Major League Baseball’s first weekend brings with it so many obvious outcomes we all should have seen coming: Giancarlo Stanton mashing as a Yankee, a healthy Xander Bogaerts doing his thing, Thor looking like a threat to join the Big Four starters.
In the case of Ian Happ, it literally took only one pitch for us on Opening Day to second-guess any draft in which we failed to snatch up the second-year Cubs leadoff man a round or two early. Happ’s first-pitch bomb off Jose Urena followed seven Grapefruit League home runs for the former first-round pick. After 24 bombs and eight steals in just 364 at bats as a rookie — plus second base and outfield eligibility — what were we all waiting for?
With draft season finally in the rear-view mirror, here are a few questions I’m asking myself as the seemingly inevitable unfolds before me.
Ian Happ FTW
OK, so, I was actually ready for this one. The first move I made after joining a 30-year-old NL-only 4×4 keeper league this winter was trade Ian Desmond, Lewis Brinson and a draft pick for Happ. The league uses three-year escalating contracts — picture me with a $7 Happ in the bag and throwing down for both Stephen Strasburg and Aaron Nola during the draft.
Alas, Happ was not to be had in The Great Fantasy Baseball Invitational League 13, because my man @CubbyNole scooped him in the eighth round — right where I was about to take him. I have one other share, so the question is: Why don’t I have him in the CBS analysts NL-only league?
More aces, please
I don’t fully regret missing out of the Big Four starting pitchers, for the most part. As great as they are, seeing four starters finish the season with WHIPS so far under 1.00 feels fluky. I was in on Thor as a discounted alternative, and I love the upside of Luis Castillo and Aaron Nola.
Still, there was room in my drafts to double up on the 1a group of starting pitchers, and I wonder if I’ll regret my cheaper pitching staffs in Year 2 of the launch angle/mysteriously launchable baseball era.
Not enough Rockies
You hardly need the excuse of the Denver air to justify drafting half the Colorado lineup. I nearly took Nolan Arenado over Jose Altuve with a second pick in a 12-team league, knowing how many great second basemen — including Happ and Ozzie Albies — we saw deals on all spring.
There’s no reason to shy away from Charlie Blackmon, and I’ve always thought DJ LeMahieu was underappreciated. Trevor Story? Ryan McMahon? Even a David Dahl stash? All reasonable moves — and trade targets now.
Godley > Greinke?
I’m hoping for the sake of my low-budget pitching staffs that Zack Godley is the real deal. Having targeted him for most of the winter after a superb 155.0 innings last year, the Diamondback righty’s 117.14 NFBC ADP in March fit with most of my draft plans. And once the humidor news hit, he was hard to pass up.
Will Godley outperform rotation mate Zack Greinke, who also went at a discount after a brief groin injury scare? I wouldn’t necessarily bet on that, and I regret not having more shares of the Arizona ace, too. But there’s a lot to like about his 27-year-old rotation mate going three or four rounds later.
Why no Osuna?
The day and age of closer turnover is making an early investment in top flight relievers more reasonable. But we could have been countering those reaching for Kenley Jansen and Craig Kimbrel with Osuna, the Blue Jays’ dominant 23-year-old stopper, 20 picks later.
The young righty paired an 11.67 K/9 with a minuscule 1.27 BB/9 en route to 39 saves last season. There are no warts to find on the fourth-year man’s profile. He could be next year’s reach at the position.
Follow Danny @_DannyCross_
