Prospect News: CBS AL Only Analysts Auction Review

I don’t know of a better way to introduce this piece than to lean into the braggadocio right off the bat because I won this league back to back in 2022 and 2023. Plus, I’m about to tear this team apart for all its shortcomings, so I feel compelled to say that I do sometimes know what I’m doing in this league. Just maybe not this time around. It’s kind of an odd set-up in that we fill our starting lineups via auction and then draft a seven-man bench. This nudges me towards a stars and scrubs dynamic despite my occasional efforts to distribute the funds evenly throughout my build.

This year, I wound up with way more pitching than I probably need. Once I’d landed Skubal at $38 and gotten kind of stuck with deGrom at $26, I felt like my path was pretty clear: dominate the pitching categories and scramble on the hitting side. Not ideal, perhaps, but I’ve seen it work. Here’s how the team wound up? 

C Dillon Dingler $6

C Hunter Feduccia $1

1B Willson Contreras $18

2B Lenyn Sosa $7

3B Junior Caminero $35

SS Kaelen Culpepper $1

MI Christian Moore $3

CI Royce Lewis $15

OF Jesus Sanchez $10

OF Brooks Baldwin $1

OF Spencer Jones $1

OF Jeremiah Jackson $1

OF Braden Montgomery $1

U David Fry $1

Some are calling it the worst outfield ever built. 

A few hopes I have: Lenyn Sosa adds eligibility early and claims a corner outfield spot in Chicago. Jeremiah Jackson earns time while Jordan Westburg and Jackson Holliday recover and hits well enough to retain a reduced role when they return. Brooks Baldwin or Braden Montgomery win and keep the centerfield gig for the White Sox (omg I have three White Sox in this lineup). Spencer Jones . . . well . . . I sincerely thought someone would bid two bucks. Can’t do much about that one now. Got cute in the noms. I always do, but I usually only nominate the fringe guys I’d be fine with winning for a dollar. Not this time. Keep this confidential, but Spencer’s probably my first cut. 

I also do not have a shortstop. Eep. I’d circled JP Crawford and waited on him all night but won Dillon Dingler for about five dollars less than I thought he’d be right before the halfway break. I also didn’t expect the David Fry bidding to stop at a dollar, and that locked up my utility spot early. I like him this year and think he’ll add catcher eligibility, but that was a costly move in the moment.  

 

P Tarik Skubal $38

P Jacob deGrom $26

P Mackenzie Gore $17

P Trevor Rogers $17

P Trey Yesavage $16

P Drew Rasmussen $15

P Andres Munoz $22

P Robert Garcia $6

P Justin Sterner $2

Some are calling it the best pitching staff ever built. 

Nobody’s ever gone broke betting on pitchers to stay healthy, right? 

The Gore auction got away from me. I thought he’d be 15. He was my third arm. I absolutely did not need him and would gladly swap him for an outfielder of similar value. All that said, I do think he’s going to have a great season in Texas. It’ll be the first time he’s been part of a real pitching staff, and that park has been especially tough on hitters the last few years. 

With Rogers, too, I thought he’d cost a couple dollars more than that and got kind of caught price enforcing. So it goes. 

Rasmussen was among my primary targets entering the evening. He got brought up late and wasn’t exactly a value for me. I should’ve let him go, but at some point during the auction I had decided I wanted to build a preposterous pitching staff and see how that played out over a season. 

I don’t understand why the bidding for Garcia stopped at six dollars. I think he is the closer in Texas. I regret a lot of my bids but not that one.

 

Bench

OF Nolan Jones

1B Triston Casas

P Jack Perkins

P Mike Vasil

OF Nelson Rada

P Louis Varland

OF Zach Dezenzo 

I might need one of Jones, Rada or Dezenzo to contribute for me to have a chance. They don’t have to be good, I think. Just present. Be where their feet are, as the kids are saying. 

If I sound kind of down on this build, I probably am. I had a blast doing the thing and will have fun playing it out, but this isn’t a league where a lot of trades happen (zero last season), so you kind of have to dance with what brung you, and a barren outfield is what brought me. Balance is key to happiness and peace, and it’s key to building an only league squad. Wish I could send that message to my yesterday self. Also, stop bidding on everybody, and stop cutting it so fine at the bottom of the nomination bin. First auction every year, I have to re-learn things I should know by now. 

Thanks for reading!

PS: I’m not sure if this league is publicly viewable, but if so, this click should take you to the auction results.