PreMature E-Draftulation Results

[Greg Ambrosius]

I tweeted out the first two rounds of this draft and I must say this is the wildest reaction I've ever had to any post I've put out. There have been more than 150 retweets and Likes of the draft results, with Team 3 getting the most buzz. The Acuna-Mondesi start is the talk of the industry and outside the industry. Lots of discussion on Acuna, Jose Ramirez, Harper, the pitchers going in Round 2 and more.

What it shows me is that the First Round is going to be wild this year. It also shows me that folks may have their own varying opinions on where the best spot to draft from is this year. It very well could be so mixed that many owners get their top preference this year. You can make a case for a top pick, a middle pick or a back-end pick.

Damn, I can't wait to get our draft room open. This could be a lot of fun.

[mkieffer]

My gripes about Jose Ramirez: I am not in disargreement that in this season, he produced first round numbers. But guess what, we don't draft 2019 for 2018 stats, we draft 2019 for 2019 stats.

30 of his 39 HRs this past year happened in the first 95 games. Over the last 62 games, he hit 9 HRs.

I love the steals, stealing 39 bases this year is awesome, but stolen bases are very hard to project. Guys will stop running with no warning.

I agree if he goes 30/30 or whatever again, the pick is justified. I just don't want to pay for someone having what is very likely a career year. Guess I am crazy.

[Big League Wood]

The drafter that took Arenado, DeGrom, Marte and K Davis has a fantastic start.

That’s my pick to click if I’m reading the board right !!!

[Baseball Furies]

Best I can do...

2019Premature.png

Thanks LZ. This works. Appreciate it.

[Baseball Furies]

To me, the biggest surprises of the draft were by the same drafter.
Mondesi in round two was a major surprise.
He showed well in his time up in the Bigs, but man, that is a large leap of faith!

The other was Marquez in the fourth round.
I know, I know, he has the strike out appeal and looked great, especially down the stretch.
But above all, he is a Rockies pitcher.
I don't believe any Rockies hurler has produced statistics worthy of a fourth round.
It should be interesting, both to see if he can return fourth round production and to see if his adp in later drafts holds to near the fourth round.

This isn't a surprise when you know who the drafter is and his mental deficiencies. But still fun to call our attention to his picks anyway.

[Baseball Furies]

My gripes about Jose Ramirez: I am not in disargreement that in this season, he produced first round numbers. But guess what, we don't draft 2019 for 2018 stats, we draft 2019 for 2019 stats.

30 of his 39 HRs this past year happened in the first 95 games. Over the last 62 games, he hit 9 HRs.

I love the steals, stealing 39 bases this year is awesome, but stolen bases are very hard to project. Guys will stop running with no warning.

I agree if he goes 30/30 or whatever again, the pick is justified. I just don't want to pay for someone having what is very likely a career year. Guess I am crazy.

Yes, you're crazy. But that hasn't stopped any of the other idiots on these boards for years, so you'll fit right in. It's really an insignificant argument. Because given that statistically at least 60% or more of these first round picks will bust to one degree or another and not be first round picks at the end of next year based on the numbers they put up, Ramirez probably isn't going to cost anyone a title more than anyone else picked in the first round or two. Now this year's Byron Buxton Mondesi on the other hand is a different story.

[Baseball Furies]

The drafter that took Arenado, DeGrom, Marte and K Davis has a fantastic start.

That’s my pick to click if I’m reading the board right !!!

This is one of my top first four as well. And if it was someone else there other than Strasburg, the Betts/Goldy/Verlander start is pretty sick as well.

[Baseball Furies]

I tweeted out the first two rounds of this draft and I must say this is the wildest reaction I've ever had to any post I've put out. There have been more than 150 retweets and Likes of the draft results, with Team 3 getting the most buzz. The Acuna-Mondesi start is the talk of the industry and outside the industry. Lots of discussion on Acuna, Jose Ramirez, Harper, the pitchers going in Round 2 and more.

What it shows me is that the First Round is going to be wild this year. It also shows me that folks may have their own varying opinions on where the best spot to draft from is this year. It very well could be so mixed that many owners get their top preference this year. You can make a case for a top pick, a middle pick or a back-end pick.

Damn, I can't wait to get our draft room open. This could be a lot of fun.

Oh brother! More helium blown up someone's ass that's only going to kill more brain cells than he can ill afford to lose. And the reason why these picks are the talk of the industry is because the majority of the industry would only make picks like these with zero or virtually no serious money on the line. I think it's time to push for more industry gurus to get involved in drafting with the big boys for the big $$$. It's extra fun taking their money, right LZ?

