In part one of the LABR Mixed League Draft Review, http://old.lastwordonsports.com/2015/02/12/labr-mixed-league-draft-review/, I highlighted picks from Rounds 1 through 6. In part two of the review, I will highlight some picks made in Rounds 7 through 16. The full LABR Draft can be found here: http://www.rtsports.com/LABR-Mixed-Draft.
Rounds 7/8 –Rudy Gamble (Razzball) selected Matt Harvey (SP/NYM) at 7.04, Harvey will be 18 months removed from Tommy John Surgery come Opening Day and when healthy he showed he could be a Top 5 starting pitcher; while the Mets have made it known that Harvey will be on an inning limit, the production he should provide in those innings are worth the risk here in the 7th round. With the very next pick, Anderson selected Ben Revere (OF/PHI) who appears to me to be one of the better draft values of the year; a near lock for .300 and 40 SB, Revere offers a good backup option to Billy Hamilton at an ADP nearly 80 picks later (46.7 vs 124.4). Zola selected Rusney Castillo (OF/BOS) with pick 8.03, Castillo is one of the biggest unknowns headed into the 2015 season and I am not sold on his projected upside. Castillo put up some gaudy numbers in limited time in the Majors (36 AB, .333, 2 HR, 3 SB), but in a similar sample size in Rookie Ball he was far less successful (36 AB, .278, 0 HR, 1 SB), and even more troubling was his 68 game, .274 average with 6 HR season in his final year in Cuba. I am not completely avoiding Castillo, but I am not preparing to reach that far for him.
Rounds 9/10 – Keith Hernandez (FantasyScore) selected Kolten Wong (2B/STL) with pick 9.07, there are not many Middle Infielders I am prepared to select in this range, but Wong is one of them; after struggling in his first stint and an injury, Wong was able to put up a .262 AVG with 13 HR & 11 SB over the last three months of the season. Zola selected Tyson Ross (SP/SD) with pick 9.13, this pick was a flat out robbery as Ross can provide an elite ERA and K-rate, while providing a good WHIP and should receive more run support with the improved San Diego lineup; I have seen Ross go in the early 6th round and did not feel at the time it was a reach, to get him at the end of the 9th is a huge value. Ciely selected Kris Bryant (3B/CHC) with pick 10.04, possibly the top hitting prospect in all of baseball, this could be a dangerous selection as he is likely to be held down in AAA until the Super Two deadline and his profile suggests he will struggle in his first go around against Major League pitching due to his 28.6% strikeout rate in AAA, this is likely to go north of 30% in his first big league experience which will severely hamper his batting average and overall production.
Rounds 11/12 – Anderson selected Mark Trumbo at 11.05 (pick #155) which represents one of the largest values based on his current NFBC ADP of 98.3; Trumbo is not one of my preferred targets this year, but with the need for power sources I would take Trumbo near this spot in any and every draft. Collette/Sporer selected Ken Giles (RP/PHI) with pick 12.13, Giles is one of my favorite potential Closers of the year, but this may be too big of a price to pay if a Jonathan Papelbon trade does not occur until mid-season; however if Papelbon goes down or gets traded during Spring Training, this could be one of the steals of the draft. Zinkie & Erickson finished off Round 12 with two of my favorite young speed OF in A.J. Pollock (OF/ARI) and the guy he replaced after a trade in Adam Eaton (OF/CWS) – these two guys offer some solid production across the board and good upside for their draft spots.
Round 13/14 – Ciely selected Javier Baez (2B/SS/CHC) with pick 13.12, Baez carries one of the biggest Boom/Bust profiles of any player this season, and while there is a good chance he ends up in AAA, at this draft slot the potential for a .240 AVG/25 HR/20 SB season at a dual-position Middle Infield is worth the gamble in my opinion. Bobby Colton (Rotowire) selected Joc Pederson (OF/LAD) with pick 14.02; the only 30/30 player in the Minor Leagues in 2014, Pederson finish gets a shot at a full time gig in the bigs, but just like Kris Bryant an increasing K% provides me with a little hesitation that he is ready for The Show – however he is being selected outside the Top 200 currently, so there is some built in insurance that the Kris Bryant price does not offer. Quintong selected Jose Fernandez (SP/MIA) with pick 14.08, an undeniable talent who was selected in the second round of some 2014 drafts, has a long road of recovery still ahead of him and may not debut until mid-season after Tommy John Surgery; I do not think he is a very savvy pick in leagues without IR slots since not only are you only going to receive at best a half year of stats, his WHIP is likely to be subpar as most pitchers are subject to control issues immediately after returning from Tommy John procedures.
Rounds 15/16 – Gamble selected Danny Salazar (SP/CLE) with pick 15.04, as a pitcher who was being massively overrated headed into the 2014 season, it appears he may be slightly underrated this year after appearing to figure out who he is during the second half last year – a 3.50 ERA and 1.24 WHIP while maintaining a 9.5 K/9, those numbers should be valued as a Top 10 Round selection at a 15th round price. Collette/Sporer selected Scooter Gennett (2B/MIL) with pick 16.13, while he will not blow you away with his numbers (.289 AVG-55 R-9 HR-54 RBI-6 SB), would you rather have Gennett at the end of the 16th, or Ben Zobrist (.272 AVG-83 R-10 HR-52 RBI-10 SB) in the early 11th? I think waiting at Middle Infield is a prudent strategy this season.
In the final piece of this article, I will highlight selections from Rounds 17-29.
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