Prospect361.com is pleased to announce that Tim McLeod will be joining our ranks as our Master Fantasy Baseball Writer. He’ll have a blank canvas to say what he wants, when he wants. Expect his first articles to appear in early January as he provides his fantasy rankings.
Hey Tim,
I took over a dynasty team last year, traded everyone and tried to build up a strong young base to compete next year or the year after. I know my RP is weak but I feel like it is the easiest to fix, my question is, what would you do next with this team? I am at the point where I have MiL Guys on my ML roster just waiting for callups, I know I need to cut ties with a few players I am just not sure who because there are guys (like Jon Singleton) who I am not sure if it’s too early to bail on or if I should be patient. we have 25 ML 20 MiL we do a 5 round MiL draft every year so we adjust our rosters accordingly, 14 teams. This past year I missed out on AJ Reed by 2 picks and drafted heavy at catcher. We go C, 1B, 2B, SS, 3B, MI, CI, OF x4, UTIL, SP x3, RP x3, P x3
C – ML – Francisco Cervelli, Austin Hedges
MiL – Max Pentecost, Jacob Nottingham, Tyler Stephenson
1B – ML – Adam Lind, Trevor Plouffe
MiL – DJ Peterson, Jon Singleton
2B – ML – Jason Kipnis, Joe Panik, Jonathan Schoop
MiL – Jurickson Profar, Yoan Moncada
SS – ML – Jose Iglesias
MiL – Trea Turner, Alex Bregman
3B – ML – Nolan Arenado, Jake Lamb
MiL – Rafael Devers
OF – ML – Stephen Piscotty, Christian Yelich, Billy Burns, Joc Pederson, Marcell Ozuna
MiL – Austin Meadows, David Dahl, Lewis Brinson, Dalton Pompey, Gabby Guerrero
SP – ML – Chris Archer, Kyle Gibson, Patrick Corbin, Derek Holland, Jon Gray, Vincent Velasquez
MiL – Jake Thompson, Jose Berrios, Pierce Johnson, Alex Reyes, Carson Fulmer, Amir Garrett
RP – ML – Arodys Vizcaino, Sam Dyson, Cory Knebel, Erasmo Ramirez (SP)
I had Neil Ramirez and RJ Alvarez earlier in the season but neither really seem in position to pick up saves or holds, Alvarez has been awful which was a disappointment. Anyway, any input as to what I should do next would be appreciated, I am thinking of focusing on 1B but I am not sure how my pitching stacks up either. Thank you Tim.
Tim …
can i get in the 20 – teamer ?
thanks for the consideration .
orfsmtn@msn.com
Sorry, Olin. It was full by first thing Monday am.
Advice needed! Despite listening to the weekly pod and having a gameplan going into my auction draft, I managed to FUBAR my starting pitching. My roster is as follows…
C – Y. Grandal
1B – J. Abreu
2B – J. Altuve
SS – A. Cabrera
3B – K. Seager
OF – M. Betts, S. Marte, C. Blackmon, K. Calhoun, J. Bradley Jr.
UTIL – E. Hosmer, M. Duffy (SF), A. Lind
SP – D. Salazar, C. Bucholtz, R. Hill, J. Niese, E. Volquez, J. Tomlin
RP – W. Davis, K. Giles, JJ Hoover
Prospects – AJ Reed, T. Glasnow, B. Snell
I think I have a strong offense and relief pitching, but I don’t think the starters can carry me until Snell and Glasnow arrive. Even then, it probably still needs work.
Betts, Marte and Blackmon are arguably all top-10 OF, but they are all similar players.
1) Would you deal one of them for an ace? Ideally, which one and who should I target getting back?
or
2) Would you deal Calhoun for a mid-range SP like a “Tim-fave” Jose Quintana type?
or
3) Other option I might not be seeing
Thanks again! You guys are the best!
-Mike
Rich and Tim,
I thought you might like an update on advice you gave me concerning Lewis Brinson Vs A. J. Reed for my rebuild.
With the #1 overall pick I grabbed Brinson (CF is a premium position in our league) and then I was able to trade Steven Matz for the #4 overall pick and I grabbed Reed. I was able to take Raisel Iglasias with my 3rd pick so I think I did well.
Here is my roster, please let me know what you think of the above (10 team Points league where the winner is declared after playing all 26 weeks (no playoffs).) We keep 20 year over year with no penalty and draft 15, you must keep 2 at each position and can draft up to 17 total pitchers.
B Swihart
W Castillo (R)
L Duda
A.J. Reed (R)
R Odor
Y Moncada (R)
E Longoria
J Ho Kang (R)
X Bogaerts
F Lindor (R)
M Betts
L Brinson (R)
G Parra (R)
A Eaton (R)
J Upton
J Heyward
N Mazara (R)
M Sano
T Story (R)
C Rodon
R Iglesias
A DeSclafani
W-Yin Chen
T Walker
P Corbin (R)
K Hendricks (R)
J Verlander (R)
N Eovaldi (R)
J Taillon (R)
D Norris (R)
R Hill (R)
M Tanaka (R)
M Melancon
J Papelbon
S Doolittle (R)
Thank you for all you do! I never miss the podcast and I have Rich 1 and Tim 1A.
