A week from today, the core of the fantasy world will congregate in Los Angeles for the Fantasy Sports Trade Association Winter Conference, where the organization’s expert draft will conclude. To date, the league has run through eight rounds of a 14-team serpentine contest among the likes of Howard Bender, Rick Wolf, Glenn Colton, Stacie Stern, Derek Van Riper, Ray Flowers and Charlie Wiegert, to name a few.
I am pretty clear where I hope my draft and team will go, and, for the most part, the players and their draft spots were what one would expect. But there were some interesting selections through those first eight rounds. Here is how I see them. (Note: You can view the entire draft here.)
Max Scherzer (1.14)/Cory Kluber (2.1): Perhaps as bold an early move as I have seen the last couple of years, owners Wolf/Colton saw a dearth of 200-inning pitchers and figured to exploit the category and build offense subsequently. They are correct with regard to durable starters, but the question is whether this will will or not? A full interview with Rick on the Tout Wars Hour on what they were thinking is right here.
Kenley Jensen (4.4): Derek Van Riper has similarly made some cool moves, and lest we dismiss him, DVR is the FSTA defending champ, among his other titles. Grabbing Jensen early seals the best closer deal as well as confirming that, barring anything else, Jensen is one stopper who will keep his job. Add in ridiculous strikeout numbers and as sure a bet for a top spot in one category (Saves), this almost becomes a no-brainer.
Shohei Ohtani (4.14): Jim Bowden selected the hottest rookie this side of Ronald Acuna with the last pick of the fourth round. I like the optimism, and the skill might be there, but he’s getting starter with maybe 125 innings, or a batter with only around 350 at-bats Neither of these scenarious would be a fourth round contribution in my view.
Sonny Gray (6.4): Sonny was 4-7, 3.72 last year after being swapped to the Yankees. His park might not be the help the Coliseum was, but Sonny is pitching for a much better team. The question becomes whether he is worth a #2 pitcher slot? Two years ago, I would have said yes. Today, I don’t think so.
Luke Weaver (6.7): Coming off a solid 60.3 frames for the Cards last year, Weaver was 7-2, 3.88 with a 1.26 WHIP. The question, as with Gray, is does that merit #2 starter status? On the short end, I prefer Zack Godley, on the long end Gio Gonzalez, neither of whom merits a Round 6 pick in my view.
Adam Jones (7.1): Steady as they come, for sure, but Jones is almost pedestrian in comparison to Stephen Souza, Eddie Rosario, and Odubel Herrera. I would have gone there first, but then I have been undervaluing Jones for years.
Whit Merrifield (7.9): I was never sure just what within Merrifield’s 2016 of .283-2-29 with 22 doubles and eight swipes made the Royals decide he wasn’t worthy of the Majors to begin 2017, but there you have it. Merrifield seems to play with throwback abandon, so I tend to think his .288-19-78 with 32 doubles and 34 steals was for real and don’t really expect a regression. Merrifield is of the Dustin Pedroia ilk, meaning he is a steal in the seventh round.
Ronald Acuna 8.10: No question how talented Acuna is, but there is no guarantee the outfielder even is an Opening Day player. Add in that those same names — Rosario, Souza, and Herrera — were still available and I would have faded on Acuna at this point. But then, DVR won last year, so I may need to eat the virtual words.
Tune into the Tout Wars Hour on the FNTSY network, hosted by me, with Justin Mason and featuring Lord Z every Sunday at 2 PM ET/11 AM PT, and you can follow me @lawrmichaels.
