Last year I had an accident where I slammed my head into a wall, which caused me to say stupid things, and I said Elly De La Cruz was overrated. Thankfully, I had an operation, removing the idiot from my brain and I have a chance to make amends. As they always say, “Make amends, makes a men out of dumb brains.” This is a very famous saying. So, I took part in my first Draft Champions league with a bunch of Razzballers and was able to draft Elly De La Cruz with the third pick. Let’s see how badly I messed up the draft after that. For those unfamiliar, it’s a 50-round draft and hold, so no waivers. It’s 15-team, two catchers and weekly for pitchers, and bi-weekly for hitters. Anyway, here’s my Draft Champions draft recap:
PSYCHE! Before the recap, just wanted to say top 500 and all my 2025 fantasy baseball rankings are updated as soon as possible. Also, Rudy’s War Room is updated multiple times per day, and in-season subscriptions are open for business. I plan on getting the 1st Buy/Sell up on the Patreon early next week, then that will be up on the site about ten days later. Okay, think that’s it. Good luck on your weekend drafts! Anyway II, the draft recap:
Pos: Player (Draft round)
C: Sean Murphy (15)
C: Jonah Heim (23)
1B: Josh Naylor (4)
2B: Luis Arraez (13)
SS: Elly De La Cruz (1, 3)
3B: Manny Machado (2)
MI: Thairo Estrada (20)
CI: Alex Bregman (8)
OF: Bryan Reynolds (6)
OF: Dylan Crews (9)
OF: Taylor Ward (11)
OF: JJ Bleday (17)
OF: Garrett Mitchell (18)
UTIL: Kyle Manzardo (22)
Bench: Jacob Wilson (25), Jose Miranda (27), Christian Moore (28), Nick Kurtz (30), Jarred Kelenic (33), Tirso Ornelas (34), Mickey Moniak (38), Korey Lee (40), Addison Barger (42), Justyn-Henry Malloy (43), Nick Fortes (44), Kyren Paris (46), Ezequiel Duran (48), Scott Kingery (50)
P: Dylan Cease (3)
P: Spencer Schwellenbach (5)
P: Robert Suarez (7)
P: Reynaldo Lopez (10)
P: Ryan Pressly (12)
P: MacKenzie Gore (14)
P: Michael Wacha (16)
P: Tobias Myers (19)
P: David Peterson (21)
Bench: Luke Weaver (24), Tyler Mahle (26), Aaron Ashby (29), Ben Lively (31), Andrew Heaney (32), Kyle Hart (35), Michael Kopech (36), Frankie Montas (37), Beau Brieske (39), Shane Smith (41), Robby Snelling (45), Albert Suarez (47), Ben Casparius (49)
LET’S SEE WHAT THE WAR ROOM TOTALS SAY SO I KNOW WHERE TO FOCUS MY VITRIOL.
Fair enough, here’s my War Room totals:
YOU MENTIONED IN THE OPENING YOU HAD THE ‘IDIOT’ REMOVED FROM YOUR BRAIN, BUT…WELL, ON THE BRIGHT SIDE, YOU MIGHT HAVE YOURSELF A MALPRACTICE LAWSUIT AGAINST THE DOCTOR WHO PERFORMED THE OPERATION.
Now’s a good time to mention that that just because some other people’s projections say a guy should be bad for WHIP doesn’t mean I have to believe them.
I’M DYING AT YOU GOING TO IMMEDIATE RATIONALIZATIONS. DON’T PASS GO, DON’T COLLECT $200, JUST STRAIGHT TO WHY OTHER PROJECTIONS ARE WRONG AND I’M RIGHT. NEVER CHANGE, YOU GIANT BOZO.
Okay, that’s hurtful.
IT’S HURTFUL FOR MY EYES TO LOOK AT YOUR TEAM!
So, everyone (besides me) is saying Dylan Cease is projected for a 1.19 WHIP. Dylan Cease just cut his walk rate from 4 to 3.1 BB/9 and his BB% from 10.1 to 8.5. Maybe his walk rate bumps up this year (no idea why that would happen, it could get better), and maybe it’s a 10.4 BB% and 3.8 BB/9. That would be the same as 2022 for him when he had a 1.11 WHIP. Still nowhere near his projected 1.19. Besides, all we care about is K-BB%, and he was 10th best in the majors. Then, Spencer Schwellenbach had a 1.04 WHIP as a rookie, a 20.8 K-BB% with 25.4% and 4.6%. Oh, and projections say he’ll have a 1.21 WHIP. Um, sure. I have no idea what to tell you, but my pitching is better than you think it is. I have galaxy brained myself into thinking this.
CLEARLY. OKAY, TALK ABOUT YOUR HITTING AND TRY TO KEEP ME AWAKE BECAUSE I GET HALFWAY THROUGH IT AND FALL ASLEEP.
Ya know, I think because I was able to draft Elly De La Cruz, I didn’t feel the need to slam an adrenaline needle into the heart of my offense. I was fine with Bryan Reynolds, Luis Arraez and Manny Machado types. Just solid, non-exciting hoo-ha’s that don’t get the blood pumping, but produce fantasy value year in and year out.
SORRY, I DID FALL ASLEEP. YOU WERE SAYING?
I managed to work Dylan Crews into my team for some of that sweet upside, and for the first time in maybe his career, I am genuinely excited about Alex Bregman. Fenway plus his swing and his doubles are gonna feed generations. Put him in the three-hole and let Bregman eat.
FIRST HE’S FEEDING GENERATIONS AND NOW HE’S EATING. ARE YOU JUST WRITING THIS DURING DINNERTIME?
Yes, but I do like Bregman.
DO YOU HAVE ANY GENERAL TAKEAWAYS? ANYTHING I CAN TAKE AWAY FROM THIS POST AND NOT FEEL LIKE I’VE WASTED SEVEN MINUTES OF MY LIFE READING IT?
