ESPN 5x5 Roto Draft

 ESPN Public League - 5x5 Roto

After filling out my NCAA BAsketball Brackets on ESPN, I decided to join an ESPN Public MLB Fantasy League.  Unlike my experiences on Yahoo, the ESPN Public Leagues don't appear to have the ability for one to  schedule a draft.  You choose to draft and, as soon as enough people join, you draft.

I wasn't even sure about what positions or how many players (they have middle infielder/ corner infielder and 5 OF.  No requied SP / RP just 9 pitchers).  It took about 15 minutes for 12 people to join this draft.  Once you select to join a league, it puts you in a league, you then can leave.  Many people came and went before we had 12 that stayed and formed the league.

Once again I ended up drafting 11 out of 12.  In a way that helped since my last Yahoo draft was from that draft slot also so I knew I drafted 11, 14, 35, 38, 59, 62, etc   which helped me look ahead to players I expected to have available when my turn came and have 5 or 6 queued up.

Since this is a Roto League, there are no areas of stats which one can "punt" and hope to win the league.  My strategy in Roto leagues is to try to be in the top 3 in all categories.  You don't have to win any but need to finish in the top of all to have a chance to win so you need across the board production PLUS a decent batting average - say 0.270 and above.

Pk 11     Jose Ramirez    3B

PK 14    Trevor Bauer    SP

PK 35    L. Castillo        SP

PK 38    A. Mondesi      SS

PK 59    Randy Arozarena  OF

PK 62    Y. Alvarez    U (He may gain OF or 1B eligibility in season)

PK 83    E. Diaz    RP (Closer 1)

PK 86    R. Iglesias  RP  (Closer 2)

PK 107    R. Pressley  RP (Closer 3)

PK 110    M. Moustakas  1B, 2B 

PK 131    Will Smith  Catcher

PK 134     N. Anderson   RP

PK 155    D. Williams  RP

PK 158    D. Moore  2B,  OF

PK 179    K. Gausman   SP

PK 182    C. Taylor  OF, 2B, SS

PK 203    J. Walsh  1B

PK 206    R. Tapia  OF

PK 227    A. Civale  SP

PK 230    Z. Efflin  SP

PK 251    A. Gimenez  SS, 2B, 3B

PK 254    D. Castillo  RP, SP

PK 275   A. Dickerson   OF

PK 278    C. Dickerson   OF

PK 299    H. Kim   2B

PK 303    Ty France  2B

I ended up with a strong mix for pitching and so-so for hitting.  My hitting is strong on SBs and should be strong for runs.  HRs and RBIs?  Those are the question marks.  I need Y. Alvarez to have a healthy season with 30 - 40 HRs which he is capable of providing if he is healthy and Moustakas to rebound and also hit 30+   I think Mondesi could "breakout" this year and hit 20 Hrs to go with 60 SBs and 100 runs - we'll see.  I am more bullish on his non-SB potential than others.  I think he has the tools to hit 0.275 or better and if he does, he will score more runs along with having more SBs than forecast (50).

Gimenez looks to be solidifying his role in Cleveland as the everyday SS so he is another good source of SBS, Runs and potentially upside in HRS and RBIs.  

I just signed up to do a POINTS HTH league on CBS Sports on Saturday March 27.  Points leagues have different values so I am in the process now of organizing my draft list.  Juan Soto will be my #1 listed player in Points leagues with Trout #2.  Cole will be the # 1 Pitcher.  Since a hitter gets a point for walking, OBP is more important than batting average but striking out costs you points so a 250 hitter who strikes out a lot hurts you more than a 250 hitter who simply flies out ot grounds out.  You want hitters who put the ball in play or walk.  A single is worth 1 point, a double 2 points, etc   Pitching - you want innings and quality starts since both give you points along with wins and saves (7 points each) but losses cost points.  I'm still trying to create my draft strategy for the points league.