And about that draft room opening up, how about it by November 1st at the latest? I believe certain other sites which are far, far inferior to the NBFC's are already open for business for the 2019 baseball season from what I saw. You already have the list of all the minor leaguers you need to add, so let's roll!

[DOUGHBOYS]

Jeez, drafter three goes out on a limb, drafts TALENT over safe prognostications and gets beat up for it.
Mondesi is a toolsy player. There is nothing wrong with drafting this type of player. This year and last year, Trea Turner was selected in first rounds after making a big splash over a short period of time.
Same thing here. Not near as big of deal as folks are making out of it.

Good points about Ramirez. We fantasy players are a strange breed. If a player has a great first part of the season, then falters during the second half, we give him a demerit.
In our minds, the second half more important than the first.
For rookies, I believe in this phenomenon. Maybe pitchers have found the holes in their swing or maybe they couldn't play the longer MLB season.
I've always downgraded Chris Sale because, whether it's under performance or injury, he seems to falter at the end of each season when we need him the most.
For most vets like Ramirez, I give them a pass. I know most don't. But, I start thinking that maybe Ramirez had some kind of nagging injury that possibly hurt performance.
Not making excuses for him, he may have just sucked during this time. Who knows.
Either way, a definite first round player by most.

I agree with getting the draft room open as early as possible.
Wouldn't it be cool to have it open and be a topic of discussion for those visiting the Arizona Fall League and the annual forum held down there.
Other sites have their doors open. I hate it when other sites have something we do not.

[Likewhat17]

I agree that the Arenado/deGrom/Marte/Davis/Bumgarner/Gordon start is

[mkieffer]

To be fair, at least to me, about Ramirez is that anytime a guy goes on a torrid pace it gives me room for pause. Had he hit 9 HR to start the year and then hit 30 over the last 90 games, I would also have a red flag (others may not, but I would).

I also don't buy the argument about not nit picking about the first round when 60% of the first round doesn't hold value deal. As a drafter, you can pick who you want.

What I have found doing this, is everytime I try to draft following the conventions of everyone else, I seem to falter. Every time I just draft the guys I want, I tend to do better.

Just because Ramirez will definitely go in the first round next year doesn't mean I have to be that guy to grab him if he's available. I will let someone else do it.

[DOUGHBOYS]

Just because Ramirez will definitely go in the first round next year doesn't mean I have to be that guy to grab him if he's available. I will let someone else do it.

That is the perfect response.

[rkulaski]

This league has an Overall Main Event Winner.
Two or three multiple Main Event winners.
Main Event cashers.
Two or three NFBC Media types.
A drafter who finished in the top 5 Overall in the RotoWire competition this year.
It is stocked with great players...just an fyi

Jose Ramirez and Baez will not hold a 1st round value next year. No way no how. Harper in the first round? Why? Other thoughts but those are my first thoughts.

I have a feeling you were the guy in March who didn't think Jose Ramirez would hold 2nd rd value this year. And you were right- he was a first round absolute monster.

Why Harper in the first round? 103 runs, 100 rbi, 34 HR, 13 steals. 34 Doubles. A nearly .400 obp. .249 avg but he hit over .300 in the 2nd half and has hit at least .319 in 2 of the last 4 seasons. Upside for more? Disputable. Who would you have drafted over Harper at the end of the first? In your defense, a .249 avg in the first round is definitely hard to stomach.

[Baseball Furies]

This league has an Overall Main Event Winner.
Two or three multiple Main Event winners.
Main Event cashers.
Two or three NFBC Media types.
A drafter who finished in the top 5 Overall in the RotoWire competition this year.
It is stocked with great players...just an fyi

Jose Ramirez and Baez will not hold a 1st round value next year. No way no how. Harper in the first round? Why? Other thoughts but those are my first thoughts.

I have a feeling you were the guy in March who didn't think Jose Ramirez would hold 2nd rd value this year. And you were right- he was a first round absolute monster.

Why Harper in the first round? 103 runs, 100 rbi, 34 HR, 13 steals. 34 Doubles. A nearly .400 obp. .249 avg but he hit over .300 in the 2nd half and has hit at least .319 in 2 of the last 4 seasons. Upside for more? Disputable. Who would you have drafted over Harper at the end of the first? In your defense, a .249 avg in the first round is definitely hard to stomach.

Truthfully, Rich, the way things ended up, Harper didn't finish with a batting average too much lower than league average or at least not so much below it that it would hurt you in this category. I hate him, but he's just got way too much talent not to take there even after a down year which by most standards for anyone else, was a great year.

[rkulaski]

We are in round 28 of the premature draft.

