Recently, I had the honor of participating in an industry expert post-winter meeting mock draft hosted by Scott White of CBS Sports. My strategy was simple: try not to embarrass myself and The Razz Brand. Outside of one controversial pick that was pointed out by White over on his site for the most part I’d say MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. See if you can spot that pick!
Here are the fantasy baseball luminaries I got to spend my Friday afternoon with:
- Ya boy, Razzball
- Ralph Lifshitz, Razzball
- Scott White, CBS Sports
- Justin Mason, FanGraphs
- Jeff Tobin, CBS Sports
- Lawr Michaels, Creativesports
- Jeff Zimmerman, FanGraphs
- Tim McLeod, Patton & Co
- Lance Brozdowski, BigThreeSports.com
- Chris Towers, CBS Sports
- Sergio Gonzalez, CBS Sports
- Adam Aizer, CBS Sports
| ROUND 1 | ||
| PICK | TEAM | PLAYER |
| 1 | Kerry Klug | Mike Trout CF | LAA |
| 2 | Ralph Lifshitz | Jose Altuve 2B | HOU |
| 3 | Scott White | Paul Goldschmidt 1B | ARI |
| 4 | Justin Mason | Trea Turner SS | WAS |
| 5 | Jeff Tobin | Nolan Arenado 3B | COL |
| 6 | Lawr Michaels | Giancarlo Stanton RF | NYY |
| 7 | Jeff Zimmerman | Bryce Harper RF | WAS |
| 8 | Tim McLeod | Mookie Betts RF | BOS |
| 9 | Lance Brozdowski | Charlie Blackmon CF | COL |
| 10 | Chris Towers | Clayton Kershaw SP | LAD |
| 11 | Sergio Gonzalez | Carlos Correa SS | HOU |
| 12 | Adam Aizer | Manny Machado 3B | BAL |
My pick: Mike Trout. The easiest, most boring #1 pick in all fantasy sports. There’s no doubts or conflicting opinions in fantasy baseball about who the #1 pick should be. If Mike Trout’s ADP is somehow 1.01 or higher on any draft website — the owner that didn’t take him #1 overall should have his account deleted.
Interesting pick: Trea Turner going #4 overall. Many of the mock drafts I’ve seen so far have seen the first few picks predictably go; Trout, Altuve, Goldschmidt, Arenado, then some combination of the B outfielders: Betts, Bryce, or Blackmon and then it opens up to the field. As you’ll see for the rest of the draft though, Justin Mason was channeling Pete “Maverick” Mitchell because had had the need, the need — for speed (Trea Turner, Francisco Lindor, Dee Gordon, Billy Hamilton, Bradley Zimmer, Delino DeShields Jr.)
| ROUND 2 | ||
| PICK | TEAM | PLAYER |
| 1 | Adam Aizer | Max Scherzer SP | WAS |
| 2 | Sergio Gonzalez | Kris Bryant 3B | CHC |
| 3 | Chris Towers | Joey Votto 1B | CIN |
| 4 | Lance Brozdowski | Freddie Freeman 1B | ATL |
| 5 | Tim McLeod | Chris Sale SP | BOS |
| 6 | Jeff Zimmerman | Corey Kluber SP | CLE |
| 7 | Lawr Michaels | J.D. Martinez RF | ARI |
| 8 | Jeff Tobin | Anthony Rizzo 1B | CHC |
| 9 | Justin Mason | Francisco Lindor SS | CLE |
| 10 | Scott White | Jose Ramirez 3B | CLE |
| 11 | Ralph Lifshitz | Aaron Judge RF | NYY |
| 12 | Kerry Klug | George Springer CF | HOU |
My pick: George Springer. Personally wasn’t over-the-moon about taking Springer here as it backed me into a positional corner that made me panic a bit with future picks. Argue about the depth of OF all you want, but there were some upside-y outfielders available late that I could have grabbed instead of taking Trout/Springer early. My thoughts on this pick had nothing to do with Springer however. Springer enters his peak window with a career year: Silver Slugger, World Series ring, World Series MVP, All-Star appearance. He’s not the 45 SB threat we all hoped he’d be, but he can still swipe 5-10 stolen bases when necessary with 30 HR as a floor.
