Posted by schwarze on 8/16/2026 3:12:00 PM (view original):
League 09 - Philadelphia Phillies
Team Name: Blue Jays w /Alexander (17,44,06,52,79)
Ballpark: Connie Mack Stadium
Salary: 128,923,421
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Round 2, Pick 13 - 1944 (.399)
Since I was drafting low in round 2, I wanted a team with a decent SP and a low win% and 1944 fit the bill. I just realized that I drafted the 1944 season in five of the sixteen drafts. I wonder which single season was drafted the most by one person? In the previous draft league, I had pretty good success (24-11, 4.99) with Ken Raffensberger (274 ip, 2.79 erc#) so I thought I would try him again. RP Andy Karl 95, 2.34) was terrible for me last time (0-5, 6.86), but I can't get over his decent stats. Buster Adams (.283, .371, .450, C+/A+) will play CF. And I get to pick 1st next round.
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Round 3, Pick 1 - 2006 (.525)
Since I already have 783 innings with three pitchers, I felt like I could go offense with this pick. 2006 provides four starting batters, including both middle infield positions, those being 2B Chase Utley (.309, .376, .504, C/B) and Jimmy Rollins (.277, .331, .454, A/C-). But the other two hitters include one stud, 1B Ryan Howard (.313, .422, .638, C/C+) and a solid OF, Bobby Abreu (.297, .421, .438, B+/C-). RP Fabio Castro (32 ip, 1.62 erc#) is supposed to be good, but he was worse than Karl for me last time (25 games, 14 innings, averaging 10 pitches per appearance, going 0-2, 8.36). What is the definition of insanity? Repeating the same thing, hoping for a different result.
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Round 4, Pick 5 - 1952 (.565)
This was a key pick for me. Robin Roberts (348 ip, 2.39 erc#) is a stud SP this late in the draft. Curt Simmons (212, 2.82) is also solid. Karl Drews (241, 2.97) is an extra SP that will pitch in long relief. I get another A+ range OF with Richie Ashburn (.282, .365, .361, B-/A+). Smoky Burgess (.296, .383, .433, C/C/C) gives me the first part of my catching platoon. Willie Jones (.250, .326, .387, A-/A-) was a fill in for 3B but will most likely not play as I upgraded in the next round. OF Mel Clark (.335, .367, .450, A+/C+) is a pinch hitter.
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Round 5, Pick 14 - 1979 (.519)
Picking late in round 5 is always fun. I still needed a DH, a second C, an upgrade at 3B and more pitching. I didn't get much pitching from 1979. . Steve Carlton (251, 2.93) is ok, not great. Dickie Noles (90 3.49) isn't very good. I did get some important pieces on offense though. Mike Schmidt (.253, .389, .563, B-/A-) will hit some HRs. Pete Rose (.331, .420, .429, B+/C+) will start at 1B and move Howard to DH. Bob Boone (.286, .369, .421, B/B-/A+) will platoon with Burgess. Other than that, I got some pinch hitters and backups, including Greg Gross (.333, .425, 401), Del Unser (.298, .357, .481) and Bud Harrelson (.282, .398, .365) and a decent defensive replacement with Garry Maddox (.281, A/A+).

Outlook:
I just don't have enough offense on this team. The OF defense is strong and the rotation is decent, but I will probably use Raffensberger as the long-setup guy since I don't really have good RPs. This isn't a playoff team and they probably won't even finish above .500. A pitching staff that will rank league average and an offense that will be bottom five should result in about 75 wins.

