Post your comments here.

Team Name: High Scoring Braves 01 32 53 00 23
Ballpark: Atlanta Fulton-County Stadium
Salary: $125,883,784 (6th, NL West)
Draft Position: 13

Round 1 - 2000
Picking 13th, I didn’t get an opportunity to get one of the top Greg Maddux seasons. I was hoping 1997 would slip a little more, but njbigwig finally grabbed them with pick 9. When my turn came up, I considered 2000, 1947, 1953 and 2024. I thought about taking 1947 here due to the scarcity of Group B options. But a quick analysis showed that even though I am getting the eighth best Group D team, there was a huge drop-off after 2000. I thought there was a decent shot at getting 1947 or 1953 early in round 2. Greg Maddux (250 ips, 2.33 erc#) is still a pretty strong SP in 2000 even though it's not among his top five seasons. Tom Glavine (242 ip, 2.87 erc#) is a serviceable SP4 If needed. I also get two really strong hitters in Chipper Jones (.309, .397, .541) and Andruw Jones (.301, .360, .515, A/A+). Javy Lopez (.285, .331, .459) is an acceptable catcher. I basically got 5 usable players with this pick. Note that the next Group D season didn’t get taken until round 3, so I feel justified in picking 2000 here.

Round 2 - 1953
Of course, 1947 went at pick 2.01 and apparently, others ahead of me also wanted 1947 so there was no chance of getting them at pick 2.04. ff09 grabbed 2024 one pick in front of me, making my decision straightforward. The only other season I even considered here was 2022. Although 1953 isn’t super deep, it does have two studs, with Warren Spahn (280 ip, 2.09 erc#) and Eddie Mathews (.300, .402, .613). Yes, I know ’53 Spahn tends to underachieve in the sim, but compared to other Braves SPs, he’s still a top 10 SP for this franchise. That gives me two of the top 15 Braves SPs. Also, I do realize that I now have two starting 3B. One will obviously play DH. Johnny Logan (.273, .326, .398, A-/A-) isn’t great, but he plays good defense and I won’t have to worry about shortstop going forward. Del Crandall (.272, .330, .429, “A” arm) fills the missing PAs at catcher. The second P Ernie Johnson (86 ip, 3.14 erc#) is basically a filler. I told you this team didn’t have a lot of depth. Two studs and 1.5 other very mediocre hitters. Is it better to have 2 studs and not much else or have 4 decent/good players?

Round 3 – 2023
Picking late in round 1 has one key advantage and that is that you get to pick early in both rounds 2 and 3. I was hoping 2022 would be there on my turn, but kstober grabbed this season at pick 2.13. I had narrowed down my choices to 2012 and 2023 when I went to sleep before the end of round 2. Since the teams drafting before me already had their Group E seasons, I could have made my selection that night. But I wanted to sleep on it. This decision would shape my entire season (would I be strong at pitching and weak at hitting or vice versa?). 2012 has the unique feature of providing 282 innings of stud relief pitching (Medlen, Kimbrel, Beachy). There wasn’t a ton of offense from that season or else I would have taken them. I had a long wait for my round 4 pick and feared that any seasons with multiple good offensive players would be taken. I was right as the seasons I would have wanted included 1912, 1933 and 1945. So, I made the decision… “Screw relief pitching”. I am going to go with seven semi-usable SPs and load up on offense. 2023 provides me with three strong batters at positions of need… OF Ronald Acuna Jr. (.345, .419, .578), 2B Ozzie Albies (.287, .339, .496) and 1B Matt Olson (.290, .392, .586). Pitchers Spencer Strider (187 ip, 2.73 erc#) and Max Fried (78 ip, 2.88 erc#) are both very usable. I am now approaching 300 HRs with my starting lineup so it appears that my home park with be Atlanta Fulton-County Stadium.

Round 4 – 1932
I waited a long time for my next pick and I was somewhat vindicated as I watched seasons that I would have wanted to draft hitters from get taken. When my turn finally came, I knew I was going to get either 1901 (Vic Willis) or 1905 (Irv Young) with my last pick so my round 4 pick needed to fill 2 holes…. I needed one more OF and some pitching depth. I knew I was going to end up with Wally Berger as my third OF… the question is which season of Berger? A quick search revealed that 1932 had the best pitchers of the remaining Berger seasons. (And I use the word "best" as a relative term). Note that ’32 Wally Berger (.300, .347, .461, A/A+) wasn’t the best hitting Berger left, but the addition of pitchers Huck Betts (234 ip, 2.93 erc#) and Ben Cantwell (154 ip, 2.74 erc#) provide the pitching depth I was looking for, albeit very mediocre pitching depth. Although I didn’t really need much else, I was able to add a couple of cheaper pinch-hitter / defensive replacement types in outfielders Buck Jordan (.321, .333, .434, B-/A+) and Dutch Holland (.295, .345, .397, A/B).

Round 5 – 1901
Since ff09 didn’t take 1901 or 1905, I had my choice of which deadball SP to add. Both Vic Willis (359 ip, 2.65 erc#) and Irv Young (398, 2.65 erc#) are similar pitchers. Young has more innings but 1901 had one decent hitter that I might find useful, Billy Hamilton (.285, .409, .373). The other 1901 players I added are irrelevant.

Overall Comment
Given my disdain for RPs, I am ok with the strategy of not drafting any good RPs and simply using SPs out of the bullpen. Playing home games at Fulton-County Stadium, there will be a ton of runs scored, so any good RPs I may have drafted would hit their pitch count quickly and be removed prematurely, so having six SPs formed into three Tandems seems like the way to go. Ignoring the three worst pitchers on my roster, I have 1548 innings with an average whip of 1.11 and an average oav of .231. My starting lineup averages .299, .371, .534 with 299 HRs. I have two A+ range outfielders and respectable defense everywhere else. Other than catching platoon (Lopez has 525 pa), my other eight regulars average over 700 PAs each (min 660), so I don’t really have to worry about backups, although Billy Hamilton may get some starts over Berger vs RHP in negative HR parks. Overall, this team feels like an 87-win team that probably has a better expected winning% than actual winning% due to poor 1-run game luck.

Team Name: High Scoring White Sox 20 26 63 90 22
Ballpark: Comiskey Park (I)
Salary: $129,784,860 (1st, NL East)
Draft Position: 3

Round 1 - 1920
The White Sox have a ton of deadball pitching (obviously). Guys like ’08 and ’10 Walsh would be early selections if this were a single player draft. But those seasons have no useful offensive players. The best options have good deadball pitching *and* some offensive punch… a season from the late teens (1917, 1919, 1916) would make for a solid first round pick. I had determined that I would select 1917 with my #3 overall pick. And of course they went one pick before me at #2 overall. 1916 went #1, which I can’t argue with. I looked hard at 1919 but the offense wasn’t quite strong enough plus I’ve never had a lot of luck with ’19 Cicotte. I then looked at 2020. I could add two pretty good hitters and three stud pitchers. My brain was telling me to take 2020 as I could get still a solid deadball pitcher in a later round. But I was worried that all the seasons with good offensive players would get snatched up before my next pick. I then pivoted to 1920. Easily, the best season for hitting, for any White Sox season in history. Of course, I knew this meant I would NOT get any good deadball pitching. Oh well… let’s have some fun. 1920 gives me Joe Jackson (.382, .444, .589), Happy Felsch (.338, .384, .540, B/A), Eddie Collins (.372, .438, .493, B/B+) and a switch-hitting Buck Weaver (.331, .365, .420) who can start at 3B or SS. Ed Cicotte (320 ip, 3.27 erc#) will need some really good run support to win even 10 games.