Unlike some of the mock drafts run on some other sites, you aren’t going to see Mondesi dropping to the 5th or Dahl in the 9th. I will take some liberty here and speak for some of the other drafters and say no one is taking this draft lightly. As far as I know this is the only 2019 draft that’s been (almost) completed with a paid entry fee so you could argue that’s one reason to take this one more seriously than some of the mocks done so far.

Maybe we can post a few more rounds here ? I’m not driving the bus for this draft and not fully sure what the unwritten rules are regarding the posting of results so I’ll leave that up to others.

[DOUGHBOYS]

Yes, the PreMature Draft is moving well and should conclude early this week.
Its been a wonderful draft. All the participants have been prompt with picks and each deserves praise for that timeliness. Drafting in an email league is not as easy a draft room and these guys were pro's at it.
Six rounds is as far as we go for the Message Boards. It is what Greg posts when relaying current drafts.
However, the 50 round PreMature Draft begins on the Monday before Halloween.
I will post those first six rounds here as well.
It'll be interesting to see where Acuna, Baez, Arenado, Mondesi, Goldschmidt, Marquez, and others go in another NFBC draft with money on the line, since twitter has beat us up for all those names picked too fast or too slow in the current draft.
I'll keep you posted.

[DOUGHBOYS]

PreMature DC Draft results....

First Round-

1. Mike Trout
2. Mookie Betts
3. Blake Snell
4. Christian Yelich
5. Francisco Lindor
6. Jose Ramirez
7. Max Scherzer
8. Ronald Acuna Jr.
9. JD Martinez
10. Javier Baez
11. Bryce Harper
12. Nolan Arenado
13. Alex Bregman
14. Corey Kluber
15. Jose Altuve

Comments....

The Snell pick was bold...but if really liking a player and knowing he won't make it back....

Finally, Turner in the second round where he probably belongs.....

First time two pitchers have been taken in the first round without the name of Kershaw being one of them in years....

Zero first base eligibles taken in the first round....just didn't happen in the past...

Arenado and Altuve have lost their appeal as top seven players....

Trout-Betts or Betts-Trout as a start in 99 44/100 per cent of our drafts?

Machado's attitude turned off drafters as well?

2ND Round posted later this morning....

[DOUGHBOYS]

SECOND ROUND

1. Jake deGrom
2. Trea Turner
3. Trevor Story
4. Chris Sale
5. Aaron Judge
6. Adalberto Mondesi
7. Manny Machado
8. Giancarlo Stanton
9. Charlie Blackmon
10. Andrew Benintendi
11. Paul Goldschmidt
12. Freddy Freeman
13. Aaron Nola
14. Gerrit Cole
15. Juan Soto

Comments....

Outfielders, 1B, SS, Pitchers only

No real surprises here except maybe Mondesi...
It looks like at least one of 15 drafters will take his end of last season seriously enough to draft him in the second round this year....

Juan Soto went at 2-15 in both early drafts....

Machado drops to 2-7 after his post season....

Four Nationals players drafted among the first 30 players....and they don't come close to making the playoffs

ROUND Three coming soon.......

[Big League Wood]

I guess Macahado reflects a recency bias? Solid value in the second round. Baez in the first?

Ready for the draft room !!!

[DOUGHBOYS]

ROUND 3

1. Whit Merrifield
2. Trevor Bauer
3. Rhys Hoskins
4. Justin Verlander
5. Luis Severino
6. Walker Buehler
7. Clayton Kershaw
8. Carlos Carrasco
9. Ozzie Albies
10. Anthony Rizzo
11. Edwin Diaz
12. Starling Marte
13. Cody Bellinger
14. Gleyber Torres
15. Kris Bryant


Comments.....

Before this year, it was hard to imagine Kershaw being drafted After other pitchers.
This year, after a teammate....

What a difference a year makes.
The first Closer is not Chapman, Jansen, or Kimbrel....it's Edwin Diaz

Severino was a sure-fire second round pick before the end of last season.
Fade? Or a look into the future?

Bellinger was platooned late in the season and playoffs. His Manager, an OVER-platooner...
Third rounder that's platooned?
Baseball is changing.

Kris Bryant has lost a lot of trust....Rizzo too?.....

ROUND 4 soon....

[DOUGHBOYS]

ROUND 4

1. Xander Bogaerts
2. Noah Syndergaard
3. Patrick Corbin
4. Craig Kimbrel
5. Khris Davis
6. Miguel Andujar
7. Carlos Correa
8. Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
9. Madison Bumgarner
10. Jean Segura
11. George Springer
12. Anthony Rendon
13. Jameson Taillion
14. Mike Foltynewicz
15. Eugenio Suarez



Comments....

Trust issues for Syndergaard....again....

There is no comp, really, for George Springer....

Khris Davis drafted as the higherst 'U only' player since David Ortiz....