Final Record: 88-74, .543 (2nd in NL East)
Expected Win%: .573 (1st overall)
1-Run Games: 18-26
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Rank in Offense: 4th
Rank in Pitching: 5th
Rank in Fielding Range: 6th
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Comments:
Well, you can look at the stats in the graphic above and get a feel for how this season went. I had the best exp win% in the entire league, but didn't win my division due to bad luck in 1-run games. In fact, I was never really close to wining the division as calhoop finished with 95 wins and led my team by 7-10 games pretty much all season. That's fine because I knew I was going to advance because I was blowing teams out left and right. One of the coolest things about this team is that with pick 14 in round 5, I drafted 1979. That season produced Mike Schmidt (.271, .384, .550, 46 HRs, 162 RBIs, 5th in MVP) and Pete Rose (.333, .405, .409, ranked 7th in batting average in the league). I also got 42 starts out of a mediocre Steve Carlton (13-13, 6.26) which allowed me to keep Ken Raffensberger in the bullpen. My best hitter was Ryan Howard (,320, .415, .549, 42 HRs, 161 RBIs, 3rd in MVP). My first round pick of '17 Pete Alexander (57 GS, 427 IP, 28-14, 3.61, 2nd in Cy Young) worked out better than I could hope for (note that '15 Alexander was barely better, 28-15, 3.31). '52 Robin Roberts (49 GS, 355 IP, 22-19, 4.74) allowed 62 HRs (2nd most) but his ERA was still 19th best in the league. And '52 Curt Simmons (84 G, 13-16, 13/18 saves, 4.78) was my primary long-setup pitcher. Despite not making the playoffs, I have high hopes for this team in round 2. Grade: A-

Posted by schwarze on 8/16/2026 4:21:00 PM (view original):
League 01 - St. Louis Cardinals
Team Name: Cardinals w /Karger (07,09,52,92,73)
Ballpark: Busch Stadium
Salary: 120,869,244
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Round 2, Pick 3 - 2009 (.562)
Going with .340 winning% team (1907) in round 1 only netted me third pick this round. After 1948 and 1946 went with picks 1 and 2, it was very tempting to grab 1942, 1943 or 1944, but I knew that would put me at the end of round 3. I wanted to get three solid players while keeping a decent draft position for next round. I settled on 2009 in order to get two solid SPs, Chris Carpenter (193 ip, 2.06 erc#) and Joel Pineiro (214, 2.89). The key was to get a top Albert Pujols season (.329, .442, .646, B-/A+). Not surprisingly, those three 1940's seasons went over the next five picks.
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Round 3, Pick 10 - 1952 (.571)
I didn't get to pick as early as I had hoped. I wanted a decent Stan Musial season (along with some other helpful pieces) and 1952 provided that. Stan Musial (.336, .445, .543, B+/B) will bat in front of Pujols. Red Schoendienst (.303, .350, .429, B-/A+) can play 2B or 3B. Enos Slaughter (.300, .388, .450, B+/D+) is a solid second OF. This season also gives me two pretty good pitchers, with Stu Miller (93 ip, 1.95 erc#) and Al Brazle (116, 2.29). I do not regret passing on those 1940's season, as those three people drafted 14-15-16 this round.
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Round 4, Pick 8 - 1992 (.512)
I would have considered 1901 here had ff09 not taken them three picks before my turn. At this pick, I wanted to fill SS, OF and add some pitching depth. I still needed a catcher but figured I'd get one of the Ted Simmons seasons next round, especially if I picked high enough. So, this season must be one with a relatively low win%. Welcome to the team '92 Bob Tewksbury (233, 2.57), Mike Perez (93, 2.28), Todd Worrell (64, 2.41) and Lee Smith (75, 2.74). But I also get to add CF Ray Lankford (.293, .378, .478, A/A+), SS Ozzie Smith (.295, .374, .349, A/A) and part-time 2B, Geronimo Pena (.305, .393, .485, B/A). I love this pick as I also get an early pick next round.
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Round 5, Pick 5 - 1973 (.500)
I still need a full-time catcher, a OF/DH and a 2B or 3B (since Schoendienst can play either). I could also use some pitching depth. 1973 isn't one of the best hitting seasons for Ted Simmons (.310, .374, .441, B-/A/A+) but he has 690 PA so I don't need a backup C and his A+ will keep the DP intact for all my great infielders. Lou Brock (.297, .367, .402, 70/90 steals) will play DH. Ted Sizemore (.282, .368, .337, B/A) can play 2B and 3B and with G.Pena and Schoendienst, I have 2B/3B completely covered. I also rostered Joe Torre (.287, .380, .406) but his range is poor at 1B/3B so PH or DH only. OF Bernie Carbo (.286, .401, .426, C+/C-) might pinch hit or play some DH. Bake McBride (71 pa, .302, .356, .352, C/B+) is a cheap OF. I get three usable pitchers with this fifth round selection, including Bob Gibson (195 ip, 2.55 erc#), Al Hrabosky (56, 2.53) and Orlando Pena (62, 2.83).