Round 2 - 1926
The seasons selected right after my 1920 pick included 2020, 1915, 1964 and 1919… all seasons that I would have expected to go early. I’ve taken 1964 in other versions of White Sox drafts. It’s a solid and defensible selection, but I just couldn’t stomach another offense counting on Pete Ward and Ron Hansen. The wait from early round 1 to late round 2 was excruciatingly long as all the seasons I was thought might fall to me were quickly getting scooped up. I really thought 1927 would make it to me in round 2, but footballmm11 grabbed them at pick 2.08. I later found out that at least two others before me wanted 1927 as well, so I was never getting that season. With one pick before my turn, I finally settled on 1940…. then njbigwig texted me that I was up. I refreshed my screen and slowly scrolled down… yep, I knew it - njbigwig took 1940. Damn it! Did I mention that he also took 2020 after I passed on them? He’s basically drafting the seasons that I should have taken. I strongly considered 1991 (for J.McDowell, F.Thomas & Ventura), but there were other Frank Thomas seasons available. I also considered taking 1983 but thought that they might slide to me in round 3. I kept researching... When I searched for the available SPs in Group B, the best season was 1926, by a long shot… and that season also had three really strong hitters, Johnny Mostil (.328, .415, .467, C/A+), Bibb Falk (.345, .415, .477, A/C+) and Willie Kamm (.294, .396, .385, A/A+). The two SPs aren’t great by any means… they just happened to be better than any of the other Group B SPs that were still available. Ted Lyons (301 ips, 3.03 erc#) and Tommy Thomas (264 ip, 3.14 erc#) will have to start a bunch of games for this team. I now have three SPs that I have to use that aren’t very good. Will I be able to score enough runs vs. Ed Walsh, Frank Smith, Ed Cicotte, etc.?

Round 3 – 1963
It was another long wait before my next pick (the disadvantage of picking early in round 1). Of course, 1991 went the pick after I took 1926. Maybe 1983 will make it to me with Hoyt and Fisk. Nope. pedrocerrano grabbed them 3 picks in front of me. Now I am looking at 1966, 1963 or 1965. I need pitching badly. Calhoop grabbed 1966 but njbigwig took 1951… which was another season I looked at but didn’t need as much after taking 1926. I decided I’d rather have ’63 Gary Peters (243 ip, 2.41 erc#) and Hoyt Wilhelm (137 ip, 2.19 erc#) over the two big inning RPs from 1965 (Wilhelm and Fisher). I also got to add some hitters that I really didn’t need. Pete Ward (.295, .353, .482) gives me a decent lefty bat if I wanted to rest Willie Kamm. Joe Cunnigham (.286, .388, .367) gives me a lefty bat with 252 PAs who can get on base. Floyd Robinson (.283, .361, .419) provides extra PAs in the outfield. Really thrilled to finally get some competent pitching.

Round 4 – 1990
Both 1995 and 1997 had really good full-time Frank Thomas seasons but his defense is terrible in those seasons plus I still needed a catcher. I had 1990 locked in before I even selected 1963. Frank Thomas only has 240 PAs but his numbers (.330, .454, .529) are perfect for a league with lots of deadball pitching and negative HR parks. This season of Carlton Fisk (.285, .378, .451, A/A/A) is the second best catching season in White Sox history (500+ PA). I only added Ozie Guillen (A-/B+) for a defensive replacement for Buck Weaver (B/D+), who is my starting shortstop. Bobby Thigpen (89 ip, 2.04 erc#) is my team’s second RP. Eric King (151 ip, 2.91 erc#) is probably better than my three ‘20 & ‘26 SPs and will either spot start or pitch in long relief.

Round 5 – 2022
I considered taking 2017 in round 4, but I knew I would end up with a crappy catcher if I passed on 1990 Fisk last round. So, of course 2017 got taken, as did two other seasons I had on my short list (2006 & 2009). I still some PAs at 1B and as much pitching as I could find. I was the second-to-last person to take a Group E season so the options were few. I narrowed down my choices to 2011, 2012, 2015 & 2022. It was tempting to grab ’12 AJ Pierzynski (lefty-bat, .486 slug) to split time with Fisk, but ’22 Seby Zavala (.270, .347, .382) isn’t terrible and Fisk has 521 PAs. Jose Abreu (.304, .378, .446) will play a decent amount of time at 1B. But the key feature of 2022 is three usable pitchers, including Dylan Cease (184 ip, 2.56 erc#), Liam Hendricks (58 ip, 2.64 erc#) and Reynaldo Lopez (65 ip, 1.74 erc#).

Overall Comment:
I kind of wish I had taken 2020 just to see how my roster would have looked. I ended up in njbigwig’s division so we’ll see just how poor the decision to take 1920 will be. He’ll probably win 95+ games while I lose 90+. I have no real weak spots on offense, so maybe I can get enough hits and walks to force opposing SPs to reach their pitch count early and get into the weaker bullpens. My offensive raw stats are pretty damn good for the White Sox... .333, .404, .477. My defense is pretty good (average B/B+). The pitching is a problem, but my bullpen is way better than my SPs so maybe we are on the right side of all those late-inning comebacks that are commonplace in the sim. Feels like an 81-81 team though.

Team Name: Crappy Brooklyn Pitching 13 28 53 82 24
Ballpark: Ebbets Field
Salary: $136,005,973 (2nd, NL East)
Draft Position: 8

Round 1 - 1953
I picked early (3rd) in the Braves draft, late (13th) in the White Sox draft and now I’m picking smack dab in the middle (8th). I will comment my thoughts of the three different draft positions, at the end of this writeup.

I would’ve taken 1941 if I picked 1st as I love Pete Reiser and Dolph Camilli. Of course, 1924 would’ve been my 2nd choice. eblankenstei took 1941 at pick 3 and thejuice6 took 1924 at pick 5. When my turn came up, I was debating between 1953, 1964 and 1918. Why 1918? Because ’18 Burleigh Grimes went 27-14, 3.59 for me in the first Franchise Draft and won the Cy Young award. Also, Group A has very few good options. 1964 seemed like the knee-jerk obvious choice here with two stud SPs (similar to 2015 which went pick #1). But here’s the problem with 1964. They fall into the same group as all those Duke Snider / Roy Campanella teams. Taking 1964 meant I would most likely end up in the bottom half of the league in offense. 1953 would be a no-brainer top 5 pick if I could take five hitters. Heck, I’m pretty sure I could take start different hitters from this team. But alas, I can only take 3. Had I known that some of the other Duke Snider led 1950’s teams would last until round 3 or later, I would have certainly taken 1918 here. With the Dodgers not having a ton of great hitting, I though those 1950’s seasons would be taken much earlier. Anyway, I ended up with Duke Snider (.336, .419, 627, B+/B+), Roy Campanella (.312, .395, .611) and Carl Furillo (.344, .393, .580) as my hitters. It was hard to leave Jackie Robinson (.329, .425, .502) off the roster, but his defense was awful at 2B and I have other reasonable options at 3B (Jackie's best fielding position). What separated 1953 from the other 1950’s seasons is they have a couple of usable (but not great) pitchers. Clem Labine (117 ip, 2.44 erc#) and Bob Milliken (124 ip, 2.69 erc#) will both end up pitching in long relief.

Round 2 - 1928
When pedrocerrano took 1918 at the end of round 1, I immediately regretted my 1953 pick. I won’t get any Koufax/Dyrsdale pitchers from the 1960’s, I missed the few good deadball pitchers and there aren’t many great pitchers from Group B. I don’t think I can survive with my only decent pitchers coming from just Groups D & E. When my turn came up, although I really wanted 2000 (for Kevin Brown and Gary Sheffield), I knew I had to take 1928 in order to secure the best available SP from Group B, Dazzy Vance (297 ip, 2.19 erc#). I also rostered Watty Clark (207 ip, 2.81 erc#), who may start or who may pitch in mop-up duty. As far as offense, Del Bissonette (.320, .396, 543) is a pretty good 1B option. Harvey Hendrick (.318, .397, .478) is a decent left-handed hitting 3B with below-average defense (D/B+). I originally had Babe Herman (.340, .390, .514, D/D+) on the roster but I ended up with too many OF/DH players so Herman was cut and Johnny Gooch (.317, .361, .366) was added as catching depth (Campanella only has 621 PA).

