Main Event from the 6 Spot.

[The Union jacks]

Thought I might do a write up this year as I enjoy reading other peoples.

My draft plan going into last night was to leave the first 10 rounds with 3 SPs, 3 OFs, 2 Closers and two other bats. I wanted to wait on 1B and 2B as I liked some of the options later. I wanted to establish a strong batting average in my early picks.

The 6th pick is tricky as I knew I wanted a SP in my first 3 picks and I thought there was every chance the options would not be great for me in the 2nd and 3rd round. The Bumgarner injury has moved everyone up and I didn't think I would get Syndergaard or Strasburg in round 2 or deGrom or Severino, my other targets in round 3. I didn't really want to take Kershaw at 6 but I decided that was the safest plan.

1.6 OF: M Betts So much for that plan as Kershaw gets taken at 1.5 but i'm maybe partly relieved as I had not fully convinced myself and I absolutely love Betts this year.

With Strasburg and Syndergaard going at the turn i'm even more convinced getting the ace I want is going to be an issue. I wanted to be aggressive in all my early picks and if I had got Kershaw in the first round I was comfortable taking Yelich in the 2nd.

2.10 SP: J deGrom There is no way he was making it back to me and he's locked in as my ace.

After my pick Severino and Carrasco are also 2nd round selections.

I'm not a fan of the OF options that are going off the boards in the rounds 4-8 area of ADP so I would like to lock in my 2nd option and I'm hoping that Benitendri or better yet, Yelich makes it back to me.

3.6 OF: C Yelich Benitendri is off the board and another OF goes the pick prior to me but it's Ozuna and i'm very happy with my start as I think both my OFs will hit north of .300 and hive me a very solid base.

I want another SP in the 4th round and i'm hopeful that either Darvish or more likely Nolan make it back to me.

4.10 SP: J Paxton Pitching is flying off the board and although it feels like a little bit of a reach Paxton is the last SP I have in this tier and I will pray for 170 innings because he'll be pushing 200ks with a great ERA and WHIP if he does.

Round 5 I had pegged as one of my other bats and I'm watching Corey Seager with interest but he goes a few picks before. I think this is the first year that Buster Posey is underrated and i'm very happy to continue my start of .300+ hitters.

5.6 C: B Posey

Top closers were starting to go and I knew I wanted one in the 6th round and it came down to a toss of a coin between Edwin Diaz and Ken Giles.

6.10 RP: K Giles

I knew I wanted to address either SS or 3B in the 7th round and wanted to go after Story or Sano. I don't love the depth at either position but liked it slightly more at 3B...

7.6 SS: T Story

I want to take another SP in the 8th but my targets have gone (Wood, McCullers) and 'reliable' 2nd closers are getting thin on the ground.

8.10 RP: A Vizcaino There's nothing worse than stressing about finding saves in FA and I like Vizcaino on what i think will be a competitive Braves team.

I want my 3rd OF and I knew I was targeting Eaton, Inciarte or DeShields with this pick. All three were available to me but all 3 went in this round.

9.6 OF: A Eaton

Now I want my 3 SP to complete my 10 round plan successfully. My head says take J Cueto and my heart says M Clevinger. Head wins on this occasion.

10.5 SP: J Cueto

Plan for the next 5 picks was to get the best 2 infield bats available to me and then return for 2 more SPs and a 3rd closer if one was there.

11.6 1B: J Bell I like Bells a lot and think there might be 100 RBIs in his bat this season even on a rebuilding Pirates.

12.10 3B: E Suarez The last of my 3B options is waiting for me and there might be 100 RBIs in this bat too.

My attention turns to pitching but there are still very few catchers off the board and if I hadn;t taken Posey early I was targeting Zunino in the 9th round and I just can't let him pass me by in the 13th.

13.6 C: M Zunino

The 3rd closer options are pretty gone for me as I slightly kick myself for not taking Shane Greene in the previous round and I decide this only going to be a speculative target later. Time for more starting pitching.

14.10 SP: J Teheran He had so many great starts last year and again i think the Braves are going to compete - I will just know when to sit him for those terrible starts, right? Right?

More SP was the plan but my deeper 2nd base targets are running thin and I am all in on Jason Kipnis this year.

15.6 2B: J Kipnis

Michael Taylor and Ryan McMahon are sitting at the top of my queue but they both vanish and I get my 5th SP.