Rick Powers
Hey Rick. I love the offense and you could have some tough decisions come next year with your keeper limitations. The pitching is young and lacking in a big #1 type ace, but for 2017 it could be very strong. Corbin, Rodon, and Iglesias have huge upside potential. I’m not overly bullish on Melancon and Doolittle, as you are aware being a regular listener to the Podcast, but they could get the job done. A strong team for 2016, especially that offense, but looking to the future and 2017 it will be even better. Great job!
Tim, I am looking to finalize my keepers this coming tuesday and i am hoping you can shed some light on my situation. I have to keep 10 players but i am left with 11 and can not for the life of me figure out to leave behind. The way my league works is if i keep a guy that i drafted in the previous year, i lose my pick the following year of where i drafted that particular player, for example if i drafted kershaw (i wish) first round i would lose my frist round pick if i decide to keep him.
So far its looking like:
1. Adam Jones 2nd round
2. Charlie Blackmon 3rd round
3. Steven Strausberg 4th round
4. Jason Heyward 5th round
5. Adrian Gonzalez 6th round
6. Kyle Seager 14th round
7. Christian Yelich 18th round
8. Anthony Rendon 23rd round
9. Joc Pederson 28th round
10. Luis Serevino 29th round
11. Maikel Franco 30th round
who is the guy i leave behind ?
Tim, I am looking upgrade my SS position in a keep forever dynasty league. Currently looking at replacing Alexei Ramirez with either Gregorius, Story, or E. Suarez (will he have SS eligibility in 2017?). What are your thoughts?
Gregorius is perfectly boring, and the safest of the three options. Story’s having a great spring but can he sustain it once the games count? What happens if/when Reyes returns from his suspension? Suarez had a solid season in Cinci, but is looking at moving to 3B and will probably not have SS eligibility in 2017. Of those three I’d probably turn to Story first, simply because of that upside potential. Suarez, Gregorius, and even Ramirez are likely to be available if Story doesn’t work out. I hope that helps and all the best rounding out your middle-infield for 2016!
Hi Tim: I’m in a 12 team H2H points league and we have a franchise round in round 1. Im keeping Encardacion over M. Betts. I have pick 2 in round 2. Do you see any way I pass on Scherzer there given how critical pitching is in this format? My only other thought is Rizzo if he is not kept, but I can get someone like Freeman 2 rounds later. Any thoughts to the contrary on either of those calls?
Hi Tim: Im in a 12 team H2H points league. We have a franchise round in round one in which we must keep one player. I’m keeping Edwin Encardacion over Mookie Betts. I have pick #2 in round 2. Kershaw will be kept. I don’t see how i can pass on Scherzer if he is available in this format where pitchers are even more critical. My only other thought was take Rizzo if he is not kept, but I can get Freeman 2 rounds later as my utility guy. Any thoughts to the contrary on EE over Betts or Scherzer over say Rizzo or even Sale or
I think I’d seriously look at considering Betts over E5 with that franchise pick. The upside potential is simply so high with Betts. In your format, yes, it would be hard to pass up Mad Max in Round 2. You could look at various 1B types like Freeman, Gonzalez and Hosmer a bit further down the road, and all should get the job done for you. I hope that helps and good fortunes with your upcoming draft!
Minor League Draft – looking for quality bat… Trey Mancini or Derek Fisher?
Good morning, Rex. Two very interesting and solid choices. I’m going to toss my vote in the direction of Fisher. The power/speed combo is very enticing and with both Rasmus and Gomez likely moving on in 2017 the opportunity to see Fisher with the big league squad could be drawing very close. Thanks for the question and all the best with your Minor League Draft.
Greetings Tim, I am making a push in my dynasty league (set up like the four Rich runs). I own Margot, Mazara and Kepler. People seems to be in love with Mazara so I want to cash in on a SP. Is Mazara and either Kepler or Margot too much to try to get Danny Salazar? Also, would you trade Mazara for Matz or is Matz too injury prone? I already have Cutch, Bautista, Pence, K Davis, Aoki and Revere at OF so I am pretty set for this year. Thanks for your time
The Mazara chatter just keeps growing and growing, MB. He’s going to be a very good player and right now as you mentioned, his value is high and growing higher by the day. You have solid depth in your outfield, so it totally makes sense, especially when you’re looking at a young pitcher like Salazar. I think Salazar has the potential to take the next step this year and it could be a doozy. I like Matz, but given the choice of Salazar or Matz as a target, I’d much prefer Salazar. I’d think that a Mazara and Kepler offer for Santana should, at the very least, get the Salazar owners attention. I’d try to hold onto Margot, as I think he could with those wheels be a fixture at the top of the Padres order for a long time. Good luck with your wheeling and dealing, MB!
hello tim, happy weekend. full disclosure, i have a poor track record of drafting pitchers. they continue to be my downfall. i am in an eleven team, mixed auction league. we use wins, saves, e.r.a. and whip, with the imperfect wins category getting more points (15 to 10 for the others). every year my saves exceed my wins. i can retain kluber for $12, odorizzi for $5, paxton for $5 or quintana for $10. i am ready to go all in for a national league ace, would you recommend retaining kluber as my number two and either one or two of odorizzi, paxton or quintana for my number three and/or four? thank you, absolutely love the show.
as another note, it’s a roto league.
Hi, David. I like your plan. Just a shame that you don’t use strikeouts as a category as Kluber would be a huge asset. I’d keep Kluber and of the three starters you’ve listed, my choices would be Odorizzi and Quintana. 2016 will be the year that Quintana finally gets to double-digit wins. Buy that “ace” and you should be off to the races! Thanks for the kind words and here’s wishing you nothing but the best this season. Cheers!
