 24th/#14 , 5th/#1, 3rd/#8
Saves = 11	2020Rosenthal, 2018Treinen, 2004Benitez, 2017Neshek	8th/#22, 5th/#11, 16th/#24, 16th/#15
SVO = 13	2018Treinen, 2020Heuer, 2017Neshek	5th/#11, 12th/#20, 16th/#15
IP = 124.67	1940-Bob Feller	25th/#10
H = 147	1972-Steve Carlton	4th/#2
Runs = 72	1939-Bucky Walters	14th/#14
HR = 29	1968-Dave McNally	1st/#23
BB = 59	1939-Bucky Walters	14th/#14
SO = 125	1940-Bob Feller	25th/#10
OAV = .185	2004 Johan Santana	1st/#20
OBP = .258	2004 Johan Santana	1st/#20
SLG = .281	1981-Nolan Ryan	4th/#12
WHIP = .98	2004 Johan Santana	1st/#20
ERA = 2.43	1924 Dazzy Vance	11th/#1

Out of that 1st round update, it looks like chisock scored the biggest win so far with a late pick of Johan Santana. That '97 Pedro at #3 is not panning out well so far, though there are several busts in there.

I'm feeling pretty good about my pickup of Juan Soto in R4 seeing as though he leads the league in all three slash categories. And Bob Feller has been quite effective for a "last guy left" at P1.