The Wheelhouse: AL LABR Review

Last weekend, I had the tremendous honor of participating in the 24th annual League of Alternative Baseball Reality AL-only auction, filling in for Chris Liss. My hope is that I'll win in my first year and he won't (in good conscience) be able to boot the defending champion in 2018.

If you were paying attention (hint: you weren't* -- it's fine), you probably knew who I was going to go after.

* = Mike Gianella of Baseball Prospectus may have been paying attention and caught on to what I was doing early although I don't think it affected his strategy. He took part in a recent CBS AL-only auction that I was in along with a slew of other fantasy analysts. The league parameters are very similar to LABR's. My team in that league:

Squad I put together today in a 12-team AL-only league. Thanks to @CBSScottWhite and all the fine folks at CBS for hosting. pic.twitter.com/YSMvRtBUFO

— Clay Link (@claywlink) February 14, 2017

Happy with my roster there, I decided to go with a very similar approach and target many of the same players. I wanted to save money in my outfield and use it stock up in the infield, while making sure I got at least one upper-tier closer. I know some say to go with two closers or zero, but I feel confident I can fall into one closer relatively early on in the season, so I'm fine with emerging with just one guy with a job locked down (it turned out I got two closers in LABR, but who knows how long Colome will be with TB).

While I knew that I wanted to do something similar to what I did on CBS, I decided I wanted to go after Jose Altuve as my highest-priced player instead of backing myself into a corner with speed and being forced to chase a player like Tim Anderson in the middle of the auction. I think Anderson will be fine for fantasy this year, but there's plenty of risk.

Anderson's plate discipline and contact skills are lacking. Many times, opportunity plus a carrying skill leads to fantasy prominence, but there's a chance he struggles to the point where he gets sent back down. I wanted to get Altuve and avoid the inflated costs and risks of speed guys like Anderson, Rajai Davis, Ben Revere, etc. The problem with some of those players is that they don't give you much else besides speed (one-trick ponies, as Kyle Elfrink would say), and those types (in the outfield, especially) will really set you back in runs, RBI and homers.

Pro tip: Do what both Derek VanRiper and I did and whip up a mock team based on the approximated values in the RotoWire Draft Software. Now, it's important to be flexible -- I admit I should have been more flexible in my LABR approach -- but this allows you to see how the pieces will fit in a best-case scenario. Deviations from the plan will be inevitable, but I'm a proponent of "get your guys," then do your best to complement them with useful lower-cost options. Building a fantasy roster is like a puzzle as Todd Zola would say, and having an idea of what you want your puzzle to look like in the end (and how it might realistically look) is imperative. Overestimate the guys you really want. As DVR said during the SiriusXM broadcast of the LABR acution, you're going to overspend somewhere. Know where you want to do it.

My full roster, in order of purchase:

Jose Altuve, 2B, HOU - $45 - A fart in church. That's what it was like in the conference room of the Arizona Republic after bidding stopped for Altuve. I could sense the shock -- the horror -- and it was only amplified as Mike Trout went off the board at $42. Trout's four-year run as the most expensive player in the AL LABR auction ended just like that. As I said, I wanted Altuve and was pretty confident that I would get him, but really, it wouldn't have happened if Trout were nominated first. Altuve was the first player nominated in the auction, but had it been Trout, I definitely would have gone to $43 and thus would have had to alter my plan immediately.

Jonathan Lucroy, C, TEX - $21 - I wanted either Lucroy or Gary Sanchez as my No. 1 catcher. I was hoping to get a viable second option (like I did with Stephen Vogt in CBS), but given the auction dynamics, it just turned out I wasn't able to afford a second catcher of that caliber. With Lucroy, I get one of the few catchers that projects to be a double-digit earner before you factor in the scarcity bump.

Justin Verlander, P, DET - $24 - Given relative prices (Chris Sale and Yu Darvish for $30, Corey Kluber for $29, Chris Archer for $25), I was quite pleased with this. The fastball and slider velocity ticked up last year as did the strikeouts. I'm confidently back in for 2017.

Andrew Benintendi, OF, BOS - $20 - I know this will seem like just subjective BS and not all that helpful, but man, I've been watching Benintendi this spring and all I can think is: this kid's ready to be a superstar. Like, NOW. He looks comfortable and confident in the batter's box, has a quick bat, great plate coverage skills and plays with a ton of energy. Benintendi is exciting -- something special -- and fortunately, there are plenty of advanced numbers and scouting reports to ease concerns that my eyes may be lying to me. Sure, there's a question of how many home runs he'll hit in his first full major league season, but I have little doubt he'll hit .280. Surround that with strong counting numbers out of the two-hole (or perhaps the No. 3 spot?) in Boston, more than a splash of speed and 20-homer upside, and I see this price as a potential bargain with only $5-7 in potential downside.