Outfield gets shallow much faster than you think it will. The outfielders drafted after round 20 that might get full-time at-bats? Andrew Benintendi, Wilyer Abreu, Evan Carter, and Brandon Marsh, and I am being incredibly generous by saying full-time at-bats. They’re all barely projected for 410 ABs, besides Benintendi. He’s being projected for 500+ ABs but he sucks. Of course, some guys could come out of the blue like Austin Hays, Kyle Stowers or other ex-Orioles. (Pretty hilarious how the Orioles feed every team’s depth charts.) I said after round 20. That means there’s 30 rounds where outfield is pretty sad.
WERE THERE ANY GUYS YOU WANTED ON THIS VERY BAD TEAM THAT YOU DIDN’T GET?
Had a few guys queued up that I just missed out on. Really wanted Victor Robles — wrote a Victor Robles sleeper — Wanted Bowden Francis, but thought I could wait another round, which is always the dumbest thing I do.
AND THAT’S SAYING SOMETHING!
There’s also guys I did draft that I wanted — JJ Bleday sleeper — is one, and what might not be readily apparent is how excited I was for this run of guys I drafted:
Been a long-time fan of four of those guys. All have nice upside and are going way too late. Then Manzardo isn’t a guy I was targeting in my rankings. He was a super late addition to my 1st basemen rankings. Finding myself warming up to him because he has a solid hit tool, and maybe everyone is underestimating his power. People think he’s a 15-17 homer guy, and maybe he is, but he hit 20 HRs in Triple-A in 83 games, and he hit a 430-foot Spring Training homer the opposite way about six minutes before I drafted him, so there’s that.
GREAT FOUR PLAYERS YOU’RE EXCITED FOR WHO NO ONE ELSE CARES ABOUT. ALSO, GREAT STUFF WITH SEAN MURPHY.
Sigh, you’re tough, Mr. Al Capps. I drafted Murphy before his injury, and it will teach me to ever draft a catcher before pick 250. Anyway, to play against us for free, hit up the below links:
Thoughts on this team? 12 team 5×5 h2h with MI/CI
1. (12) Corbin Carroll (AZ – OF)
2. (13) Fernando Tatis Jr. (SD – OF)
3. (36) Ozzie Albies (ATL – 2B)
4. (37) CJ Abrams (WSH – SS)
5. (60) James Wood (WSH – OF)
6. (61) Josh Naylor (AZ – 1B)
7. (84) Roki Sasaki (LAD – SP)
8. (85) Spencer Schwellenbach (ATL – SP)
9. (108) Ian Happ (CHC – OF)
10. (109) Zac Gallen (AZ – SP)
11. (132) Bryan Woo (SEA – SP)
12. (133) Pete Fairbanks (TB – RP)
13. (156) Kenley Jansen (LAA – RP)
14. (157) David Bednar (PIT – RP)
15. (180) Heliot Ramos (SF – OF)
16. (181) Alec Burleson (STL – 1B, OF)
17. (204) Masyn Winn (STL – SS)
18. (205) Grayson Rodriguez (BAL – SP)
19. (228) Connor Norby (MIA – 2B, 3B)
20. (229) Ranger Suárez (PHI – SP)
21. (252) Ryan Jeffers (MIN – C)
22. (253) Ronel Blanco (HOU – SP)
23. (276) Reese Olson (DET – SP)
24. (277) Michael Wacha (KC – SP)
25. (300) Matthew Boyd (CHC – SP)
26. (301) Bubba Chandler (PIT – SP)
Love the Hitting and can’t believe you were able to get pitching that is that good considering how long you waited…I think you might be a little iffy on relievers but that’s fine in H2H
Thank you Yahoo default rankings
Evening Grey, quick q. In a 6×6 QS league, would you trade Michael Harris II for Woo and Michael king? Have Carroll, Duran and Hernandez in OF
Yes
What about Stott and Harris for westburg and king?
Sure
My bad Grey, last one… I am not a fan of 3 for 1s but would you trade Michael Harris for Reynaldo Lopez, Michael King and Cedric Mullins?
Works for me if you need King
I listened to part of your auction. I thought it was hilarious how you never wanted the guys you threw out there for $1. I knew you were going to get Thairo, McMahon, Burleson. I was a little suprised to hear you let Chandler go for only $4?
I thought you did well, at least the part I heard.
Thanks! I’ll go over it tomorrow…I’m very happy with it!
Which side – Dodger fan wants Glasnow. I would get Bibee. I like your sleeper on Bibee, but Glasnow is so filthy. It’s a 6×6 roto league that uses Wins and Quality Starts, btw.
Bibee
Got the 3rd pick in a 14 team h2h league so will get Witt, Ohtani or Elly. We keep 3 players at last years draft round. Which 3 would you keep out of these guys?
Lindor rd2
Ragans rd8
Flaherty rd25
Woods rd25
Vientos rd25
Lindor, Wood, Ragans
Which side in 12 teamer, h2h league?
A. Tucker, Heilot, Bleday
B. Happ, Kwan, Adolis
A
Santander or Schwarber in an AVG & OBP roto redraft? Is it a coin flip or close?
Schwarber but coin flip is fine
Grey, if i take Lindor/Yordan and Cruz(OF) in first 3 rds who would u take in rd 4 between Alonso or Acuna?
Alonso
Take Jarred Jones or Kirby in a QS and W roto league. I have really good SP and can stash Kirby. Your projections and those of other projection platforms still show solid ratios and QS even at 25-28 starts and 150 or so innings. He got a QS in 60% of his starts last season.
Jones
10 team 5×5 h2h dynasty. one of these keepers needs to be dropped. round after name.
kirby 6
christian walker 9
royce 11
Lewis
Grey, just got this from another team.
I give up Paredes and Meadows
I get Royce “Old Yeller” Lewis and Dylan Crews
He aint even waiting for the MRI. The ask previously for Lewis was much higher just a month ago, so assume he is fed up.
