Staff Fantasy Baseball Draft: Analysis of Our 12-Team Head-to-Head League
Rounds 8 and 9
| Round | Pick | Overall | Player | Position | Fantasy Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 1 | 85 | Chris Carter | 1B/OF | Peddle/Barry |
| 8 | 2 | 86 | David Wright | 3B | Scott Barrett |
| 8 | 3 | 87 | Jorge Soler | OF | Cory Rindone |
| 8 | 4 | 88 | David Robertson | P | Jim Sannes |
| 8 | 5 | 89 | Pablo Sandoval | 3B | Nick Friar |
| 8 | 6 | 90 | Sonny Gray | P | Jeff Hicks |
| 8 | 7 | 91 | Jonathan Lucroy | C/1B | Dale Redman |
| 8 | 8 | 92 | J.D. Martinez | OF | Matt van de Merlen |
| 8 | 9 | 93 | Manny Machado | 3B | Kyle Stanzel |
| 8 | 10 | 94 | Marcell Ozuna | OF | AJ Weinberg |
| 8 | 11 | 95 | Alex Wood | P | Jacob Adler |
| 8 | 12 | 96 | James Shields | P | Alex Gutjahr |
| 9 | 1 | 97 | Yan Gomes | C | Alex Gutjahr |
| 9 | 2 | 98 | Carlos Carrasco | P | Jacob Adler |
| 9 | 3 | 99 | Mark Trumbo | 1B/OF | AJ Weinberg |
| 9 | 4 | 100 | Jacob deGrom | P | Kyle Stanzel |
| 9 | 5 | 101 | Dellin Betances | P | Matt van de Merlen |
| 9 | 6 | 102 | Dustin Pedroia | 2B | Dale Redman |
| 9 | 7 | 103 | Evan Gattis | C | Jeff Hicks |
| 9 | 8 | 104 | Jake Arrieta | P | Nick Friar |
| 9 | 9 | 105 | Mark Melancon | P | Jim Sannes |
| 9 | 10 | 106 | Kolten Wong | 2B | Cory Rindone |
| 9 | 11 | 107 | Alex Cobb | P | Scott Barrett |
| 9 | 12 | 108 | Gio Gonzalez | P | Peddle/Barry |
Barrett, who ultimately goes with David Wright at 86th, had his eyes set on Kris Bryant. A Mets fan, he wanted to roster Wright but couldn’t decide between the two players.
“[Peddle and Barry] made it easy on me and took Bryant right off my queue so I could finally have some stock in my man David Wright, who should have a big bounce-back year,” Barrett said.
Rindone adds Jorge Soler, his self-described “favorite pick of the draft”. Jonathan Lucroy and J.D. Martinez, both favorites of mine, are picked up by Redman and van de Merlen.
Jake Arrieta heads to the Nick Friar autodraft team, but Redman praises the computer’s pick.
“Arrieta at the 104th overall pick screams value to me. The Cubs' hurler finished off 2014 strong by going 3-0 with a 0.95 ERA and 32 Ks in 28.1 innings,” said Redman. “He has a chance to reach 15 wins and 200 Ks this season, which is a steal for the 24th starter taken.”
My picks: Alex Wood, Carlos Carrasco
My pitching barrage continues, as I add Wood and Carrasco to Kershaw and Iwakuma to give me a formidable rotation. With Wood, I suspected he might be available for cheap because he plays for a weak Braves team, but the ratios and strikeouts are still valuable, and wins can still be fluky.
Carrasco became the darling of FanGraphs because he was straight-up on fire during the second half last year after deciding to pitch out of the stretch full-time. I don’t expect a repeat of the 2.55 full-season ERA (he spent some time in the bullpen), but he’ll be a prime source of strikeouts.
