TDGX Draft Recap – Round One

1.14 – Yadier Alvarez, RHP, Los Angeles Dodgers
I wasn’t in a great spot as I didn’t see Alvarez as dramatically different than a bunch of the names around him, and I offered the pick up as part of a package for a shortstop which I desperately needed (more on that later), to no avail. I considered nabbing Jonathan Villar here but gambled that he might make it to my next pick (j/k, I didn’t pick in the second round). I took Alvarez because I think he offers the most potential of the names I was considering such as Trent Clark and Cornelius Randolph, among others. (Craig Goldstein, Baseball Prospectus)
1.15 – Trent Clark, OF, Milwaukee Brewers
I wanted the best bat remaining and Clark fit the bill. He was also the 15th pick of the 2015 MLB draft out of high school. Clark is a step below the elite hitters of the class (Rodgers, Swanson, Benintendi, Bregman) but has some star potential. He has yet to show much power in games but he has a big frame and should hit more home runs as time goes by. He played well after being drafted, posting high wRC+ scores in Rookie ball at the age of 18 against mostly older players. Clark also doesn’t have the shortstop eligibility of the guys drafted ahead of him, but you can’t have it all when you get the 15th pick of the FYPD. I have Clark as the #72 overall fantasy prospect right now based on his talent, draft pedigree and pro stats at a young age. He is obviously a guy we will have to be patient with because he won’t see the majors for at least a few years. My TDGX team is getting a little long in the tooth (a lot actually) so I chose to go with a prospect in the first round instead of a MLB player who could help me now. There were no good MLB bats available, although there were some closers. It is time to replenish my minor league roster after depleting it with some trades the last couple years. (Nick Doran, The Dynasty Guru)
1.16 – Hyun Soo Kim, OF Baltimore Orioles
We had moved our first round pick last season in the Grienke deal, so we were coming into the draft this year planning to sit back and see who would fall to us with our 2nd round pick at pick 40. There was a possibility to move into an early spot in the draft, and we had put an offer (Santiago Casilla) to get the 8th pick where we were targeting Park and Kim who we felt would help us this season. We were scooped by the The Dynasty Guru himself, so we decided to sit back. Park kept falling. Kim kept falling. At pick 16 we decided to make a move. We traded our second round pick this year and our first next year for what ended up being Hyun Soo Kim. We were split on which player to take. Park would come later. (Ian Kahn)
This was the less interesting of my two first-rounders, but not because of the player. Randolph, like Happ, is a hit-tool based prospect with defensive questions—but it’s not like I have a type or anything. Twenty-homer power could come down the road, especially in Philadelphia, and hopefully he can keep the outfield eligibility. It was a tough call between him and Yusniel Diaz, who ended up going 10 picks later in the exact draft spot I gave up to trade for Alex Cobb the night of the keeper deadline. That’s the draft. (Bret Sayre, Baseball Prospectus/The Dynasty Guru)
1.19 – Byung Ho Park, 1B/DH, Minnesota Twins
At 1.19 we selected Byung Ho Park, who we were surprised to see was still available given his opportunity, power potential and gaudy Steamer projections. We promptly flipped him, Hunter Strickland and Brandon McCarthy for Max Kepler, but it’s unusual to find an MLB ready, in-prime player with upside this late in a draft. (Tom Trudeau, MLB.com)
Tom Trudeau and Craig Glaser grabbed Park at 19. Tom made clear that we could get Park in a deal for Max Kepler. After a typically challenging negotiation, we traded Kepler and our 5th rounder (#100) for Byung Ho Park, Hunter Strickland (handcuff for our Casilla), and Brandon McCarthy who would hold one of our DL spots, and hopefully provide depth in the second half.All of this happened on the day that Park went 0-3 with 3 k’s in his first Spring Training appearance, and before Kim began his epic collapse in Oriole Land. (Ian Kahn)
Traded Picks:
I have an old core, and I’m at or near the top of this squad’s win curve in a league this deep, so I knew going into this draft that I’d need to consolidate resources around immediate value – likely at a painful cost of long-term growth. And I did just that. I spun the eighth overall pick to The Commissioner (along with fringe keeper and spare part Charlie Morton) for Jonathan Papelbon and the rights to a third round pick (which I didn’t have previously and used to draft Bryce Denton, one of my favorite power bats from last year’s class). Could I have hustled a slightly better closer if I’d grabbed Ian Happ or Kyle Tucker or somebody and tried to spin him? Maybe. But I desperately needed some stable early Saves to get out of the gate competitively, and Papelbon will provide those. (Wilson Karaman, Baseball Prospectus)
J.J., George, and I held a redispersal draft consisting of the players from the three vacated teams we inherited. That draft was solid enough to build a decent team but really lacked for depth. When I went on the clock at 16, there were a handful of players I liked but nobody that stood out above the rest. I shopped the pick and when the opportunity arose to slide back from 16 to 40 and add a 2017 first rounder, I hopped. The difference between 16 and 40 is obviously substantial and the additional selection in next year’s draft doesn’t help me address my current depth issues, but it goes give me another chip. If I can’t move that pick in trade to help me bolster my 2016 squad, I’m happy to use it next winter. (Greg Wellemeyer, Baseball Prospectus/The Dynasty Guru)
3 Comments
Here’s the first round of my 20 team amateur draft this year:
1.1 Wolfpack – Brendan Rodgers SS Colorado
1.2 Mentor Cane – Dansby Sawnson SS Atlanta
1.3 Creamy Goo – Andrew Benintendi-OF-BOS
1.4 The Sonny Boys – Alex Bregman-SS-HOU
1.5 NextLevelFantasy – Dillon Tate, p, TEX
1.6 Homer at the Bat – Ian Happ OF Chicago Cubs
1.7 Seoul Bears – Byung Ho Park 1B- Minnesota Twins
1.8 Wolfpack – Kyle Tucker OF Houston Astros
1.9 Blood On The Tracks – Kevin Newman MI Pirates
1.10 Wolfpack – Trent Clark OF Milwaukee Brewers
1.11 CubSox – Cornelius Randolph OF Philadelphia Phillies
1.12 Slugger’s Paradise – Kenta Maeda RHP Los Angeles Dodgers
1.13 Sherm – Tyler Stephenson C Reds
1.14 Rowsdower’s Lumber Emporium – Daz Cameron – OF – Astros
1.15 Unmitigated Disaster – Kolby Allard SP ATL
1.16 Mentor Cane – Desmond Lindsay OF NYM
1.17 Homer At the Bat – Brady Aiken LHP Cleveland Indians
1.18 Confederacy of Dunces – Garrett Whitley – OF – TAM
1.19 Homer at the Bat – Eddy Julio Martinez, OF, Chicago Cubs
1.20 Cuban P – Carson Fulmer, P – Chi AL
What do you think?
Terrific draft recap – love this series and love hearing the reasoning. Cannot wait for details on round #2!
Awesome recap! Cannot wait to read about round #2.