The fantasy baseball season has officially kicked off and we have real, live draft data to sift through. Numbers nerds, assemble! We have spreadsheets, charts and ADP, oh my! It was a busy first week here at Razzball Commenter Leagues HQ but I’ve gone through each league that has drafted and added their drafts to a master spreadsheet in order to calculate RCL ADP. We’ve had fourteen leagues draft already, so there’s plenty of numbers to look at. We’ve had some close calls, but all leagues have filled so far and we’d love to keep it that way. We don’t want to axe any leagues, so if you notice your league is not full the day before the draft, hit us up on Twitter: @Razzball or @MattTruss and let us know. You can also leave a comment in Grey’s most recent post and/or invite a friend to join. I know, sacrilege to tell your fantasy baseball friends you read Razzball, but sharing is caring. Speaking of sharing, jump below and I’ll share with you a fancy RCL ADP spreadsheet for your perusing pleasure.
DRAFT TRENDS
We’ve got fourteen leagues worth of draft data to peek at. Being first to draft means first to be criticized, so we’ll dive into the numbers and see what’s going on in the early draft season.
THE FIRST PICK OF THE 2018 FANTASY BASEBALL DRAFT IS…
Ronald Acuna Jr.t ^13. I’m actually a little surprised Acuna has gone first in 13 leagues, I figured we’d have a pretty even split with him, Yelich and even some Trout sprinkled in but it seems everyone is on board the Acuna train. I for one would be giddy over a 50/50 season. The one other first overall pick was none other than Mike Trout. Acuna, Trout and Christian Yelich are the majority top three picks however, with Trout going second in 11 leagues and Yelich going third in 11 more. Mookie Betts snuck into the third slot in one league with Yelich falling to fourth there. Picking anywhere in the top three is dreamy this season and picking third is fine by me. I’ll take whoever falls and get to pick sooner on the way back.
WE DON’T NEED NO STINKIN’ NFBC ADP
We’ve got RCL ADP! Here’s a list from our fourteen league sample of some guys I’m lusting for this year and some general notes. If there’s an ADP you’re curious about for my next update, fire away and I’ll add them to the chart next time out. This time around I decided to look at some of the kids everyone is excited to draft as well as some soon to be AARP members.
| PLAYER | ADP | HI | LO | DIFF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Devers, Rafael | 21.07 | 15 | 26 | 11 |
| Alonso, Pete | 22.14 | 14 | 28 | 14 |
| Alvarez, Yordan | 30.86 | 17 | 36 | 19 |
| Guerrero Jr., Vladimir | 43.29 | 28 | 56 | 28 |
| Bichette, Bo | 61.86 | 42 | 84 | 42 |
| Robert, Luis | 74.71 | 48 | 104 | 56 |
| Soroka, Mike | 85.57 | 65 | 100 | 35 |
| Biggio, Cavan | 123.21 | 86 | 144 | 58 |
| Mercado, Oscar | 123.36 | 95 | 164 | 69 |
| Lux, Gavin | 146.21 | 122 | 167 | 45 |
| Urias, Julio | 150.14 | 129 | 174 | 45 |
Devers and Alonso are your newest crop of young power hitters that have made the jump into the second round of drafts. Looking at those low draft points, can you imagine going Acuna, Alonso, Alvarez in a draft, my goodness!
Bo Bichette and Luis Robert are all over the map with their draft positions.
Mike Soroka is someone I’m trying to draft as much as possible this year. The eighth round is a nice spot for taking your second (or first if you’re feeling frisky) pitcher in an RCL. Giolito/Soroka? Sounds dreamy to me!
The Oscar Mercado injury scare sent his ADP whacky but it sounds like we’re in the clear. Those prayer hexagons worked wonders.
Gavin Lux is not someone I’ve been targeting much but I know he’s got a lot of hype coming into the season.
Now, out with new, in with the old:
| PLAYER | ADP | HI | LO | DIFF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verlander, Justin | 14.93 | 10 | 20 | 10 |
| Kershaw, Clayton | 45.79 | 33 | 57 | 24 |
| Greinke, Zack | 63.71 | 52 | 78 | 26 |
| Goldschmidt, Paul | 69.14 | 61 | 81 | 20 |
| Donaldson, Josh | 84.36 | 65 | 97 | 32 |
| Cruz, Nelson | 85.93 | 69 | 103 | 34 |
| Lynn, Lance | 104.57 | 86 | 124 | 38 |
| Santana, Carlos | 121.93 | 106 | 146 | 40 |
| Encarnacion, Edwin | 150.21 | 130 | 167 | 37 |
| Turner, Justin | 150.43 | 133 | 166 | 33 |
| Price, David | 152.14 | 123 | 186 | 63 |
| McCutchen, Andrew | 224.64 | 192 | 248 | 56 |
Will Verlander ever give in to Father Time?
Since I have been the keeper of RCL data the past few seasons I have the historical ADP data. It’s always nice to check back on last year and see where some of these guys were being drafted, compare it to this year and see if the rise/drop is warranted.
For instance, Paul Goldschmidt was drafted 21st overall last year. That didn’t return value and now he’s being corrected.
Josh Donaldson’s ADP the past two seasons has been 31 and 97, so far this year he’s found his home around pick 84 after a bit of a bounce back last year.
Nelson Cruz is another player that just won’t relent with age. I’m done calling for him to fall off a cliff.
Lance Lynn is a resurgence that I have a hard time buying into. He wasn’t even drafted last year and now he’s into the top 100. I’m passing on that.
Andrew McCutchen is a nice draft and stash on the IL at the end of drafts that I’ve been trying to target.
If you made it this far, you earn a reward. I told you I was a numbers nerd. Now you can take a look at any player you want as more and more data is collected. I’ll be keeping that sheet up to date as I collect draft data, so bookmark it and check back often. Next, head down to the spreadsheet below and fill up some more leagues so we have even more data to chew through!
TO JOIN A LEAGUE
Click the LINK in the ‘League Link’ column (see below grid) for the time you want and YOU’RE IN. Damn, that’s too easy. Oh, I guess I should also mention make sure you’re joining a league for free or for money, depending on your preference. If you want a league for money, then 1) Click the link. 2) Pay the money. That’s it! No pesky third requirement! Again, Fantrax and Razzball take no money. You can join as many free or paid leagues as you like. To quit a league, go to OTHER –> All Options –> Quit League (located at the bottom). Now go join some leagues!
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