SOSH Real Fantasy Draft 2014: Draft Order, Rules, and Draft Thread

Leskanic's Thread

lost underscore
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Jul 16, 2005
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Ask and ye shall receive...

I want to add to my bullpen. I have a couple guys in mind who may give me better number in the next few years, and certainly guys who have fewer question marks. But at this point, I'm swinging back to young potential. We take Arodys Vizcaino - RP2 and hope we spelled it right.

No pic from iPad. Will pm scoops, although it looks like he's here and ready to go.
 
Edit: Here's that pic, now that I'm back on the computer:
 

 
Also, had mis-typed him in as a bench player instead of a relief pitcher.  Obviously, I want him in the 'pen.
 

Scoops Bolling

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Jun 19, 2007
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Yeah, just saw that when I was checking again. Helps to spell his name correctly.
 
EDIT: And now of course I have to run out the door. Back with pick shortly.
 

MakMan44

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Aug 22, 2009
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Leskanic's_Thread said:
Ask and he shall receive...

I want to add to my bullpen. I have a couple guys in mind who may give me better number in the next few years, and certainly guys who have fewer question marks. But at this point, I'm swinging back to young potential. We take Arodys Vizcaino - BP2 and hope we spelled it right.

No pic from iPad. Will pm scoops, although it looks like he's here and ready to go.
I was looking at him for sure, but not for a couple rounds from now. I know that's got the potential to be a lock down reliver but seems a little early for such a risky pick when there's still quite a few good options left on the board.
 

Why Not Grebeck?

New Member
Feb 29, 2008
378
With the final pick of the 17th round, the Burbank Bombers select Joakim Soria, Closer.
 

 
I don't know if the 'proven closer' label has any value or not. Clearly it doesn't mean as much as the gibbering idiots on TV think it does, but there's still a certain mentality that comes with handling the 9th inning.
 
Soria has it. For years, he was THE elite relief pitcher in the game - that Kimbrel-esque dude your crappy fantasy baseball opponent reach for way too early. Then he blew out his elbow. For the second time. He worked his way back with the Rangers last year, had a decent half-season, and now his velocity is back to where it was. Can he be elite again? Probably not, but there's still a chance he'll be very good. He isn't even 30 yet, bizarrely, even though it seems like he's been around forever. Will I regret not taking a healthier pitcher? Most likely.
 

Why Not Grebeck?

New Member
Feb 29, 2008
378
With the first pick of the 18th round, the Burbank Bombers select Carlos Carrasco, SP5
 

 
So here's the thing. I had kind of a nice rotation going. And then, this week, I find out that Kris Medlen is almost certainly getting a second Tommy John surgery and Brandon Beachy is struggling to through 85 MPH with some elbow pain. If they're both done for the year, my rotation becomes Strasburg/Taylor Jordan/Andrew Heaney/Henry Owens with Andrelton Simmons taking to the mound every 5th day. So, uh, yeah. Time to draft my 7th starting pitcher, and there's an argument i should be taking an 8th instead of Soria. i just didn't want to get stuck with no bullpen at all.
 
Anyhow, Carrasco was a nice prospect until Tommy John got him in 2011. Since all the other pitchers on my staff other than the guys who haven't pitched about AA have had Tommy John at least once, I figured I'd stay on theme. At any rate, he seems to be back now and Francona's been raving about his electric stuff in spring training. That's good enough for me. 
 

Scoops Bolling

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Jun 19, 2007
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First, write up for Withrow.
RP3-Chris Withrow

 
Stop me if you've heard this story before. There was this dynamite starting pitching prospect. Killer fastball, filthy slider, and even a decent change...but he couldn't command them for shit. Unable to command his stuff well enough for a rotation spot, he's put in the pen...and boom, he's dominating the MLB less than a year later. Well, that's Chris Withrow for you. Free to let loose for an inning at the time, Withrow averaged over 96 mph with his fastball while generating plenty of swings and misses with his secondary stuff. He's young, he's talented, and he's got a pretty clear bill of health. Adding him to Jones and Herrera at the back of my pen, hitters are going to have one hell of a time in the last two innings.
 

StabMastaArson

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Nov 6, 2013
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Aren't you still on the clock scoops? what's going on in here? is everyone drunk because the pats got revis?
 