Round 3 – 1913
I was hoping 2000 would get back to me but Jtpsops grabbed them at pick 2.15. When my turn came, I had a very difficult decision. I had one team from each group that I really wanted and assumed I wouldn’t get whichever two I didn’t pick. 2003 was really intriguing since I could add 400 really strong innings with K.Brown, Gagne & Mota. But I also wanted 1999 (w/Kevin Brown). Although I could legally draft both 1999 and 2003, it wouldn’t make sense since only one Kevin Brown could be rostered. So, I decided to draft neither 1999 or 2003 and instead reviewed the remaining Group A seasons. Both 1901 and 1903 had some nice offensive options, but no pitching. 1908 had a decent big-inning deadball SP (Kaiser Wilhelm) but absolutely no offense. Then I came across 1913. I drafted Ed Reulbach (120 ip, 2.10 erc#) in the previous Dodgers draft and he was did a pretty good job for me. Nap Rucker (283 ip, 2.89 erc#) is a barely usable SP but with low HRs. I still needed a starting 2B. George Cutshaw (.267, .315, .385) is poor offensive player but has A+++ range. He has a 6.28 RRF and I’m trying to figure out how in his one performance review season, he had only 4 “plus” plays in 156 games. Zack Wheat (.301, .335, .430, B/A+) will start a few games in CF and come in for defense in the late innings in games he doesn’t start. Red Smith (.296, .358, .441, C/B) will platoon with Hendrick at 3B. Seriously, no way I thought that my Dodgers starting lineup would include guys like Del Bissonette, George Cutshaw and a platoon of Harvey Hendrick/Red Smith. What have I done?

Round 4 – 1982
Jtpsops grabs 2003 at the end of round 3 (I didn’t expect ’03 Gagne to make it back to me). Holding my breath for 2003. Of course, 1999 gets taken exactly one pick in front of me. Damn it, 3day! I should also note that 1954 went with the last pick of round 3. Had I known that season would’ve lasted that long, I certainly wouldn’t have taken 1953 in round 1. Snider, Hodges and Reese… nice pick mllma54! Anyway, my two choices for this pick are 1982 and 2017. Only one team behind me still needs their Group E season. I still need a ton of pitching. I figured if I lose out on 2017, I can pivot to 2006 or 2024 (I still need a SS). 1982 gives me Jerry Reuss (255 ip, 2.56 erc#) and Steve Howe. But wait, if I instead take Fernando Valenzuela (285 ip, 2.73 erc#), I can go with the all-lefty 4-man rotation (using ’28 Vance as a big-inning setup guy). A quick check at the performance review shows Fernando has performed slightly better than Howe. I know it seems insane taking a SP with a 2.73 erc# over a RP with a 2.13 erc#, but I did it. 1982 does have one starting-quality batter, Pedro Guerrero (.304, .378, .536). Bill Russell (.357 obp) will get some PA’s at SS. Steve Sax (.282, .335, .359, C+/A) may get some starts at 2B (especially if Cutshaw is awful). Now, I get to see if njbigwig snipes the Group E season that I wanted.

Round 5 – 2024
Spoiler alert... Of course njbigwig takes 2017... why wouldn’t he? But I had already mentally prepared for this scenario. 2006 would provide me great range at SS with Rafael Furcal, but that season didn’t have much pitching. I decided to boost the offense by grabbing 2024. Shohei Ohtani (.310, .390, .646) could finish in the top 5 in MVP voting. Getting a stud hitter this late to bat in the middle of my already-strong lineup should be fun. The real reason I drafted 2024 was to get a good-hitting shortstop… Mookie Betts (.289, .372, .491, C/B+). This season isn’t one of the better ones for Freddie Freeman (.282, .378, .476, A/B), but he can be a defensive replacement for Bissonette. With all the great Dodger pitching in the 2020’s, this season might be their weakest. Tyler Glasnow (134 ip, 2.03 erc#) will pitch as a long setup guy or maybe as part of a Tandem. He is quite HR-prone though. In fact, most of the pitchers from the 2024 season are HR prone. Yoshinobu Yamamoto (90 ip, 2.65 erc#) is one of the lower-HR pitchers from the 2024 Dodgers. Note that I did not roster Alex Vesia (66 ip, 1.90 erc#) due to his nearly 5 bb/9 and sub 1.0 ip/g. I don’t care what the erc# is, I refuse to acknowledge that this type of pitcher is very useful.

Overall Comment:
Picking in the middle has the advantage of not having to wait very long in between picks, so I did appreciate that nuance. But of course, you don’t get an early pick at one of the best 3-4 seasons and you also don’t get the advantage of a double pick at either end of the draft where I can select two teams that fit nicely together. As a result, the Dodgers seasons that I selected in the first few rounds had multiple options and I kept altering who was making the roster based on what my next selection was.

Bottom line... I don’t like my team. I don’t know how I can compete against teams with Koufax, Drysdate, Kershaw, Brown, Sutton, etc. while I am starting guys like Nap Rucker and Jerry Reuss. I should finish in the top 5 in runs scored, but should also finish dead last in pitching. Feels like 85-90 losses. Oh well. There’s always the next draft to look forward to.

Team Name: Ken Williams for MVP 23 38 67 95 11
Ballpark: Sportsman Parlk (III)
Salary: $117,523,567 (5th, NL West)
Draft Position: 16

Round 1 - 1995
I was hoping for 1984 for those two nice A+ range hitters (Murray, Ripken) but nocomm999 grabbed then at pick 14. Damn, so close. Based on what was left at pick 16, 1995 seemed like the obvious choice here with two usable SPs, Mike Mussina (250 ip, 2.37 erc#) and Kevin Brown (194 ip, 2.71 erc#). On the hitting side, Rafael Palmeiro (.310, .380, .583, A/B) and Bobby Bonilla (.329, .388, .576) were locks. I originally slotted Chris Hoiles as my third hitter, but eventually went with DH-only, Harold Baines (.299, .403, .540). Considering I was picking 16th, it’s hard to complain about getting 5 useful pieces (although Baines may just platoon at DH).

Round 2 - 1923
Normal logic would have me waiting on my Group A season and grabbing a decent deadball SP in round 4 or 5 (like what many others did). But I really, really wanted ’23 Ken Williams (.357, .439, .623). He’s one of my favorite sim players and always delivers for me. 1923 is not a one-stud-player season though. Marty Manus (.309, .367, 481) will be my starting 2B. And Hank Severeid (.308, .356, .419) is a good enough option as a starting catcher. Pitching isn’t the strong suit of the 1923 Browns, but Urban Shocker (293 ip, 3.06 erc#) is barely good enough to be in the rotation. Unfortunately, I didn’t really get another good SP in the draft, so Dave Danforth (242 ip, 3.44 erc#) isn't good enough to be in the rotation but has to be and will probably lose 20 games as my SP4… ugh. But at least I got Ken Williams.