Oh, and a dynasty league 18 teamer 6×6.
(I have Rengifo and old man Muncy on bench yo cover 3B)
Meh
Lol Royce Lewis. You can’t make it up!
Ha, of course
Would you trade Adolis for Arrighetti and Encarcion-Strand? 12 team dynasty.
Sure
Meanwhile Joey Gallo going to try and be a pitcher. I mean props to him for giving up hitting because whatever has happened since the Rangers cant seem to be fixed. Has a cannon for an arm and pitched in HS so why not? The only part that sucks is that he will never get to pitch against Joey Gallo.
Yankees could use him
2 for 20 and 11K in ST made him think pitching is easy. 55% K rate. Dude is just being a nive guy and helping those guys on other team look good.
Is the guy uncoachable or something else? Seems like teams figured him out years ago and he hasnt adjusted.
Yeah, not sure, so much talent but meh
“Royce Lewis exited Sunday’s contest with an apparent leg injury while running to first base.”
In record time!
Looked bad. Wasnt like a “ugg I tweaked something” it was a “leg aint working put me down like a horse”.
https://x.com/cjzero/status/1901326883662213552
The guy just can’t catch a break.
Oh he catches a lot of breaks unfortunately
ayyyy
Yeah not good
Very surprising, shocking even
Hi Grey! Hope you are having a great weekend in NYC (that’s where Tout Wars drafts are held, right?) Loved that you got two of your top 5 and it looks like you’ll be streaming SP a lot …
I also saw that you have revised downward David Bednar’s ranking. Is it safe to say he’s probably not worth drafting in 12 team and shallower leagues (AL+NL)? You have him at #268 ($1).
Thanks!
10 team 5×5 dynasty. can keep two of the following – round in paranthesis
gallen (12), bryan woo (17), cowser (25)
Not Gallen
Grey!
Hello again for the first time this season! I actually won my league last year thanks in large part to your help. So thank you!
This season, we are drafting after the Japan games, and I am a bit behind in my prep. Apparently I am resting on my laurels right into the ground. I will be trying to read / listen as much as possible before the draft, so I apologize if you have covered this ad nauseum already, and I just haven’t seen it yet.
1 – Who do you find yourself targeting the most in 12 team leagues this year? Any favorites or must-haves for you?
2 – Do you have any elite long reliever types you recommend?
3 – Any philosophical draft strategy changes going into this season? What round are you targeting your first SP in a 12 team roto league?
4 – Bo Bichette… I like him. As I said, I haven’t heard any of the podcasts yet (will binge soon), but I am hoping you are back in to get hurt again with me.
Looking forward to getting your daily recap into my morning routine again!
Thank you (as always)!
– IANASM
1. Elly 2. Question for JKJ 3. Around pick 45-55 for 1st SP…4. Meh, price is decent tho
Thank you! Let’s get that boba!
LFG!!!
My keepers are Harper, Carroll, Mookie, and Gunnar. Would you target Jazz, FTJ, or Riley with an early pick? Thanks!
Answered already
Finished a 12 team H2H keeper draft. I lost a few draft picks from last years trade deadline so it’s not as stout as I would have hoped. It’s 5×5.
c – Basallo
1B – Luke Raley
2B – Luis Rengifo
SS – Tovar
3B – Coby Mayo
MI – CJ Abrams
CI – Heston Kjerstad
OF – Teoscar Hernandez
OF – Jarren Duran
OF – Fernando Tatis JR
OF – Helios Ramos
OF – Joc Peterson
util- Jordan lawler
SPs: Framber Valdez, Carlos Rodon, Jack Flaherty, Nick Lodolo, Grant Holmes, Cade Povich, Kumar Rocker, Tomokyi Sugano, Bubba Chandler
RPs: Robert Suarez, Alexis Diaz, Calvin Faucher, Orion Kerking,
So it’s a rebuilding year…I don’t mind the guys you have but they’re young and you might not have enough hitting or pitching…
My keepers are Harper, Mookie, Gunnar and Corbin. With my first pick I’m think I probably want to solidify the infeild with a 3B but maybe not. Jazz, Riley and FTJ are likely to fall to me. How would you rank them based on my other keepers?
Tatis, Jazz…
Colin Holderman or Dennis Santana -New Closer
That’s just silly. He cant close. If he could, his name would be Closerman.
Haha
Dennis for now
Well, here’s we go. Seems like every year in this league a draft a team that feels kinda dull – and this season is no exception!
12 teams, 6×6 – OBP and AVG, QS (no Wins) and Holds.
11th pick, thought I’d be sure to pull of the Vlad-Yordan quinella. Needless to say…
C (182) Gabriel Moreno
1B (14) Bryce Harper
2B (35) Ketel Marte
3B (11) José Ramírez
SS (134) Anthony Volpe
LF (59) Brent Rooker
CF (86) Bryan Reynolds
RF (110) Seiya Suzuki
Util (83) Luis Arraez
BN (227) Michael Toglia
BN (230) Luis Rengifo
SP (38) Cole Ragans
SP (62) Bryce Miller
RP (107) Jeff Hoffman
RP (155) Trevor Megill
P (131) Carlos Rodón
P (158) Brandon Pfaadt
P (179) Nathan Eovaldi
BN (203) Ranger Suárez
BN (206) Justin Martinez
BN (251) A.J. Minter
BN (254) Spencer Arrighetti
BN (275) Yimi García
NA (278) Kristian Campbell
Love this offense! Actually, love the pitching too…Not sure how you got such a great team tbh…you have bats that should be starting on your bench, the team looks stacked
Thanks! Yeah, in the cold light of day it looks better, even if the Arraez-Reynolds combo at the 7-8 turn might be the two most boring picks in fantasy baseball history lol.
Looking at the draft results Xavier Edwards or Butler might have been better than Arraez there, but oh well. I imagine I’ll be using Toglia at Util a fair bit anyway.
