NFBC Weekly Profile - Douglas Jaffe
Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2013 7:40 am
Douglas Jaffe has been playing fantasy baseball long enough to know championships are not won in April. But there’s certainly nothing wrong with a strong start to the season. It may not guarantee ultimate victory in the end, but it certainly beats having to watch a scuffling team try and scratch and claw its way to prominence.
So while Jaffe realizes being in first place in the NFBC XII in mid-April doesn’t guarantee him the inside track on the event’s $50,000 grand prize, he isn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth at the outset of the season.
“It certainly has been a perfect two weeks for this team,” said Jaffe, whose team entered action on Tuesday with a 115.5-point lead in the NFBC’s 12-team Main Event. “It’s the kind of start you dream about on draft night.”
Drafting online with his partner Cory Hendrickson, Jaffe had a plan in place before his draft began on March 27. But as is so often the case, that plan had to be revised quickly as the draft soon took on a life of its own.
“Our draft strategy was to take Robinson Cano at three because we had no interest in Mike Trout or Ryan Braun,” he said. “In the second round we wanted an outfielder or a third baseman but as luck would have it Clayton Kershaw fell to us so we quickly changed course.”
Not surprisingly, Kershaw has played a key role in the team’s success thus far. The Dodgers’ ace is off to a terrific start, posting two wins with 25 strikeouts, a 1.16 ERA and a .069 WHIP in the first two weeks of the season.
Kershaw hasn’t been the only standout performer in the early going, however. Matt Harvey, Chris Davis and Dexter Fowler were all drafted after the eighth round and have greatly outperformed their draft positions thus far.
Among the late-round picks who have played key roles early on for Jaffe are Hyun-Jin Ryu (18th round), Jayson Werth (19th) and Kevin Youkilis (20th). Success on the Waiver Wire has also been profound due to the power-hitting emergence of John Buck, who Jaffe scooped up for a mere $10 in the second week of FAAB.
Jaffe is no stranger to success in the NFBC. The nine-year veteran owns two Main Event league titles, has finished in the Top 10 of the Main Event and has an Online Championship league title on his resume as well.
“Winning an overall title is the Holy Grail,” he said. “Hopefully we can hang on for 24 more weeks. To maintain this strong start we need Yovani Gallardo, Jesus Montero and Adam LaRoche to get in gear and of course to stay away from key injuries. I must keep my expectations in check as it is so early and I’m sure Buck and Davis won’t keep up their Ruthian pace.”
So while Jaffe realizes being in first place in the NFBC XII in mid-April doesn’t guarantee him the inside track on the event’s $50,000 grand prize, he isn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth at the outset of the season.
“It certainly has been a perfect two weeks for this team,” said Jaffe, whose team entered action on Tuesday with a 115.5-point lead in the NFBC’s 12-team Main Event. “It’s the kind of start you dream about on draft night.”
Drafting online with his partner Cory Hendrickson, Jaffe had a plan in place before his draft began on March 27. But as is so often the case, that plan had to be revised quickly as the draft soon took on a life of its own.
“Our draft strategy was to take Robinson Cano at three because we had no interest in Mike Trout or Ryan Braun,” he said. “In the second round we wanted an outfielder or a third baseman but as luck would have it Clayton Kershaw fell to us so we quickly changed course.”
Not surprisingly, Kershaw has played a key role in the team’s success thus far. The Dodgers’ ace is off to a terrific start, posting two wins with 25 strikeouts, a 1.16 ERA and a .069 WHIP in the first two weeks of the season.
Kershaw hasn’t been the only standout performer in the early going, however. Matt Harvey, Chris Davis and Dexter Fowler were all drafted after the eighth round and have greatly outperformed their draft positions thus far.
Among the late-round picks who have played key roles early on for Jaffe are Hyun-Jin Ryu (18th round), Jayson Werth (19th) and Kevin Youkilis (20th). Success on the Waiver Wire has also been profound due to the power-hitting emergence of John Buck, who Jaffe scooped up for a mere $10 in the second week of FAAB.
Jaffe is no stranger to success in the NFBC. The nine-year veteran owns two Main Event league titles, has finished in the Top 10 of the Main Event and has an Online Championship league title on his resume as well.
“Winning an overall title is the Holy Grail,” he said. “Hopefully we can hang on for 24 more weeks. To maintain this strong start we need Yovani Gallardo, Jesus Montero and Adam LaRoche to get in gear and of course to stay away from key injuries. I must keep my expectations in check as it is so early and I’m sure Buck and Davis won’t keep up their Ruthian pace.”