I wanted to post an update of the first half of the minor league draft being conducted by some readers on the site. The league has 20 teams, and the contracts are for six years.
Many of the picks were acquired via trade, and for the most part, my results do not show the trades. I thought showing a draft would give fantasy owners a little bit of a different prospective than just publishing a list. It’s amazing how actually having to pick changes a team’s perspective! Once we complete the second portion of the draft (it goes 400 picks), I will post those results.
I am co-managing the Astros, even though the co-owner is doing the majority of the work. The following are my thoughts on my favorite picks, least favorite picks, and our pick. I was 50/50 about posting least favorite pick, but I figured nobody would get offended because: (1) I have been wrong plenty of times, and (2) it’ll make it especially good if the pick works out.
Round #1
1 LAD Bryce Harper
2 TEX Matt Moore
3 OAK Mike Trout
4 TOR Trevor Bauer
5 DET Jurickson Profar
6 KC Jesus Montero
7 CIN Manny Machado
8 STL Shelby Miller
9 HOU Anthony Rendon
10 PHI Wil Myers
11 NYY Julio Teheran
12 PIT Dylan Bundy
13 TB Gerrit Cole
14 MIN Drew Pomeranz
15 ATL Devin Mesoraco
16 BOS Travis d’Arnaud
17 SEA Hak-Ju Lee
18 CHC Nolan Arenado
19 WAS Jameson Taillon
20 COL Tyler Skaggs
Favorite Picks: The first round was not too surprising. My favorite pick was probably the Yankees grabbing Teheran at #11, but as you go down the list, you’ll see a trend of mlb-ready pitching prospects going lower than standard prospect lists (partially b/c of how the rules are structured).
Least Favorite Picks: I think Bauer at #4 was moderately aggressive, and even though I like Hak-Ju Lee, not sure about taking him first round for fantasy purposes.
‘Stros Pick: Number nine was not a great position, and we came one pick short from grabbing somebody on our “most wanted list.” We probably reached grabbing Rendon. Nevertheless, Rendon was the one player we both were reasonably happy taking in this spot. Given the injury concerns, we are probably more enthusiastic about grabbing Rendon at #9 than we should be but ah well…
Round #2
21 COL Xander Bogaerts
22 WAS Bubba Starling
23 CHC Taijuan Walker
24 CIN Miguel Sano
25 BOS Archie Bradley
26 ATL Jacob Turner
27 MIN Danny Hultzen
28 TB Carlos Martinez
29 PIT Francisco Lindor
30 DET Zack Cozart
31 PHI Jarrod Parker
32 HOU Addison Reed
33 STL Jake Marisnick
34 SEA James Paxton
35 NYY Manny Banuelos
36 DET Martin Perez
37 TOR Gary Brown
38 OAK Arodys Vizcaino
39 TEX Brad Peacock
40 LAD Gary Sanchez
Favorite Picks: I think the Braves and Twins got terrific value grabbing Turner and Hultzen at #’s 26 and 27, but the value was probably a little less than I initially thought b/c pitchers consistently went lower than I expected.
Least Favorite Picks: Reed. Also, Cozart at #30 was pretty aggressive but maybe it’ll pay off if he performs in a starting role in CIN this season. Boagerts has solid potential, but I was surprised to see him go #21.
‘Stros Pick: As you can probably tell from my rankings where Reed is not ranked in the Top 100, I was astonishingly unenthusiastic about this pick. But my co-owner really wanted Reed based on our team needing a closer, and hopefully, it’ll work out if he gains the closer role.