Hey Tim and Rich. I’m new to your podcast and so happy that I found it. I am very passionate about baseball and have found fantasy baseball to be something I truly love to participate it and it’s nice to hear 2 highly knowledgeable and skilled guys talk about it and give such great advice. I first started playing fantasy baseball 4 years ago, in head-to-head leagues when I was 20 years old and have grown and learned so much over those 4 years that I went to 2 championships, won one, and was in the playoffs for a third time in that time span. Nobody I know enjoys baseball so I just wanted to thank you guys for doing what you are doing because I enjoy hearing you guys discuss it. I was wondering if you guys could take a look at my roster and let me know if you think it is complete and championship ready or needs an adjustment to bring out its full potential. I am in a 12 team head-to-head league. I will post my roster below as follows, I traded for Salazar and Inciarte, just to let you know. Thanks a lot for any advice or thoughts you may have!
Head-to-Head – Categories
Starting rotation:
1. Madison Bumgarner
2. Matt Harvey
3. Danny Salazar
4. Michael Wacha
5. Jose Quintana
6. Marcus Stroman
Closers;
1. Brad Ziegler
2. Brad Boxberger
Batters
OF – Bryce Harper
OF – Starling Marte
OF – Lorenzo Cain
C – Matt Wieters
1B – Brandon Belt
2B – Daniel Murphey
3B – Mike Moustakas/Nick Castellanos
SS – Brandon Crawford
UTL – Ender Inciarte
UTL – Adam Lind/Victor Martinez
Thanks again!
Ryan
Hey guys! I just became one of 6 new owners in a 20 team dynasty league. The 6 of us drafted 30 guys from the 6 folded teams. We keep any combination of 25 keepers in this Dynasty. With the difficulty of rebuilding this off season, I’ve compiled a solid crop of arms, while my offense is pretty blah. My rotation is Cole, Greinke, Strasburgh, Carrasco, Stroman, ERodriguez, Erasmo with Glasnow & Guerrieri on the farm.
My top bats are Machado, Eaton, Hanley, JocPederson with some nice prospects of AJ Reed, Nick Gordon, Story, Nick Williams, Derek Fisher.
There are some other bats on the roster as well..
My question is, would you consider dealing any of those arms to land a bat or 2? Or should I just enjoy that rotation for a bit?
Thanks for taking the time
Hey Steve. For an expansion team in a 20-team format, you did incredibly well. That rotation is truly impressive. You also have a nice group of prospects on offense that aren’t all that far off. I love Reed and Williams. The ultimate goal has to be a championship and based on the information presented I have to assume that your offense isn’t strong enough to lay claim to a title. You could sit back and enjoy the SP, but does that improve your long-term goal in bringing home a title? I say, no. I’d look to move at least one and possibly two of those top-tier starters for offensive help, targeting bats in the 25-to-28 age group. Adding to your offense now, plus the addition of Reed and Williams in the near future increases the odds of success exponentially. Thanks for the question, and all the best as you mold your team into a winner.
Tim & Rich,
10 team 5×5 Head2Head league 25 man roster must start 1 C-1B-2B-3B-SS-UTL must start 3 OF and must start 1 SP 1 RP 4 . This is a rookie dynasty league you only get to keep rookies that are on your roster before they reach MLB rookie games played AB/IP limits. My keepers are as follows: Manny Machado SS/3B, Joey Votto 1B, George Springer OF, Madison Bumgarner SP, Kyle Schwarber C/OF, Miguel Sano 3B, Craig Kimbrel RP, Anthony Rendon, 2B/3B, Hanley Ramirez OF, Masahiro Tanaka SP, Ken Giles RP, Christian Yelich OF, Tajiuan Walker SP, Yordano Ventura SP, Lucas Giolito SP, Jeff Hoffman SP, Dilson Herrera 2B, Bradley Zimmer OF, Austin Meadows OF, and Orlando Arcia SS.
My 2 dilemas are as follows 1st OF Lewis Brinson is still available as well as Andrew Benintendi I don’t want to add more OF so I was thinking of dropping someone not sure who? 2nd Alex Bregman is also still available would you drop Dilson Herrera and pick him up? TIA
Howdy. Thanks for the questions, ageorge. In a ten-team, you have no shortage of prospects, and very good ones at that. My first thought would be to cut Jeff Hoffman to solve your problem with adding Brinson, and he’s the player you want to add. When was the last time we saw a Rockies pitching product succeed? The other approach would be to take and package a prospect (Hoffman?) and say Hanley Ramirez, for a SP. A two-for-one type deal would open up a roster spot. Whatever approach you take I’d work towards finding a way to get Brinson on your roster and quick. In regards to your second question, I’d probably hold. I like Bregman, but Herrera has some pretty serious skills and will probably inherit the 2B gig for the Mets in 2017 when Walker attains free agency. Is Bregman worth shuffling the deck with Herrera a year away? I’ll pass. I hope that helps and good fortunes building an even stronger Dynasty!
Rich & Tim, any thoughts on Harrison Bader in the Sawx organization? http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.cgi?id=bader-000har
I’ll defer to Rich on this one, Mike.
He’s a nice sleeper and somebody to keep an eye on. Late bloomer in college and it continued in Low-A. That said, it should have continued as he was too advanced for that level. Let’s see what he does next year in HiA and AA before totally buying in.
