Four months should have been enough time for me to move on from the drama of last season’s final week in LABR Mixed. But I wasn’t quite there yet when I entered the league’s online draft room this past Tuesday night.
I think I’m there now. Drafting an entirely new roster has its way of forcing you to turn the page.
About a week in advance, I knew I had the second pick, and this information helped me map out a rough plan with certain players in mind, at least for the first few rounds. In a funny way, snake drafts, while simpler than auctions on the surface, can be harder to prepare for, as you have less control. There is no worse feeling as a fantasy owner than loading your queue with a handful of players only to see all of them vanish before your next turn, So, the ability to calmly adjust on the fly is vital. This is especially true when you’re picking near the turn. While I was thrilled to select Mike Trout, I prefer to pick near the middle. Those long waits are excruciating.
OK, time to unveil my 2020 LABR Mixed roster. Round numbers are in parenthesis.
HITTING
C Omar Narvaez (14)
C Roberto Perez (21)
1B Carlos Santana (8)
2B Garrett Hampson (12)
SS Manny Machado (4)
3B Eugenio Suarez (5)
CI Jesus Aguilar (20)
MI Kolten Wong (17)
OF Mike Trout (1)
OF Starling Marte (2)
OF Lorenzo Cain (9)
OF Nomar Mazara (15)
OF Stephen Piscotty (19)
UT Maikel Franco (22)
RESERVES: Asdrubal Cabrera, Robinson Cano, Yoenis Cespedes, Albert Pujols
• There’s a lot of negativity surrounding Manny Machado in fantasy circles this spring as he’s coming off a somewhat disappointing first season with the Padres. He struggled at home (.703 OPS) and posted a combined six homers, 18 RBIs and 18 runs scored from the beginning of August through the end of the season. I had no plans of drafting him this year, but much of my reasoning was based on an expectation that he would be valued as a top-40 player. That wasn’t the case in this draft, and when Machado was still on the board at #59, I decided to grab him. Maybe he’s no longer a top-25 player, but his final season numbers were strong enough to make him worth drafting at the end of the fourth round. I’m a firm believer that owners should never rule out drafting any player if the price is right.
• First Base isn’t as deep as it used to be, so I was relieved that Carlos Santana was available when it was my turn to pick in the eighth round. After missing out on both Anthony Rizzo and Paul Goldschmidt in the fourth, I turned my attention to other positions, figuring I could draft Santana a few rounds later. Santana is much more valuable in OBP leagues than AVG leagues, and last season’s .281 AVG is likely an aberration. But if he can bat .250 with 25 homers, 85 RBIs and 85 runs, I’ll be happy.
• Drafting Lorenzo Cain in the ninth round (#122 overall) was a reach. After all, his NFBC Draft Champions ADP is 187. But I was targeting Cain as a bounceback candidate with a track record who could give me 20-plus steals with a strong batting average and was afraid that he would be taken before my next pick at #149. Maybe he would have still been there. I didn’t want to risk it.
• Speaking of risks, Garrett Hampson in the 12th could certainly be viewed as a risk considering his uncertain playing time situation. That said, after populating my roster with several boring veteran types, I liked the idea of taking a young, high-risk/high-reward guy at #179. If the 25-year-old can earn a regular spot in the lineup, he offers top-100 potential. Selecting a pair of alternative 2B options in Kolten Wong and Robinson Cano was by design.
• I’m not so sure how I feel about Nomar Mazara, as he has yet to take that next step forward in his development. But he’s still only 24, and the 15th round seemed like a nice spot to take a flier on him. Maybe the change of scenery will do him some good. My only regret with this pick is that I might have been better off taking one starting pitcher from the Joe Musgrove/Joey Lucchesi/Sean Manaea trio. All three were in my queue when I drafted Mazara and all three were gone before my turn in the 16th.
PITCHING
SP Blake Snell (3)
SP Trevor Bauer (6)
SP Robbie Ray (10)
SP Mike Foltynewicz (13)
SP Dallas Keuchel (16)
SP Steven Matz (18)
SP Julio Teheran (23)
RP Roberto Osuna (7)
RP Alex Colome (11)
RESERVES: Wade Davis, Dellin Betances
• This starting rotation makes me nervous but it does have the potential to be quite good. I’m banking on Snell rebounding from an injury-plagued and inconsistent 2019 campaign. Bauer is the pitching version of Machado, a player who I was reluctant to draft this year but fell far enough for me to feel comfortable investing. With a front three of Snell, Bauer and Ray, I could easily lead the league in strikeouts. Ray is a WHIP destroyer but I’ll be fine with last season’s 1.34 WHIP if it comes with 200-plus whiffs. Hopefully, he can get his ERA down to the 4.00 neighborhood.
• The most popular closer draft strategy this year seems to be taking one reliable ninth-inning man followed by multiple speculative saves sources. The mid-tier closer isn’t cool these days. Well, I got both the reliable closer in Osuna and the mid-tier closer in Colome, who is fresh off a stellar 2019 season and doesn’t face much competition for saves on an improved White Sox club. Throw in the possibility of a Wade Davis resurgence and a few Edwin Diaz blowups to open the season and I could have four closers on my roster by May. Saves should be a strength.
Will this team fare as well as last season’s runner-up squad? I have my doubts, but I think I put myself in position to be competitive. And in mid-February, that’s all you can ask for.
All I can do now is spend 42 more days staring at this roster.
Special thanks to Steve Gardner of USA Today for running the entire LABR operation in such a smooth manner.
To view the full draft results, click here.
Zach Steinhorn is the 2016 Mixed Auction Tout Wars champion. Follow him on Twitter @zachsteinhorn.