Interesting pick: Aaron Judge by Razzball’s own Ralph Lifshitz. Nothing wrong with the pick at all, but in another mock draft I’m involved in Judge fell to round 3 (#30 overall to me.) Seems there are a lot of Judge doubters out there and admittedly, I might be one of them. The 50+ HR power is legit, but is the .284 average? Have we seen Judge’s career year at age 25? Just be aware in your league that Judge might slip a bit and you could take advantage if you’re lucky.
| ROUND 3 | ||
| PICK | TEAM | PLAYER |
| 1 | Kerry Klug | Madison Bumgarner SP | SF |
| 2 | Ralph Lifshitz | Cody Bellinger 1B | LAD |
| 3 | Scott White | Corey Seager SS | LAD |
| 4 | Justin Mason | Dee Gordon 2B | SEA |
| 5 | Jeff Tobin | Gary Sanchez C | NYY |
| 6 | Lawr Michaels | Alex Bregman 3B | HOU |
| 7 | Jeff Zimmerman | Josh Donaldson 3B | TOR |
| 8 | Tim McLeod | Jose Abreu 1B | CHW |
| 9 | Lance Brozdowski | Stephen Strasburg SP | WAS |
| 10 | Chris Towers | Brian Dozier 2B | MIN |
| 11 | Sergio Gonzalez | Luis Severino SP | NYY |
| 12 | Adam Aizer | Jacob deGrom SP | NYM |
| ROUND 4 | ||
| PICK | TEAM | PLAYER |
| 1 | Adam Aizer | Daniel Murphy 2B | WAS |
| 2 | Sergio Gonzalez | Justin Verlander SP | HOU |
| 3 | Chris Towers | Noah Syndergaard SP | NYM |
| 4 | Lance Brozdowski | Marcell Ozuna LF | STL |
| 5 | Tim McLeod | Andrew Benintendi LF | BOS |
| 6 | Jeff Zimmerman | Carlos Carrasco SP | CLE |
| 7 | Lawr Michaels | Khris Davis LF | OAK |
| 8 | Jeff Tobin | Zack Greinke SP | ARI |
| 9 | Justin Mason | Edwin Encarnacion DH | CLE |
| 10 | Scott White | Tommy Pham LF | STL |
| 11 | Ralph Lifshitz | Robbie Ray SP | ARI |
| 12 | Kerry Klug | Jonathan Schoop 2B | BAL |
| ROUND 5 | ||
| PICK | TEAM | PLAYER |
| 1 | Kerry Klug | Carlos Martinez SP | STL |
| 2 | Ralph Lifshitz | Anthony Rendon 3B | WAS |
| 3 | Scott White | Justin Turner 3B | LAD |
| 4 | Justin Mason | Nelson Cruz DH | SEA |
| 5 | Jeff Tobin | Yu Darvish SP | LAD |
| 6 | Lawr Michaels | Joey Gallo 3B | TEX |
| 7 | Jeff Zimmerman | A.J. Pollock CF | ARI |
| 8 | Tim McLeod | Robinson Cano 2B | SEA |
| 9 | Lance Brozdowski | Jean Segura SS | SEA |
| 10 | Chris Towers | Miguel Sano 3B | MIN |
| 11 | Sergio Gonzalez | Rhys Hoskins LF | PHI |
| 12 | Adam Aizer | Starling Marte LF | PIT |
My picks: Madison Bumgarner, Jonathan Schoop, Carlos Martinez.
I wanted to leave the first 5 rounds with a solid 1,2 SP punch and I’m pretty happy with my Madison/Martinez pairing. Despite pitching for 8 seasons and over 1500 innings in the big leagues, Bumgarner is still only 28 years old. If Bumgarner can avoid dirt bikes (for the love of God AVOID DIRT BIKES!) I think he showed after his return that he is completely fine for 2018. Schoop is the first infield panic pick I made. With Altuve, Gordon, Dozier and Murphy off the board already I didn’t want to be left sticking from the Robinson Cano and below tier that I don’t really trust and picking at the beginning of the turn there was a lot of opportunity for me to lose out on my second basemen pick.