Round #3
41 COL Brett Jackson
42 WAS Christian Yelich
43 CHC Josh Bell
44 SEA Rymer Liriano
45 BOS Javier Baez
46 ATL Randall Delgado
47 MIN Oscar Taveras
48 TB Matt Harvey
49 PIT Kolten Wong
50 CIN Cheslor Cuthbert
51 PHI Nick Franklin
52 HOU Yonder Alonso
53 STL Zack Wheeler
54 CIN A.J. Cole
55 DET Jared Cosart
56 DET Tim Wheeler
57 TOR Billy Hamilton
58 OAK Anthony Rizzo
59 TEX Robbie Erlin
60 LAD Ryan Lavarnaway
Favorite picks: I like several of the hitter picks in this round (Yelich, Franklin, Alonso, Hamilton). My favorite pick was probably the Cardinals grabbing Wheeler at #53.
Least Favorite Pick: No picks stick out in this round as especially surprising. Several of the older hitters (Lavarnway, Jackson) were perhaps a little high, but not unreasonable.
‘Stros Pick: I was really happy grabbing Alonso at #52. He was on the list of players I would have been ok taking in round #2, so that made me a little less frustrated about getting Reed.
Round #4
61 LAD Matt Adams
62 TEX Mike Olt
63 OAK Noah Syndergaard
64 TOR Jean Segura
65 DET Leonys Martin
66 KC Jonathan Singleton
67 SEA George Springer
68 STL Eddie Rosario
69 HOU Yasmani Grandal
70 PHI Michael Choice
71 NYY Anthony Gose
72 PIT Nick Castellanos
73 TB Trevor May
74 MIN Tyrell Jenkins
75 ATL Jake Odorizzi
76 BOS Will Middlebrooks
77 NYY Starling Marte
78 CHC Zach Lee
79 WAS Cory Spangenberg
80 COL Joe Wieland
Favorite Picks: Nothing too great, nothing too bad in this round IMO. Castellanos at #72 is solid value considering power hitters were going at some premium.
Least Favorite picks: Eddie Rosario at #68. Not horrible b/c there is lots to like about Rosario, but my thought was he could have theoretically gone one or two rounds later.
‘Stros Pick: I was happy getting Grandal. Several players on our list (Segura, Singleton, Springer) went immediately before we picked, but regardless, we were fine taking Grandal at this spot and adding a little depth at catcher.
Round #5
81 COL Mikie Mahtook
82 WAS Casey Kelly
83 CHC Daniel Norris
84 SEA Jonathan Schoop
85 BOS Taylor Guerrieri
86 ATL Mike Montgomery
87 MIN Luis Heredia
88 TB Mason Williams
89 PIT Drew Hutchison
90 NYY Jedd Gyorko
91 PHI Zack Cox
92 HOU Dellin Betances
93 STL Wilin Rosario
94 CIN Blake Swihart
95 KC Neil Ramirez
96 DET Chris Archer
97 TOR Matt Barnes
98 MIN Jose Campos
99 TEX CJ Cron
100 LAD John Hellweg
Favorite Picks: I think the Phillies got terrific value picking up Cox with the 91st pick. I also like Heredia and Guerrieri at #85 and 87.
Least Favorite Pick: Nothing stands out. I’m not sure about taking Gyorko over Cox, but Gyorko at #90 is decent value. I did not rate John Hellweg particularly high, but that’s probably b/c I’m underrating him.
‘Stros Pick: we were not expecting to take Betances. I was hoping to get Cox at #91, so we did not really have a great backup pick for this spot. In retrospect, I am glad we went with a player we thought had good market value at this spot instead of reaching for players we really liked more subjectively.
Round #6
101 LAD Sonny Gray
102 TEX Adonys Cardona
103 OAK Justin Nicolino
104 TOR Nestor Molina
105 DET Vincent Catricala
106 NYY Daniel Corcino
107 CIN Matt Szczur
108 STL Chris Parmelee
109 HOU Brandon Jacobs
110 PHI Drew Smyly
111 NYY Chad Bettis
112 PIT Elier Hernandez
113 TB Trevor Story
114 MIN Keyvius Sampson
115 ATL Jed Brantley
116 BOS Aaron Hicks
117 SEA Tyler Andersson
118 CHC Taylor Jungmann
119 WAS Liam Hendriks
120 COL Brandon Nimmo
Favorite Picks: I like Atlanta and Chicago grabbing the two Brewers (in the real world) pitchers—Bradley and Jungmann—at #’s 115 and 118. Even though he’s a little speculative, I think Colorado getting Nimmo at #120 was great value.
