New World Wonders 2 - 2nd Yahoo Head to Head League draft

 New World Wonders 2

I participated in my second fantasy baseball draft of 2021 and I liked the results better.  No one knows what the future holds but I have a better mix to start the season.  Again this was a 12 team, head to head league on Yahoo Sports.

I was drafting 11th out of 12 which means having 2 picks close together and then a long wait.  With pick 11, I took Jose Ramirez - 3 B with Cleveland and with pick 14 I grabbed another 3rd baseman - Manny Machado who is also eligible at SS.  Pick 3?  I took Boston's Xander Bogaerts - another SS so with 3 picks I have 2 Third Basemen and 2 Shortstops.  With my 4th pick I took NYY D.J. LeMahieu who is eligible at 1, 2 and 3.  

So to start the draft I stuck to my game plan of taking hitters the first 4 picks before taking a pitcher AND I gave the benefit of the doubt to players who had multi-position eligibility.  I love that flexibility in HTH leagues.  I didn't pick a player because of his multi-player eligibility  (in other words I didn't take a worst player just because they had eligibility at more than 1 position) but if it was close, it was the difference maker.

My plan was to take a Starting Pitcher at round 5 but I deviated and took Josh Hader with pick 59 and Liam Hendriks with pick 62 setting up my Closers early.  I decided I could find more starting pitchers late than reliable closers.

With pick 83 (7th pick) I took NYM SP Carlos Carrasco.  Switching from American League to National League and playing home games at Citifield, his stats could be very good.  

In the 8th Round I took BlueJays versatile player, Lourdes Gurriel, Jr who is eligible at 2B and OF.  I took him as the best OutFielder available for 5x5 fantasy - he gives me power, runs, RBIs and a chance for SBs.

My next pick went SP with D. Lamet who has some of the best stuff in MLB.  The only issue is can he stay healthy.  I like him this year because the Padres Bullpen is loaded with 4 pitchers who have closer experience.  That could lead to extra WINS for Lamet this season.  He just needs to take a lead into the 6th inning.

My next pick was Mike Moustakas of Cincy.  I think he will rebound this year.  He is playing in a Hitters park in Cincinnati and he has power.  If he can hit .265 or higher, he will give me a lot of HRs, RBIs and Runs.  He won't give me SBs.  With LeMahieu on my team, I can afford to have some hitters who don't hit for average.  I'm hoping Moustakas can carry his weight on average anyway but if he hits 40 HRS with a .225 average, I can absorb it.

Round 11, I took what I saw as the best available - Kevin Gausman - SP with San Francisco.  If he was picthing for a team like the Dodgers, he would probably be a very early draft pick.  He will give me a lot of Ks and hopefully maintain a WHIP and ERA that is more than competitive.  The question is, will his offense score runs to let him earn those Ws?

Round 12 saw me take Dylan Moore of Seattle.  When he was healthy is 2020, he produced across the board.  Here I added him to make me competitive in SBs.  

Round 13, I took Miami hurler Sixto Sanchez.  I picked him up in 2020 and he was fantastic.  Another year of experience and I'm hoping he pitches like an SP 1.  

Round 14 saw me take a chance on Chicago's Ian Happ.  He is expected to leadoff for the Cubs which means that he could score a ton of runs in addition to hitting 25 or more HRs.

Round 15, I took a chance on another Cub - Craig Kimbrel.  He was once the ACE closer in MLB and then took a tumble when he left Boston and joined the Cubs.  BUT he resurged last season and looked back to form.  If that second half of 2020 relief pitcher is the one in 2021, I got a steal.  I'll keep an eye on his stats and gran Rowan Wick if Kimbrel stumbles (or try to grab him).

This gave me the 3 Closers I wanted on my pitching staff.  With 3, I should be able to win Saves most weeks and hopefully compete for WHIP and ERA.  

in Round 16, pick 182, I took LAA SP S. Ohtani.  He has looked "back" to form in early Spring Season games.  I saw little risk in taking him as my 5th Starting Pitcher.  If he is back to form, he will return SP 1 value.