Round 3 – 1967
Honestly, I never considered taking any other option when 1923 was there last round. But the top other seasons on my list included 1928, 1930, 1945, 1966, 1967, 1972 and 2004. 1945, 1967 and 2004 were taken since my round 2 pick. So I had the option of two hitting-only seasons (1928/1930) or two pitching-heavy seasons (1967/1972). I probably should have grabbed 1972 to grab two more SPs, but their hitting options weren’t great. So, I went with 1967. I got two really good 100+ innings RPs, Eddie Watt (105 ip, 2.06 erc#) and Jim Hardin (112 ip, 2.36 erc#). And the three hitters I added are all starter-worthy. My starting CF will be Paul Blair (.293, .353, .446, B/A+). Frank Robinson (.311, .403, .576) only has 567 PA but is a strong hitter and can play DH or OF (A-/D+). Brooks Robinson was originally slotted to be my starting 3B but that position was later upgraded for offense. I instead went with a part-time player who can platoon at DH, Bob Johnson (.348, .379, .472). I was very happy to land such a strong season in round 3. Now for the long 30-pick wait.

Round 4 – 1938
I still needed seasons from Groups B and E. After my third-round pick, 13 others still needed a Group B season and 12 needed a Group E season. I was hoping maybe 6-7 seasons of each group would get selected, and then I would get a decent option from each Group. Sadly, when my double-pick came up, I was the *LAST* person to take a Group E season, and the season I was hoping for was picked one spot before me. Damn it!. The advantage of the double-pick is that I can pick two seasons that work together. I basically needed more pitching and a starting shortstop. There isn’t much pitching from the remaining Group B seasons, but the best pitcher available was 1938 Jim Weaver (148 ip, 2.76 erc#). 1938 also gave me a huge offensive upgrade at 3B with Harlond Clift (.290, .425, .554). Red Kress (.302, .378, .408) can hit a little bit at the shortstop position, but his defense (B/D-) means that he is only playing when my other SS needs a rest. OF Mel Almada (.342, .398, .422, C-/A-) will get some playing time as a lefty bat. My other pitcher is a $386K scrub who won't play.

Round 5 – 2011
I really wanted 2024 Gunner Henderson as my starting SS, but thejuice6 took 2024 one pick before me. So, I pivoted to 2011 to get J.J. Hardy (.269, .310, .491, A+/A) solely for the defense. I added a switch-hitting catcher, Matt Wieters (.262, .328, 450, A/A+/A) to replace ’95 Chris Hoiles to platoon with Hank Severeid. The three pitchers I added are all lower inning guys but have pretty decent stats. Koji Uehara (47 ip, 1.25 erc#) is the best of the three but will give up too many HRs (0.94 hr/9#). Troy Patten (30 ip, 2.07 erc#) is my only lefty out of the pen. And Jim Johnson (91 ip, 2.54 erc#) can pitch in long relief.

Overall Comment:
Overall, I feel pretty good about this team. I have enough offense with Ken Williams, Harlond Clift, Frank Robinson, Bobby Bonilla and Rafael Palmeiro. The defense is mostly solid with A/B at 1B, B+/C at 3B, A+/A at SS, B/A+ in CF and two catchers with A arms. The bench is deep with multiple starting options at 3B, SS, OF and DH. My starting pitching is on the weaker side, especially considering I don’t have a deadball SP like many others do, but my bullpen is as good as any of the teams I’ve drafted to date. If my starting pitching doesn’t get smashed, this team can win 86 games.

Team Name: McQuillan for Cy Young 08 44 75 00 06
Ballpark: Citizen’s Bank Park
Salary: $113,635,171 (16th, AL West)
Draft Position: 5

Round 1 - 1908
There was a clear top 3 in this draft (1901, 1915, 2011), and if I wasn’t going to get one of them, I’d just as soon as pick 16th instead of picking 5th. Not surprisingly, those top 3 seasons went 1-2-3. I commented that I hate my team already and I haven’t even made a pick yet. I had no idea who I was going to take at #5. Ironically, I had many hours to change my mind before my turn finally came up. This is one of those situations that depending on when my turn came was going to dictate what season I selected. Had my turn come up right away, I was taking either 1929 or 1932 (in order to get some stud offense). As time passed, I started thinking about taking either 1981 or 1980 to get more balance with Schmidt and Carlton. But picking 5th meant that I had a long wait for both my round 2 and round 3 picks. Had I picked near the bottom, I certainly would have taken 1929 or 1932 in round 1, knowing that I could still get some decent pitching in rounds 2 and 3. So I decided to get a stud deadball SP at pick #5. I was debating between 1908, 1914 and 1916. I almost certainly would’ve taken 1914 to get a stud SS if ’14 Pete Alexander had been just a little better. I finally decided on 1908 since ’08 George McQuillan (379 ip, 2.18 erc#) was slightly better than ’16 Alexander (412 ip, 2.24 erc#) plus 1908 had Harry Coveleski (46 ip, 2.06 erc#) who is perfectly suited as a closer. The hitting of 1908 isn’t great but is relatively decent with three guys having an OPS+ of 120 or better. As it turned out, I later upgraded at two of those positions so I ended up only rostering one of the *good* hitters… Sherry Magee (.283, .375, .458) was the best hitter (128 OPS+) and made the cut. I cut 1B Kitty Bransfield and OF John Titus for two scrubs after drafting better hitters in the later rounds. 3dayrotation finally decided on 1981, so I quickly posted 1908 before I changed my mind for the hundredth time.

Round 2 - 2006
Due to the holiday weekend, over 40 hours passed before I got to pick again. All of the top seasons that I had considered with my top pick all got taken in the first round. 1980 went to thejuice6 at pick 7. footballmm11 took 1932 at pick 10. DarthDurron took 1916 at pick 12. pedrocerrano took 1929 at pick 13. This is the draft spot I wish I were picking from as I would’ve been thrilled to land 1929 this late (I almost took them at pick 5). I was surprised ronthegenius passed on 1914, who went one pick later to eblankenstei at pick 16. As round 2 started, I considered taking 2024 or 2025, but both got taken before my turn. When my turn did come up, the three seasons I was looking at included 1966 (Bunning and D.Allen), 1951 (R.Roberts, Ashburn) and 2006. I really wanted 1951 and almost posted it while I was driving home, but that would’ve left me offensively challenged since I had another long wait for my next pick. I wanted to lock up the shortstop position, so I went with 2006 because I got my starting SS Jimmy Rollins (.277, .331, .454), plus I two stud hitters in Ryan Howard (.313, .422, .638) and Chase Utley (.309, .376, .504). The pitching isn’t ideal with two short-inning RPs, Fabio Castro (32 ip, 1.62 erc#) and Rheal Cormier (34 ip, 2.69 erc#). I thought about rostering Cole Hamels (133 ip, 3.35 erc#) but his HR rate (1.29) is just too scary. I am happy to get some offense, but I am very thin at pitching. I still need three SPs. Things are not going well. Did I mention that I hate my team?

Round 3 – 1944
Apparently, I sniped 3dayrotation with my 2006 pick, so I guess that’s something. 1951 went two picks later to bigsteve12. 1966 fell to pick 3.04 to pedrocerrano. See, I would have loved to have his started with pick #13 (drafting 1929, 1992 & 1966). He has a very strong team with a great offense and strong pitching. Stupid pick #5 – what waste of an early pick. Anyway, I was really hoping for 1955 this round to address the catching situation, plus get a stud Ashburn season, and some much-needed pitching. But nocomm999 grabbed that season at pick 3.06. Here’s my dilemma... I want both 1944 and 1982. They both provide solid pitching with some offensive pieces. Regardless of which season I select, I doubt the other one gets back to me. I went with 1944 for two reasons. One is the obvious fact that there is less usable pitching available in Group B than in Group D. Second, only two teams behind me need a Group D season while four need a Group B season. The 1944 “Blue Jays” provides me a SP2 with Ken Raffensberger (274 ip, 2.79 erc#) and a strong RP option in Andy Karl (95 ip, 2.34 erc#). The offense isn’t great, but OFs Ron Northey (.288, .368, .507) and Buster Adams (.283, .371, .450, C+/A+) both made the roster. The third hitter is a scrub. Hey, I got three scrubs already… Maybe I end up in the A.L. for the first time in five drafts.