I think Bader looks promising but I also think you mean STL organization, not Sox. Unless Sawx is some acronym for St. Louis…
Tim and Rich,
If have a keeper question that hits on overall keeper philosophy. I am in a 14-team auction league ($260) where you can only keep four players for a max of two years. I’ve always been a fan of picking better value over better player, but what do you do when that player is the best at his position? My situation is this…I can keep four of the following…
Jose Altuve – $19 for one more year
Jose Abreu – $28 for one more year
Mookie Betts – $21 for two more years
Clayton Kershaw – $44 for one more year
Ken Giles – $5 for two more years
I am keeping the three bats and wavering on which arm to keep. I posted this to the FB page with a pretty even split of suggestions. Top tier closers historically go in the mid-teens, and I’d imagine Giles would go around $10. I can’t imagine Kershaw going much higher that the $44 pricetag, so even though Giles holds the better value (can also keep him an additional year), it is CLAYTON KERSHAW we are talking about here.
Would you guys lock up the best pitcher at the game for one season and fill in my bullpen with lesser arms at that same $5-$7 price? Or lock up Giles for two years thereby throwing Kershaw in the auction where I could potentially get him back in the mid-40’s or fall back to Bumgarner/Sale/Scherzer in the the 38-40 range.
Thanks for any suggestions!
For me, it’s always about value. I don’t care if it’s Clayton Kershaw or Mike Trout. If the player returns less than a cheaper player, the cheaper player should be considered. This is so true in auction league. If you can get CK for similar value in the draft, then do that. Keep Giles and do the arbitrage. Just make sure you do the math to ensure there is a significant value difference.
Just an FYI, Michael. The first Industry Auctions (CBS) for 2016 were completed last week and Kershaw went at $41, Sale at $34, Schzerer at $32, and Bumgarner at $31.
Hey Tim & Rich, love the podcast and the website. Keep up the great work.
I’m in a 14 team (6×6 [Holds & OPS]) league with 6 keepers (3 years with increasing roundage)
I feel three of my keepers are locks with:
Arenado (5th rnd); Dee Gordon (10th rnd); Schwarber (23rd round)
Was looking to get an opinion my other three(All would be their first keeper year in the 23rd Round):
K. Morales, Ender, Grichuk, Piscotty, Osuna, Severino, Baez, Reddick
Thanks in advance for the help
Hey Tim and Rich….love the podcast, glad y’all added this feature to the site.
I’m in a 14 team – 6×6 – 6 man keeper league with (Keepers can be kept three years with increasing roundage jumps each year)
Was looking to get your opinion on my options.
Nolan Arenado (5th Round) – 2nd Keeper Year
Dee Gordon (10th) – 2nd Keeper Year
Baez (18th) – 1st Keeper Year
All the rest can be kept in the 23rd with two additional years available
Schwarber ; Morales ; Justin Turner ; Ender ; Piscotty ; Grichuk ; Osuna ; Severino
Obviously keeping Arenado, Gordon and Schwarber.
Just wonder your opinion on the final 3.
Thanks for the help guys, keep up the great work!
Severino, Piscotty, and Ender for me. Not sure what Tim thinks?
Hi, Lee. Thanks for the question. I agree with Severino and Piscotty. The challenge, at least for me, is trying to find that last keeper. I like Inciarte, but there have been rumours that the Braves will move him since the day they acquired him. I’d hate to see him end up in a platoon situation. Grichuck could be a great buy if the elbow holds up. Again, some risk. This brings us to boring old Kendry Morales. I think you can pencil him in for 20-100. As a sixth keeper, that more than gets the job done. I also wouldn’t put all that much stock in the extra years of keeper potential and how it then relates to Morales age. You will draft this year and surely have options again next spring that could very easily trump those that you currently have. I hope that helps, and all the best in your League play in 2016!
Thanks for the help guys, and sorry for the double post.
Tim (or Rich), I keep hearing look at “young for level” as part of prospect review. Is there some standard for each level’s age?
I’ll defer to Rich’s expertise, Mike. My approach is to look for the serious outliers. Any time you have a player that is playing at any level where he is significantly younger than his peers, it’s worth further exploring.
Rule of thumb. If you are 19 years old and playing in High-A are above, you are young for the league.
The other way is to go to Baseball-Reference, pick the league, sort by age and see who the young players are in the league. It will be apparent when you see the names and ages.
very helpful … thank you, Sir.
Tim, I’m in a 14 team dynasty league with 65 man rosters growing by 5 each spring and I need your advice on a trade. I am being offered Yuliesky Gurriel for Javier Baez. I have Manny Machado (who Karabel thinks is going to play SS next season) Marcus Semien, Trea Turner, Zach Cosart, Ozhaino Albies, Lourdes Gurriel, Jr., Brendan Rogers, and Delvin Perez. I wonder if the loss of. Baez can be absorbed by my coming depth. I am currently in 5th place and want to really contend next season. What do you think?
It looks like Tim missed this one…I realize we are probably late, but he’s some thoughts. Gurriel isn’t even in the major and is 32 year-old. Baez doesn’t have a role but still has the crazy bat speed. I would do the trade.
I hope Karabel is right about Machado and perhaps he knows something that hasn’t been reported. Remember, Machado is an elite defender at third and while he could play SS, hasn’t done so in several years. Would the Orioles potentially mess with their best player? I would think not, but time will tell. As an owner of Machado in a DL, I hope he moves as it will only improve his value.
