The Cool Kids

[DOUGHBOYS]

I never ran with the 'Cool Kids' when I was in school. I envied how they could talk with girls with an air of confidence that I lacked.
I envied how they could get in trouble at school and come out of the whole thing, even more respected by us mere mortals.
The 'Cool Kids' didn't play sports (think John Travolta in Grease) and they sure as heck were not scholarly (think Ferris Buehler).
They really didn't participate in any group organizations either.
They were just the 'Cool Kids'.

When studying during a draft, I realized that we have our own 'Cool Kids'.
These players haven't made a huge mark in baseball.
But, somehow, when somebody drafts them. it is in some way....cool.

Let's look at a couple of our 'Cool Kids'......

Daniel Murphy

It has NEVER been cool to draft Daniel Murphy. He has always been outside of the 10th round of our drafts.
Murphy carried the Mets in some playoff games and got a contract from the Nationals.
Mets fans didn't care. "We got Neil Walker, he'll be just as good as Murphy!", they reasoned.
They were wrong.
Murphy had his best year with a 25/104. The only time he would top 100 RBI.
Now, here we are three years later and Murphy was taken outside the 10th round again.
THEN, he became a 'Cool Kid'.
Being an offensive player in Colorado automatically makes a player, cool.
So now, Murphy is taken in the fourth, fifth, and sixth rounds.
He'll be 35... with brittle knees, playing at altitude.
No matter.
It's cool.

(a footnote...Murphy has a .299 lifetime batting average. This signing gives him a very good chance to finish his career over .300)

Yasiel Puig

Quite possibly, Puig has been the coolest kid in our school since entering.
Never studious.
Always cutting up.
Ditching school.
He has always been drafted above his statistics.
Unlike his pardner, Puig looks the part of the cool kid.
An easy smile, muscles that top even more muscles. He also makes a lot of boneheaded moves that fans dismiss....as cool.
In some way, we all envy Puig.
Should we as fantasy drafters?
No, not really.
You see, Puig has always been taken too early. Always.
He SHOULD be good. All those muscles, and speed, and all those muscles (did I mention he has muscles?) make it seem like he's going to be great.
So we draft him for his 'going to be'.
His 'going to be' is through the roof.
He has been traded away from Dodgerland and like Murphy, will hit in a park that is conducive for big stats.
His drafters are SURE this time around that his 'going to be' will come to fruition.
Let's set aside his 'going to be' numbers, that are always through the roof (An annual 30/30 going to be)
And let's look at what Puig has really done.
Here are his average seasonal stats...279/64/18/55/10
Not so cool.

Since school, I've run into a couple of the 'Cool Kids' from the old days.
In talking with them and getting a grasp of how their lives turned out, I realized that they were just like me.
Sure, we have different interests and went different ways, but we shared having jobs, a family, and living a good life.
It was just a phase.
We do the same thing in our hobby.
For a time, we adore the 'Cool Kids'.
It may be a short phase like former 'Cool Kid', Brett Lawrie, or a longer phase as we had with Troy Tulowitzki.
We play a year-to-year game.
It caters to a phase.
If we catch the phase or 'Cool Kid' at the right time. We're gold.
Just like how we saw those 'Cool kids' back in the day.