Each, are brilliant unto ourselves.
Until the season starts, then, and only then, we see the failures in ourselves.
I have railed about being influenced bu outside sources when we make these brilliant lists.
ADP is chief among them. Do NOT be afraid to buck adp! One person of 15 wins their league.
That means adp is made up of 14 of 15 drafters who will not win their leagues.
Following adp is following LOSERS!
I've also railed about putting too much credence in writers and on air people. They are not 'experts'. They are folks who can write, convey ideas and talk well.
I'd bet if you're reading this that they no more knowledge than you do.
RotoWorld blurbs have to be taken with a grain of salt.
When they give opinions about players, it is like it is coming from a writer or talker.
When giving health information, do not follow the opinion of the injury, follow the injury itself.
Anyway, I'm putting my money (lists) where my mouth is.
I'm listing my top favs at each position. I'm also listing some players I' wouldn't/didn't take. Along with players that were really wanted later.
Catcher- I did not get why Buster Posey should be the first pick from this group.
His benefits are that he gets rbi and runs from hitting in the middle of the lineup and hits for high average.
His detriment is that he plays in a horrible park for home runs, thus is no more powerful than a middling catcher.
Posey was a consistent fourth on my drafting lists of catchers.
Sanchez, Lucroy, and Contreras ahead of him.
I liked Wellington Castillo and Cameron Rupp later, but the gap between these four catchers and other catchers was significant.
I did not draft Flowers and only drafted Wieters once.
I feel Flowers will share catching duties 50/50 with Suzuki and I just flat do not think that Wieters will ever live up to the hype given him every year.
1B- Goldy was not first on my lists. Neither was Rizzo. And neither was Miggy.
I believe that Freddie Freeman will have a better year than all of them.
Freeman hit his stride last year and was mashing everything over the last half of last year. First round next year.
I had Goldy and Encarnacion behind Freeman with Rizzo and Miggy next.
No, I don't have Votto near the top of my lists. Not even close.
I did think that Napoli was a terrific bargain before he signed with Texas.
Greg Bird rose during Spring training.
Like Posey, Brandon Belt's park and power sap, conspired for me not to take him.
2B- This was a funny position for me in drafts. I liked Dee Gordon for speed. I liked Daniel Murphy, and thought that Cano and Odor were fine to take. But, there always seemed to be other players liked more where these 2B were going in drafts.
Matt Carpenter was a fav a couple of rounds later.
This was a position where I was willing to give. Wait until late in drafts and select Brandon Drury, Ryan Schimpf, Schoop, Cesar Hernandez, and Brandon Phillips.
We have to 'give' in a position somewhere and I thought 2B was one of the best areas to do that.
3B- I loved Ryon Healy this year and have a lot of draftage in him. Barely had Kris Bryant ahead of Arenado for the top.
Draftage on both.
I did not draft Josh Donaldson. I didn't like the way he was swinging during the last part of last year and the injury in Spring sealed that deal.
3B was really deep until around the 20th round. By then, we were a little screwed if not rostering one before.
SS- There are great shortstops up and down the first and second rounds. Sometimes I would draft them, sometimes not.
Tim Anderson, Aledymys Diaz, Swanson, and even Brandon Crawford were suitable picks later.
And even later, Galvis and Espinoza were good for teams with a little batting average built in.
My top lists of shortstops went...
1. Corey Seager
2. Trevor Story
3. Francisco Lindor
4. Carlos Correa
5. Manny Machado
6. Jonathon Villar
7. Xander Bogaerts
ADP would hate my guts for that one!
Outfield- My belief is that Starling Marte does not belong in the second round of drafts. He won't get as many thefts as Hailton or Gordon later. He doesn't hit near for ower like other outfielders around him. I think he is a fifth rounder disguised as a second rounder.
This is the position that most resembled adp for me, except Marte.
I wanted Mitch Haniger on most of my teams. That was the highest priority for me here. I believe he will be taken in the first eight rounds next year.
Drury and Adam Frazier were also high targets. There wasn't any outfielder in the top rounds that I HAD to have.
I did not draft Blackmon. Not because of any personal bias against him. It seemed that he was 'that guy' that was drafted at the bottom of most first rounds. I like starting pitching there.
I also didn't draft Stanton in feeling that he is wound too tight muscularly and can't avoid injury.
STARTERS- Many favorites and most were at the top. I am one of the few that believes once my top nine hitters were gone that Kershaw, Scherzer, Bumgarner, and Sale all belonged before the next hitter. Which is why I drafted the Main Event team that I drafted, pitching-wise.
I also felt that adp did not give enough credit to Cueto, Hendricks, and C Martinez and thought they should have gone a round higher.
Lance Lynn was my favorite target at the end of a legal team.
18 months to come back from TJ is ok with me. And the trust multiplies with the cheapness of the drafting area.
Foltynewicz and Ivan Nova were also nice picks for me late.
There was also a lot of draftage of Tanner Roark and Matt Moore.
Avoided for the most part, were Syndergaard, Strasburg, and McCullers.
Closers- I usually treat Closers as a baby treats spinach. I don't like it, but I'm feeling force-fed with our rules.
I try to not take the Closers themselves, but their team, job security, and history.
Cody Allen, Melancon, and even Jim Johnson and Fernando Rodney were good enough for me.
I don't like using a high pick on a high strike out Closer like Jansen or Chapman.
I stayed away from Wade Davis and any 'situations' like Oakland, San Diego, Philly, and Minnesota.
That was me for 2017.
I'll look back on this post at the end of the year and scold myself for being so damned stupid