Ha, yeah, but sometimes a team build calls for that
J Ram falling to 11 works
It sure does. A couple of crazy picks ahead of me made it possible. Never owned him before and obviously shit-scared this is the year the wheels fall off haha.
Santander or Schwarber in a AVG and OBP league?
11th pick in the ol’ H2H. 25 minutes and counting!
How would you draft in a 5×5 12 team h2h with OBP instead of avg (snake draft). Best to just use your top 500 rankings? The OBP rankings seem to materially differ from your rankings and I assume aren’t just your rankings adjusted for OBP but an entirely different ranking.
I use those OBP ranks for hitters and mine for pitchers
What are the best rankings to use for OBP league snake draft (5×5 with OBP replacing avg). I see there are OBP rankings but I assume they are not your rankings as they seem to differ a lot from your top 500. Would you materially alter your strategy or should I generally draft off of the top 500 standard 5×5 grey rankings?
I use those OBP ranks for hitters and mine for pitchers
In a H2H league with QS and where volume matters more than sparkling ratios and where a blowup won’t tank your entire season. Would you feel alright with taking Berrios with these parameters?
matters more how deep the league, but sure
12 teamer
He’s fine there as a #4
Are there a couple other names that come to mind that you would consider taking here where you might be more adverse to taking in a regular format?
So you’re saying the Top 500 is not updated? Got my big keeper decisions due today and need the latest. :)
Haha. Ugh
Thanks, any love with my keeper question as an alternative? Leaning towards (in order of value): Ohtani U/SP $41, Carroll OF $33, H. Ramos OF $12, Steele SP $15, Faucher RP $5, Winn SS $12. Torn as to whether to save money with a $1 Kinley, or whether Nola, Fitzgerald or Nimmo are worth keeping.
It’s an NL-only 10 team 5×5 auction, can keep up to 6 at CBS consensus prices (minus 10%). 13 hitters (1C, 5OF, 3U and positions), 10 pitchers. $300 to spend on keepers and in the auction. A lot of us are trying to save money for the incoming NLers (Soto, Tucker) as Ohtani (both pos) went for $102 last year. Can probably expect $60-$85 for Soto, Tucker. High end keepers staying in NL just too valuable.
My decisions (can keep 6) are:
– Winn SS $12
– Fitzgerald SS $11
– Suarez 3B $13
– Ohtani DH/P (both) $41
– Carroll OF $33
– Nimmo OF $14
– H. Ramos OF $12
– McCarthy OF $8
– Nola SP $18
– Steele SP $15
– Kershaw SP $4
– Faucher RP $5
– Kinley RP $1
How do you have Ohtani at $41 if he went for $102?
Ohtani, Corbin, Steele, Heliot are no brainers…Flip a coin on the other two, prolly Winn and Suarez
Thanks. Our prices for keepers are based on a 10% discount to CBS Consensus (as of opening of spring training).
Ohtani came into the NL last year during the offseason so was fair game in the auction for whatever someone paid. Just like Soto and Tucker this year. But Ohtani’s price this year resets to online price for 2025. I actually didn’t draft him last year, but traded for him when there was some uncertainty around the gambling issue and injury (sent Wheeler and Fun the Jewels).
I see, I misunderstood…Nice that you have Ohtani now!
Andrew Heaney or Hayden wesneski that is the sad question
Heaney
10 team weekly H2H 6×5 (standard + OPS). Keep 3 for 1 year. Have 1st pick. Ohtani available, but only as Util.
Any consideration of drafting any of these over Shohei? Again, all players involved (Shohei included) can be kept thru 2026:
Judge, Soto, Vlad, Gunnar, Jo-Ram, Tucker
I’d draft Shohei
I have one keeper decision to make. Langford in the 7th or L. Butler in the 18th. Pts lg. normal hitting except SB = 3. Help pls.
Butler
10-team Yahoo keeper league 6×6 (R, HR, RBI, SB, OBP, SLG / IP, W, K, ERA, WHIP, SV+H)
I have six candidates to keep but only 5 spots. Locked in is:
The others are:
Who do I cut? Sale?
Thanks!
Forget Lugo
Grey! I drafted Bazzana 2nd overall in dynasty, I already received a trade offer… Would it be smart to take Pfaadt, and 1.12, or should I hold? Thanks as always.
Hold
Drafting in my home league in a couple of weeks (12 team 5X5) and have pick #8. Will take one of the top 6 if they fall (Ohtani, Witt, Elly, Judge, J. Ram, Soto). If they are all gone still deciding. Gunnar has me intercostally spooked, leaving Tucker, Lindor, Corbin and Chourio as my preferences. Could see one of them in the second round but not sure Jackson makes it back to me (@17). Does Tucker have the year we’ve all been waiting for? Or does Chourio blast off and post the big time power/speed numbers he put up in the minors (20ish/40ish)? Leanin toward the latter
Gunnar sounds fine, chourio is fine if you wanna risk it for the upside….i think Tucker’s fine and Lindor and Corbin
Ahhh, love’em all
Yeah, ha, exactly
10 team weekly H2H – 6×5 (standard + OPS). Keep 3 for 1 year.
Got the first pick, so drafting at the turn in rounds 5/6… In that format, who are your TWO guys that you’d draft with the idea of keeping through 2026:
Langford, James Wood, McLain, Caminero, Oneil Cruz
Wood, Cruz
Grey, who would u draft next between Cruz OF or Rooker DH only if u just took Lindor/JRod/Riley?
Cruz
10 team 5×5 h2h
deep in OF and need 1B and SP upgrades.
Send Alvarez for Olson and Snell?
OF would still have Tatis, Tucker, JRod.
No
Cards wouldnt let foreign teams get Luken Baker in offseason. Just read this about him.
“Only one stadium in Florida’s Grapefruit League — Steinbrenner Field in Tampa — is wired to register the speed of swings, but that data confirmed what the Cardinals have seen throughout Spring Training from the 28-year-old Baker: He’s swinging the bat harder than ever and the quality of his contact has improved greatly. That small sample size showed Baker swinging the bat at 79 mph — up 5.1 mph over his 73.9 mph swing in 2024.