Least Favorite Picks: Cardona offers huge upside, but #102 was probably a little high for me.
‘Stros Pick: We actually traded away this pick for additional cap room and drafted Jacobs on another team’s behalf.
Round #7
121 COL Garin Cecchini
122 WAS Allen Webster
123 CHC Matt Purke
124 SEA Robert Bundy
125 BOS Jesse Biddle
126 ATL Alexander Torres
127 MIN Stetson Allie
128 TB Jorge Alfaro
129 PIT Alex Meyer
130 NYY Alex Colome
131 PHI Deck McGuire
132 HOU Bryce Brentz
133 STL Fautino De Los Santos
134 CIN Oswaldo Arcia
135 BOS Rex Brothers
136 DET Nate Eovaldi
137 TOR Tommy Joseph
138 OAK Robert Stephenson
139 TEX Kaleb Cowart
140 LAD Jose Fernandez
Favorite Picks: Nothing I really love. But one thing I noticed are several high upside pitchers from the 2011 draft (Stephenson and Fernandez) going at #138 and #140, which I think is solid value when you consider it’s 50-60 picks lower than several other 2011 HS pitchers who arguably offer somewhat comparable value.
Least Favorite Picks: Bobby Bundy is a solid sleeper, but since the upside is arguably limited, I’m not sure about grabbing him at #124. Purke is interesting…I was surprised he went #123. But I might just be putting him as a “least favorite pick” because I was hoping to steal him a few rounds later.
‘Stros Pick: Really happy to get Brentz . He was one of the players I really wanted, and even though I’ve been overvaluing him for awhile, I was glad we are able to trade away our previous pick and still acquire him.
Round #8
141 LAD Joe Ross
142 TEX Matt Davidson
143 MIN Joe Panik
144 TOR Charlie Blackmon
145 DET Christian Colon
146 KC Dante Bichette Jr.
147 CIN Cartier “Niko” Goodrum
148 STL Ravel Santana
149 HOU Robbie Grossman
150 PHI Derek Norris
151 KC Jonathan Villar
152 PIT Austin Hedges
153 TB John Lamb
154 MIN Christian Villanueva
155 ATL Marcell Ozuna
156 KC Rougned Odor
157 SEA Enny Romero
158 CHC Brian Goodwin
159 WAS Grant Green
160 COL Cody Buckel
Favorite Picks: Several 2011 draft picks I really liked: Joe Ross was a steal at #141, and Panik and Goodwin are also decent value. Enny Romero is speculative, but nevertheless, I really liked that pick b/c I like his chances of increasing his stock this season.
Least Favorite Picks: In this round, we started getting into the territory of picks where my lack of enthusiasm was partially due to lack of familiarity. What do y’all think of Niko Goodrum and Christian Villanueva?
‘Stros Pick: Robbie Grossman…sorta blah about this pick initially. My co-owner really liked Grossman, and even though I am not sold, the pick is growing on me because I think he provides fine value at that spot.
Round #9
161 COL Tyler Thornburg
162 WAS Andrelton Simmons
163 CHC Dillon Howard
164 SEA Yordano Ventura
165 BOS Brody Colvin
166 ATL Dan Vogelbach
167 MIN Ronald Guzman
168 TB Jeimer Candelario
169 PIT Jose Osuna
170 NYY Lance Lynn
171 PHI Chris Carter
172 HOU Wily Peralta
173 STL Domingo Santana
174 NYY Tom Milone
175 KC Robbie Ross
176 PIT Anthony Ranaudo
177 TOR Eric Surkamp
178 OAK Trevor Rosenthal
179 TEX Hector Sanchez
180 LAD Taylor Lindsay
Favorite Picks: Gotta say…think the‘stros got good value getting Peralta at #172. But I also think Ranaudo at #176 is a decent bounce back pick here.