16.10: J Odorizzi

It's been very calm drafting so far but round 17 gets me flustered. Targets vanish, picks are made very quickly and suddenly the clock is ticking down. I want my 4th OF but suddenly i;m staring at the top name on my list, K Calhoun and I just don't want him. I want something a little more shiny and I decide to go with A Altherr.

17.6: OF: A Altherr

I want more pitching and there is something just not right seeing Felix still on the board in the later rounds. I don't believe he's fallen as far as people think. Verlander had a rough season in 2014 at the same age and people thought he was done...

18.10 SP: F Hernandez

I would have taken Brad Ziegler here but he went the pick before me. I was sorely tempted to take Sean Newcomb but there is really only one MI left on the board that I am comfortable being in my starting lineup so...

19.6 SS: K Marte

I'm in a similar position with CI now and I make my yearly selection of Brandon Belt and will once again believe this is the year of a full break out.

20.10 1B: B Belt

21.6 OF: L Martin I need more speed and I will take my chance on Martin as my 5th OF at the top of the Tigers lineup.

22.10 SP: M Shoemaker I'm very comfortable closing my rotation out with a guy who has good control and is a fair bet for wins.

23.6 RP: H Strickland Faultless spring. Melancon is hurt and Dyson looks awful. Hoping he gets a chance.

24.10 OF: D Fisher Wanted an upside 6th OF and if he finds regular at bats there could be plenty of profit here.

25.6 1B/3B: W Flores I think he plays a lot and has a lot of power and covers two positions on my bench.

26.10 RP: M Bush Probably a wasted pick. I have no idea who is going to close in Texas. I think Bush is the best bet on the roster but I think i'm alone on that!

27.6 SP: N Pivetta I wanted a high upside strike out pitcher.

28.10 2B: B Miller Needed depth at 2B and it was either Miller or Lowrie. Miller's power won.

29.6 OF: L Garcia 2nd flustered pick of the draft. I like Garcia but probably not going to see enough ABs for me to hold.

30.10 RP: D O'Day In the mix for saves in Baltimore so worth a bench spot while it plays out.

So that's it. Happy with my team. Likely a little light on speed and will have to address that but otherwise happy.

C: B Posey
C: M Zunino
1B: J Bell
2B: J Kipnis
SS: T Story
3B: E Suarez
OF: M Betts
OF: C Yelich
OF: A Eaton
OF: A Altherr
OF: L Martin
CI: B Belt
MI: K Marte
UT: D Fisher
Bench: W Flores / B Miller / L Garcia

SP: J deGrom
SP: J Paxton
SP: J Cueto
SP: J Teheran
SP: J Odorizzi
SP: F Hernandez
SP: M Shoemaker
RP: K Giles
RP: A Vizcaino
Bench: N Pivetta / H Strickland / M Bush / D O'Day

[Cmatan44]

Nice write up.. Love the Betts and yelich combo but feel like your pretty light on power... good luck this year

-Chris

[CC's Desperados]

This draft season was very interesting and many Fantasy owners wanted to be pitching strong. As good as it looks, the offensive production in runs, HRs, and RBI can be tricky with this plan if you don't get the right team structure.

The pitching looks good across the board while batting average and speed will keep you in the hunt all year if your team stays healthy.

Good Luck, CC

[The Union jacks]

Week 1:

League Position: 3rd
Overall Position: 59th

Very encouraging start. The news Strickland was going to close came after most of my pitchers were already locked in but with Vizcaino already having a win early in the day I thought I could sacrifice either Felix or Shoemaker to get him in. I benched Felix thinking Shoemaker was more likely to get the W. Drafting Strickland feels like getting an extra $300 in FA.

Needed a catcher with Zunino down but as it only sounds like this week I was actually looking a lot at the weather forecast and decided I wanted someone playing south or west to start the week. I wanted Maldonado but my $16 bid wasn't enough and I will settle for Caleb Joseph at $4 getting the bulk of the starts for Baltimore in Houston.

I wanted to add a different bat for L Garcia and my eye was on Preston Tucker after a good looking start and with a series in Colorado at the end of the week. Didn't want to bid much as he is still just holding the fort for Acuna but again not aggressive enough and I settle for my 2nd choice of A Frazier for $13 who gives multi position eligibility.

Playing the weather with setting the lineup this week - Teheran will probably be the pitcher to ride the bench as I'm not feeling the 2 start week against a hot Nats offense and a trip to Colorado.