The nice thing about playing in a large number of fantasy leagues (five in my case) is that you have the chance to own a lot of different players. Can’t get a certain player in your first draft? No problem. There’s a good possibility that you’ll be able to draft that guy in at least one of your leagues. I know this might not be rational, but if I’m having a tough time deciding between two players who are very comparable in terms of value, the question of whether or not I own them in any other league often serves as a tiebreaker. I want to have at least one share.
Everyone has favorite targets, and most of the time, owners wind up with said player in multiple leagues. But, there’s also something to be said about diversification and spreading the risk. If you drafted Madison Bumgarner in three or four of your leagues, you’re feeling a lot worse today than you would be feeling if the Giants ace was a member of only one of your squads. I’m a big believer in the diversification approach, but there’s always a group of players who I really wanted to draft in at least one league but it just didn’t work out. Here are a handful of examples from this season.
Jean Segura – I discussed Segura in last week’s column, but the bottom line is that I underestimated the level of interest in the Mariners shortstop, who is coming off a 2017 season that was solid but a disappointment compared to his outstanding 2016 campaign. Segura routinely went off the board earlier than I anticipated, so after expecting to own him in multiple leagues, thinking that he would be undervalued, I am now Segura-less. Maybe it’s time to think about trading for him?
Miguel Sano – Early in the off-season, I was all in on Sano, believing that a 40-home run campaign was a legitimate possibility if he could stay healthy. Then came the assault allegations and the ensuing investigation. Then he arrived at Spring Training overweight. Although I wasn’t scared off completely by these developments, I wasn’t nearly as enthusiastic about drafting him, and there were opportunities in several of my drafts to get him at a discount. Ultimately, I passed, and now that he will not be suspended, I’m kind of regretting it.
Ronald Acuna – What a fun player to own, even in a non-keeper league. There’s no question that Acuna will be called up by mid-April, once the Braves are assured an extra year of control over the consensus top prospect in baseball. The 20-year-old can hit for power, he can hit for average, and he possesses elite speed. Sounds like a future first-round fantasy pick. The problem is that the market in redraft leagues is already valuing him as a borderline top-100 player, and that’s a bit too aggressive for my liking. Then again, is it possible that two months from now, Acuna will be a clear-cut top-50 option? Of course it is.
Aaron Nola – I was a big fan of Nola heading into draft season, and there was a time when I thought I could comfortably select him as my SP2 in mixed leagues, thanks to his thin big league track record and injury history. As it turned out, the only owners who were able to draft Nola as their SP2 were owners who were willing to take two starting pitchers within the first five or six rounds. Since I’m not one of those owners, I never had a chance.
Mike Clevinger – It might seem strange that I’m a little bummed out about not owning Clevinger. Is he really a difference maker in fantasy? Maybe not yet, but he will be very soon. I love the elite strikeout rate and I love the way he finished out the season last year. Over his final five starts before moving to the bullpen in late-September, the Indians righty pitched to a 0.61 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP with 34 strikeouts across 29 2/3 innings. Set to open 2018 in Cleveland’s starting rotation, Clevinger could provide his owners with mid-rotation production at a fraction of the cost.
Zach Steinhorn is the 2016 Mixed Auction Tout Wars champion. Follow him on Twitter @zachsteinhorn
