Team Name: Orphaned Cubs 02 26 55 87 16
Ballpark: Cubs Park
Salary: $119,666,318 (10th, AL West)
Draft Position: 4

Round 1 - 2016
When I drew pick #4, I had assumed 2016 would be gone. I had made up my mind to take either 1945 or 1992. 1945 has 5 very strong players, including 2 SPs. 1992 isn’t quite as strong as 1945, but is easily the best of a very weak Group D. I hadn’t decided which way I was going when my turn came up. I did not expect to have the choice of all three. I almost talked myself out of 2016, but I couldn't pass up getting three SPs (nearly 600 innings) plus two very good hitters. Kyle Hendricks (190 ip, 2.14 erc#), Jake Arrieta (197, 2.40) and Jon Lester (203, 2.41) represent three of the top eight non-deadball pitchers in Cubs history. Anthony Rizzo (.296, .388, .528, A-/A+) is a top 7 first baseman. Kris Bryant (.296, .389, .539, C+/B) is a top 7 third baseman. How did this season not get taken in the top 3? The only downside is that the 1B and 3B positions are very deep in this draft. I’m going to have to pass up some good Ron Santo seasons.

Round 2 - 1902
At the start of the draft, I thought that there might be a chance that 1908 or 1909 might last until my second round pick due to the fact there isn’t much offense from those seasons. 1909 went at pick #2.01 but 1908 lasted until just two picks before my turn…. so close. All along, I wanted a good deadball pitcher in round 2. Since picks 1 and 2 took offensive seasons (1929 & 1930), I thought it likely that they would take a good deadball pitching team. (I was wrong). While I was waiting for my turn, I figured I would end up taking 1918, since this season provided a usable SS (Hollocher) along with Hippo Vaughn and a good short-inning Pete Alexander. But as I dug into things more, Vaughn didn’t fare well in the first Cubs draft. In general, lefty pitchers don’t fare well vs all the Cubs right-handed hitters. So, I flipped from 1918 to 1902. The big prize is Jack Taylor (384 ip, 2.16 erc#). I was planning on taking lefty pitcher Alex Hardy (42 ip, 2.74) but later needed to add a fourth hitter. Jimmy Slagle (.317, .395, .389, C+/A+) will start at CF and is one of my few lefty bats. Davy “Daydream Believer” Jones (.305, .399, .379, C/A) only has 349 PA but is another lefty bat and backup OF. Frank Chance (.290, .405, .403, C/C/C) will platoon at catcher. The fourth hitter I added late is going to be my starting DH and leadoff hitter, switch-hitter Sammy Strang (.298, .398, .396). I am very satisfied with my first two picks… but now comes the long wait for my round 3 pick.

Round 3 – 1955
Here’s the dilemma that I had - I wanted to roster a good Ernie Banks and a good Ryne Sandberg to lock up SS and 2B. I was all set to take 1959 since that season gives me the best Ernie Banks season left and provides some pitching depth. That year made it all the way to one pick before me before pedrocerrano crushed my soul. I should have pivoted to 1989 (Sandberg, Grace, Dw.Smith and some decent RPs) and settled on a weaker Ernie Banks late (1956 didn’t even get drafted). But I panicked and took 1955 in order to get a really good Ernie Banks season (.295, .346, 583, B+/A-). There really isn’t much else. I added 2B Gene Baker (.268, .323, .380, C-/A+) just in case I didn’t get Sandberg. He can’t hit a lick, but his RRF-2B is 6.13. Ted Tappe (67 pa, .260, .413, .527) is a lefty pinch hitter. Bob Rush (248 ip, 2.87 erc#) is certainly usable and will make the rotation as I use one or two of my 2016 SPs as my main setup relievers. Bill Tremel (41, 3.05) has a "Performance Review" sample size of 1 season with a 10.20 ERA in that season. He won’t ever pitch for me.

