Scout and Razzball teamed up to bring you 12-team mixed league slow drafts, and, when I say slow, I mean that I’ve seen paint dry faster and with more upside. It’s exactly like our 12-team, mixed Razzball Commenter League drafts (there still might be a few spots), but in this league there’s two catchers, no waivers and 44 rounds. So, I guess, it’s really not that similar to the RCLs. No waivers changes everything. I would never draft two top starters in a regular mixed league, let alone one in a 12 team league, but when you can’t pick up a starter off waivers or stream, it changes the dynamic. You can’t worry about upside as much as you need to make sure you have innings when a rash of injuries hits. Same with hitters. Upside is nice, but at-bats are even nicer when you lose five outfielders to injuries in July. This kind of leagues makes John Jaso Jingleheimer Schmidt and Tyler Flowers appealing. Dot dot dot. Okay, nothing makes Tyler Flowers appealing. Anyway, here’s my 12-team, mixed league draft recap:
Psyche! Before we get to my last team recap, the Stream-o-Nator is up. Please hit up comments there or here if you see any issues with the probable starters. Anyway II, the team:
C: Travis d’Arnaud (16)
C: Devin Mesoraco (22)
1B: Eric Hosmer (5)
2B: Anthony Rendon (10)
SS: Francisco Lindor (6)
3B: Evan Longoria (12)
MI: Jonathan Villar (23)
CI: Albert Pujols (7)
OF: Giancarlo Stanton (1)
OF: Mookie Betts (2)
OF: Delino DeShields (8)
OF: Josh Reddick (17)
OF: Avisail Garcia (24)
UTIL: Nick Castellanos (19)
Bench: Odubel Herrera (25), Zack Cozart (26), Howie Kendrick (27), Curt Casali (32), Tyler Goeddel (33), Brock Holt (35), Mallex Smith (37), Daniel Nava (40), John Jaso (41), Tyler Flowers (44)
P: Corey Kluber (3)
P: Stephen Strasburg (4)
P: Raisel Iglesias (11)
P: Yordano Ventura (13)
P: Kyle Hendricks (18)
P: Clay Buchholz (20)
P: Wei-Yin Chen (14)
P: Aroldis Chapman (9)
P: Santiago Casilla (15)
Bench: John Lackey (21), Jumbo Diaz (28), Kevin Jepsen (29),Nathan Karns (30), Danny Farquhar (31), Wade Miley (34), Dylan Bundy (36), Matt Wisler (38), Tom Koehler (39), Josh Tomlin (42), Colin Rea (43)
SO, I SKIMMED WHAT YOU SAID IN THE OPENING — SNOOZE — BUT STRASBURG AND KLUBER? WHY DON’T YOU GET A ROOM WITH YOUR LOVE OF PITCHING?
You need rock solid innings in a league with no streamers. You can’t say, “Well, I got one starter, six MRs and I’m gonna stream the rest, while making your woman wish she was my woman.” It’s just not going to happen with streamers, because there’s no waivers. But on top of that, upside is even risky. I took one upsidey starter in my first eight starters. Can you name who that is? I’ll give you one hint, his name translates to “Raise the church roof.” Wade Miley is even attractive in this league. Not because his upside, but due to his lock for 190 IP. If I may Wei-Yin on Chen, he’s great for a league like this because he’s safe. In this league, safe is the new sexy, which sounds like a commercial from the 90’s. It would be my luck that I would go to college during the era of baggy sweaters and condoms. Meh, at least it gives me an excuse.
YOU CAN RATIONALIZE ANYTHING LIKE A TRUMP SUPPORTER, PLEASE RATIONALIZE YOUR BULLPEN.
Not happy with it. At one point in the 8th to 9th rounds, a closer run happened. Eight closers went off the board in a row. I took Aroldis, and the next closer was A.J. Ramos or Jake McGee and I wasn’t going to take one of those in the tenth round just to have two. Since many people had two closers by that point, I surmised I could wait for Casilla, and I was right. By the by, surmised and smized are not the same thing. Of course, waiting for Casilla meant I would be left with one and half closers (Aroldis’s suspension), so I figured I could wait until much later and take some MRs that might give me saves. In these kind of leagues, MRs are a waste of space, but, due to my closer shituation, I had to do it. Not thrilled with my bullpen, thanks for bringing it up.
YOUR PITCHING TALK IS BORING ME, CAN WE TALK ABOUT YOUR HITTING. YES, YOU CAN MENTION DESHIELDS.
Delino DeShizznit!
ANYTHING ELSE TO SAY?
DeShizznit!
I GIVE UP.
It was an odd draft for me on hitting. I don’t usually take two outfielders, but I was picking 11th and Giancarlo fell to me. Not as I had previously imagined. He didn’t put a handkerchief to his forehead and fall into my arms after I announced my love for him. How could I refuse Giannovio at 11th overall? Not to answer, but to shield your eyes while I stare at Giancarlo in the flip-show I made of him for my old-timey B&W mutoscope. Then, skip two picks, and who’s back at me with the 14th overall pick? I guess I could’ve reached for Abreu, who hung around until the 21st pick. I could’ve really reached for Edwin Encarnacion or Chris Davis, I guess. But Miggy was gone already and I wasn’t about to reach for one of those aforementioned 1Bs when Betts was available and I wasn’t sure if I would draft him again this season. Plus, Betts balances Giancarlo’s runs, AVG and steals nicely. Finally, me, Betts and Giancarlo is steamy hot, so I did it. That left me with nothing but infielders for a few picks until…. DeShizznit! By the way, my love for Delino DeShields is becoming a problem. “I’m going to slowly walk away from this crazy man’s website now, before he tapes a Delino DeShields face onto mine and tries to sex me.” That’s a casual reader of Razzball. Scout’s pre-draft rankings did me no favors on DeShizznit either. Though, not as bad if I was hoping to snag Billy Burns late. (Those are overall rankings. Seriously.)
GIVE ME SOME PICKS YOU LOVE AND SOME YOU HATE, IN RETROSPECT. ALSO, DEFINE RETROSPECT, BECAUSE I’M JUST COPYING THIS QUESTION FROM EVERY OTHER FANTASY WEBSITE.
I love Pujols in the 7th, Rendon in the 10th, Longoria in the 12th and Mesoraco in the 22nd. Rendon was a guy I had no interest in this year, but at the 119th pick with his eligibility? Yeah, I’ll take that gamble. Longoria? God, I hate him so much, but at pick 146th? Even if he hits 18 HRs and .270 with 80 runs and 85 RBIs, I’ll take it. Mesoraco in the 22nd? This is a two-catcher league; that’s insane value. Not insane like smearing poop on the walls, but insane like using toilet paper to clean up poop-covered walls. Not glamorous, but gets the job done. Picks I hate by me: Aroldis. I know why I did it, but this league ends on August 31st, so I’m getting about three and a half months of Aroldis. I could’ve waited and took A.J. Ramos and Casilla and been just as happy with my bullpen. Also, I don’t like the backend of my outfield. Avisail is always the kind of pick that gets me excited in March and then I can’t stand him by April. Reddick is a sexy pick if you’re into STDs, but for fantasy, damn, he’s yawnstipating. I like Buchholz right now, but I just know at some point this year he’s going to kick me in the ass until my Buchholz.