Interesting picks:
Tommy Pham, round 4. 90% of owners were bitter that they didn’t end up picking the 29-year-old Pham off their waivers and (probably) winning their league last season. The late bloomer MVP candidate had one of the most unexpected 20/20/.300 seasons and it’ll be interesting to see if he can carry this performance into 2018.
Joey Gallo, round 5: If Justin Mason is Maverick with the need for speed then Lawr Michaels is Griff Tannen because he definitely has POWAH! He spent his first five picks on Giancarlo Stanton, JD Martinez, Alex Bregman Khris Davis and Joey Gallo. Four legit 40+ HR threats and if everything works out well for Bregman’s progression he could be a 25-30 HR threat in 2018. That’s almost 200 HR in the first five rounds. Good game everyone!
Rhys Hoskins, round 5: With the addition of Carlos Santana (which happened mid-draft) it’ll be interesting to see where Hoskins falls in drafts. He had the greatest start in MLB history, but cooled to human numbers as predicted as the season wore on.
| ROUND 6 | ||
| PICK | TEAM | PLAYER |
| 1 | Adam Aizer | Elvis Andrus SS | TEX |
| 2 | Sergio Gonzalez | Buster Posey C | SF |
| 3 | Chris Towers | Christian Yelich CF | MIA |
| 4 | Lance Brozdowski | Kenley Jansen RP | LAD |
| 5 | Tim McLeod | Wil Myers 1B | SD |
| 6 | Jeff Zimmerman | Ian Desmond LF | COL |
| 7 | Lawr Michaels | David Price SP | BOS |
| 8 | Jeff Tobin | Andrew McCutchen CF | PIT |
| 9 | Justin Mason | Justin Upton LF | LAA |
| 10 | Scott White | Whit Merrifield 2B | KC |
| 11 | Ralph Lifshitz | Craig Kimbrel RP | BOS |
| 12 | Kerry Klug | Eric Hosmer 1B | KC |
| ROUND 7 | ||
| PICK | TEAM | PLAYER |
| 1 | Kerry Klug | Mike Moustakas 3B | KC |
| 2 | Ralph Lifshitz | Byron Buxton CF | MIN |
| 3 | Scott White | Chris Archer SP | TB |
| 4 | Justin Mason | Billy Hamilton CF | CIN |
| 5 | Jeff Tobin | Miguel Cabrera 1B | DET |
| 6 | Lawr Michaels | Zack Godley SP | ARI |
| 7 | Jeff Zimmerman | Ryan Braun LF | MIL |
| 8 | Tim McLeod | Willson Contreras C | CHC |
| 9 | Lance Brozdowski | Rougned Odor 2B | TEX |
| 10 | Chris Towers | James Paxton SP | SEA |
| 11 | Sergio Gonzalez | Aroldis Chapman RP | NYY |
| 12 | Adam Aizer | Jay Bruce RF | CLE |
| ROUND 8 | ||
| PICK | TEAM | PLAYER |
| 1 | Adam Aizer | Dallas Keuchel SP | HOU |
| 2 | Sergio Gonzalez | Eduardo Nunez 3B | BOS |
| 3 | Chris Towers | Lorenzo Cain CF | KC |
| 4 | Lance Brozdowski | Domingo Santana RF | MIL |
| 5 | Tim McLeod | Jake Arrieta SP | CHC |
| 6 | Jeff Zimmerman | Jose Quintana SP | CHC |
| 7 | Lawr Michaels | Kyle Hendricks SP | CHC |
| 8 | Jeff Tobin | Yoenis Cespedes LF | NYM |
| 9 | Justin Mason | Jake Lamb 3B | ARI |
| 10 | Scott White | Travis Shaw 3B | MIL |
| 11 | Ralph Lifshitz | Eddie Rosario LF | MIN |
| 12 | Kerry Klug | Xander Bogaerts SS | BOS |
| ROUND 9 | ||
| PICK | TEAM | PLAYER |
| 1 | Kerry Klug | Shohei Ohtani SP | LAA |
| 2 | Ralph Lifshitz | Matt Carpenter 1B | STL |