Round 4 – 1975
Well, it’s clear 1944 would not have made it back to me as three of the next five picks were Group B seasons (apparently, 3day wanted 1944 also). Unfortunately, njbigwig sniped me by taking 1982. Bigsteve12 says he would’ve taken 1982 so I guess I had a zero% chance of getting that season. I still needed a lot of pitching plus a starting catcher. I decided to wait until round 5 on the catching situation since there were way more decent available catching options in Group D. So, I went with a Group C season. 1975 was really the only decent Group C season left so it was a no-brainer pick as it filled many of my needs. Greg Luzinski (.300, .395, .547) will be my starting DH and is my second best hitter. Mike Schmidt (.249, .368, .530, B-/A+) will probably hit .200 for me with a few HRs and lots of “plus” plays on defense. I originally slated Tim McCarver (95 pa, .401 obp#) as my third hitter, but later pivoted to Johnny Oates (310 pa, .286, .360, .356, B/B/A+) since I needed more plate appearances than McCarver had. Larry Christenson (172 ip, 2.79) is a decent SP4 this late in the draft. Tug McGraw (103 ip, 2.78 erc#) puts my total drafted innings at 1140 with one pick to go. Man, this team is going to suck.

Round 5 – 2000
I need another SP plus a catcher with 300+ PAs. The three options under consideration are 1994, 1996 and 2000. 1996 has the best SP left (Schilling, 2.49 erc#), but the worst catcher (Santiago). 1994 has the best catcher left (Daulton) but the worst SP (D.Jackson, 3.33 erc#). Let’s split the difference and go with 2000. The best SP is borderline passable with Curt Schilling (211 ip, 3.05 erc#). I could have added a 28-inning Bryan Ward (2.59) but wanted an innings cushion so I added Robert Person (174 ip, 3.35 erc#) who sucks, but at least doesn’t give up HRs. The main reason I added 2000 though is that I get a huge upgrade in the outfield with Bobby Abreu (.316, .409, .528, B+/B), which allowed me to cut one of my mediocre starting OFs (1908 Titus). Scott Rolen (.298, .363, .525, A/B-) might end up getting more PAs than the .249-hitting Mike Schmidt. And Mike Lieberthal (.278, .345, .445) gives me two A+ arms behind the plate. Is it a bad sign when my fifth round pick (2000) accounts for my highest Group salary ($26.0 million) while my first round pick (1908) account for my lowest salary ($21.1 million)?

Overall Comment:
Well, for the first time in five drafts, I have a starting pitcher who can win the Cy Young Award. Despite that, I still ended up with a below-average pitching staff - mainly due to picking 2006 in round 2. The Group E teams have always provided a fallback to add pitching (even as a late round pick). Not only did I not get three pitchers with my Group E season, but I only added about 70 innings. Ugh. Ryan Howard and Chase Utley better hit well or I’m toast. The good news is that my low salary will place me in the American League. The bad news is that this team will still probably lose 90 games.

Haven't done these in a while but miss writing them up so here's a quick one for Phillies...

Pick 1.10: 1932
I was mainly deciding between 1932, 1929, 1954, and 1992 (also glanced at 1966, 1967, 1955). Group D has stronger overall options so I eliminated 1992. I went with 1932 for the offense even though the pitching is terrible. Chuck Klein was a lock and then I had 3 other hitters for 2 spots--C Spud Davis, 1B Don Hurst, and SS Dick Bartell--with Davis and Bartell ultimately being the choices. Ad Liska has a 2.61 ERC# but only 29 innings. Flint Rhem is my 5th choice but his 3.57 ERC# will be relegated to mop-up.

Pick 2.23: 1976
I had a group of C teams at the top (66, 67, 55) and a few E seasons as well (06, 05, 08). Most of the Es have Rollins, but with Bartell likely my SS there's less value there. The Cs have Dick Allen at 3B and Bunning at P but I liked 1976 because it was by far the best D season left for my needs. I get a 3B in Mike Schmidt, a really good Garry Maddox (A+ range) in the OF and then Tim McCarver (194 PA) fits perfectly next to Spud Davis to complete my catcher platoon. The pitching brings Ron Reed's 128 IP (1.84 ERC#) and then I had some options between Gene Garber (93 IP, 2.75 ERC), Tug McGraw (98 IP, 2.89 ERC), or Steve Carlton if I wanted more innings (253, 3.05). I ended up with Garber as you'll see why.

Pick 3.39: 1972
Researching for this pick, I decided that my Group E team would likely be the one I'd wait on, given the depth of that era. So this was between A and C and mostly came down to 1972 and 1910. I really liked 1910 since you get George McQuillan's 162 IP (2.17 ERC) almost for "free" since he fits in alongside Earl Moore's 300 innings to stay under the 500 cap. You also get two good outfielders in Magee and Bates. But there was virtually no other pitching value in Group C and given that my 1932 pick brought very little pitching, I needed to get innings from C and A. The prize here is, of course, Carlton (which made my 1976 choice easy and got me another reliever in Garber), and the rest of the picks are...bleh. I took Willie Montanez who has good defense at 1B and OF, I was able to upgrade on him as a starter but he'll get about 300 PA as a utility bench guy. Terry Harmon will play 2B vs LHP and can backup 3B and SS if needed. I went with Joe Lis over Luzinski among the "at least they can hit a bit" options. And Bill Wilson's 32 IP are at least more than Ad Liska's 29.

Pick 4.58: 1913
This ended up being a pretty easy pick. I needed a 2B and that was going to come from Group E. I also needed OF/DH at-bats and I needed innings. Enter 1913. I went with Pete Alexander's 329 IP over Tom Seaton's 346 because it allowed me to also grab Eppa Rixey's 168 IP (3.59 ERC but at least there is volume!). The main draws though were Beals Becker, a lefty who can play OF or 1B (only 359 PA though) and Gavvy Cravath. My last spot went to Sherry Magee who will start against lefties at 1B or the OF. I think overall I'm happy with the 1913 + 1972 pairing over 1910 + ??? had I chosen 1910 in Round 3. I lost a little on the pitching side between 1910 and 1913 but made up for that a ton with 72 Carlton and I still was able to add 2.5 solid outfielders.

Pick 4.58: 2023
I definitely needed a 2B and then ideally a few more lefty at-bats and as many quality innings as I could get to relegate the likes of Flint Rhem to mop up duties. It came down to three seasons: 2017, 2003, and 2023. 2017 had the best 2B option with switch-hitter Cesar Hernandez but the pitching and other hitting options were just okay. 2003 was tempting because you get Jim Thome's bat and a stud relief season from Rheal Cormier (85 IP) but the 2B option, Polanco, is right-handed and the bulk pitching options is Kevin Millwood and his 3.19 ERC#. So I went for 2023 to get Bryson Stott's left-handed bat, Bryce Harper isn't quite as good as 03 Thome but close enough. Jeff Hoffman is a stud reliever though he has thirty fewer innings than Cormier. But I also get 192 IP from Zack Wheeler (2.71 ERC#) and another solid reliever in Kimbrel (I chose him over Alvarado and Strahm).