Round 17 and 18, I took hitting.  In 17, I went with Mariner Prospect, J. Kelenic.  He figures to give you across the board production IF he gets playing time.  I consider J. Walsh here but he doesn't have the SB upside of Kelenic.

Round 18 I went ahead and took Rockies 1B CJ Chron.  If I only play him when they play in Colorado, he should hit enough HRs to justify the pick.  Don't be surprised if he hits over 40HRs this season and with a batting average of 0.250 or better.

Round 19, I took another potential 35 - 40 HR hitter in Joc Pederson.  He is with the Cubs now and just 2 years ago hit almost 40 HRs.  So far in Spring Training he has been hitting well.

Round 20, I took Diego Castillo of TB.  Diego qualifies as SP and RP.  That lets me picth him in a SP slot if I have a lineup without 2 SPs scheduled.  He will also be one of the 3 RPs in Tampa Bay closing.  

Pick 21, I took Texas Ranger Isiah Kiner-Falefa whom I have been targeting in my drafts.  He is Catcher eligible but playing SS and batting 3rd for the Rangers.  In 2020 he had 8 SBs, 28 runs and hit 0.280 in a shortened season.  I expect him to perform much better than Yahoo forecasts so long as he hits 3rd and hits 0.275 or better.  Don't be surprised if he swipes 20 or more bases and scores 75 runs.  I figure he is good for 10 Homeruns and maybe 70 RBIs.  Time will tell.  

My final 2 picks saw me take Injured pitchers, Chris Sale and Noah Syndergaard.  Why not?  I can place them on the IR and take 2 players off of waivers.

Initially I have chosen to take Severino (NYY SP who is also on IR) and Jon Berti who is in my opinion undervalued.  If I win both off waivers, I'll place Severino on IR (there are 4 IR slots) and take another pitcher.  I'm still debating which pitcher to add.

One change I made for this draft was creating a draft sheet in Numbers (Apple's Spreadsheet) in which I could track the hitting stats - HRs, RBIs, Runs and SBs - so at a glance I could see how my team was faring overall based on projections.  

My roster after the draft (before adding players from Waivers to replace the 2 IR).

Have fun playing Fantasy Baseball in 2021

First MLB Draft of 2021 Results

 I am not entirely pleased with my first draft of 2021.

I started at the 2nd position.  The first pick went Tatis leaving me with what most see as as the #1 pick in Acuna.  So far so good.  With my 2nd pick, I took Mondesi leaving me solid on steals but light on HRS, and RBis but that is ok - lots of power left in later rounds; not so many stolen bases.  

In the Third, I took Eloy Jimenez.  Power.

But in the 4th I deviated from my script.  My plan going in was to draft hitters the first 4 rounds and then take pitching in 5 and 6.  in the 4th I took SP B. Woodruff and Vlad in round 5.  I considered taking Kyle Tucker in 4 and probably should have.  It would have solidified RBIs, Runs, SBs and added Hrs.  Vlad won't give me any SBs.  Still it was Ok.

In Round 6 I took Closer Karinchak.  

In 7 I should have taken my second Closer.  Instead I took NYM SP Carrasco.  My 2nd deviation from my plan.  I thought Iglesias or Jansen would fall to me in Round 8 but they didn't.  Hindsight is 20/20.  In my Mock drafts, the other teams held off drafting closers after the first 3 went off the board.

In 8, with Iglesias and Kansen taken before me, I took another SP - Lamet.  

In 9, my internet stalled just as my pick came up. My autodraft was Max Muncy.  He has power and hits in the middle of a powerful lineup for the Dodgers.  No SBs but I should get HRS, RBis and Runs from him plus 3 position eleigibility.