| 3 | Scott White | Sonny Gray SP | NYY |
| 4 | Justin Mason | Michael Conforto LF | NYM |
| 5 | Jeff Tobin | DJ LeMahieu 2B | COL |
| 6 | Lawr Michaels | Jonathan Villar 2B | MIL |
| 7 | Jeff Zimmerman | J.T. Realmuto C | MIA |
| 8 | Tim McLeod | Didi Gregorius SS | NYY |
| 9 | Lance Brozdowski | Aaron Nola SP | PHI |
| 10 | Chris Towers | Salvador Perez C | KC |
| 11 | Sergio Gonzalez | Masahiro Tanaka SP | NYY |
| 12 | Adam Aizer | Evan Gattis C | HOU |
| ROUND 10 | ||
| PICK | TEAM | PLAYER |
| 1 | Adam Aizer | Corey Knebel RP | MIL |
| 2 | Sergio Gonzalez | Justin Smoak 1B | TOR |
| 3 | Chris Towers | Michael Brantley LF | CLE |
| 4 | Lance Brozdowski | Wade Davis RP | CHC |
| 5 | Tim McLeod | Ozzie Albies 2B | ATL |
| 6 | Jeff Zimmerman | Ken Giles RP | HOU |
| 7 | Lawr Michaels | Gio Gonzalez SP | WAS |
| 8 | Jeff Tobin | Roberto Osuna RP | TOR |
| 9 | Justin Mason | Rafael Devers 3B | BOS |
| 10 | Scott White | Gerrit Cole SP | PIT |
| 11 | Ralph Lifshitz | Ronald Acuna CF | ATL |
| 12 | Kerry Klug | Cody Allen RP | CLE |
My picks: Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Xander Bogaerts, Shohei Ohtani, Cody Allen
And there’s the pick that got Scott White talking. Shohei Ohtani taken with the first pick of round 9, #97 overall. I get the concerns. I’ve read the PRP and UCL reports. I know he’ll probably be in a 6-man rotation with the Angels. But I also know that he has a 102 mph fastball and will be causing fits for batters as long as he stays healthy. Allow me to quote myself from the CBS chat immediately after making this pick “oh please, oh please, oh please be okay!” There will be no two-start weeks for Ohtani, but as long as Yahoo, CBS and ESPN’s coders can figure out how they’re going to handle his unique dual-position eligibility — I think he’ll still give me enough value to be worthy of being one of the top 100 players drafted.
Interesting picks:
Whit Merrifield, Round 6. Maybe it’s the fact that he sounds more like a local news weather man than a professional baseball player. Or maybe it’s that he never hit over 10 HR in any season ever. I’m just not sold on Whit Merrifield being taken in the 6th round. Maybe Scott was having the same middle infielder insecurities that I was (Xander Bogaerts?! What was I thinking?!) Whit is also going to very lonely with many of his friends leaving that Kansas City line-up for greener pastures this offseason. That will definitely put a damper on his run & RBI totals.
David Price, Round 6: no player elicited more discussion than David Price. Is he physically (and mentally) recovered from his disappointing 2017 and ready to return to form? Or can he not handle Boston and will fade away to obscurity? Let me know what you think in the comments.
Eddie Rosario, round 8: Is Rosario one of the lucky beneficiaries of the juiced ball boon? Or is just the likely progression for a 26-year old hitting his prime?
