The other night, 3/11, 3, 3, 11…sorry, 90s/early 2000s PTSD kicked in there for a second. I took part in the 2025 Memorial Magazine League over on CBS with many fine people you know.. We have draft coverage in the AL and NL only leagues from The Itch and Grey, but as the only Razzballer…BALLER, shot caller, 20 inch blades on the… my bad. Anyway, here’s my write up for the 12 team mixed league auction.
Plan? What plan? I’m Just a Dog Chasing Cars
In AL/NL only, I do more planning. I build out some possible rosters. I have lists of high, medium, and low options at each position, but I like to be looser with it in mixed leagues. Why not? This is supposed to be fun! So, here’s how I do my planning for mixed leagues.
I build out a few options to see how different spending options might look depending on the inflation in the draft room. This spreadsheet is arguably more important to me than actual player dollar values so I can plan my spending for the draft. What kind of pitcher/hitter split do I want pending inflation at hitter vs pitcher? How many $1 players will I be stuck with if I go stars and scrubs vs a more middle ground approach?
Well, my general plan after these layouts was based on how high the top 3 hitters were priced. If they’re under $50, I’m leaving the draft with them. If inflation pushes them into the mid 50s or 60s, then, I’ll scoop up delicious values later. In a Beautiful Disaster, I almost got all 3 for under $50, but Ohtani went for $52 (and yes I still considered going 53).
Now, you’ve spent $98 out of $260 on 2 players, don’t Freak Out! There are values in every auction if you have patience and look for them. You can’t be a Prisoner to exact players, well maybe a few more, but value options are going to have to be a little nameless.
From Chaos, I’ll Be Here A While
Ryan Mountcastle was the next player I bought. He was thrown out as the 16th nomination, which seemed early, but maybe somebody was trying to sneak him through. I like Mountcastle with the park adjustments in Baltimore and I got him for for less than both Rudy and I have him at. I’ve played in this league for a number of years and closers have generally hung in the $15 range for a middle closer, so I bought Suarez for $14. I don’t love him, but he went at cost, maybe a slight savings.
Jung Hoo Lee isn’t sexy, but for $4, yes please. Remember when I said I still had a few different get my guy picks left, well, I love C.J. Abrams and got him with savings, JACKPOT! After that, just keep looking for cheap players. One way I tend to do that is to toss out $1 or $2 catchers and some $5 and under players that I might get for less.
I like Ober, but after seeing some other late pitching prices, I should’ve waited and saved. Triston Casas isn’t my favorite, but at the amount I have to spend on each position, I do like him (and saved a couple bucks on him). I just wanted to save money on each player on out and I did that with Paredes. I love Robles and got him Rudy’s cost, and a savings by my values. I didn’t really want Crochet, but didn’t think I’d get him for $21.
I didn’t need Alexis Diaz, but for $6, it just seemed too cheap to let go. I saved a few bucks on Nico Suave, and I love him. Luis Castillo is not a favorite of mine, and got caught a little bit doing some price enforcing, but you could do worse than an $11 Luis Castillo. That being said, I knew there were better values coming and wish I would’ve just sat out that bidding. You Wouldn’t Believe some of the values that came late in this draft. The rest of the draft was mostly $1 players for me, and in hindsight, maybe should’ve spent a couple dollars here and there for other players, but I also like all the guys I ended up with.
I started the reserve rounds with 2 pitchers I was looking at in the draft. Willi Castro is cheap speed with position eligibility and I may need a 2B to fill in if Nico misses a little time or he can fill in for Parker Meadows and his TBD timeline. Coby Mayo hasn’t been great in spring and had the dreaded vote of confidence from management, but he’s worth a gamble in the reserves. Ryan Jeffers is higher in my rankings than either of my $1 catchers, so I scooped him up, and that makes an easy catcher cut for the first FAAB. Charlie Morton is old, but maybe? Idk. Jake Fraley is a $3-$4 player that was my last pick, Feels So Good.
That’s All Fine, But What Does Rudy Say?
Do Rudy and I agree on ranks across the board? No, we do not. As our running bit on the podcast goes, someday we’ll have Rudy on to defend himself.
So, Did I Crack The Code? Well, I’m light on homeruns, but I also expect Paredes and Mountcastle to outperform their HR projections. Low on RBI, and yes, Aaron Judge is going to carry a lot of this responsibility and as things currently stand, I’m more runs heavy. Saves are currently a place of strength and possibly somewhere I can trade from to address issues. Remember that $6 Alexis Diaz.
On the pitching side, I may struggle with WHIP. This is true. I have a couple too many guys that aren’t strong WHIP types, but I can find streamers and play matchups in a 12 team league. Anyone’s roster is going to be All Mixed Up and you’ll end the season with several players that nobody drafted.
TLDR
- Plan out and track your spending
- If you spend early, don’t be picky, take the values.
- Be more patient than me. The longer you wait, the better the values.
- Use Rudy’s War Room
- Listen to the Razzball Fantasy Baseball Podcast
You can watch the auction or see the teams at these links.
You can check out my updated rankings HERE.