Round 4 – 1926
Now, I could still have drafted 1985 or 1990 here (for a good Sandberg season) or even 1999 or 2000 (for a good Sosa season). But 1926 was screaming to be taken here. Pete Alexander (211 ip, 2.57 erc#) was one of the only decent SPs left from Group B. Guy Bush (166, 2.91) adds bullpen depth. But just as important, I get a pretty good Hack Wilson (.312, .401, .537, C+/B+). Riggs Stephenson (.328, .399, .454, D/D) may play some OF vs lefties. Gabby Hartnett (.266, .347, .467, C/C/A+) is the other half of my catching platoon. I don’t regret this pick. I regret my 1955 pick.

Round 5 – 1987
I was the last person to take a Group D season, and most of the remaining options mostly suck. It makes me wonder how my roster would have looked like had I taken 1992 with my round 1 pick. Ryne Sandberg (.294, .367, .442, B+/C) is marginally better than Gene Baker although I do like Baker’s A+++ range. Jerry Mumprhey (.333, .400, .534, A/D-) will platoon in RF. He’s my team’s second switch-hitter. Andre Dawson (.287, 328, .568, B/D) had an iconic MVP season in 1987. For those who don’t remember, he was a free agent going into 1987. He had bad knees and nobody wanted to sign him. His preferred destination was the knee-friendly grass of Wrigley Field. He made a unique offer where he gave the Cubs a blank check contract and said fill it in with whatever you want. They paid him a below-market value price of $500K with $150K in incentives. He went on to win the MVP with 49 HRs and 137 RBIs. He is the last NL MVP winner that played for a last place team. The two pitchers, Dickie Noles (65, 3.21) and Steve Trout (76, 3,40) are slotted for mop-up roles.

Overall Comment:
After a really strong start, one drafting mistake will probably cost this team a chance to advance. If I take 1989 in round 3 and 1956 in round 5, this team is way better (i.e., 90+ wins). I have just seven usable pitchers… all starters. I plan on using Arrieta and Hendricks as my top long setup relievers. Guy Bush will be the long reliever that comes in when we’re losing. My team has too much HR power which will get muted vs all the great deadball pitchers. The defense is above average but not excellent. Feels like an 84-85 win team.

Team Name: I tried to draft range. will it help?

Pre-draft thought process:
There is a ton of seasons worth taking in every section of this draft. Obviously, 1927 will go first. I want one of three seasons from A to start the draft. 1904 gives the one stud deadballer (with innings worth the early pick). 1921 and 1923 give stud Ruth seasons and don't have the 500 IP limit for the pitchers. If I can't get one of those it will have to be the best remaining B or C team. I will look to take C or D next because there appears to be more depth and options in E (and obviously B if I didn't take one of them first).

Round 1, Pick 6: 1923
I didn't have much hope when the first three picks were 1927, 1921, and 1904. I spent the next hour trying to figure out who I would take. Then two teams from the 30's go... and I get 1923. This pick gives me 2 starters who will be at least near average in this league. It also gives me a stud Ruth. There are at least four other usable bats (Pipp, Ward, Meusel, and Witt). In the end I went with the two outfielders with Ruth taking on the first base duties.

Round 2, Pick 27: 1976
With A done I am going to leave B for last. There are so many options since I don't need to worry about any of the Ruths. I was thinking hard about 2006, 2007, a late 90's team... and then I looked at 1976. This year did a couple of things I liked. First, some quality bullpen lefties. Second, a way to avoid even thinking about A-rod at third. I hate A-rod. He should never have been a Yankee. It also gave me more A+ range guys. Schwarze keeps talking about range... so lets get some range. When I made the pick I thought I was locking up my starting catcher. I was wrong. Nettles has the A+ range at third. Randolph the same at second. Rivers the same in the outfield. With Ruth at first I already have 4 fielders with top notch range. They can hit pretty well too.

Round 3, Pick 43: 1959
Still leaving B alone. The teams I wanted from E are gone. Lets get C out of the way. 59 adds over 300 decent innings. I also get a L/R catching combo that let me keep all three A+ range guys from the last pick. (or not, because I ended up not taking the LH hitting one). I did keep LH super utility Kubek and SH Mantle (only A range).