Jonathan Villar, round 9: Villar was a late-first, early-second round pick in 2017. Then the first pitch happened. Round 9 mitigates that early draft selection risk a little bit and if he works hard this offseason he could return some of that first round value (in steals at least.)
| ROUND 11 | ||
| PICK | TEAM | PLAYER |
| 1 | Kerry Klug | Gregory Polanco RF | PIT |
| 2 | Ralph Lifshitz | Chris Taylor CF | LAD |
| 3 | Scott White | Adam Jones CF | BAL |
| 4 | Justin Mason | Luis Castillo SP | CIN |
| 5 | Jeff Tobin | Marwin Gonzalez LF | HOU |
| 6 | Lawr Michaels | Jimmy Nelson SP | MIL |
| 7 | Jeff Zimmerman | Yadier Molina C | STL |
| 8 | Tim McLeod | Nicholas Castellanos 3B | DET |
| 9 | Lance Brozdowski | Felipe Rivero RP | PIT |
| 10 | Chris Towers | Lance McCullers SP | HOU |
| 11 | Sergio Gonzalez | Adam Eaton CF | WAS |
| 12 | Adam Aizer | Brett Gardner LF | NYY |
| ROUND 12 | ||
| PICK | TEAM | PLAYER |
| 1 | Adam Aizer | Jon Lester SP | CHC |
| 2 | Sergio Gonzalez | Yoan Moncada 2B | CHW |
| 3 | Chris Towers | Marcus Stroman SP | TOR |
| 4 | Lance Brozdowski | Yasiel Puig RF | LAD |
| 5 | Tim McLeod | Edwin Diaz RP | SEA |
| 6 | Jeff Zimmerman | Jeff Samardzija SP | SF |
| 7 | Lawr Michaels | Odubel Herrera CF | PHI |
| 8 | Jeff Tobin | Johnny Cueto SP | SF |
| 9 | Justin Mason | Alex Wood SP | LAD |
| 10 | Scott White | Matt Olson 1B | OAK |
| 11 | Ralph Lifshitz | Jon Gray SP | COL |
| 12 | Kerry Klug | Jose Berrios SP | MIN |
| ROUND 13 | ||
| PICK | TEAM | PLAYER |
| 1 | Kerry Klug | Ender Inciarte CF | ATL |
| 2 | Ralph Lifshitz | Alex Colome RP | TB |
| 3 | Scott White | Sean Doolittle RP | WAS |
| 4 | Justin Mason | Michael Fulmer SP | DET |
| 5 | Jeff Tobin | Ryan Zimmerman 1B | WAS |
| 6 | Lawr Michaels | Ryon Healy DH | SEA |
| 7 | Jeff Zimmerman | Trevor Story SS | COL |
| 8 | Tim McLeod | Kevin Kiermaier CF | TB |
| 9 | Lance Brozdowski | Kyle Seager 3B | SEA |
| 10 | Chris Towers | Matt Kemp LF | LAD |
| 11 | Sergio Gonzalez | Adrian Beltre 3B | TEX |
| 12 | Adam Aizer | Greg Holland RP | COL |
| ROUND 14 | ||
| PICK | TEAM | PLAYER |
| 1 | Adam Aizer | Rich Hill SP | LAD |
| 2 | Sergio Gonzalez | Adam Duvall LF | CIN |
| 3 | Chris Towers | Danny Duffy SP | KC |
| 4 | Lance Brozdowski | Carlos Santana 1B | CLE |
| 5 | Tim McLeod | Trevor Bauer SP | CLE |
| 6 | Jeff Zimmerman | Jose Peraza 2B | CIN |
| 7 | Lawr Michaels | Kevin Gausman SP | BAL |
| 8 | Jeff Tobin | Zack Cozart SS | LAA |
| 9 | Justin Mason | Luke Weaver SP | STL |
| 10 | Scott White | Raisel Iglesias RP | CIN |
| 11 | Ralph Lifshitz | Charlie Morton SP | HOU |
| 12 | Kerry Klug | Lance Lynn SP | STL |
| ROUND 15 | ||
| PICK | TEAM | PLAYER |
| 1 | Kerry Klug | Alex Cobb SP | TB |
| 2 | Ralph Lifshitz | Ian Happ CF | CHC |
| 3 | Scott White | Eric Thames 1B | MIL |
| 4 | Justin Mason | Chase Anderson SP | MIL |
| 5 | Jeff Tobin | Carlos Gonzalez RF | COL |
| 6 | Lawr Michaels | Aaron Altherr LF | PHI |
| 7 | Jeff Zimmerman | Mark Melancon RP | SF |
| 8 | Tim McLeod | Josh Bell 1B | PIT |
| 9 | Lance Brozdowski | Nomar Mazara RF | TEX |
| 10 | Chris Towers | Zach Britton RP | BAL |
| 11 | Sergio Gonzalez | Ian Kinsler 2B | LAA |
| 12 | Adam Aizer | Greg Bird 1B | NYY |
My picks: Gregory Polanco, Jose Berrios, Ender Inciarte, Lance Lynn, Alex Cobb.