Least Favorite Picks: Surprisingly, nothing I really dislike here. A few guys I would not necessarily have picked that high (Candelario, Sanchez, Osuna), but nothing I would consider unreasonable.
‘Stros Pick: Never expected to pick Peralta…think he is probably overrated on many prospect lists. But it’s amazing how getting him this late will change your opinion.
Round #10
181 LAD Garrett Richards
182 TEX Joan Gregorio
183 OAK Edward Salcedo
184 TOR Andrew Susac
185 DET Jeurys Familia
186 KC Joe Benson
187 CIN JT Realmuto
188 STL Jennry Mejia
189 HOU Levi Michael
190 PHI
191 NYY
192 PIT
193 TB
194 MIN
195 ATL
196 BOS
197 SEA
198 CHC
199 WAS
200 COL
Favorite Picks: Garrett Richards at #181 was a good pick IMO.
Least Favorite Picks: Not too enthusiastic about many of these players, but that’s what happens when you get later in the draft.
‘Stros Pick: We wanted to add another infielder, and even though the upside might be limited, we were happy to take Levi Michael at this spot.
For those that enjoy this sort of breakdown I suggest heading over to the prospects section on this site’s forum. Kyle and myself disk a breakdown for our teams also.
Some of my favorite picks:
Rizzo at 58: In a league where minor league players are kept for up to 6 years, he’ll be a stud at 1B for the Cubs and a great bargain. His clock/contract will start in 2013 if his owner can wait to activate him.
Gray at 101: I think this guy has a solid future. Great stuff in college and is almost MLB ready. Throw in his home ball park and you have a cheap #2 as soon as 2013.
Milone at 174: Not just because I made the pick… but I think this guy has a great future. His control is sensational and a great defense and home ballpark will make him better. His clock can be started next year, so getting a solid Oakland SP for the next 6 years at a decent price is a great bargain.
@Shelby
I would have strongly considered him at 58
Also noticed that Catchers are above regular value
It has been a fun drafting experience. Bradley and Deep Legues has a much more extensve knowledge of these minor league players than I do. I generally read Baseball America, BaseballHQ and Rotowire and then go with my gut. So, I will ask the question: Wuld any of you guys after the Astros in Round 2 have targeted Addison Reed or was my fear unfounded? Just curious.
Agree actually drafting versus ranking players can really change your perspective, Brad. Yeah, Rosario was not necessarily a bad pick. The quality at 2B is pretty thin, and with the other players going off the board, you picked up a guy w/ solid potential not that far above market value.
Great pick w/ Shelby Miller! We were really hoping you weren’t going to grab him at #8, but we were sorta expecting that pick. At #9, we had trouble finding a player we both wanted. My top choices were Teheran, Cole and Mesoraco. My co-owner had three different players he wanted. Rendon was the only player on both our lists, and even though it was a reach, at least it was a reach for a player both owners wanted.
Agree deciding when to pick SP’s is tough, BK. I have a tough time balancing the various concepts worth considering to find the right player (upside, replacement value, etc). Our goal has been to: (1) target short-term prospects w/ high ceilings, and (2) pass on any player when I believe a player offering comparable value will be available in a later round. Not sure how well it’s worked, but we’ll see. In terms of replacement value, I think the best value has been the first round college pitchers (Jungmann, etc) taken in Round 6 and the first round HS pitchers taken in Round 8 (Joe Ross, etc).
FYI, good story from Yahoo Sports about Matt Bush.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=jp-passan_matt_bush_arrest_alcohol_dui_crash_032612
It’s a really sad story, but it’s hard to muster much sympathy for Bush. It’s one thing to have an alcohol problem. It’s another to seriously injure someone driving drunk in your teammate’s car and then try to flee the scene. He really blew his second chance w/ flying colors.