Round 4, Pick 54: 2016
Round 5, Pick 75 (sort of): 1941
When the draft started I did not imagine I would be making both of these picks at the same time. Pleasent surprise. I sort through the B teams. I need a Short Stop. I still need innings. I had options at many positions. Channeled Shwarze again. Range. No Jeter. Welcome 1941 as my last pick. I took Dom and Ted with my first pick in the Red Sox draft. Now I get Joe and Rizzuto with the last pick. Rizzuto ruins my infield range (A-). My third fielder ends up being Dicky as my LH catcher, which freed up some needed help from previous picks. With that decision made it was time to figure out what E team to take. I need at least 200 IP. I do not need anything else. So arms and bench. Although it was a depressing year as a fan of the team... 2016 gives me two very good LH relievers and a decent starter. Miller, Chapman and Tanaka to throw. Sanchez because, why not? Finish with Beltran because another SH outfielder/DH might be useful.

Prediction:
No clue. Will the range make a difference? No clue. Did I undervalue pitching? Probably. Do I have a stud Ruth. Yup. Let's go.

Team Name: Pitching Heavy Yanks 22 43 58 99 14
Ballpark: Yankee Stadium (II)
Salary: $123,709,770 (13th, AL West)
Draft Position: 12

Round 1 - 1943
My top choices here were 1928, 1939, 1943, 1957, 1958 and 1961. I considered taking 1928 to get great Ruth and Gehrig seasons plus Herb Pennock is a decent SP but I thought I could steal 1924 early in round 3 since most of the teams ahead of me already drafted their Group A season or had a good Group B Ruth season. I figured I would get a good Mickey Mantle season in round 2 so I can will wait on 1957/1958/1961. I had 1939 all typed in and ready to hit submit. They have great hitting and solid pitching options. I can’t believe they lasted to the latter part of round 2. What a steal by bigsteve12. I decided on 1943 because I couldn’t resist getting two top 20 SPs, with Spud Chandler (267 ip, 2.03 erc#) and Butch Wensloff (235, 2.49). In the previous Yankees draft, Chandler went 20-13, 4.76 (5th in ERA) and Wensloff went 22-4, 4.78 (6th). That’s just too good to pass up. The 1943 hitters aren’t in the Ruth/Gehrig category but Bill Dickey (.351, .449, .514) has an awesome 299 PA and Charlie Keller (.271, .400, .547, A/B) has solid performance review numbers. The worst hitter on my roster, Joe Gordon (.249, .369, .434, C/A+) has a 6.10 RRF2B, which can only help my pitching.

Round 2 - 1958
Not surprisingly, pedrocerrano grabbed 1928 at the end of round 1. Jtpsops selected 1961. My choice was 1957 or 1958. With footballmm11 drafting directly behind me, I knew he would most likely take whichever season I passed on. He already has 1930 Ruth & Gehrig and I hated the thought of him adding ’57 Mantle (plus McDougald’s A + range at SS to help his below average pitching). But I went with 1958 mainly to add a top Whitey Ford season (231, 2.44) plus Ryan Duren (80, 2.33) is a nice RP option. 1957 just didn’t have the pitching to justify the better (and way more expensive) Mantle. Plus, as nice as it would be to have McDougald’s A+ range, there are a bunch of Jeter seasons I could add in a later round… or maybe even 1919 Peckinpaugh. Passing on ’57 Mantle also probably keeps me out of footballmmm11’s division as well as thejuice6’s ‘27 Yankees. The three hitters I get include Mickey Mantle (.304, .447, .591, C/B), 3B Andy Carey (.286, .367, .485, B/B-0) and C Elston Howard (.314, .352, .478). I considered OF Norm Siebern but I have enough OFs and didn’t need him.