If you follow me on twitter (why don’t you follow me on Twitter? @Kerry_Klug) you’ll see that I tweeted to the other drafters that it looked like I was booting speed. Outside of Trout I didn’t have anyone who was really capable of stealing over 20 bases. I owned (and hated) Polanco in my hometown league for all of 2017, but I’m willing to see if he’s healthy and ready to run. Same goes for Inciarte — I need some SBs. Berrios, Lynn and Cobb round out my top 5 starters. Berrios responded amazingly after his debut 8.02 ERA in 2016. Lynn showed that he has fully recovered from his 2016 Tommy John Surgery with 33 starts, a 3.43 and a solid, but not spectacular 7.4 K/9. Cobb also rebounded nicely from his injury-riddled 2016 campaign with a 3.66 ERA in 29 starts with a 6.4 K/9.
Interesting Picks:
Marcus Stroman, Round 12. Round 12 for a guy who finished in the top 10 in the AL Cy-Young race is unbelievable value. Razzball readers with good memories will remember that Stroman was my pre-season Cy Young prediction last season and you better believe that I invested in him in all of my leagues. Here’s the scariest part? At 26 years old, Stroman still has room to get better.
Josh Bell/Greg Bird, round 15: perfect late round Corner Infield options. Throughout Bell’s minor league career he was known as a high-average, low power first basemen. In his first full big league season Bell was just the opposite hitting 26 HR with only a .255 average. If Aaron Boone wants to break up the new Bash Brothers Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton with a lefty bat, Bird could be in the most enviable line-up slot in all of baseball. Bird has solid bat-on-ball skills and 20+ HR power, and wherever he hits in that Yankees line-up he’ll touch at least 80 runs/RBI.
| ROUND 16 | ||
| PICK | TEAM | PLAYER |
| 1 | Adam Aizer | Wilson Ramos C | TB |
| 2 | Sergio Gonzalez | Brad Peacock SP | HOU |
| 3 | Chris Towers | Brad Hand RP | SD |
| 4 | Lance Brozdowski | Danny Salazar SP | CLE |
| 5 | Tim McLeod | Hector Neris RP | PHI |
| 6 | Jeff Zimmerman | Willie Calhoun LF | TEX |
| 7 | Lawr Michaels | Bruce Maxwell C | OAK |
| 8 | Jeff Tobin | Arodys Vizcaino RP | ATL |
| 9 | Justin Mason | Bradley Zimmer CF | CLE |
| 10 | Scott White | Dylan Bundy SP | BAL |
| 11 | Ralph Lifshitz | Kelvin Herrera RP | KC |
| 12 | Kerry Klug | Jeurys Familia RP | NYM |
| ROUND 17 | ||
| PICK | TEAM | PLAYER |
| 1 | Kerry Klug | Mike Zunino C | SEA |
| 2 | Ralph Lifshitz | Paul DeJong SS | STL |
| 3 | Scott White | Avisail Garcia RF | CHW |
| 4 | Justin Mason | Garrett Richards SP | LAA |
| 5 | Jeff Tobin | Scooter Gennett 2B | CIN |
| 6 | Lawr Michaels | Jonathan Lucroy C | COL |
| 7 | Jeff Zimmerman | David Dahl LF | COL |
| 8 | Tim McLeod | Welington Castillo C | CHW |
| 9 | Lance Brozdowski | Austin Hedges C | SD |
| 10 | Chris Towers | Justin Bour 1B | MIA |
| 11 | Sergio Gonzalez | Corey Dickerson LF | TB |