Ballpark: Baker Bowl

Team Name: I Love Hal Newhouser 07 45 59 82 15
Ballpark: Comerica Park
Salary: $121,956,495 (11th, AL East)
Draft Position: 15

Round 1 - 1945
When picking near the bottom of the first round, I don’t even bother looking at seasons until my turn is about 4-5 picks away. In previous franchise drafts, I have always had huge success with the 1909 Tigers. Of course, that assumed rostering all three 300-inning SPs. Obviously, that is not the case here. When my turn finally arrived, 1909 was still available. Although I could only roster one of the SPs, this season has really good Ty Cobb and Sam Crawford seasons plus a very usable SS, Donnie Bush. But group A is a very deep group, so I figured I could wait. I love Hal Newhouser and both 1944 and 1946 were already selected, but 1945 was still available. This season also has three decent offensive players, so I quickly made the decision. Hal Newhouser (332 ip, 2.29 erc#) should be in the running for the Cy Young Award. The #2 SP on this 1945 roster, Al Benton (203 ip, 3.07 erc#), isn’t terrible and will allow me some flexibility in future picks. Offensively, switch-hitter Roy Cullenbine (.272, .404, .464) is another one of my favorites and although this isn’t his best season, it’s good enough. 2B Eddie Mayo (.285, .349, .424, B/A-) won’t remind anybody of Charlie Gehringer, but bats lefty and is better defensively than most of Gehringer's seasons. Hank Greenberg (.311, .405, .564) only has 331 PA and is slotted to play DH vs lefties.

Round 2 - 1959
White I was waiting for ff09 to make his double-pick, I spent a lot of time looking at alternatives in case 1909 was taken. I came across 1959. Group C doesn’t have many great options (1961 and 1962 were already taken). Seeing as that I didn’t get a strong 1930’s offense, I really started weighing the advantages and disadvantages of taking 1959 over 1909. Before I could even decide which season that I preferred, ff09 made the decision for me by grabbing 1909. I felt a tinge of regret but convinced myself to wait until the Round 4/5 turn to grab my Group A team. There would certainly be either a great deadball SP or a strong Ty Cobb season left. Without any more thought, I quickly posted 1959. This team provides three strong hitters with CF Al Kaline (.327, .413, .529, A-/A+), 3B Eddie Yost (.278, .439, 435, B/C+) and OF/DH Harvey Kuenn (.353, .406, .500, B+/D+). As a bonus, I get a usable SP with Don Mossi (240 ip, 2.95 erc#). The second pitcher is a scrub who won’t play.

Round 3 – 2015
I spent a long time trying to figure out what to do with this pick. Picking near the end does provide an advantage of getting my third season early. But the downside is that by my next two picks (at the 4/5 turn), I will be one of the last people to pick from two different groups. I was happy with my first two seasons, as I have 3 usable SPs, 3 OFs, 2B, 3B, ½ DH. But I don’t have a starting catcher or shortstop yet. I also need more pitching depth. There are three seasons that will solve my SS/C situation… 1993, 2004 and 2006. 1993 and 2004 don’t have any useful pitching while 2006 has a couple of acceptable RPs. I had "2006" all typed in, ready to submit, then realized there was going to be little to no pitching left by my next turn. So now, I changed my strategy and decided to draft either 2014, 2015 or 2016. I love ’14 Victor Martinez, but there just weren’t enough starting positions available for V-Mart, Cabrera and JD Martinez (I refuse to play V-Mart at C). And 2014 had the worst SP of these three seasons. 2016 had the best SP (Verlander), but the only hitter I would’ve used was Cabrera. Meanwhile, 2015 gives me three pretty good pitchers, including David Price (221 ip, 2.55 erc#), Justin Verlander (134, 2.75) and Alex Wilson (70, 2.48). That’s over 400 pretty good innings. The offense gave me a couple of usable part-time players… 1B Miguel Cabrera (514 pa, .338, .446, .518, A-/B) and SS Jose Iglesias (.300, .352, .356, A-/C-). This was a key pick for me.

Round 4 – 1907
It worked out that ff09 (picking 16th) needed to choose from two different groups than what I needed so I was able to coordinate my last two picks so they fit. It didn’t matter which season I listed as my fourth-round pick and my fifth-round pick. When I made my third round pick, there were six people that still needed a Group A season. I would be happy with at least five of these seasons. By the time my fourth-round pick arrived, I would be the second-to-last person to pick a season from Group A. Four of my preferences were still available (1907, 1908, 1912, 1924). It was very tempting to grab 1912 Cobb and his .409 average but I wanted a decent SP with this pick. 1924 had a decent SP, plus had a catcher I could use, but I wanted a good Cobb and I needed a 1B. So it came down to 1907 and 1908. 1908 had slightly better pitching (even providing a second short-inning SP to use as a reliever). But ’08 Cobb was D/D- in the outfield. That was the deciding factor on why I chose 1907. Ty Cobb (.350, .395, .507, C/C+) will start in the OF and Sam Crawford (.323, .380, .500) will play both 1B (D/A+) and OF (C/A). Germany Schaefer is nothing more than a backup middle infielder while OF Matty McIntyre (A+/A-) is a defensive replacement. Did you know that Bill Donovan (293, 2.75) went 25-4 for the 1907 Tigers?

Round 5 – 1982
Once I had decided on drafting 2015 in round 3, I knew the seasons I had considered in round 3 would get taken (and they all did). But I also assumed that 1982 would probably still be available. If you search on hitters for 1982 Tigers, sorted by OPS#, the top two players are both catchers! Welcome to the team, Lance Parrish (529 pa, .284, .339, .518, B/B/A+) and John Wockenfuss (224 pa, .301, .389, .461). Parrish has a low OBP and his HR power will be muted by all the Comerica Parks but his A+ arm will be useful vs. all the Ty Cobbs. I only needed a backup shortstop, and Alan Trammell (.258, .326, .385, A/B) qualifies. He can't hit but he’s a good fielder. Dave Rozema (28 ip, 1.54) will be my closer. He won’t pitch in many games, but with IP/G > 3, at least he can pitch a full ninth inning without worrying about pitch count. The second best pitcher on the ’82 Tigers is RP Dave Tobik (99, 3.10) but I decided to instead add SP Dan Petry (246, 3.24). His performance review numbers are much better than Tobik's and he may end up making the rotation over Mossi or Benton depending on how they perform early in the season. Of course, I found out later that the $4M salary difference pushed me from the AL West to AL East. Oh well.

Overall Comment:
I think I made the right decision by not taking 1909 in round 1. The differences between the players I rostered from the 1907 team compared to the 1909 team doesn’t justify the difference in draft capital. This might be the best pitching I've had (relative to the league) of any of the previous drafts. Of course, it’s at a cost of having a below average offense. My 2B, SS, C are certainly in the lower half of offensive output at those positions. And I don’t have a top Ty Cobb season. I don’t have a ton of power so I chose Comerica Park. Apparently, so did most of the league. I may end up finishing in the top 3 in ERA and in the bottom 3 in runs scored. Feels like a .500 team to me. I just hope everybody else has holes in their roster too.

Detroit Tigers

Pick 1.01: 1961
I don't think I'd picked higher than 5th or 6th before so this was my first really high pick. I considered three seasons exactly 50 years apart (1911, 1961, and 2011). Ultimately, the tiebreaker was that Group C was considerably weaker and shallower than both A and E. 1911 had the Super Cobb and 2011 had much better pitching with Verlander and Fister, but 1961 had the best balance. Norm Cash is also a top 5 hitter in Tigers history but has the benefit of not having OTHER great seasons, whereas Cobb has a ton. I wish there was some more premium position value here but Kaline and Colavito are very good right-handed OF (and Kaline does have some 3B versatility, which I may end up using!). On the pitching side, Bunning is a solid starter and my 2nd pitcher can be a reliever (Terry Fox) or another starter (Frank Lary). Ultimately, this was a pretty easy pick for me.