Round 3 – 1999
I was hoping 1924 would fall to me, but there was no chance of that as mllama54 grabbed them in round 2. There isn’t much left in Group A, so I will end up waiting. I doubt 1919 will make it back to me in round 4, but it’s just too early to take them this early. I begrudgingly resigned myself to rostering Derek Jeter. I briefly considered 2002 to get studs Jason Giambi and Bernie Williams, but Jeter isn’t great in 2002 and the pitching isn’t very good either. 2009 would’ve been a solid choice (Teixeira, A-Rod, Jeter plus Rivera and Sabathia). In retrospect, why didn’t I take 2009? I guess the reason is that there were fewer good options left in Group D. I narrowed my choices to 1994 and 1999. Before I could even make up my mind on which of those two seasons I preferred, njbigwig decided for me, selecting 1994 one spot before me. Without wasting too much time, I selected 1999. The two gems of this season include the best seasons for Derek Jeter (.349, .427, .522, A-/D) and Bernie Williams (.342, .425, .507, B/A). There is no good third hitter so I added a scrub. 1999 is one of my favorite Mariano Rivera seasons (69 ip, 1,25 erc#) due to his very low HR rate. The second pitcher is a lefty, Allen Watson (35 ip, 2.59). He doesn’t have a lot of innings, but unlike most modern lefty relievers, at least his IP/G is 1.63.

Round 4 – 1922
There was a very long wait between rounds 3 and 4, and when it finally got to me, it took me over an hour to decide on what to do. There were only 2 people behind me that needed a Group A season but three that needed a Group E season. It seemed very unlikely the two behind me would take 1922 but I couldn’t risk it. I wanted to take 2014, but that season has no hitting. Wally Pipp (.329, .382, .458, B.A+) is slated to be my starting 1B. Babe Ruth (.315, .423, .665) will be my starting DH. He only has 521 PA, so Bob Meusel (.319, .366, .514) makes the perfect DH platoon partner. I don’t really need a third catcher, but Wally Schang (.319, .394, .404, C/C/A) gives me another switch hitter to go with Mantle and Bernie Williams. Sadly, Bob Shawkey (316 ip, 3.15 erc#) is going to start 40-45 games for me. He is the only below average pitcher on the staff. Maybe I will let him pitch a bunch of complete games to rest my solid bullpen for the real SPs.

Round 5 – 2014
Thankfully, my top Group E choice was still available. Since they don’t have much offense, I thought they might last. I get to add 245 really good bullpen innings with Dellin Betances (90, 1.28), Michael Pineda (76, 1.56) and Adam Warren (79, 2.52). We all know how that’s likely to turn out, right? Ironically, two of the best hitters from this season are exactly what I needed, part-time third basemen, Martin Prado (.316, .342, .537, C+/B) and Chase Headley (.262, .377, .394, A/C+). These two guys plus ’58 Andy Carey provides me a 3-man 3B platoon.

Overall Comment:
My team will likely finish near the bottom in run scored since I do not have Lou Gehrig or a stud Babe Ruth season. I have mediocre hitters like Wally Pipp, Joe Gordon, Andy Carey and Charlie Keller in my starting lineup. But I do have a very good defense and strong pitching, which should keep me in a bunch of games. When you exclude Shawkey, my pitching raw stats are: 1162 ip, 1.02 whip, .205 oav, 0.39 hr/9. I know my low salary will put me into the AL West, so maybe I can win a weak division with 85-86 wins.

St. Louis Cardinals

Pick 1.13: 1942
There were a few Hornsby seasons left, especially 1922, 1924 and 1925. I preferred 25 (to get Bottomley and Blades) then 24 (to get Cooney and some slightly better pitching), but with just 3 unique owners to pick before my next pick I rolled the dice. Of the other options, I was mostly deciding between 1942 and 1998. The 98 season obviously brings Big Mac's 70 HR season but also a nice Lankford and some decent pitching options. I opted for 1942 though to get the premium pitching (Mort Cooper) and another solid starter (Johnny Beazley) which tends to go fast in these drafts. It's not the best Musial, but I get Stan, Enos Slaughter, and a low-tier SS option in Marty Marion.

Pick 2.20: 1922
Both 1924 and 1925 went but 1922 stuck around. It's not as deep as the other two options but I get the last elite Hornsby season and got depth from my 1942 pick, so I'm not complaining. Les Mann will be a DH/RF vs lefties. I rostered Eddie Ainsmith as my backup catcher. The pitching...has volume? Jeff Pfeffer and Jesse Haines both have ERCs in the mid-3s but at least combine for 450-ish innings.