Round 10, I took Reds Mike Moustakis.  He is similar to Muncy but playing for the Reds.  He had an off year in 2020 but should be good for 30 HRs playing in Cincy.

Round 11, I took Dominic Smith when I should have probably taken Dylon Moore.  Moore would give me needed steals while Smith gives me HRS and RBIs.  Hopefully he scores enough runs.  Moore had multi-player eligibility which makes shuffling daily lineups easier.  Still at 11, my roster was OK.

In 12, I took RP Devin Williams - while he is a good pitcher and will improve the bottom line on ERA, WHIP and add Ks, he won't give me Saves or wins.  I should have taken Happ or Mountcastle here.

In 13, I took my 2nd closer.  Rafael Montero.  He should have been my 3rd closer - my plans - but he is my second.

Round 14, I took power - Santander and in 15 my 3rd Closer - Pomeranz.  If he is a definite Closer for Padres and not a committee, I should now have focused on hitting.  But I had my doubts and that hurt the rest of my draft as I mixed relief pitchers still in with hitters taking both Leclerc and Hernandez from Texas (not knowing which will close).

C   Isiah Kiner-Falefa Tex - C,3B,SS
1B   Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Tor - 1B,3B"
2B   Max Muncy LAD - 1B,2B,3B"
3B   Mike Moustakas Cin - 1B,2B,3B
SS   Adalberto Mondesi KC - SS"
OF   Ronald Acuña Jr. Atl - OF"
OF   Eloy Jiménez CWS - OF"
OF   Dominic Smith NYM - 1B,OF"
U   Anthony Santander Bal - OF"
U Nick Solak Tex - 2B,3B,OF"
Bench C.J. Cron Col - 1B


Pitchers
SP Brandon Woodruff Mil - SP"
SP Carlos Carrasco NYM - SP,RP"

SP Dinelson Lamet SD - SP
SP Aaron Civale Cle - SP"

IL SP   MIKE CLEVINGER
IL     SP Noah Syndergaard NYM - SP

RP   Diego Castillo TB - SP,RP"
RP   James Karinchak Cle - RP"
RP   Rafael Montero Sea - RP"
RP   Devin Williams Mil - RP"
RP   Drew Pomeranz SD - SP,RP"
RP   José Leclerc Tex - SP,RP

RP   Jonathan Hernández Tex - RP"

I purposely took Syndergaard with a late pick to add him to the IL.  I then added Clevinger also.  with 4 IL spots, I still have 2 for regular season use and can drop Clevinger or Syndergaard if necessary (IF my team is plagued with injuries).

IF Pomeranz starts the season strong as a closer, I may trade him for a hitter.  Currently my plan is to add a hitter from waivers and go with 4 Starting pitchers with relievers.  

2021 MLB PreDraft - Know your League Settings

 Fantasy Sportsaholic MLB Draft Prep

My first 2021 draft is set on Yahoo for Saturday, March 6

Remember I said it was important to “know” the league settings. 

This league has what I consider a pretty basic lineup - C 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF and 2 Utility Players.   They also allow for 5 bench players and importantly 4 Injured.  Last year with Covid I felt at times I didn’t have enough IL spots.  4 is good.  2 is iffy.  0 is a nightmare.

Now go to settings (under League Tab) and check the scoring and other information.

The league is head to head with daily lineups - I prefer daily lineups.

No Maximum for acquisitions on the season BUT there is a weekly maximum of 6 - that will allow some weekly changes but not full streaming of pitchers for example.  

Note also that the pitching requirement of 20 minimum innings pitched each week.  That means you probably need a couple of pitchers each week who start and pitch 5 innings each.  Plan for 3 Starting pitchers minimum is better.  

Note the “allow injured players from waivers to go directly to IL” is NO.  That means IF I want to add an IL eligible player to my roster (stash them for later), I need an empty spot on my roster first.  I may have another player who is IL eligible whom I can move to IL first and then add the new player, and then move them to IL or I may have to drop a player first.  Some Team Managers will drop very good players to waivers when they go on IL.  Some I will take knowing they will make a difference for my team after coming off IL.

