I’d like to pick up where I left off as far as building my roster and how I went about that, but first I want to add important context that should have been mentioned sooner. Some more context into the leagues I’m advising is that at least for this year I’m in 10 team leagues, but the fab league I’ve been focused on that has a budget was a 14 or 15 team league, so I still have a lot of experience playing in larger leagues and believe my input provides value for any league that has 10-15 teams. In my experience, starting pitching is so valued and rostered that league size doesn’t really even apply to it. That’s my belief simply because there are over 100 pitchers owned in all my leagues at any one time. The pitchers I showed interest in when it was a 15 team league are the same ones I pay attention to in a 10 team league, because you never know where a breakout might happen and where it might come from. Last season I picked up Ronel Blanco after he came out of nowhere and threw a no hitter. He was not well-known or viewed as remarkable in any way, and getting his chance at age 30 he still became a breakout who was useful and owned in all leagues. This season I’ve already done similar things, as there are many pitchers I’ve picked up or drafted late who I would have been told have no place or value in a 10 team league. A few examples would be Drew Rasmussen, Jack Leiter, Kris Bubic, and Grant Holmes. Holmes doesn’t have good stats, but you have to add some context. He got two of the worst matchups in baseball for a pitcher to start the season in the Dodgers and Phillies who have great offenses. I stuck with him, then in his 3rd start against a respectable Blue Jays offense he took a no hitter into the 6th and pitched into the 8th inning. I also like that he pitches for a Braves team who in theory should be good, even though they’ve gotten off to a rough start. The Braves have also already shown they’ll let him throw 100 pitches and aren’t going to baby him, which is also really important in a points league. Volume and the ability to rack up innings and pitch deep into games is crucial in a points league. Holmes already showed that ability pitching into the 8th inning in his third start, and he should be owned everywhere. The same should also be said of Drew Rasmussen, even if he hasn’t been allowed to go past 5 innings yet. Coming back from another surgery, the Rays are being very careful with Rasmussen, which is annoying but is simply the reality of his situation. It’s very clear that he’s legit production wise, and with no restrictions would be a top 30 starting pitcher. It’s also worth noting that Rasmussen and Holmes are both relief pitcher eligible, meaning it provides them added value in a points league since you can put them in your RP spot. There is a possibility Rasmussen doesn’t even throw 100 innings this year, but that doesn’t make him useless or someone I need to get rid of. In this league I could potentially keep him, but more than that he can provide plenty of value as I’m dealing with a lot of starting pitcher injuries at the moment. My thinking is that by the time Rasmussen reaches his innings limit, even if he gets shut down I have 4 starting pitchers who should be back and healthy by then. So I’m not really worried about it. If Rasmussen helps me win now and my pitching is healthy for the playoffs, I’m not going to need Rasmussen anymore anyway.

One thing blogging has taught me so far is that I’m not so results focused anymore, and that’s a good way to look at it. I actually love the process of finding good players and sticking to my process even if the results don’t follow. My track record honestly speaks for itself, but even if it all goes wrong and I somehow miss the playoffs, it’s not going to be because my process was wrong or because I took advice from someone else. So the results have usually followed, but this year it hasn’t been the case, and there is at least a possibility that doesn’t change! The only thing I have control over is the process and building my own roster, as I have no control over what happens after that, considering these are human beings who make mistakes and fluctuate up and down between success and failure, just like you and me. I can put myself in the best position possible for success, but if the results don’t follow I no longer question my methods. Hindsight is always going to make you second guess, but the key is to just learn and get smarter and want to improve your knowledge and view of fantasy baseball and baseball itself as a sport. When I build my roster and look at either my players or players on the waiver wire, I take a long-term approach where I know I’ll likely be there at the end and make the playoffs, and view most things through that lens that I want to do whatever is going to give me the best shot at winning the league. I honestly do care about the result if I can help it, as I’m very competitive and don’t like losing, and haven’t even handled it well in the past! Nothing has taught me all this from the paragraph more than the fact I’ve started 0-2 and is looking like I may lose again. I’ve had a lot of injuries so far and am going to have to make some adjustments with my pitching, as 3 of my top 6 pitchers, who were healthy when I drafted or kept them, are all out for at least half the season. I’m going to need to find a way to survive though and not be totally out of contention for the playoffs by the time they return.