Hi Joseph. Yes, I did miss this question, and my apologizes. If I read your question right, you`re being offered Gurriel for Baez. That`s a pass for me. I`d hold onto the 23-year-old Baez before taking a chance on the much older and unproven Gurriel. You currently have Machado as your 3B and at the very worst will have him 3B eligible for both 2016 and 2017. That gives you at least two full years before you might have to deal with a problem at third. With Semien, Turner, Baez, Rogers, and the rest of your vast collection of shortstops you should have no problems making a deal should that need arise, and it simply might not arise. I`d worry about crossing that bridge when the time comes and I don`t believe it`s anywhere close to that time. I hope that helps and all the best with your 2016 season!
Thanks for the assessment and the great podcast, I never miss it! I have gleaned alot of information over the last few years and several of my keepers are due to your great work. It makes me look good in my leagues because the other guys just don’t take the time to listen (and do other research).
Much appreciated Rick. Use this section for any involved questions and obviously hit us up on Twitter for simply Qs that can be answered in 140 characters.
Tim,
I am in a 10 team H2H points league with no playoffs. We can keep any 20 forever without penalty, and then draft 15 each year for total roster of 35. Any minor league players eat a roster spot.
My team is in rebuild mode as I have finished last two years runnings. Here is my dilema; my major need is 1B. I was set on drafting A.J. Reed 1B with the first overall pick (draft runs 1-10, 1-10 for all rounds). After listenting to the latest podcast, which I never miss, I have just about convinced myself to draft Lewis Brinson CF first overall and grab Josh Bell in a later round. Our league must use a true CF at the position and studs in CF are hard to come by.
I have Mookie Betts and would start Brinson in another OF slot (once he makes the bigs). What do you think of Brinson’s long term value (and will he stick in CF) Vs Reed? I can more than likely draft Rich’s guy Brandon Belt or some other run of the mill firstbaseman to start the year.
Here are the keepers I have that I believe should be remain on my team for years to come: Swihart, Odor, Mazara (thanks to you and Rich I drafted him first overal last year), Boegarts, Lindor, Kang, Betts CF, Upton, Heyward, Dahl, Mazara (thanks to you and Rich again. . . waiver pick), Sano, Rodon, Tanaka, Daniel Norris (my son played against him in college so I had to draft him), Matz, Walker and Taillon.
I think I will be competing soon, sorry this is such a long e-mail . . . Reed or Brinson?
Thanks,
Rick Powers
Thanks, Rick, I’m glad we finally managed to get on the same page….literally. The key for me is the time frame that you’re looking at for being competitive. If it was 2016, I’d be all over Reed as he will contribute this year. You’re not and still rebuilding so I have to roll with Brinson. The kid is an amazing talent, offering both power and speed potential. Having a second player that will quality at CF is also a huge bonus in your particular setup. As you mentioned, finding CF is a challenge and this should resolve that issue and provide you with great depth at that position for many years. All the best with your decision and good fortunes in your League play in 2016!
Thank Tim! You are Rich really have helped me hone my fantasy baseball skills over the past few years!
Draft strategy question: 12-team H2H points with 23-man rosters (so 2C, 5OF, MI, CI, UT, 5SP, 2RP, 2P) + 7 bench. My 8 keepers are ridiculous (Goldy, Abreu, Correa, Arenado, Trout, Stanton, MadBum, Kluber). I’ve got pick 11 out of 12 in the snake draft.
Am I crazy to want to grab a OF and SP for each of rounds 9/10, 11/12, 13/14 and have my 3-5 OF and SP locked up?
My thinking: 2B/MI seems very deep in the middle tiers. Even though it’s 2C, I don’t like to over reach there because of injury risk and most only play 5 games a week. And I usually like to wait on RP and fill in as the season goes and/or spot fill with a SP that has RP eligibility (for this year I like Gausman, maybe Fister or Velasquez).
Thoughts?
I like the plan of building a strong outfield and yes, grabbing the best SP you can makes total sense in this format, so your sanity can’t be questioned. My only problem is that I strongly believe in also taking advantage of the board and the possible opportunities that it can present. If the right catcher or MI type is available, make it a point to be flexible and take advantage of this. It’s fine to have a plan, but don’t lock yourself in to the point where it becomes detrimental to the overall goal of constructing the best team possible. You’re also very right in your assessment of your keepers. Six of your eight keepers are first rounders. Great work!
Thanks Tim. I will definitely be flexible. I’m throwin back Dozier, Sano, and Odor. If somehow any of them get back to me I’ll be getting one with my 9th round pick 107.
Love the podcast- keep up the great work.
Follow-up. As keepers are looking more clear and guys available when I draft, which pair do you like better: an OF/SP like Kemp or Puig + Liriano, Zimmermann, or Stroman. Or lock-up my infield with some less proven kids with upside in Cory Seager and Roughned Odor.
Tim, I am in a 10 team keeper league, H2H points, no playoffs, (35 man roster and keep 20 with no penalty ever). We must use an actual CF. My team is in a rebuilding mode (2 last place finishes in a row, UGH!).
My most pressing needs are 1B and 3B, i was thinking A.J. Reed with the #1 overall pick and then grabbing Rich’s guy Brandon Belt later on. After listening to your podcast today I am now leaning towards Lewis Brinson because STUD CFers are very hard to come by. I do have Mookie Betts but two studs at CF would be great and I could use one of them in another OF position.