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Outlook:
I don't know how everybody else's Cardinals team looks like, but I really like this team... a lot. I have a nice switch-hitting high-average offense. The only batter with more than Musial's 21 HRs is Pujols (47) so I am playing in Busch to limit opponent's HRs. The defense is fantastic. The pitching is strong and deep. The raw averages of all 1727 innings is 1.07 whip, .229 oav, 2.1 bb/0 and 0.39 hr/9. Now, I conceded that I won't score a ton of runs, but if I am anywhere close to league average in offense, my strong pitching/defense should result in 90+ wins, especially playing in the American League.

Final Record: 100-62, .617 (1st in AL East)
Expected Win%: .655 (1st overall)
1-Run Games: 21-17
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Rank in Offense: 8th
Rank in Pitching: 2nd
Rank in Fielding Range: 3rd
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Comments:
This was a fun team. Of course, winning 100 games is always fun, but it wasn't luck driven. My exp win% was actually higher than my actual win%. Waiting until the third round for my Stan Musial (1952) paid off. He led my team with a slash of .338, .404, .509 and 160 RBIs (5th in league). And get this, I had two players finish in the top 5 in MVP and Musial wasn't one of them. '09 Albert Pujols (.317, .419, .536, 33 HRs, 147 RBIs, 20 + plays) finished 4th in MVP. '92 Ray Lankford (.304, .386, .492, 50 doubles, 134 RBIs, 32 + plays in CF) finished 3rd in MVP. My 2B/3B/SS (Schoendienst, Sizemore, G.Pena & O.Smith) combined for 42 plus plays. Our defense was very strong. I don't have what you'd call a stud SP on the roster, but I ended up with three pitchers in the top 5 for Cy Young. First round pick '07 Ed Karger (347 IP, 22-15, 4.04) finished second. '92 Bob Tewksbury (36 starts, 20-9, 4.58) finished 5th. And RP '52 Stu Miller (51 G, 98 IP, 9-1, 13/15 saves, 2.01) was awesome as one of my two late inning RPs ('52 Al Brazle, 14/17 saves, 3.98) was the other one. My fifth round pick produce key players '73 Bob Gibson (18-7, 4.50) , '73 Lou Brock (.283, .346, .378, 66/86 SBs, 159 runs) and Ted Simmons (.300, .351, .411, only 50/84 SB for a .405 CS%). Heck, I even underused used '09 Chris Carpenter as a long reliever (40 G, 9 GS, 124 IP, 9-2, 5/5 saves, 3.90 era). I truly believe this team is good enough to make a run at the overall round 3 championship. Grade: A+

Posted by schwarze on 8/16/2026 7:28:00 PM (view original):
League 11 - Pittsburgh Pirates
Team Name: Pirates w /Kiner (51,28,63,32,70)
Ballpark: PNC Park
Salary: 117,877,923
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Round 2, Pick 3 - 1928 (.559)
As I mentioned in my "Round 1" writeup, this was the only franchise I selected a hitter in round 1. I was one of the last people to select a Pirate. I decided to pick '51 Kiner to get an early round 2 pick, where I fully planned on grabbing 1902 to land three deadball pitchers (860 innings). But when my turn came up, I looked at that .741 winning% and chickened out. Dumb, dumb move by me. Had I locked up those innings, I could have put together a pretty good offense from those 1920's and 1930's high octane offenses. But instead I went with 1928, which landed me a decent SP, Burleigh Grimes (353 ip, 2.68 erc#) plus two really good bats, 1B/OF Paul Waner (.370, .437, .539, C+/B) and 3B Pie Traynor (.337, .362, .455, C/A). This does get me pick #5 in round 3, which is nice, but you will soon see why this was a bad pick.