It’s taken all the way until now for me to continue the conversation about roster construction, but that was all valuable information that I decided was worth sharing first. Keeping McClanahan and Alcantara played into my draft strategy, but I even used my strategy in leagues where I didn’t have keepers. My plan was to draft at least 6 hitters in my first 8 picks, focusing on infield first, where I wanted to take 3 of them with my first 4 picks, and use the other pick on a starting pitcher. My plan worked out even better than I thought it would, as I was able to fill out my entire infield in my first 5 picks. I was picking third, and the player I wanted most first was Jose Ramirez, who I was able to draft. I had my own rankings that I went off of when I drafted, and had calculated my second pick would be 18th overall. It’s worth sharing that I had my top 17 and was going to draft whoever was available out of that group as my second pick. It somehow happened that all 17 of those players I ranked in the top 17 were the exact 17 players taken in the draft before my 2nd pick. So my 18th ranked player was Ozzie Albies, which is who I picked. I had hoped to get him with my next pick and thought I wouldn’t have to reach there, but it was my best choice given the circumstances. To recap so far, I have the catcher position filled with William Contreras who I kept as a keeper, Albies at 2nd base, and Ramirez at 3rd. Up to this point, I feel great about where I’m at since I have three elite players at very shallow positions that don’t have much depth. Having the best catcher, second baseman, and third baseman is a great place to start in constructing a roster. That type of thinking is why I chose this strategy in the first place. You want a team that stands out above the rest in some way, and mine stands out with that combination of players and my infielders overall as a group. 

My next pick when it came back around was Trea Turner, who also played into my 2nd pick. I could have picked Corey Seager with my 2nd pick, who I like more than Turner but I wasn’t confident Albies would make it back to me. I did however think either Seager or Turner would make it back to me, and that’s exactly what happened. I’m also by no means a huge fan of Turner, but I do see a real drop off at the shortstop position after that. He still hits at the top of a good lineup and should provide steady production. With my 4th pick I took Aaron Nola, who at the time I couldn’t believe was still available. I had to decide between him and Max Fried, who was taken two picks later. In hindsight, Nola has had an awful start to the season and there’s a chance I chose wrong. I picked Nola because I valued his steady volume and production, and the fact he’s been reliable and not injured like Max Fried has been in the past. Yes, right now I’d swap Nola for Fried in a heartbeat, but it’s a long season and I’m not worried about Nola, Maybe he has lost some velocity, but I have watched him and don’t see that as the real concern or problem. All of his underlying numbers are right in line with his career actually, and have even seen stretches in watching him where he looks good and like his normal self. I do believe he’s had some pretty bad luck so far, as the way he’s pitched is much better than the results would tell you. I also thought pitching for a good team ensured wins and a good record for Nola being on the Phillies, but that hasn’t happened yet either as he is somehow 0-4 and gotten a loss every start. I have faith Nola will be fine, and even want to buy low in the leagues where I can. My 5th pick that filled out my infield was Cody Bellinger, who I was also thrilled to get with that pick. I really value his dual eligibility in fantasy at first base and outfield, as it provides tremendous versatility for my roster. The results haven’t yet followed and the season hasn’t played out in the way I would have liked so far, if you would have told me before the draft what my top 5 picks were going to be I would have been thrilled! Bellinger has struggled, for example, but he’s been battling a back issue as an injury and also got food poisoning somehow and has missed games from both ailments. So he hasn’t gotten a chance to really get going since his big second game, which happened before the injury. I do think back injuries can really be concerning, just look at the way Christian Yelich has been affected from battling a back injury the last 5 years. Yelich had back surgery in the off-season, and has looked more like his normal self. So the back injury for Bellinger may not go away, but I’m still being patient and not worried since the issue also could go away and be forgotten. I had hoped in the draft to get a top first baseman like Bryce Harper or Freddie Freeman, but given that both were taken before my 2nd pick I’m pleased with having Bellinger, and also Tyler Soderstrom who I wrote about in my blog last week. I’m set up pretty well now that Soderstrom is looking like a real standout so far and I could even put Bellinger in the outfield if I’d like. 

My focus at the moment is finding a way to succeed with my current pitcher injuries, and finding a way to get value now that will keep me afloat. I really want a veteran and stabilizer for my rotation, so think like a lesser version of Nola. A couple pitchers I’m currently targeting who are not exciting or special but would be very valuable to me would be names like Seth Lugo, Chris Bassitt, or Merrill Kelly. That will be all for today. Stay tuned for my next post on Monday, where I’ll continue to outline how the draft played out and my strategy and thinking that went into my picks. Thanks!