Pick 3.36: 1998
Wow, 1998 made it all the way back to me. I gave a cursory look to 2000--worse McGwire but Edmonds is better than Lankford--but 98 was clearly superior. Sure McGwire and similar types often underperform but even with that I'm happy to grab him here. Lankford is a great OF option with some pop and gives me another solid lefty bad to surround Hornsby and McGwire. For my 3rd hitter, I initially thought I'd take Tatis or Gaetti to platoon at 3B, but I ended up needing OF Brian Jordan more and he slots in nicely against lefties. The pitching is just okay, but Juan Acevedo and Matt Morris give about 200 combined innings of ERC# around 3.

Pick 4.61: 2022
Pick 5.68: 1972
As I was waiting for eblank to pick, I knew my Group E options and just had to wait on him to pick Group C. I made the cardinal sin of building my team with 1973 and of course eblank took them. Luckily, 1972 was a close backup option. More importantly, I was thrilled to have 2022 make it back to me. I had it as the 7th-best option in Group E and it provided much of what I needed. Most importantly, I got my 3B in what ended up being Arenado's last good season and my SS in utility man Tommy Edman. Goldschmidt is a bit redundant since 98 McGwire does have A- range at 1B but Goldy is A+/A+, I needed another righty bat, and McGwire will be plenty fine at DH. Edman gives me my starting SS against lefties and some utlity as a backup 2B/3B/OF. Arenado and Goldschmidth will start full-time. I also get an elite closer in Ryan Helsley and a good setup man in Zack Thompson, who I chose over a decent Miles Mikolas starter season.

From Group C, I needed a catcher and a pitcher. Both 1973 and 1972 had Ted Simmons and Bob Gibson. I initially built 1973 for the slightly better Simmons year plus a decent Al Hrabosky relief season. But when eblank took them I had to shift back to 72. I still get a full-time Simmons (though I did roster Ainsmith in case 654 PA aren't quite enough). And I get a more full-time Gibson with 289 innings. Jim Bibby isn't quite as good as Hrabosky but adds another middle relief arm. Finally, I rostered Ken Reitz and Lou Brock as bench bats/pinch-runner.

Ballpark: Sportsman's Park (III)

Team Name: Slick Fielding Cardinals 01 27 62 78 20
Ballpark: Busch Stadium
Salary: $121,895,060 (11th, AL East)
Draft Position: 9

Round 1 - 1927
It’s pretty obvious, but I will say it again, with your first round pick, you must get a season with 5 usable pieces (or at least 4 very strong pieces). When my turn came up at pick 9, I could’ve taken the stud 1968 Gibson season or one of Rogers Hornsby’s .400 seasons. But those seasons didn’t provide enough “other pieces”. I considered both 1942 and 1943 but once I looked at 1927, it was a lock. I get the best season of one of my favorite sim players, Frankie Frisch (.337, .382, .470, B/A+). 1B Jim Bottomley (.303, .382, .507, C/A+) gives me two great range infielders. My third hitting option could’ve been Chick Hafey (.329, .395, .588) but he had less than 500 PA and I preferred the lefty-hitting part-time catcher Johnny Schulte (.288, .450, .536). What makes 1927 such a key pick is that I get two solid starting pitchers... Pete Alexander (284 ip, 2.61 erc#) and Jesse Haines (319, 2.71). No complaints.

Round 2 - 1901
Of course, all the stud Hornsby seasons got taken as well as 1968. One season I was really hoping would fall to me was 1952, but they got selected by ybjsports at pick 2.02. After that, I was debating between 2010, 1901 and 1979. DarthDurron took 2010 right before my turn so that was out. With 1979, I could have added another A+ range infielder with Garry Templeton plus Ted Simmons and Keith Hernandez are useful. But I felt like I needed to bolster the offense since I missed out on the best seasons of Rogers Hornsby and Stan Musial. The best remaining hitter available is 1901 Jesse Burkett (,376, .445, .527, D/A-). He did very well for me in the first draft tournament. Emmet Heidrick (.339, .371, .488, C-/A-) is another lefty high-average bat and my second outfielder. Bobby Wallace (.324, .355, .469, C/A+) will be my starting shortstop. My fourth hitter, Pete Childs is a $500K scrub with a .394 OBP. The only 1901 pitcher worth taking is Mike O’Neill (48 innings, 2.34 erc#). Getting nearly 600 innings with my first pick allowed me to roster only 48 innings from a deadball season. I’m definitely going to need more innings though.