I believe I can grab Josh Bell 1B later in the draft which runs 1-10, 1-10 every round.
Here is what my roster construction looks like, I hope its not too much for an e-mail and will be chastised if that is the case: Swihart, Odor, Moncada (thanks to you guys I drafted him #1 last year), Kang, Boegarts, Lindor, Betts, Heyward, Upton, Sano, Mazara (thanks again!), Matz, Norris (my son played against him in college so I had to grab him), Rodon, Tanaka, Walker, Taillon.
Thank you in advance!
Rick
What’s the earliest round your comfortable selecting Villar?
In a fifteen team Mixed, Villar is a pass for me, Allen. Even if everything breaks right, and he contributes stolen base numbers, it will in all likelihood come with an incredibly poor BA/OBP. I’m going to leave him for the NL-only crowd or as a possible waiver wire option in 2016.
just finished listening to your latest pod-cast .
Sarvinas’ early selection of Puig in the dynasty draft spoiled the exercise .
My question is ‘ why didn’t you guys take the opportunity to educate him ?’
Regardless of anyone’s particular expectations of any player , and certainly everyone is entitled to their own opinion , the reason that the Puig selection was simply wrong is because he could have been taken much later in the draft .
Educate is such a relative term. I don’t like Puig moving forward based on what we’ve seen to-date, but the kid is still 25 and as we saw in his first season has a ton of talent. Would I take him, no, but having contrarian views is one of the things that makes our game the great game that it is. Nobody is right or wrong per say, until we get to the end of the journey. We haven’t got to that stage with Puig, yet.
If I had to choose, Blake Snell or AJ Reed?
I have Reed above Snell. Although as you know, I like Snell very much. Can really pitch with good but not great stuff.
I’m sitting in the same boat as Rich. I like Snell, but Reed has the potential to be a very, very good player in Houston. He also should be arriving and contributing earlier than Snell. Tampa Bay will be playing the clock game. Houston will be playing the let’s win now game. How long does Singleton man 1B for the ‘Stros? I’d love to keep both, but when push comes to shove, AJ Reed is my guy.
Thanks Rich and Tim for the excellent podcast – much appreciated!
In a 5×5 auction 14 team league, how would your position priorities change since we start 2 at each infield position (2 C, 2 1B, 2 2B etc) and 5 OF and 1 Util. Mid season waiver wire is very thin. Thanks for everything
Rich and Tim,
Love the podcast and the rankings and content on this website, glad I found it this year. I also found it really neat, that at the end of your last podcast you talked about a question that was asked to both of you, and Rich responded quickly with a short answer and Tim gave a couple paragraphs reasoning, but in essence it was the same opinion. I am pretty sure that was my question, and thought it was really neat to get referenced too. I love that you always give responses to everyone because elsewhere most experts don’t take the time to respond to everyone. I have a couple more questions for you both if that is okay.
In the league I have asked you questions about, through trades I made last season, since I fell out of contention, I acquired an extra 2nd round and 3rd round pick for my last two picks this coming season. 12 team league(10 Keepers) so in essence a 12th and 13th round pick. I think I can flip those extra picks to either a second and a third round pick in 2017 or 2018. Here is my team this coming year and here is the 6 other best teams in my league, I am not currently too worried about the other 5. So given these 7 teams, which year do you think the extra picks would benefit me most to win it all, 2016, 2017, or 2018? Could you also rank the keepers of these 7 teams, I am sure these fellow league mates would be extremely interested in what experts thought about them. (League is also a standard 5×5 league, 6 bench spots, and 2 prospect spots)
My Team – Rizzo, Cano, Hosmer, Stanton, Buxton, B Hamilton, Springer, Archer, Lester, Gioloto, (my first prospect shortly will be Yoan Moncada, a big reason I thought 2017 or 2018 might be better for me)
Team 2 – Freeman, Kipnis, Price, Greinke, Adrian Gonzalez, Carrasco, Betts, J.D. Martinez, Pollock, Arenado
Team 3 – Longoria, Scherzer, Bumgarner, Goldschmidt, Trout, Altuve, J Abreu, Correa, Yelich, Salazar
Team 4 – Machado, N Cruz, Corey Seager, Kershaw, Puig, Carpenter, Fielder, Tulo, Kluber, Strasburg
Team 5 – Harper, Cole, Joc Pederson, Dickerson, K Bryant, Wong, Miggy, Jose Fernandez, C Martinez, Sonny Gray
Team 6 – Cutch, Marte, Frazier, Matz, Degrom, Schwarber, T Walker, Votto, Polanco, Syndergaard
Team 7 – Adam Jones, C Davis, J Upton, Sale, Kenley Jansen, Franco, Rosenthal, Bogaerts, Arrieta, Kemp
Lastly, in another league I play in you can only keep players for up to 3 years and you are only given so many years to sign players to. I have Chris Davis, Lindor, Blackmon, and Salazar with 7 years left to spread amongst the 4 of them. How would you spread it out?
Let me know if I need to slow down on the questions or if they are too long, I am just eat up with fantasy baseball and love expert insight. Thanks guys.
What prospects should I target in the later rounds of an NFBC draft (players that will contribute in 2016)?