To put that into perspective, Baker’s bat average speed this spring would have led the Cardinals in 2024 (ahead of Jordan Walker’s 77.3 mph) and it would have ranked second in MLB behind only Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton (81.2 mph). Why that improved bat speed matters for Baker can be witnessed in his team-best three home runs and a much-improved .304 batting average this spring.”
This means a breakout or both arms fall off like Stanton. No in between right?
Haha, yeah, if there’s any guy who will excel in spring training it’s a quad-a power hitter
Are you saying my roster of Trayce Thompson, Vinny Capra, Brandon Drury, Luken Baker, Gavin Sheets, Matt Gorski, Nick Ahmad, and JC Escara was a mistake?!?!
Next you will tell me my staff sucks and ST stats dont count!
Obvi took Logan Allen followed by Matz! Cant go wrong there…..
Hahaha oops
I wonder if Trayce will say use that while talking to friends or picking up a date.
“We were playing in Tampa that day. I was leading the league in home runs…… …… ….. …… ….. …… …… ….. ….. ….. …. in spring training.”
“Why the long pause?”
“I was hoping youd interrupt before I finished.”
HAHA
And Rhys Hoskins
Helllloooo, Grey; and warmest regards. Left this our oldest 12 Team H2H categories full draft feeling meh. Just feeling like a most unusual early pitching run, should have resulted in a better club. Would you please review and share your thoughts?
C – Adley
1B – Mountcastle
2B – B. Lowe
3B – Riley
SS – De La Cruz
2B/SS – Correa
1B/3B – Bellinger (OF)
OFs – Churio, Trout, Buxton, E. Carter, Wallner
UTIL – Schwarber
B – J. Jung
SPs – B. Miller, Schwellenbach, Steele, Gray, R. Olsen, Eovaldi, Jobe, May
RPs – Hoffman, Megill, Finnegan, Faucher
Thanks Lothario, and good luck with your clubs as well!
Your pitching staff seems totally fine, not sure I see a problem, I guess of the staff gets janky, but not bad, RPs are solid too…I think your hitting is very solid too, maybe a little iffy on AVG and OF, which might hurt in H2H, but I like the team
Very much appreciated. Happy weekend.
Thanks!
Thoughts on the chances of Roman Anthony making the opening day roster? Would you bump him up (you have him at 272) if he makes the team?
They announced he made the team?
I see, you’re asking for chances, sorry misread…I think there’s a chance, maybe 50%, but the problem is they have so many bats to feed there…They should’ve traded Abreu in the offseason…Anthony would be bumped up to top 100ish, around Dominguez if he had an everyday job and broke camp
Thanks for the thoughts. Grabbed him in the last round of my re-draft. I keep hovering over the drop button, but the allure of possibility keeps holding me back.
No problem
Grey, in a points keeper league I was offered Austin Riley (9th round keep) and a late round draft pick for Christoper Sanchez (15th round keep) and 2nd round pick. I feel like I should take, but with that 2nd round pick I’m looking at like maybe Schwarber, Lopez, Ober, Alonso or something like that. What are your thoughts?
Take Riley and run
I was also offered CJ Abrams (13th round keep) and a 16th for Sanchez and my 6th. I dig Riley but feel that might be a better option and keep my 2nd
Works for me
I am in a 12 team roto league, 6X6, with QS and OBP. We get to keep 4 players for one year only and I’m firm on 3 (Judge, Lindor, and Lawrence Butler) but need your opinion on the 4th? My choices are Brandon Lowe, Pete Crow Armstrong, Shane McClanahan, Joe Ryan, Hunter Greene, and Cristopher Sanchez. What would you do here?
Also, been offered cash for Lawrence Butler which would help with the auction, but would result in replacing him with Brandon Lowe or Pete Crow Armstrong since I favor hitters to pitchers.
Keep Butler…Ryan or Greene is how I’d go, but coin flip…I think Greene has more upside, so him
Quick thoughts on this team I just drafted. I had the least amount of money to spend in the auction, so I tried to find good value and have a balanced team. Unfortunately, most of the good value was on pitchers, so my pitching was a little stronger than I wanted. Hitters were all just going for too much. Thanks
14 team h2h 6×6 with OBP, TB, QS+W, HLD+SV, K/BB
*keeper
C O’Hoppe $6
1B Pasquantino $16
2B Lowe $11
SS Bogaerts $12
3B Lewis* $7
CI Busch $8
MI Story $6
OF Tatis Jr* $42
OF J-Rod* $32
OF Butler* $7
OF Raley $3
OF Burleson $1
UTL Pederson $2
BN Keith $4
BN Kjerstad $1
SP $24 Skubal*, $18 King, $15 Fried, $9 Ray, $8 Pepiot*, $6 Pivetta, $5 Arrighetti, $3 Rassmusen, $3 C Holmes
RP $5 Megill, $4 Adam, $1 Jansen, $2 Cano
You gotta just pay for hitters sometimes, and your SS and MI are terrible, 3B isn’t great but hopefully you get something…pitching is great tho, in fact it’s excellent
Yeah that’s the feeling I got. I was shocked at all the great value the pitching was going for and just kept grabbing it. I have already started trade talks and am going to try and use my pitching depth to bolster my middle infield and outfield. Thanks for the feedback.
No problem
Hey now – Rudy’s Yahoo 12-team OBP rankings top 12 as follows:
Shohei Ohtani
Aaron Judge
Juan Soto
Bobby Witt Jr.
Yordan Alvarez
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Jose Ramirez
Elly De La Cruz
Corbin Carroll
Mookie Betts
Kyle Tucker
Fernando Tatis Jr.
Leaving aside Yordan, is that roughly the order you’d take them in an OBP league?