| 12 | Adam Aizer | Kyle Schwarber LF | CHC |
| ROUND 18 | ||
| PICK | TEAM | PLAYER |
| 1 | Adam Aizer | Brandon Morrow RP | CHC |
| 2 | Sergio Gonzalez | Fernando Rodney RP | MIN |
| 3 | Chris Towers | Dexter Fowler CF | STL |
| 4 | Lance Brozdowski | Andrelton Simmons SS | LAA |
| 5 | Tim McLeod | Jameson Taillon SP | PIT |
| 6 | Jeff Zimmerman | Teoscar Hernandez LF | TOR |
| 7 | Lawr Michaels | Brandon Belt 1B | SF |
| 8 | Jeff Tobin | Brian McCann C | HOU |
| 9 | Justin Mason | Blake Treinen RP | OAK |
| 10 | Scott White | Shane Greene RP | DET |
| 11 | Ralph Lifshitz | Yasmani Grandal C | LAD |
| 12 | Kerry Klug | Manuel Margot CF | SD |
| ROUND 19 | ||
| PICK | TEAM | PLAYER |
| 1 | Kerry Klug | Eugenio Suarez 3B | CIN |
| 2 | Ralph Lifshitz | Mitch Haniger RF | SEA |
| 3 | Scott White | Mike Clevinger SP | CLE |
| 4 | Justin Mason | Archie Bradley RP | ARI |
| 5 | Jeff Tobin | Ervin Santana SP | MIN |
| 6 | Lawr Michaels | AJ Ramos RP | NYM |
| 7 | Jeff Zimmerman | Jorge Polanco SS | MIN |
| 8 | Tim McLeod | Aaron Sanchez SP | TOR |
| 9 | Lance Brozdowski | Drew Pomeranz SP | BOS |
| 10 | Chris Towers | Jackie Bradley CF | BOS |
| 11 | Sergio Gonzalez | Jacob Faria SP | TB |
| 12 | Adam Aizer | Jason Kipnis 2B | CLE |
| ROUND 20 | ||
| PICK | TEAM | PLAYER |
| 1 | Adam Aizer | Yuli Gurriel 1B | HOU |
| 2 | Sergio Gonzalez | Logan Morrison 1B | TB |
| 3 | Chris Towers | Javier Baez 2B | CHC |
| 4 | Lance Brozdowski | Max Kepler RF | MIN |
| 5 | Tim McLeod | Steven Souza RF | TB |
| 6 | Jeff Zimmerman | Trey Mancini LF | BAL |
| 7 | Lawr Michaels | Daniel Mengden SP | OAK |
| 8 | Jeff Tobin | Cole Hamels SP | TEX |
| 9 | Justin Mason | Jorge Alfaro C | PHI |
| 10 | Scott White | Blake Snell SP | TB |
| 11 | Ralph Lifshitz | Kyle Barraclough RP | MIA |
| 12 | Kerry Klug | Dellin Betances RP | NYY |
| ROUND 21 | ||
| PICK | TEAM | PLAYER |
| 1 | Kerry Klug | Amed Rosario SS | NYM |
| 2 | Ralph Lifshitz | Brent Honeywell SP | TB |
| 3 | Scott White | Austin Barnes C | LAD |
| 4 | Justin Mason | Robinson Chirinos C | TEX |
| 5 | Jeff Tobin | Mark Trumbo DH | BAL |
| 6 | Lawr Michaels | Leonys Martin CF | DET |
| 7 | Jeff Zimmerman | Dinelson Lamet SP | SD |
| 8 | Tim McLeod | Josh Reddick RF | HOU |
| 9 | Lance Brozdowski | Michael Wacha SP | STL |
| 10 | Chris Towers | Travis d’Arnaud C | NYM |
| 11 | Sergio Gonzalez | Patrick Corbin SP | ARI |
| 12 | Adam Aizer | Sean Manaea SP | OAK |
| ROUND 22 | ||
| PICK | TEAM | PLAYER |
| 1 | Adam Aizer | Aaron Hicks CF | NYY |
| 2 | Sergio Gonzalez | Blake Parker RP | LAA |
| 3 | Chris Towers | Addison Russell SS | CHC |
| 4 | Lance Brozdowski | Tyler Flowers C | ATL |
| 5 | Tim McLeod | Brad Boxberger RP | ARI |
| 6 | Jeff Zimmerman | Miles Mikolas SP | STL |
| 7 | Lawr Michaels | Andrew Miller RP | CLE |
| 8 | Jeff Tobin | Lucas Giolito SP | CHW |
| 9 | Justin Mason | Alex Reyes SP | STL |
| 10 | Scott White | Austin Hays RF | BAL |