It creates a huge mess b/c-considering I doubt Bush has near enough assets to even pay the medical bills-the driver will come after the Rays and Brandon Guyer. Assuming the story is true and he actually gave Bush his car, it places Guyer in a terrible situation. Huge mistake to give him your car (unlicensed, past alcohol issues, etc), and even worse, I think Florida is one of the only states where it doesn’t matter if you knew the person should not be driving your car.
CIN got a steal with Realmuto at 187 IMO, I think he’s gonna be ranked much higher in the next few years. If he fell the next 30 or so picks I had him #1 on my board easy.
You are right Bradley. It is completely different when you are drafting the players. You start drafting not only against posted rankings, but against needs and the flow of the draft. All while you have players that you are keen on getting. Take your round 4 least favorite pick made by yours truly. Might thoughts where that Eddie Rosario might make it back to me next round. Wong had already come off the board a round earlier and really after the top 4 there aren’t many that stand out. So it becomes a decision of do I have him or is there other options if I miss out. I would have been ok with any of the top 4 in round 5 if they would have fallen, but with Schoop and Spangenberg going between my picks, I am not so sure he would have made it back to me.
On Shelby Miller, the whole time first few picks were going on I had my fingers crossed hoping the Shelby would fall to me.
Whoops I was looking at Kyle Weiland
Padre I think so. He’s creeping up my board but not in my top 8 (I’m OAK). With you having to pay the prospects the year they come up (the offseason after) per the rules, your better off taking a huge upside guy 2 years away than a guy who will be solid but pay him sooner. So guys do slip who are solid projected players because hitting on one high upside guy offsets missing on a few others.
Nevermind……..I see him now at #80
Sorry
There’s a real difference between playing a 20 team league and even deeper with the sort of guys who have 3rd-4th starter ceiling. I play in a 28 team league as well as this one, and guys like that are a lot more valuable there. Also, Wieland went at #80.
You know I’ve found that SS and pitchers are like fools gold a lot of the time, you think they are the next big thing like a starter pitcher with a 98mph fast ball then you learn that they can’t spot it and are now relievers. Same with SS, every day you turn around and a SS has become a 2nd basemen or OF (as I learned with grant green).
This is why I follow the websites like baseball America and baseball prospectus that say a minor league bat is much more certain than a minor league arm.
No pick of Joe Wieland yet?….Hmm?
Is he an example of a AAA #3 like you mention?
Thanks! I wanted to post something a little different b/c I haven’t done as good a job keeping up recently, and in the prospect world, values can move quickly.
I thought this would be helpful b/c there are tons of prospect lists out there, but there are not many lists showing a deep prospect draft conducted by owners who follow prospects fairly closely. For example, even though I don’t agree w/ all of the picks, there haven’t been many picks I think are terrible.
It’s actually helped me b/c-when you actually have to pick-it’s amazing how it can change your perspective. For example, this draft has made me realize I overvalue starting pitchers w/ average potential. Based on my rankings, I should be loading up on AAA starters w/ #3 upside. But when you actually have to pick, it helps to realize that it’s hard to justify picking a guy when there is little chance he can develop into much more than a player you could buy for a few bucks in the draft.
My co-owner has done a great job and it’s been fun helping him out. Our strategy has been to target guys we think provide a decent balance between proximity and upside. We’ll see if it works!
Just from my own personal perspective this draft is great. I play in a 12 person keeper league and our minors are 30 deep and very in-depth and seeing others do this is awesome! I’m constantly told our league is crazy and we focus way to much time on the minors but that’s why I like it.
On just an observational note I thought that in round 9 getting Andrelton Simmons that late was a pretty decent steal.
Awesome breakdown. its fun knowing how the draft went and then looking back and seeing someone else’s perspective on the league. Great job on the writing Brad!
Great article. I have a deep minor league draft on Wednesday and this will help with my prep.