I’d put Tucker over Corbin, but seems fine
LFG! Would be keen to pick at the turn or near to it this year…
Cake late in the 1st and then Yordan on the way back. Get the big boys in there!
I likey
tastey team! Apparently the Rays stadium for this year is “like Yankee Stadium, but with a jetstream pushing balls to right field”. Boosting Caminero, Morel, or BLowe?
Sounds lovely, doesn’t it?
Solid team, burned me on Crews and bummed when Knoche stole Chourio
Yeah, wasn’t happy to not get Chourio
Hi Grey,
2.Would you prefer Bowdon Francis or Casey Mize?
3.As a backup to Josh Naylor, would you prefer Rhys Hoskins or Michael Toglia?
4.In RF, I have Santander with Cowser and Lane Thomas as backup. I was thinking of cutting Thomas and then picking up a backup for 1B depending on your answer to question #3. Would you cut Thomas or play with one first baseman?
5.Does Lane Thomas have any trade value?
Thank you!
Martin
1. what do you need? 2. Francis 3. Toglia 4. no 5. maybe that depends on what your leaguemates think
Would you try and trade Francis plus one player to get Spencer Schwellenbach or Sasaki or stay with Francis?
Thanks Grey for all your help!!
I’d want schwellenbach or Roki
Would you trade Yelich and Lane Thomas plus Francis for Schwellenbach?
Thanks so much!!!
Yes
Thanks!!!
No problem
Is he still Jung Hoo-Hum Lee for you or do you think there is a possibility of him shaking that nickname and having a breakout season?
Yeah, he could, I like him a bit more this year, mostly to do with price is a little better
Hey Grey! How do you feel about 2 outfielders at picks 10 and 11. 10 team roto – standard with no middle infield spots and one util. I don’t see how my best options aren’t outfield and am keeping Cruz rd 5 so would aim for a mi in round 3. Thanks!!
Sounds fine if that’s what you have
10 teams with 5 keepers, AVG &OBP League. My keepers are Ohtani dh, Gunnar, Tatis, Yordan and Devers.. Should I be trying to trade Devers or Yordan before I end up with 3 DHs on my team?
Meh, depends what you can get, but I don’t like Devers and Yordan should play 10+ games in OF
Would love a quick reaction to strengths/weaknesses of this team.
H2H, Yahoo, 10 team, 5×5 scoring (w/ QS v W)
C: O’Hoppe
1B: Naylor
2B: Altuve
3B:MChapman
SS: GHenderson
IF: OCruz
OF: Tatis Jr, Doyle, Crews
UT: Volpe, Steer
BN: Rengifo, NJones, JJung
SP: Wheeler, Miller, Kirby, Pfaadt, Houck, Rasmussen, Woodruff
RP: Hader, Suarez, Bednar, Jobe
Crazy shallow league, so you have to work waivers, but the team does seem solid…Kirby might be cooked and you might not have more than 3 SPs but that’s fine in a shallow league, just stream
Wicked team dude, wicked! Love the way you went about SP, nice. And getting Elly, my God I swear after seeing his slightly new hitting approach, I think he can hit 265 easy and I think he will end up #1 overall on the player rater this year!
Hey Grey in a 5×5 redraft league with NO MI/CI and only 3 OF, do you think having Bregman as your 3B is too weak?
Same question for Burger at 1B and McClain at 2B
ELLY 1000000% for the love of God YES — I think Bregman is actually really interesting in Boston, I love him there, doubles all day…Burger is fine as a power-only corner and McLain is decent for 20/20 with some risk
Would you:
Give Burnes, Priester, and YRod (TOR SP) for Peralta and Soriano (LAA)?
or another offer
Give Mullins, Gil, and Abel for NCortes, Ray, and Mead?
I could do either or both. I checked your rankings and they seem to be roughly equal. Burnes is the better player but Soriano better than Priester. Mullins/Gil seem about same as Cortes/Ray. Dynasty so I can hang on to them but wanted your opinion
Ray deal doesn’t seem terrible if you need pitching, kinda of a needs deal
Thanks! I think I am overly eager to trade with the season nearly here.
Haha, I hear ya
Morning Grey!
12 team ESPN, Head to Head, 5X5, 6 player keeper (no limits). Completed our draft the other night; realize you must get a whack of these requests, but could you take a gander and give me your thoughts. Any glaring weaknesses to address?
Starting Lineup:
C – Realmuto (drafted in the 16th round, thought he was decent value at that point)
1b – Burger
2b – Semien (9th round, good value me thinks)
3b – Westburg
SS – Tovar
OF – Carroll (keeper), Langford (keeper), Chourio (keeper), Tucker (keeper), Tatis (keeper)
Utility (need to start 2) – Crow-Armstrong, Toglia, Bichette (drafted late)
SP (we start 5) – Snell, Schwellenbach, Hunter Brown, Bibee, Flaherty
RP (we start 3) – Iglasias, Pressly, Erceg
Bench arms – Gavin Williams, Chris Martin, Grant Holmes (SP/RP), Clay Holmes (RP, but will get SP)
Injured List – Acuna (keeper)
Thanks in advance, appreciated!
You have issues on AVG and RBIs, possibly…Doesn’t look terrible at all…I love the SP pitching and RPs
Here’s my team in that league drafting from the 9. Comments like “so much better…” welcomed.