Pick 2.32: 1983
Coming up on the end of the (very long) wait from the top pick, I was looking at a trio of Group D teams (1983, 1984, 1993) as well as 1910. Before I could get too comfortable, though, pedrocerrano took 1910 a couple spots ahead of me. The three Group D teams were close. 1984 had the best pitcher in Willie Hernandez but only two usable hitters and a mediocre 2nd pitcher. 1993 had some good versatility offensively but unexciting pitching. 1983 hit the sweet spot. Trammell and Whitaker give usable double-play combination with Lance Parrish or Chet Lemon a decent 3rd hitting option. The pitching options are solid as well, with 3 pitchers having 100+ innings and sub-3.00 ERC#. This team fit nicely with 1961 by bringing in premium position options.

Pick 3.48: 1926
Pick 4.49: 1918
I don't know what was more excruciating, the wait from the first pick to end of round 2, or then having to wait another entire round for the 3rd pick. I knew these back-to-back picks would be important and as I waited for pedro and njbigwig ahead of me I started trying to piece the puzzle together. I had Groups A, B, and E left and whichever I didn't pick here I'd get the last pick in that group. I need a few OF/DH spots, a 3B, and another 700+ innings. Group E was most likely to provide my pitching as there was very little in the way of solid pitching from any remaining group A or B team that also brought some hitting with it. Both 1925 and 1926 rated highly for me--they are from different groups but share a lot of players so clones become an issue. 1925 has such great hitting, I thought about pairing them with 2023 (all pitching but no hitting) but then I'm still likely short on pitching as I'm getting nothing from whatever my group B pick would be. As is, njbigwig took 1925 the pick before me. While I was looking at 1923 and 1912 as well for Group A, I instead pivoted to combining 1926 with the one group A season that had a stud hitter and a solid pitcher--1918. I get a stud Cobb plus 263 innings from Bernie Boland. George Cunning ham (180 IP, 3.10 ERC#) isn't too shabby either so that's over 400 usable innings. Art Griggs provides a decent RH bat to spell Norm Cash (672 PA) or DH some against lefties. The third hitter? Bleh. That ultimately ended up being a body to be my backup catcher, Oscar Stanage. Let's hope he never steps to the plate in a meaningful moment.

One thing that made me comfortable with going with 1926 is that I decided between 61 Kaline and 18 Cobb, I could play them at 3B if I had to and load up on other OF. For 1926, Heinie Manush is the prize but Heilmann and Fothergill are high quality RH OF/DH bats. I really wanted to squeeze in Johnny Bassler (239 PA, A+ arm, solid OPS) but in group B you can't take a 4th hitter and I didn't want to pass on Heilmann or Fothergill. Playing Cobb or Kaline at 3B allows me to have Manush, Heilmann, Fothergill, Colavito, and both of Kaline and Cobb all start if I wanted. Lastly, I did have to roster two pitchers (and one of them ended up being 16x16 superstar Earl Whitehill!) but both will be relegated to mopup duty.

Pick 5.80: 2005
Luckily the last wait isn't as long as group scarcity starts coming into play. I was hoping for 2023 to maybe come back to me but no luck. However, with 1918's pitchers in tow, I don't need as much bulk. My main goals for this pick, in addition to the final pieces of my pitching staff, are to get a backup SS (Trammell is under 600 PA), upgrade on part of my 2B and C platoons, and get a 3B who can actually field the position incase Kaline/Cobb can't cut it. 2005 does most of that, though I was unable to get Parrish any help so his .314 OBP will be starting every day (at least he has an A+ arm?). Placido Polanco is a perfect utility player for my needs--he will start at 2B vs LHP to platoon with Whitaker, but he also is B+/C+ at 3B and can be a defensive replacement/platoon partner there as well. He even plays OF and (crappy) SS but I don't need that since Carlos Guillen will be able to spell Trammell against some RHP. Then I get to grab 3 relievers, led by Kyle Farnsworth. Ugueth Urbina has a HR problem but hopefully he'll hold up okay in Comerica and Chris Purling gives another setup arm.

Ballpark: Comerica Park

Quote post by schwarze on 6/1/2026 7:38:00 PM:

Pick 4.49: 1918
One thing that made me comfortable with going with 1926 is that I decided between 61 Kaline and 18 Cobb, I could play them at 3B if I had to and load up on other OF. For 1926, Heinie Manush is the prize but Heilmann and Fothergill are high quality RH OF/DH bats. I really wanted to squeeze in Johnny Bassler (239 PA, A+ arm, solid OPS) but in group B you can't take a 4th hitter and I didn't want to pass on Heilmann or Fothergill. Playing Cobb or Kaline at 3B allows me to have Manush, Heilmann, Fothergill, Colavito, and both of Kaline and Cobb all start if I wanted. Lastly, I did have to roster two pitchers (and one of them ended up being 16x16 superstar Earl Whitehill!) but both will be relegated to mopup duty.

A 16x16 Earl Whitehill reference. I love it!

Cincinnati Reds

Pick 1.02: 1977
Another high pick, so at least I know what to expect. 77 doesn't have the best Joe Morgan but it does have the best Foster and Seaver, plus a serviceable Morgan. Johnny Bench is the 3rd hitter and Sarmiento joins as a setup guy. Hard to beat getting a top 5 pitcher and hitter from Reds history plus 3 other strong teammates. I briefly considered 1923, 1939 (Group B is weak) and 1972 but 1977 ended up being a pretty easy choice.

Pick 2.31: 2017
I strongly considered 1961 here to get stud seasons from both Frank Robinson and Vada Pinson. A couple strong B seasons (1938 and 1926) fell off because I already had a catcher so didn't need Lombardi/Hargrave. Then I had a trio of E seasons (2010, 2011, 2017). I ruled 2011 out since I already had a 2B so Phillips wasn't useful. Both 2010 and 2017 had a great Votto and a couple good relievers. Did I want the 3B/OF of 2010 (Rolen/Bruce) or the SS/UT for 2017 (Cozart/Gennett). SS was weaker and since I had already picked Group D, I basically had to get my SS from Group E. Cozart was the 2nd-best option remaining (behind 2024 Elly De La Cruz). Then, between Gennett (lefty) and Eugenio Suarez (righty) I could get a solid 3B.

Pick 3.47: 1960
Pick 4.50: 1904
Man, 1961 almost made it all the way back to me but ff09 took them 3 spots ahead of me. I need groups A, B, and C. DarthDurron was the double-pick in between my two picks but since he had group A and B already, I would be able to make my two picks together. I was waiting on nocomm who needed B and C. I settled mostly on pairing a Group A for pitching with a Group C for hitting. For A, I was deciding between 1904 and 1917, opting for 1904's better pitching over 1917 which had a solid 3B in Heinie Groh. The reason for that was that I was really hoping to get 1960, it fit perfectly. Offensively, I got a strong Frank Robinson and solid Vada Pinson. My 3rd hitter was Eddie Kasko who had solid B+/B+ 3B ratings to platoon with Gennett and C/C- shortstop ratings to spell Cozart (less than 600 PA). Then, for pitching, I was getting volume from A and I would get volume from my last group B pick, so I wanted more quality and 1960 had that perfectly. Marshall Bridges only has 27 IP but a 1.35 ERC#, he'll be my closer. Jim Brosnan has 105 IP And 2.08 ERC#. I sent my proxy off before bed and woke up happy to have gotten this pair.