Very tough to answer. Hanson, tilson and J. cotton (no one has heard of him) and Jake Thompson. All wild cards. Good luck
I’ll add Jabari Blash to the list. Rule 5 with the Padres. Is Jon Jay an everyday outfielder? You’re tossing darts in the latter rounds. Have fun with it!
Hey guys, just listened to the pod and heard you speak of this part of the site. Since the rest of it is so great, here is my question. In a dynasty league just like the four Rich runs but it is 1550 IP limit and daily lineups, is it cool to trade Brett Gardner for Jon Lester? Need SP and have depth at OF. Thanks for your time
Yeah, it’s cool, but I’d prefer a younger starter than Lester. I believe he still has a few solid years left in the old tank, just be aware that you’re looking at a rather short window in Lester. Good fortunes with your wheeling and dealing MB!
Hi Tim, love the podcast, thanks for all the effort you and Rich put in.
I’d love some input with my final 2 keepers in a 13 team 5×5 roto league. Penalty is one round above original draft position per year kept. Each keeper must be signed to a 1,2 or 3 year contract.
I have two spots open and it is between:
M Sano – in 13th round 2016
D Salazar – in 14th round 2016
J Reddick – in 25th round 2016
R Odor – in 13th round 2016
I’m leaning towards Reddick on a one year deal because of the value and D Salazar on a one year deal as well (not a fan of multi year deals with pitchers unless they are elite and not sure Salazar is there). Odor and Sano are tempting because I could put them into multi year contracts at decent value (after 10th round through 2018).
What are your thoughts?
Thanks!
Current keepers for reference:
C Correa – 14th round 2016 – 3 years left on contract
A Rendon – 15th round 2016 – 2 years left on contract
G Springer – 16th round 2016 – 2 years left on contract
Hey Rich and Tim, “Deputy Jeff” here in Texas. How is the Jose Altuve bobblehead doing? I am the proud owner of “Done Like Dinner” T Shirt #31. Seems like there ought to be a gummy bear on it somewhere, but the design is very cool.
Lets go folks, get out there to http://www.teespring.com/p361 and get yourself a fine T Shirt and show some appreciation for the work Tim and Rich do for us every week. It really looks good and I plan to wear it to all my drafts this year. I am sure ts good Kharma, its also probably good Dogma, but don’t let your Kharma run over your Dogma!
Thanks for the support Jeff. Yes, the Jose Altuve bobble head sits proudly in my office!
Yes, thanks for the support, Jeff. No bobbleheads here, but my autographed DiceK baseball never comes up short.
Hello Tim, 10 team keeper league (20 keepers and draft 15 each year). Points league and no playoffs. I have been building my team and I have 3 SS worth keeping, Bogearts, Lindor and Russell. I need 1B and 3B but cannot find a suitor in my league for one of the above. I have Brandon Belt and do not feel comfortable keeping him. I am about a year or tow away from competing for a championship (optimist huh?) so would you accept Giolito or Gausman or Reyes (Cards) for Russell in a trade?
I have the first overall pick and will take A.J. Reed and then muddle through with whatever lousy (serviceable) 3B I can get in the draft.
Thanks for your time.
Rick Powers
AL Only 12 Team 5×5 League – I can keep 7 – $50 Budget
Nelson Cruz $4.50
Adam Eaton $3.50
Anthony Gose $1.75
Jarrod Dyson $1.25
Logan Forsythe $2.00
Jonathan Schoop $1.50
Evan Gattis $4.50
Michael Pineda $1.50
Darren O’Day $.25
Huston Street $4.00
Wade Miley $2.00
Initial thoughts were Cruz, Eaton, Dyson, Forsythe, Schoop, Pineda.. unsure on the last guy.
Street
Agreed on Street. Safe as they come, but doesn’t nearly get the respect he deserves.
Was offered a trade, wondered your thoughts,
Get kris Bryant and 8th overall pick in a prospect draft and a 7th round pick out of 18 rounds in a regular draft with 10 keepers already set
Give Stanton, the first overall prospect pick and a 3rd round pick in the regular draft
I prefer Bryant to Stanton keeper wise,but is that too much in picks to justify it? Thanks.
Also if you think I shouldn’t do the trade, who would you take with the first overall prospect pick? (Glasnow, Seager, Matz, Buxton, and Gioloto are unavailable as all are already kept in peoples 10 keepers) Thanks.
Hi Ryne. Thanks so much for the question and here’s my two cents worth. Actually, it’s only 1 1/2 cents as the Canadian dollar is sucking it up right now. I can both see and understand the love for Bryant, but I think it’s also important to remember that Stanton when healthy is a pretty fair player. Let’s attempt to break this down. You’re keeping ten players, so I’m assuming you’re giving up a 13th Rd pick for a 17th Rd pick. Not having the League size available I’ll assume a 12-team format. Going to the current NFBC ADP’s, here’s some of the players that could potentially be available in Rd #13.
Jake Odorizzi
Kendrys Morales
Kevin Pillar
Michael Pineda
Drew Smyly
Here’s some of the 17th Round talent.
Joe Ross
Yasmani Grandal
Blake Swihart
Evan Gattis
Brandon Phillips
There’s a noticeable difference in both risk and talent, as there should be, in those two rounds. That’s the cost you’re looking at incurring when flipping the draft picks in the regular draft. If you are playing in a fifteen-team format the difference in talent becomes even more pronounced as you go deeper into the player pool.