| 11 | Ralph Lifshitz | Tyler Lyons RP | STL |
| 12 | Kerry Klug | Stephen Piscotty RF | OAK |
| ROUND 23 | ||
| PICK | TEAM | PLAYER |
| 1 | Kerry Klug | Stephen Vogt C | MIL |
| 2 | Ralph Lifshitz | Christian Vazquez C | BOS |
| 3 | Scott White | Francisco Mejia C | CLE |
| 4 | Justin Mason | Delino DeShields LF | TEX |
| 5 | Jeff Tobin | Luiz Gohara SP | ATL |
| 6 | Lawr Michaels | Chris Owings SS | ARI |
| 7 | Jeff Zimmerman | J.A. Happ SP | TOR |
| 8 | Tim McLeod | Eduardo Rodriguez SP | BOS |
| 9 | Lance Brozdowski | Chris Devenski RP | HOU |
| 10 | Chris Towers | Julio Teheran SP | ATL |
| 11 | Sergio Gonzalez | James McCann C | DET |
| 12 | Adam Aizer | Chris Davis 1B | BAL |
My picks: Jeurys Familia, Mike Zunino, Manuel Margot, Eugenio Suarez, Dellin Betances, Amed Rosario, Stephen Piscotty, Stephen Vogt.
Despite his injuries in 2017 I don’t think Familia has done anything to lose his closer role to AJ Ramos. I know the Mets higher-ups have been non-committal so far on their closer role, but I think it belongs to Jeurys. Want to know something crazy? This is my first time ever participating in a two-catcher draft. Looking back, I wish I would’ve paired Zunino’s plus-power and minus-average with someone who is quite the opposite like a Francisco Cervelli type. Oh well. Manuel Margot and Amed Rosario are two more attempts at me adjusting to my super-risky “oh crap stolen bases are a category!” strategy. Margot’s 15 HR/25 SB skill set at the end of the 18th round is fantastic value in my eyes. If this happens in your league you need to pounce. Eugenio Suarez and Stephen Piscotty are two safe albeit unsexy late-round picks who aren’t going to be game-changers that win me every week, but will rarely cost me a week.
Interesting picks:
Scooter Gennett, round 17: Do you need final proof that the baseballs were juiced in 2017? A 5-foot 10-inch second basemen who goes by the name of Scooter unironically hit 27 HR in 497 at-bats.
Blake Snell, round 20: Snell has all the potential in the world, but who will you get start-to-start? The guy who struck out 13 Orioles over 7 shutout innings on October 1st? Or the guy who barely escaped the first inning with 4 ERs allowed just 1 start prior on September 26th? In round 20 it is worth finding out.
Dinelson Lamet, round 21: I was kicking myself with Jeff Zimmerman drafted Lamet. If he can harness some of his 10+ K potential while limiting his 4+ BB potential Jeff could have ace value at a waiver fodder price.
Miles Mikolas, round 22: the OTHER Japanese import by way of Florida, Mikolas has reclaimed his career after three spectacular seasons in Japan. Why not take a flier on this guy in round 22?
Chris Davis, round 23: 40+ potential HRs with the last pick in the draft? Yes please.
Let me know your thoughts, I didn’t escape the first round of my fantasy football league so I’m officially ready to talk baseball!