Round 3 – 1962
It’s always tricky deciding on your third pick. With your first and second round picks, you are just trying to draft the seasons with the best (and most) usable players. By round three, you need to start figuring out the fit. Not only that but figuring out what will be left from the other two groups when your turn comes up again. With only four Group C seasons taken so far, I was certainly taking Group C here. The seasons I was looking at included 1966, 1969 and 1971. The first two (1966 & 1969) had the best pitching (which I needed) but not much hitting. 1971 easily had the best hitting options as Torre (3B), Simmons (C) and Brock (DH) all filled positions of need. But the pitching sucked and I figured I could get a different Ted Simmons later and do better than Brock at DH. I was doing a search on Bob Gibson seasons and that’s when I noticed 1962. I can use the last good season of Stan Musial (.330, .417, .502) as a DH (see, better than Brock). Ken Boyer (.291, .370, 464, B/B+) can be my starting 3B. Curt Flood (.296, .447, .410, A-/A+) isn’t going to scare anybody when he’s up at the plate but should be good for 20-25 “plus” plays in CF. What I noticed about 1962 is that this is one of the best seasons for Bob Gibson (234 innings, 2.57 erc#). It’s the fifth best by ERC# but third best by ERC+. This season also gives me a decent RP, albeit a bit HR-prone with lefty Bobby Shantz (79, 2.55).

Round 4 – 2020
As expected, there was a run on Group C seasons, including all the ones I considered above. I’m glad I grabbed my preferred choice before the run. Here’s where I am at… On offense, my only needs are a starting catcher and some extra PAs at OF/DH. I still needed more pitching. I really wanted one of those remaining Ted Simmons seasons (1976, 1978, 1980), so I had to wait to see which Group D seasons got selected before I chose my preferred Group E season this round. If all the Ted Simmons seasons got selected, I would pivot to a Yadier Molina Group E season (2011 or 2012) and try for pitching from Group D. When my turn came up, I determined that it was likely that I would get a good Ted Simmons, so I went with 2020 solely for the three 100+ inning pitchers. I am not taking the "better" short inning guys with IP/G < 1. The three guys I selected all have IP/G > 4, including Kwang Hun Kim (109 innings, 1.98 erc#), Dakota Hudson (109, 2.22) and Adam Wainwright (183, 2.71). The latter two pitchers are HR-prone, which is why I am playing homes games in Busch Stadium (-2 for HRs). As far as my two hitters, 1B Paul Goldschmidt (.304, .419, .446, A/A+) and 2B Paul DeJong (B/B+) probably won’t play much but can be defensive replacements.

Round 5 – 1978
1980 got taken, but I did ultimately have a choice between 1976 and 1978. Although 1976 had a really nice Bake McBride part-time season, 1978 Ted Simmons (.287, .382, .517) was just simply much better than the 1976 version and the 1978 pitching was slightly better than 1976. Wayne Garrett (74 pa, .333, .437, .450) can pinch hit. George Hendrick (.288, .341, .503, A/B-) may get a few ABs and/or come in for defense. John Denny (234 innings, 3.02 erc#) is in the running w/Wainwright for SP4. He might start games on the road while Wainwright will starts games at Busch or Busch (II). RP Tom Bruno (50, 2.48) should be fine as a setup B type pitcher.

Overall Comment:
I really like how this team turned out. I didn’t waste a lot of salary on HRs which fits perfectly with playing home games in a -2 HR park. My regular lineup has batting averages of .287, .303, .339, .291, 324, .376, .296, .339 and.330. I have good lineup balance with two switch hitters, four lefties and three righties. My defense is as good as it can possibly be given the limitations of the draft. The range ratings of my starting seven (excluding C and DH) are A+, A+, B+, A+, A-, A+ & A-. I don’t have a single pitcher on the roster with an IP/G < 2.5. And my team salary will put me in the American League East. I really think this team could win 90 games.