C: Diaz (23), Augustin Ramirez (25), Goodman (26), Carlos Narvaez (48)
1B:Burger (8), Schanuel (21), Eldridge (34)
2B: Stott(11), W. Wagner(30), J. Brito(33), Mead(39)
SS: Seager(3), Correa(17), Luciano(42)
3B: Jazz(2), O Peraza (44)
OF:Tucker(1), Teoscar(4), Doyle(5), Gurriel Jr(14), Nootbar(16), Frelick(24), Hays(28), Alcantra(38), Spenser Jones(45), Blake Perkins(47)
Util: Colt Keith(18)gets 1B after 10, Josh Smith (27) 3B/SS
P: Brown(6), GRod(7), Senga(9), Jansen(10), Estevez(12), Gil(13), G. Williams(15), L. Ortiz(19), J. Soriano(20), Verlander(22), Misiorowski(29), Taylor Rogers(31), Trevor Williams(32), Landon Roupp(35), Marquez(36), Noah Cameron(37), Mason Montgomery(40), Brandon Young(40), Adam Mazur(43), Marc Church(46), Chaynce McDermott(49), Doug Nikhazy(50)
Hahahaha, nooooooo much worse! I do like your OF and I think my pitching and infield is better
I think my pitching will end up better than yours even with the Grayson and Gil injuries. I don’t particularly care for your pitching depth guys. You have some guys on your staff I think will go backwards this year. We went a different route on pitching for sure. I have many fewer bankable innings but you have a lot of bankable meh innings. Non-zero chance that my pitching is terrible.
Yeah, I don’t disagree, I went for bankable meh innings just to make sure I had some, hardest part of these drafts if how much upside you want vs. bankable meh
i took too many midtier prospect bats
You dug your own grave there, buddy…Enjoy 7th place!
lights cozy 7th place fire, brews nice hot cup of 7th place tea, picks up 7th place paperback….
ahhhhhhhhhh
At least I don’t have to worry about setting line ups and stuff. Just coast along in my warm, 7th place fleece blankie
HAHAHA…i’m 100% kidding, you might win the league, who knows
we have permanent always kidding status with each other at this point.
i am going to put up a 120 in this league.
Are we gonna do another auction or are we done?
my lips say no no no but my eyes say yes yes yes?
Haha ok we’ll discuss next week
The word that comes to mind to describe this team is… meh
Get him Grimey!
you might not even get to the participation trophy level
Fun draft, very competitive. Beat me to Doyle and Senga
you repaid the favor on a couple guys
hopefully we’re even
Good stuff as always, Grey! I’m interested in your thoughts on this…
With this year’s 2-game overseas revenue grab coming up in a couple days, it strikes me that these games play more like spring training games every year than real regular season games…more likely than not, hitters go off while pitchers are fine, at best, and can easily get yanked early.
So start all hitters. But I also have Imanaga in a H2H-Cat and Steele in a Roto (so far…more drafts pending). I’m thinking Steele is a sit, and Imanaga could go either way, depending on how adventurous I feel, or how much I’ve had to drink, or something like that.
Sit-Start, Sit-Sit, Start-Start…what do you think?
Thanks, man!
I’m too conservative, think I’m going sit sit
So I have 3 Keepers in my 12 team H2h(categories) OBP; Witt, Merrill and King.
I have the 4th pick in redraft…..I will have the choice btwn most likely either Vlad/Lindor/Jrod/Alvarez. We do have MI and CI. I’d like Jrod but Im not sure in OBP I can take him above the 3 here(If I can count on a OBP of .340 or higher I would prolly)…I’m leaning Lindor/Vlad.
Since 1st/3rd is ok but not great…having a dual elig position player would be nice…Lindor in that lineup and me to dominate SS an dMI would be a plus for sure…..and Jrod paired with Merrill would be a great 1-2 OF punch. Also having Hr/SB combo is nice.
Any thoughts??(non dirty or dirty of course welcome)
Forget Yordan
W and QS roto redraft league – what order?
Flaherty, Steele, Kirby
Steele, Flaherty
GREYMANIA! Would love your insight here partner… I’m in a 12tm AL only dynasty league – our auction draft is coming up, we get to keep 15 players (23 total rostered – no bench – $260 cap). Here’s my current keepers:
C: Raleigh $16
C: Rutschman $20
1B: Pasquantino $23
2b: Altuve $23
3b: Caminero $16
SS:
MI: Rengifo $17
CI:
OF: Carter $5
OF: Dominguez $3
OF: Langford $34
OF: Jarren Duran $4
OF:
DH:
P: Jose Soriano $3
P: Joe Ryan $13
P: Zach Eflin $17
P: Peter Fairbanks $11
P: Tanner Houck $8
P:
P:
P:
P:
With this setup I’m going into the draft with $214 spent, leaving me $46 for 8 players. Seeing this:
1. yes 2. no 3. Bido, Priester, Hancock, Wesneski 4. Church, Garcia whatever is going on in Texas, Cade Smith, not darkhorse, but don’t trust Clase
Is this the one where my team is superior to yours? lol
Bring it on Grimey!
Here’s the title to my article
NFBC DC Recap: Catcher Schmatcher, how I out drafted the great lothario
Hahaha
I need to finalize my keepers for a 10 team NL only auction. Here are my best choices with their keeper salaries, I can pick up to 5. Who would you choose?
Bryce Harper $34
Oneill Cruz $19
Willy Adames $22
Alex Burleson $5
Spencer Schwellenbach $9
Tanner Scott $9
Trevor Mcgill $5
Not Burleson, Megill
10 Team Dynasty 6×6 OPB/SLG and IP/K-BB/QS. I am not actively looking to trade this early but I have an overabundance of OFs and I like to trade multiple players for one really good player. There is one other team in the league that is comparable and I do not want to trade with him so the best players available in a trade from other teams are Vlad, Yordan and Acuna.
1 – Which of these three players would you target based upon my roster?
2 – What would you offer from my team for that player?
3 – Which seven OF/U players would you start in my lineup barring a trade?
Here is my roster:
C – Bart
C – Contreras (STL)
1B – Casas
2B – McLain
SS – Witt Jr
3B – Machado
MI – Henderson
CI – Chisholm
OF – Tucker
OF – JRod
OF – Chourio
OF – Harris II
OF – LuBob
U – Wood
U – Ohtani
B – Trout
B – Crews
B – J.Lowe
B – R.Lewis
B – Edwards
B – CES
B – Etheridge
B – Cam Smith
B – Durbin
SP – Skubal
SP – Gilbert
SP – Crochet
SP – Sale
SP – King
SP – Ober
SP – Schwellenbach
SP – Ryan
RP – Munoz
RP – Walker
B – Sasaki
B – Senga
B – Pfaadt
B – Kikuchi
B – Painter
B – Bautista
1. you don’t need any of them…I guess Yordan 2. Sale and any of your bench bats except Crews? 3. looks fine for now
Great – thank you!