Where does Patrick Corbin sign?....Natural humidity or not?......

Corbin, Taillion, and Folty...All have risen..... Bum fallen.......

Yet another Nationals player in Rendon......Better fantasy players than real life players?.....

[Gekko]

Thanks for posting. These are a little informative and a lot of laughs:

Snell 3rd overall - RIP to that owner. Probably the worst pick anyone has made to date (and there have been some other dumpster fire picks!)

Yelich - 4th - I get it, he had some great season counting stats. If those last two months (21 HR) switched spots with his first two months (7HR), and he’d fall a number of picks on average. beware of leveraging September stats as a precursor for projecting the future

Altuve - 15th - how quickly people forget how good he can be

Mondesi - The guy doesn’t walk and hit .250 in a hitter friendly AAA minor league environment last year and all of a sudden he’s going to have success versus major league pitchers? Well, he did in September (got to love that time of year)! He’s more valuable and proven over the next guys selected? Machado, Stanton, Blackmon. Ha! Good luck with that one

Kershaw - 37th - no way he makes it out of the second round come the big drafts. If his FB jumps a MPH this offseason, I predict he move back into the 1st round. Great “gamble” pick for this owner

Correa - 52nd - sign me up this late. Still young and uber talented

Guerrero - 53rd - there is no telling when he will be called up (or if he will have immediate success). Acuna was a better fantasy prospect and he wasn’t even going in the 4th round and he was almost guaranteed to be called up in April. If Guerrero sits till June, this is likely an epic failure pick. No upside at this price point.

[DOUGHBOYS]

ROUND 5

1. Jack Flaherty
2. Blake Treinen
3. Jesus Aguilar
4. David Dahl
5. Gary Sanchez
6. James Paxson
7. Kenley Jansen
8. German Marquez
9. Jose Berrios
10. Stephen Strasburg
11. Tommy Pham
12. Max Muncy
13. Lorenzo Cain
14. Justin Turner
15. Mike Clevinger

Comments....

Pitchers dominate with eight picks this round...

Strasburg hasn't made 30 Starts in five years. It is showing in draft round pickage....

Max Muncy was not taken in most 50 round drafts last year. Top five round pick this year....

A Nats player drafted in every round...

Gary Sanchez is the first catcher selected.....

James Paxton is 29 years old. He has never started 29 games in any season....

[JohnP]

Thanks for posting. These are a little informative and a lot of laughs:

Snell 3rd overall - RIP to that owner. Probably the worst pick anyone has made to date (and there have been some other dumpster fire picks!)

Yelich - 4th - I get it, he had some great season counting stats. If those last two months (21 HR) switched spots with his first two months (7HR), and he’d fall a number of picks on average. beware of leveraging September stats as a precursor for projecting the future

Altuve - 15th - how quickly people forget how good he can be

Mondesi - The guy doesn’t walk and hit .250 in a hitter friendly AAA minor league environment last year and all of a sudden he’s going to have success versus major league pitchers? Well, he did in September (got to love that time of year)! He’s more valuable and proven over the next guys selected? Machado, Stanton, Blackmon. Ha! Good luck with that one

Kershaw - 37th - no way he makes it out of the second round come the big drafts. If his FB jumps a MPH this offseason, I predict he move back into the 1st round. Great “gamble” pick for this owner

Correa - 52nd - sign me up this late. Still young and uber talented

Guerrero - 53rd - there is no telling when he will be called up (or if he will have immediate success). Acuna was a better fantasy prospect and he wasn’t even going in the 4th round and he was almost guaranteed to be called up in April. If Guerrero sits till June, this is likely an epic failure pick. No upside at this price point.

I think you are a little harsh on the Snell selection. I see a team that selected Altuve at 1.02 last year (Altuve finished something like 60th best player) and that team still did fairly well. Point being - Snell is a very good pitcher, one pick doesn't doom a team in baseball, and chances are Snell will fair better than Altuve did last year! For this owner - he obviously likes Snell and figured he wouldn't make it to him at the 2/3 turn. We get so locked into where guys "should" go.

Machado - bum. All yours.

[DOUGHBOYS]

In the first two drafts, the third drafter has taken Acuna Jr. and Snell.
We all know that these two will not be the adp #3 pick at the end of the drafting year.
Who cares?
These drafters wanted those players. They foresaw that these players would not be available to them in the second round, so they were picked in the first.
We, as a group, have no idea who the third best player in fantasy baseball will be next year.
Heck, we don't know who will be first or second best player will be either, we just THINK we do.

Machado is a bum.
He'll be drafted by mostly those who don't watch a lot of baseball.
The rest of us will be waiting (hoping) for him to do something stupid at second base vs. the Texas Rangers.