I want to pick
 

Scoops Bolling

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And now for my backup catcher...
BP-Jose Molina

There are pitch framers, and then there's Jose Molina. According to Baseball Prospectus, Molina has been the second best pitch framer in baseball over the past 5 years, finishing #1 in runs per 7000 chances three times in that span. According to Fangraphs, once his pitch framing ability is taken into account, he has been worth almost 2.5 WAR per season over the past three years. Molina provides a great complement to the below-average framer in Iannetta, allowing Iannetta to take all the starts against LHP, with starts against RHP being divided between the two.
 

MakMan44

stole corsi's dream
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Aug 22, 2009
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Curll said:
Skip after Leskanic, too?
I'd assume so but I doubt Leskanic is going to pick tonight anyway. Regardless, I also doubt my bestie is going to be on after that. Doesn't seem like it matters much. 
 

Leskanic's Thread

lost underscore
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Jul 16, 2005
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Oh, but I will pick tonight!  (I'm on the west coast, and only just got home to figure my situation out.  Apologies for the delay.)  Which is good, because I was all set and primed to pick Joe Kelly, only to realize he had been recently, after the spreadsheet was last updated.  Goddammit.
 
Anyway, since he's gone, I'm going with my other pick.  To fill in a rotation spot while Bundy competes his rehab, and then fighting with Locke for the fifth starter slot, the Albuquerque Hermanos select Brandon Maurer - RP3
 

 
He's got a lot of question marks, from his weak performance last year to his back issues this spring.  But as I said with Vizcaino, I'm back to being interested in young potential for a long game here.  He was brought up too quickly last year after a great spring training, and paid the price with some awful numbers.  But he's a 6'5" with a low 90s fastball and a mid 70s curve, who allegedly spent the offseason working on his change.  If (always with the ifs) he can secure a rotation spot and lift his K/9 even a little bit more in line with his minor league numbers, he could be a productive back-of-rotation guy along with his teammate Erasmo Ramirez.  And since he starts enters the season a 23 year old, he has some time to grow and develop even further.  (Or he'll be a RH setup man out of my pen once Bundy gets healthy.  We'll see.)
 
PMing KFP and Kramerica, assuming KFP's skip stands for both of his picks.
 

Leskanic's Thread

lost underscore
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Double posting, but I guess it is the middle of the damn night back east...
 
MakMan44 said:
I was looking at him for sure, but not for a couple rounds from now. I know that's got the potential to be a lock down reliver but seems a little early for such a risky pick when there's still quite a few good options left on the board.
 
I figured that he might stick around, but in looking at the potential guys, I got the itch to roll the dice on the youth and the high potential.  His body might explode on him, rendering him useless.  But if he hits even part of his potential, he will be a strong arm out of the bullpen for a little while.  And of course he could go way beyond that. 
 
Of course, one of the "older" guys I had on my list with him was Soria, who went almost right away.  So I got a decent amount of instant regret.  But I grabbed a couple of 23 year olds with high ceilings and (presumably) big chips on their shoulders this go 'round.  So my team will be fun to root for, if nothing else.
 

Why Not Grebeck?

New Member
Feb 29, 2008
378
Maurer needs to learn another pitch to be an effective starter. If it happens, you'll be in good shape. If not, he'll be a good bullpen arm.
 

Leskanic's Thread

lost underscore
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Jul 16, 2005
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Agreed.  I'm hoping his talk this spring that he's been getting his change into shape will be the ticket, and maybe dampen some of this terrible numbers against LHP.  But if his floor is ending up being a late inning righty specialist, he has a spot on my team.
 

SumnerH

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Jul 18, 2005
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I believe KFP is skipped and Kramerica is up, right?
 
Chart updated after stagnating last night (my power was out do to light wind, after surviving snow and ice storms no problem all winter).
 

Eck'sSneakyCheese

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May 11, 2011
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proxy
 noun \ˈpräk-sē\

: a person who is given the power or authority to do something (such as to vote) for someone else
: power or authority that is given to allow a person to act for someone else
 

Kenny F'ing Powers

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Nov 17, 2010
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Here are my picks jerks.
 
Brayan Pena, C, Det
 
Francisco Cervelli, C, NYY
 
One of 'em could stick. Pena hit .297 in 71 games last year. Cervelli put up a 143 wRC+ in a whipping 17 games last year.
 
Something something something.
 

Curll

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Jul 13, 2005
9,205
Eck'sSneakyCheese said:
 
Who does that?
There's an argument for it, along the lines of, "Lifetime average of..." or "Five consecutive seasons of...", as it indicates the ability to put the bat on the ball and a blessing from BABIP. 
 
Yes, I'm being hypocritical and overly dramatic.