New York Yankees

Pick 1.11: 1930
1927 was an obvious 1st pick, though there are a ton of great Ruth seasons to go around, of course. By the 11th pick, many were gone but 1930 was still there. The other season I considered was 1961 which did have better pitching than 1930 but as good as Maris was getting the 2nd-best Ruth/Gehrig combo was too good to pass up. The pitching was pretty bad, though Red Ruffing and George Pipgras are both decent innings eaters. My 3rd hitter had the luxury of a few options--OF Earle Combs, UT Tony Lazzeri, C Bill Dickey, or 2B Ben Chapman--which was helpful throughout the rest of the draft.

Pick 2.22: 1957
1924 made it back to me but with Ruth already on board, that wasn't an option. schwarze took 1958 right ahead of me, but I'm happy (as he predicted) to get Mantle and slide him in between Ruth and Gehrig in the lineup. Gil McDougald will play short (with good defense and 2B and 3B too if needed). I rostered Jerry Lumpe (119 PA) to share some 3B duties against righties. Bob Turley and Sal Maglie both have sub-3 ERC#, though Maglie only has 28 innings.

Pick 3.38: 2000
I was mostly focused on modern seasons here--I looked at 2020, 2017, 1997, and 2001. I had 2020 all typed in and ready to go--elite LeMahieu season (and he could play 2B or 3B) plus Gio Urshela strong partial. Then 3 really good pitchers in starter Gerrit Cole and both Green and Britton in relief. Then I got scared off by the HR rates for those pitchers. I knew I needed to get a 2B from Group E but there were enough Cano seasons left that I pivoted to 2000. I got Posada as my starting catcher and a great Bernie Williams season to play CF. Glenallen Hill will mash for 144 PA. The two best pitchers were relievers Mariano Rivera and Jeff Nelson, with Roger Clemens an option if I needed bulk.

Pick 4.59: 1925
Pick 5.70: 2011
Like I said, I needed 2B from group E. And from group A, I mostly needed pitching and whatever bats I could get. 1925 had by far the best hitters left, led by Ben Paschal's partial. I rostered this version of Earle Combs, which allowed me to pivot to 1930 Tony Lazzeri instead. I took Bob Meusel as my 3rd hitter and he'll battle with Lazzeri for 3B duty--Meusel has the better bat but D- range, Lazzeri has the better glove. Meusel can also play OF (B+/D+) or DH as needed. Herb Pennock is the main prize and Bob Shawkey will be our mopup.

As I was going through the group A options, most of the Cano options also had Mariano Rivera, so I was trying to figure out the puzzle of which Cano I wanted, which led to which Rivera (2000 or this pick) to roster, which led to my last starting pitcher. I finally settled on 2011. Cano, of course, will be my starting 2B. While Granderson is the next-best hitter, I already had plenty of lefty OF, so I took Jesus Montero instead--he can mash and I guess if Posada (628 PA) gets tired, Montero can stand behind home plate (D-/D-/D-) in a pinch. I opted to stick with 2000 Mariano and so I took David Robertson and Cory Wade as relievers, then rounded out with CC Sabathia as my last bulk pitcher.

Ballpark: Yankee Stadium (III)

Oakland Athletics

Pick 1.03: 1930
1931 is the easy top choice and unfortunately it went to schwarze. I had 1930 as the clear 2nd-best choice. Unfortunately, 1930 is worse in most respects to 1931--as I posted in the forum, you get an arguably worse version of Grove, Earnshaw, Cochrane and Simmons, with just Foxx as the better version in 1930's favor. That's a bit of a stretch as Simmons and Cochrane are close and Grove is not a huge difference. But Earnshaw is a significantly better #2 pitcher. So I had a decision to make: take an inferior season to schwarze and likely end up in his division playing catch up, or pivot elsewhere. With this being the 3rd pick, I couldn't risk not getting a stud season, so I stuck with 1930.