Pick 5.79: 1935
I need about 400+ innings, a right-handed DH, and ideally some solid catcher at-bats to spell Bench when needed. As my pick was approaching, I was down to 4 seasons I was considering (1950, 1943, 1937, and 1935). 1950 had the best pitcher by far in Ewell Blackwell, though no hitting and no great second starter which would leave me a bit short on quality innings. I was torn between 35 and 50, but 3day made the decision for me by taking 1950 with the 2nd-to-last group B pick. 1935 didn't have the best innings, but had enough volume between Paul Derringer (293 IP, 3.23 ERC#) and either Al Hollingsworth (184, 3.32) or Don Brennan (122, 3.07). The offense surprisingly gave me 3 interesting pieces I could use. Ernie Lombardi is both a good enough catcher to partner with bench and a good enough hitter to DH vs lefties. Tony Piet gives me a slick glove and right-handed bat to spell Morgan against some lefties (he can also play solid defense at 3B and OF). For the last spot, I wanted Babe Herman for the bat, but I had plenty of lefty OF/DH. I needed a little more RH hitting so Chick Hafey made the cut. Only 70 PA but a .920 OPS#. I think I'd have been overall better off with just Blackwell's innings and 4 other crappy teammates but there is something satisfying about getting 5 usable pieces in these drafts.

Ballpark: Riverfront Stadium

Team Name: Balanced Reds 18 44 65 96 22
Ballpark: League Park (II)
Salary: $117,245,610 (8th, NL West)
Draft Position: 7

Round 1 - 1944
When I originally built my master spreadsheet for researching this tournament, I started with the spreadsheet that I used for the last Franchise draft. As a quick reference point, I tallied every player drafted in the last draft and summarized the total number of players and total salary drafted by season within each franchise. For example, the 1944 Reds had 3 players drafted for a total of $20.953 million. I then use conditional formatting to create a “heat map” of each season within each Group. It’s not perfect due to the “3 hitters / 2 pitchers” rule in this new tournament, but it’s a great starting point and gives me a quick overview of which groups have a lot of good seasons and which don't. The reason I bring this up now is because what jumped out at me in the Reds history was the dearth of drafted players in Group B. There were 400 players drafted (16 teams x 25 players) in the previous Reds draft. The total salary drafted was $1,882 million. This equates to an average of 3.2 players per season and roughly $15.1 million per season. In this original Reds draft, nearly half the seasons between 1926-1950 that had 0 or 1 player drafted. Only six seasons (in this group) had at least $15 million worth of players drafted. Not surprisingly, 1940 and 1939 went off the board in the first five selections. With one pick to go before my turn, I had my choices narrowed down between 1975 and 1944. When njbigwig took 1975, my decision was very easy. I rostered two top 20 starting pitchers with Bucky Walters (300 ip, 2.49 erc#) and Ed Heusser (203, 2.44). 1B Frank McCormick (.306, .372, .491, B/A+) won’t hit like Joey Votto, but he’s good enough and he should rack up the “plus” plays on defense. Catcher Ray Mueller (.287, .354, .408) isn’t Johnny Bench, but has 651 PA and I don’t have to think the catching position for the rest of this draft. Bench always underperforms for me anyway. I had originally rostered OF Eric Tipton (.302, .381, .400, B/B+), but was able to upgrade the position later. Instead, I rostered a $4M defensive replacement at 2B with offensively challenged Woody Williams (.240 avg, C+/A+). Probably a waste of salary, but Pete Rose is my only other 2B (C+/C-).

Round 2 - 1965
I wanted 1965 from the moment after I posted my round 1 pick. While I was waiting for pedrocerrano to snipe me, I spent a lot of time looking at alternatives. I came up with 1961 as my backup pick, as this season had much better versions of Frank Robinson and Vada Pinson. But no Pete Rose in 1961 and the pitching was worse. I was so sure pedro was going to take 1965 that I already had entered the 1961 players onto my roster. But then pedro took 1991 (also a solid pick). With 1965, I was very happy to get three strong starting batters… OF Frank Robinson (.296, 395, 544), OF Vada Pinson (.305, .361, 489, A/B+) and 2B Pete Rose (.312, .392, .451). But I also get two decent pitchers... SP Jim Maloney (256 ip, 2.73 erc#) and lefty RP Bill Henry (47, 2.62). I realize that I have loaded up on 1B//OF/DH types, but I feel confident I can get a good Barry Larkin season (Group D) and a good Heinie Groh season (Group A) in the last few rounds. I also have 3 decent SPs already and my fourth SP will come from Group A. The bullpen will come from Group E. Everything is working to plan.

Round 3 – 1918
I knew I was taking a Group A season this round. The top choices were 1915, 1916, 1917 and 1918. I disregarded 1904, because I wanted a good Heinie Groh for my starting 3B. 1915 had the best SP, but the worst Groh and no Edd Roush. The best combination of pitching + Groh + Roush was 1918, so I pulled the trigger pretty quickly. OF Edd Roush (.333, .378, .484, C-/A+) and 3B Heinie Groh (.320, .405, .424, A/C) are lock starters. OF Sherry Magee (.298, .380, .444, B/B) will be a part-time starter as I already have three better outfielders. I was able to add two solid pitchers, starter Fred Toney (281 ip, 2.73 erc#) and Roy Mitchell (46, 1.71) who will be my closer.

Round 4 – 1996
It’s nice to have most of my roster filled after just three picks. I basically have every batting position filled except SS and DH and I already have 4 SPs and 2 decent RPs. I do want to upgrade the hitting if possible while adding as much bullpen help as I can. I could have taken 2024 which would have provided three decent pitchers plus a good Elly De La Cruz to play shortstop. But Barry Larkin’s best season is still on the board (plus I can get bullpen pieces from a Group E season in round 5). Also, if I took a Group E season now, I would be the last person to take a Group D season. Instead, by drafting 1996 now, four people behind me still had to take a Group D season and it's guaranteed that three people would still need a Group E season after I picked in round 5. The 1996 version of Barry Larkin (.298, .409, .553, B+/C+) is the #1 ranked shortstop in Reds history. I was originally going to roster Eric Davis (.287, .393, .509) but once the draft ended, I realized that I have too many RH hitters and Davis was only going to be a part-time DH anyway. I needed a left-handed DH for balance, so I swapped Davis with lefty Hal Morris (.313, .373, .466). Kevin Mitchell (.325, .446, .566) only has 141 pa and is the perfect platoon partner with Morris at DH. The two pitchers I added aren’t inspiring, but RP Jeff Brantley (71 ip, 2.58 erc#) is decent and SP John Smiley (218, 3.15) provides my only lefty SP. As my worst pitcher, he will start only occasionally, pitching mostly in long relief and/or mop-up.

Round 5 – 2022
I was hoping 2012 would make it back to me so I could get Votto (If I get Votto, I probably keep Eric Davis). No such luck. It came down to 2022 or 2024 for me. I simply liked the pitching better in 2022. Luis Castillo (154 ip, 2.60 erc#) can be a long-relief type. Connor Overton (33, 1.71) has a nice 5.5 ip/g even though he only has 33 innings. Maybe he’ll be a Closer-B for me. Alexis Diaz (64, 1.76) has a .140 oav# but a 4.7 bb/9#. I’m sure he’ll get rocked. Not much on the hitting side which is ok since I didn’t need much. Tyler Stephenson (.318, .372, .482) provides a decent backup catcher. Utility-man Brandon Drury hit 20 HRs in 350 real life ABs and has ratings at every position except catcher. I doubt he plays much though….

Overall Comment:
I felt pretty good about this draft. Unlike the previous drafts, I came up with a long-term plan and executed it. Although I don’t have any big stud hitters, I don’t have any holes in the lineup either. Almost every starter has an OPS+ of 120+. It seems like all my previous teams either have strong hitting and weak pitching or vice-versa. This might be the most balanced of my teams. I have A++ range at 1B and CF and mostly solid defense everywhere else (except Rose at 2B). None of my four SPs don’t give up many home runs. I have a few strong RPs. I decided to play my home games in League Park (II). I wanted something neutral. Prediction: 86 wins.