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Round 3, Pick 5 - 1963 (.457)
So instead of focusing on getting some stud hitting seasons, I focused on getting pitching in quantity, since I had just one pitcher thru two rounds 1963 gets me a pretty good SP, Bob Friend (269 ip, 2.47), along with bullpen arms Al McBean (123, 2.62) and Tommie Sisk (108, 2.94). The hitting from this season isn't great. I originally had Roberto Clemente (.320, .368, .480, D/D+) on the roster, but later upgraded to a better version since 1963 is not one of his better seasons. Instead, I added a catcher, lefty-hitting Smoky Burgess (.280, .338, .394). 1B Don Clendenon (.275, .338, .440, B-/A+) isn't the ideal first baseman despite his great range. He eventually was slotted into a platoon role. Note that thejuice6 took 1902 and was able to land 1933 at pick 16 this round where he gets five solid hitters... Arky Vaughan, Paul Waner, Freddie Lindstrom, Pie Traynor and Tony Piet. Sigh... I really screwed up this draft,
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Round 4, Pick 1 - 1932 (.558)
It does help getting pick #1 in round 4, as I need all the help I can get. Of course, I was hoping for 1933, but 1932 will have to suffice. Because I already drafted 1928, I can't even use the two best hitters from 1932. But I can use the following hitters... SS Arky Vaughan (.318, .375, .405, C-/B+), CF Lloyd Waner (.333, .368, .423, B+/A+), 2B Tony Piet (.282, .344, .383, C/B-) and OF Adam Comorosky (.286, .337, .382, B/A). This season does give me two pretty good SPs... Bill Swift (226 ip, 2.62 erc#), Steve Swetonic (172, 2.69). The seventh player is a crappy Bill Harris (3.40 erc#) who will only pitch in mop-up duty. I'm slowly piecing together a team, but it's not a very good team.
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Round 5, Pick 10 - 1970 (.549)
I had a long wait for my next pick. I badly needed a near full-time catcher. I had my heart set on 1970 and had no backup plan if I got sniped. Thankfully, that season fell to me at pick 10. Manny Sanguillen (.324, .344, .439, B/A/A+) has 510 PA and I'll have to do the reverse-platoon where my lefty-hitting catcher starts vs LHP and my righty-hitting catcher starts vs RHP. Yep, that's great strategy. I'm an idiot. Roberto Clemente (.352, .407, .551, C-/C-) is the best player on this 1970 squad but only has 455 PA. I still decided to replace 1963 Sanguillen. Bob Robertson (.287, .366, .559, A-/B) will be the starting 1B but he only has 451 PA (which is why Don Clendenon has to play some at 1B). 2B Dave Cash (.314, .365, .414, C/B+) will platoon with Tony Piet. Gene Alley plays 2B/3B/SS and has a good fielding rating at all three but can't hit a lick. 3B Richie Hebner (.290, .362, .459) only has 475 PA and may play some DH. On the pitching side of things, Mudcat Grant (136 ip, 2.45 erc#) becomes my best RP option. John Lamb (33, 2.60) and Luke Walker (163, 3.02) add pitching depth.
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Outlook:
This is going to be a disaster. I think my pitching is probably below average, my hitting is below average. I have no deadball pitching. My defense sucks and due to my pitchers giving up too many HRs, I decided to play my home games at PNC Park. Did I mention I used a first round pick on Ralph Kiner? 42 HRs, playing home games at PNC. Just a brilliant all-around strategy. Why didn't I just draft 1902 in round 2 like I oriiginally intended? I hope thejuice6 wins 90 games. i like his team way better than mine. This team will lose 90+ games.

Final Record: 67-95, .414 (Last in NL West)
Expected Win%: .460 (7th in NL, 14th overall)
1-Run Games: 9-23
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Rank in Offense: 7th
Rank in Pitching: 14th
Rank in Fielding Range: 3rd
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Comments:
Well, I pretty much predicted how bad this team would be. My hitting wasn't terrible and my defensive range was decent, but that's about the only good thing I can say about this team. Were they unlucky? Sure. Did it matter? Note one bit. My two best SPs, '28 Burleigh Grimes (22-25, 5.24) and '63 Bob Friend (16-18, 5.13) combined to throw nearly 700 innings and still lost more games than they won. Since I mostly used '32 Bill Swift (10-15, 16/22 saves, 5.24) out of the bullpen, my other two SPs ('32 Bill Harris and '70 Luke Walker) combined to go 8-26 with a combined ERA over 6. The rest of the bullpen pitchers did ok (ERAs below 5), but it didn't matter. I drafted poorly and knew I drafted poorly before we played a single game. I checked on thejuice6's team (he drafted 1902 when I passed on them). His team won only 74 games, but he didn't select three SPs from 1902 like I would have done. He selected two SPs but gave one of the two only 86 innings. So we'll never know how much different my season would have gone had I simply took 1902 like I planned on doing when I selected 1951 (Kiner) in round 1. Grade: F