No problem
Why do all the projection systems have Schwarbs AVG in the .220 range? Last year was the first year without the shift and he hit .248. His xBA was .256. Using one comparison for a power hitter, Schwarbs K% was a tad better than Vientos who had a xBA of .246 who is projected for an .240-250 AVG and also lacks speed to leg out hits. Schwarbs statcast was mostly ruby red compared to Vientos.
The shift ban really helped Schwarbs andI don’t know why his average wouldn’t be repeatable.
Prolly just people looking at what Schwarbs did the last few years vs. just last year
I had to look up Tirso Ornelas, but looks like you value him relatively highly. What are the odds of him making beating out Joe and Heyward, and if he does manage to beat them, what are your expectations for him this year?
Heyward prolly starts year with team, but he’s 57 and unable to make it thru April…and Joe just sucks
and “relatively high” — that’s around pick 450
you have him higher than 240 other players including montas and kopech, so that’s relatively high in my book. anyway, thanks for putting him on my radar at least.
Montas and Kopech are injured…I fell asleep and auto drafted them here…sigh
I’m in a 10 team league with QS & K/BB stats for pitching. My 3b is Royce. Was offered Bregman for Schwellenbach. The other starters on my squad are Chris Sanchez, Bryan Woo, deGrom, GavWilliams, Kirby, Bieber, Jobe, & Wheeler.
Would you flip Schwelly for Bregs or roll with Royce (no pun intended)?
Ha, hold
Actually, you have Wheeler? Oh, that trade is fine then, still wouldn’t do it likely and try to make Royce work
word, Rolls Royce it is. He’s gotta be healthy for a full season once right?!
Haha, well, I don’t know about that
shakes magic 8 ball rigorously… “Don’t count on it”
Oh man
Broken down rolls Royce l
Haha
The self assessment looks accurate: boring but solid. I’m a little wary of your closer situation. No handcuff? I like the later upside spec picks on Kurtz, Moore, Wilson, Smith after the proven starters.
Hopefully I have enough boring for a strong enough base and enough upside to make some lightning happen…I moved CES up in the 1B rankings, I think you were fighting for that yesterday
I’m not used to two catcher leagues but I think one of you best values was actually full time catcher heim at 23. Maybe I’m an idiot for thinking that.
Anyways…
In a RCL league Would you trade doyle, vientos, and glasnow for chourio/gilbert?
Been hemming and hawing over the trade because trade analyzer says its good but the replacement waiver wire isnt. Bohm would slide in to 3b and util would be waiver wire for me.
Ha, you’re not wrong if Heim is any good…If he’s 12/.220 then meh
I’d take Chourio
Would you, in a 12-team mixed keeper league, trade James Woods for Oneill Cruz? Mostly because I’m already keeping a lot of outfielders and I think this could be the YEAR for Cruz. But Woods is 4 years younger and playing for the go-go nationals?
Yes
Judge or Elly with 3 rd pick in 12 team standard roto. I’m a Judge guy my kid wants the flash.
Elly
Do you ever not make a move because you would have too many guys from same team? I have an even swap with someone who is offering me Estrada as a depth piece. I currently have Doyle, Goodman, Toglia, and Tovar. I obviously like them all and Goodman is a bench player as is Estrada atm.
In H2H i wouldn’t carry so many Rockies, because you will get nothing from them in road weeks.
Yeah
Depends on the players, but not usually…Those guys are not great then
playin’ it coy. you know you love this team. i’ll be lucky if i can run 9 healthy pitchers out there by june in this league.
What, you hate my team?
you were super in love with this team during the draft. i was funning you. i am not sure how i feel about it. it feels fine. i’m pretty curious to see how it turns out assuming neutral luck. most of me feels like it will be dangerously solid. it feels like a magoo team.
little oak meh’s your team tho…
Little Oak still chasing upside, it comes with youth, he’ll learn…This team is a top five team that needs a little help, most I can ask for…assuming health, which no one knows
he drafted wearing his jrod jersey. if that’s not chasing upside…
Oh, man, kid’s gotta get burned by someone like Delino DeShields Jr. before knowing true hurt
his faith in trout last year was a bit of a first cut
Now he needs to pour some salt in the form of trusting Rougned Odor
this is the year brett lawrie puts it all together
Heaney, no fr
Would you rather keep Jared Jones in the 25th round or Wyatt Langford in the 8th round?
Wyatt
Grey!!
Amazing write-up!!
a) Great team and hope for the best obviously. I like the guys you drafted after round 24 because I feel in these drafts that people check out mentally and draft the first guy available rather than doing a little bit of studying to find more upside (like Jacob Wilson in Sac town and Christian Moore). Good luck.
b) Rodney Dangerfield quote of the day for March 14, 2025
Kids these days, they play at such an early age. Like now they have birth control pills shaped like Fred Filnstone.
Cheers,
Ante
Thanks! Yeah, you might be right
Grey,
12-team draft tomorrow. One metric HR, 6 active players plus 1 player bench. No trades, no waiver wire. Which hitters this year, in your opinion, are those who will outperform last year’s HR production. My gut says these 6:
Cruz
Butler
Caminero
Acuna
Merill
EDLC
Who are your 5 favorite guys to hit more HRs in ’25 over ’24?
Cheers,
Ante
EDLC, Chourio, Merrill, CES, Jackson Holliday, Olson — what do I win?
3 spots open in RCL#24! Join us!
I’ll check in next week and join if you’re still needy. I’m trying to keep things under control this season. I made almost 4000 moves last year.
Haha