Pick 2.30: 2019
I technically had 1925 as the best season available to me, but with Simmons and Cochrane, they're not an option. The top seasons for consideration were: 2019 (E), 1969 and 1970 (C), 1996 (D), and 1903 and 1905 (A). I narrowed it down to 2019 vs 69/70. I really liked how 1969 gave me a starting 2B and 2B plus a lefty OF in Reggie. Blue Moon Odom and Jim Roland give a starter-reliever combo with 300+ solid innings. 1970 gives you a different lefty OF (Rick Monday) and your starting SS (Campaneris) plus a 128-PA catching season from Gene Tenace that fits perfectly with Cochrane (591 PA). The pitching has multiple options from 39-inning Vida Blue up to 267 Chuck Dobson and a few others in between. Group E was deeper overall than the other groups, BUT it had a huge dropoff after 2019. I could have waited and taken Group E last, or take 2019 now. After looking at the SS options (1951 Joost, 1970 Campaneris, and 2019 Semien were the top 3 left), I felt more comfortable locking in SS than 2B/3B and I felt more comfortable that my 3rd round pick could be a solid Group C than E, so I went with 2019.

Semien is the obvious gem and locks in SS. Mark Canha made the team as a righty bad with solid defense at 1B and OF. Initially, I had slotted in Matt Chapman at 3B over strong seasons from 1B Matt Olson, OF Ramon Laureano, and C Sean Murphy (60 PA), though I ultimately ended up rostering only 2 hitters. The pitching is all relievers but Petit and Hendriks both have over 80 innings and ERC under 1.75. I chose 30-inning Sean Maneaa (1.45 ERC) as my closer with the 5th spot.

Pick 3.46: 1962
Pick 4.51: 1903
Unfortunately 1969 went shortly after my last pick and 1970 got grabbed a picks before this one. I currently need a lot of innings and some lefty bats (only Cochrane is currently a lefty on my planned roster). With a few picks to go I'm hoping for 1903, it's got a great Rube Waddell and two solid lefty OF in Topsy Hartsel and Ollie Pickering. Waddell, in particular, is by far the best starter left for me, so I'm thrilled when ff09 and steveizzy take 1925 and 1907 as the last two "A" picks before me. I also can take 1903 as my Round 4 pick (not Round 3) since both teams behind me on the turn have used A already. That means I can choose a C or D team to pair with them.

There were a few D teams clustered together, most of them McGwire teams (1993, 1995, 1996) plus 1976 to get Vida Blue's pitching. However, I really needed a 2B and there just weren't many options left, especially after 1999 (Velarde) went one pick ahead of me. That meant 1962 was important to me. I get Jerry Lumpe as the best remaining 2B. Ed Charles is very similar to Matt Chapman and given that 2019 has much better alternative options, I'll roster Charles. I could switch 2019 to Matt Olson, but 1962 also brings Norm Siebern as a lefty 1B. I'll roster Siebern and push Foxx to DH. For pitching, I get 200+ innings between Orlando Pena and Diego Segui. Not bad, but I'll still need a solid chunk from my last pick.

Pick 5.78: 1995
Ideally, I get 250+ innings from this last pick. Unfortunately, the best starter options are gone by my selection. On offense, I need a few backup PA at Catcher and 3B. My weakest spots are Socks Seybold/Norm Siebern against lefties and Ollie Pickering vs righties, so upgrades there would be welcome. I landed on 1995. I don't need McGwire but he's a nice upgrade vs lefties especially, he'll DH and move Foxx back to 1B against LHP. Terry Steinbach brings an A+ arm and decent enough right-handed bat to supplement Cochrane. And Stan Javier is a switch-hitter who somehow plays a very good 3B (A-/A) and OF (A+/A). He'll backup Charles (604 PA) when needed and also play some CF. The pitching puzzle was trickier, but I was able to get enough innings I think. From 1995, I took Jim Corsi as the best reliever and then Todd Van Poppel (156 IP, 3.45 ERC) for some bulk. Amazingly, after going down the list of 2019 third hitters, I ended up not needing Chapman (Charles replaced), Olson (Siebern), Laureano (Javier), or Murphy (Steinbach). That freed me up to take a 3rd pitcher, which is Manaea. Lastly, since I didn't really need any of the other 1903 hitters, I took the only other pitcher I could. Sure its only 46 innings of 5.68 ERC (yikes), but at least Andy Coakley can eat some mopup innings when my other pitchers need some rest.


Ballpark: Shibe Park