When looking at giving up the #1 pick for the #8 pick in the prospect draft, I’ll defer to the expertise of Rich Wilson. Check out Episode #315 of Fantasy Baseball Live on blogtalkradio, where Rich breaks down his top picks in Dynasty Supp Drafts. One of his comments was that there is a noticeable difference (or break as he put it) in talent once you get past the top-four picks.
My thoughts based on the above, is that you are giving up a bit too much talent to acquire the services of Kris Bryant in both the regular and prospect drafts. Keep those draft picks and find your solution at the hot corner in your regular draft. I hope this helps and all the best in your 2016 League play. Tim
Thank you, I really appreciate your breakdown of that trade very hepful. I was leaning on that being too much to give up too. My Cubs fan ship just made me consider it more than I probably should have lol. And yes it is a 12 team league.
Tim, it’s Rich…let’s see if you can see this and respond?
I can see it, Rich. Let’s see if the response part of the program is working?
Indeed….
Which Brewer will your support as a flier…
Villar
Middlebrooks
Chris Carter
Carter. He’s the safest pick of the lot in that I think you can pencil him in for 30 bombs.
What do you think Jaso’s role will be in Pittsburgh? Worth a late flyer in larger leagues?
A platoon with Mike Morse the likely scenario. If he can stay healthy long enough to get in 300 at-bats it will have to be considered a good year. As a late flyer in deep Leagues, why not?
Mr Mcleod,
Upon starting to draft your initial rankings, who’s standing out as being higher/lower than you thought they would be?
Felix Hernandez seems a bit low to me. There are truly some great options when one looks at top-tier starters. I think many will be surprised where I have Jake Arrieta slotted in, or maybe not?
I haven’t heard much about Steven Souza for the upcoming season. What do you think we’ll see from him this year?
20+ homers, 70 RBI, 5-10 thefts, and a place in the Tampa Bay record book for breaking the single-season strikeout record. The power potential is intriguing, as long as you’re prepared to deal with the poor BA.
Thanks Tim, love the pod cast. You and Rich are great!
Ask Tim a Question?
I’d be glad to. (You too Rich!)….. Great work on the Podcast, always look forward to the “whatever we want to talk about”! Trying to make my keepers done like dinner, looking for your help
Defending champ in 12-team, 5×5 h2h keeper league. We keep 7 players each year as our first 7 picks. I think I have 6 locks:
1. Carlos Correa (thanks for the heads-up fellas — grabbed him as a FA a month or so before he got called up.).
2. Anthony RITZO
3. Mad Bum
4. Cory Kluber
5. Matt Harvey
6. George Springer (who based on your discussion I’ll be looking to deal in an upgrade this season… shhhh.)
The final spot is a toss-up between Chris Davis or Miguel Sano. (or Current vs. Future Chris Davis). In this league you can win with 3-4 SP so I like locking them up, which is why the last spot comes down to Davis/Sano.
I was locked on Sano at the end of the season, but y’all have sounded cool on him. He has 3B-elig.
thanks!
Sorry for the late response. Is Sano ceiling Chris Davis???? It might be with 3B eligibility, but for how long? I think in a keeper league, I would side with the here and now and go with Davis. I just don’t believe that Sano is a long-term top 84 player.
Rich, I signed in under Facebook and posted yesterday but it never showed up. I typed this into a word document and then posted again but it did not show up. So I am now replying to your “Ask Tim a Question?” post to see if it can be seen. I also sent it to Tim via Facebook. Do you know what I could have done wrong?
Tim,
I am in a 10 team H2H points league with no playoffs. We can keep any 20 forever without penalty, and then draft 15 each year for total roster of 35. Any minor league players eat a roster spot.
My team is in rebuild mode as I have finished last two years runnings. Here is my dilema; my major need is 1B. I was set on drafting A.J. Reed 1B with the first overall pick (draft runs 1-10, 1-10 for all rounds). After listenting to the latest podcast, which I never miss, I have just about convinced myself to draft Lewis Brinson CF first overall and grab Josh Bell in a later round. Our league must use a true CF at the position and studs in CF are hard to come by.
I have Mookie Betts and would start Brinson in another OF slot (once he makes the bigs). What do you think of Brinson’s long term value (and will he stick in CF) Vs Reed? I can more than likely draft Rich’s guy Brandon Belt or some other run of the mill firstbaseman to start the year.
Here are the keepers I have that I believe should be remain on my team for years to come: Swihart, Odor, Mazara (thanks to you and Rich I drafted him first overal last year), Boegarts, Lindor, Kang, Betts CF, Upton, Heyward, Dahl, Mazara (thanks to you and Rich again. . . waiver pick), Sano, Rodon, Tanaka, Daniel Norris (my son played against him in college so I had to draft him), Matz, Walker and Taillon.
I think I will be competing soon, sorry this is such a long e-mail . . . Reed or Brinson?
Thanks,
Rick Powers
Hey Rick….glad you found us.
Hard to go wrong with either Brinson or Reed. Reed has more value this year and perhaps next but as you know, I have unnatural love for Brinson and believe he could be a dynamic fantasy player. And yes, he should stay at CF. But, sometimes that doesn’t happen. JBJ is a much better CFer than Mookie Betts but Mookie plays CF. The reason is JBJ’s arm is so strong he can profile all over the place and Mookie can’t. Could the same thing happen to Brinson? Sure, but I think the starting outfield for Texas by sometime in 2017 should look like Nomar and Choo in the corners and Brinson in center. Brinson for me.