 

Now notice the Scoring - again this is now 5x5 scoring that is more or common (but not every league follows it so always check your scoring).  R+HR+RBIs+SBs form the core of the hitter stats along with Avg.  

Pitching is also 5 - W, S, Ks, ERA and WHIP.

So now as I consider players to draft I am looking at my combined 4 (R+HRS+RBIS+SBS) as my tool.  I want players who give me the highest total BUT also need to keep an eye open for SBs and Avg.  For Pitching I am watching WHIP and K/9 while keeping ERA in mind but if their WHIP is good the ERA should also be good.  I don’t focus on Wins but try to draft a couple of SP1 (Pitchers who are the first tier pitcher for their team) plus 3 closers then get high k/9 low Whip pitchers even if they are not SPs or Closers.  Often a relief pitcher who gets 2 or 3 innings or even a setup pitcher who just pitches 1 inning will pick up wins while giving you Ks and low WHIP.  If yo have 3 good closers on your pitching staff, you can win 4 of the 5 Pitching stats each week and win your league.

Now you know your League Settings, it’s time to arrange your Draft List - Do NOT rely on the Default setting.

Next Blog - setting your Pre-Draft Rankings.

BACK IN THE SADDLE

 Wow, it has been a long time since I blogged about Fantasy Sports.  There was a time when I played Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Basketball, Fantasy Football and Fantasy Hockey.  Then in 2009 I moved to South Korea and then in 2011 to Hong Kong - I still played but I quit blogging about it.  

In 2013 I moved to China and my days of playing Fantasy Sports paused.  It was difficult to keep up from the other side of the world especially when the Chinese Government blocked sites.  Did you know Dobber Hockey is blocked by China?  Strange.

Anyway, last year I resumed Fantasy Baseball since Covid19 had me sitting around doing almost nothing (I was still in China at the time) so I went back to playing only to have Covid disrupt the game in the US adding a risk element that made managing .... interesting.  I still managed to eek out one or two first place finishes .

So now it's 2021

It's time to prepare for the new Fantasy Baseball Season.

First - know your facts.

    This includes Stats but isn't limited to Stats.  It means first you need to know the league details in which you are going to play.  How many players?  What positions?  What STATS count?  How are the counted?  Is it Head to Head each week or is it ROTO?  Are lineups set daily or weekly?  Is there a limit on transactions?  Minimums on Innings pitched?  Maximums?  Player Eligibility Rule? 

Get to know the league rules BEFORE you draft.

Second - Know your Players.  I started with the Leagure rules because it affects your players stats you want to know.  If Stikeouts for example is a negative stat for a hitter, you need to know that so you can adjust your ranking of a power hitter who strikes out a lot.  For Pitchers, do HomeRuns allowed count as a negative?  When you know the league rules, then you can look at the Stats that are important for you in that league.

I start with last year's MLB stats.  FantasyPros makes it easy.  https://www.fantasypros.com/mlb/stats/hitters.php?range=2020  They provide you with stats for hitters and pitchers.

I take those stats and copy them into a spreadsheet which allows me to refine what I am looking for in my players.  I am in the process of doing that today.  I add my own columns to both hitting and pitching stats.

For hitting, I create a Runs+RBIs+HR+SB column.  These are the primary 4 stats used in most Fantasy leagues whether it is head to head or Roto.  I also then create a column that takes that combined number and divides it by "at bats".  Now I can see who does the most with opportunity.  

For pitching, I am interested in Strikeouts which the stats show but also Strikeouts per 9 innings and the strikeout / walk ratio.  I also look at WHIP.  Wins and losses depend so much on run support and frankly luck.  So I don't focus as much on a pitcher's win - loss records as I do Quality Starts, ERA, WHIP and K/9 and K/BB.

I'll post more after I finish getting my Stats in order.