Zach Britton, P, BAL - $21 - Clearly Britton will regress but I still am in love with the strikeout/groundball combination. I bought Kelvin Herrera for $20 in CBS so I was willing to go one additional dollar for Britton. It turned out there wasn't nearly as much inflation with closers as there was in the CBS auction, but I'm still happy with this, especially given Britton's progress from the oblique injury. He's back on a mound, throwing at full intensity.

James Paxton, P, SEA - $16 - While filling out the post-draft questionnaire for USA Today, I pegged Paxton as my worst buy. I like him quite a bit (obviously), but when players like Rick Porcello, Masahiro Tanaka and Danny Duffy go for just one dollar more each, $16 for Paxton ends up as a regret.

Alex Colome, P, TB - $14 - This was a "too good to pass up" purchase. There's a very real possibility Colome is moved, but I have no question about the skills. Hopefully I'll get somewhere close to 20 saves at least before a trade happens.

Evan Longoria, P, TB - $24 - Boring, but Longoria was a top-five third baseman in the AL last year according to the RotoWire Earned Auction Values tool and I don't see him falling off a cliff yet at just 31 years of age.

Troy Tulowitzki, SS, TOR - $16 - I think his demise has been exaggerated. The injury risk still lingers and the upside is pretty much gone, but he should earn a double-digit price if he logs 500-plus plate appearances -- something he's done in three of the last four seasons.

Max Kepler, OF, MIN - $18 - I like Kepler a lot, but the problem here is that I waited until I kind of *had* to buy Kepler. Investing in Kole Calhoun ($17) or Jackie Bradley ($17) just a bit earlier in the auction would have probably been the better route.

Daniel Norris, P, DET - $8 - This is one of my favorite buys of the whole auction. His fastball velocity is ticking up and he complements the heater with three borderline plus secondary pitches. He has improved his walk rate while simultaneously improving his strikeout rate, which is a great sign. Look for Norris to open the season in Detroit's starting rotation.

Don't just take my word for it with Norris.

Daniel Norris is one of my favorite AL breakout picks this year. Four plus pitches, big K stuff. $8 is a steal for @RotoWire#LABR

— Derek Carty (@DerekCarty) March 5, 2017

Andrew Triggs, P, OAK - $3 - He had a very respectable 17.6 percent K-BB% in 24 appearances (six starts) last season. Steamer has him pegged for 24 starts but uninspiring ratios and just a 6.9 K/9. We have a more favorable projection for him (3.64 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 8 wins, 122 strikeouts), earning $7 in this format. Worth a look in deep leagues.

Yunel Escobar, 3B, LAA - $4 - People hate this guy, and I kind of get it, but for $4? He's hit over .300 in each of the last two seasons with strikeout rates below 12 percent. He packs very little power but he should play to close to every day and the combination of contact skills and at-bats will keep the counting stats at a useful level.

Seth Smith, OF, BAL - $5 - Perfect landing spot in the trade from Seattle. He hit 16 homers in 405 plate appearances against right-handed pitching while playing in the AL West last year. One of the better strict platoon options in the American League.

Cheslor Cuthbert, 3B, KC - $1 - Our projections have him as a $10 player in this format, so I was surprised nobody bid him up. He's been showing a bit more power in recent seasons and could factor in at second base early on. A regular spot could open up if the Royals fall out of it and trade one or more of their four big free-agents-to-be.

Jefry Marte, 1B, LAA - $1 - Homered in back-to-back spring games after I took him. Marte lives in LABR infamy after his homer on the final day of last season pushed Larry Schechter of Winning Fantasy Baseball ahead of ESPN's Triston Cockcroft in the overall standings by a half a point. The addition of Luis Valbuena likely means Marte has to head to the minors to begin the year, but I think he'll see enough time to be useful in a league this deep.

Charlie Morton, P, HOU - $2 - Colton and the Wolfman seemed surprised (offended?) when I bid Morton up to $2. The sample last season was very small but the skills growth was intriguing. The Astros have said he was a priority signing this offseason -- he signed on Nov. 16 -- so clearly they see something.

Andrelton Simmons, SS, LAA - $7 - Playing time, playing time, playing time. And it's not like Simmons was a total slouch at the plate last year -- he hit over .290 with an OBP just south of .350 in the second half. The power is minimal, but his stellar defense will keep him on the field on an everyday basis.

Paulo Orlando, OF, KC - $1 - Not someone I think much of but for $1, he can give me something in terms of counting stats while I await the arrival of Greg Allen.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C, TOR - $2 - Gross but I have a good batting average base. If I can get 10-12 homers from him, I'll be fine with that.

Delino DeShields, OF, TEX - $3 - I think he'll be the fourth outfielder to begin the year, probably playing regularly against lefties at least. He should provide a useful SB total in that role, and he's an injury away from more at-bats.

Ricky Nolasco, P, LAA - $3 - I'm really going to regret touting Nolasco as a reasonable AL-only staff filler this spring, but at least I'm practicing what I preach! I regretted this nomination almost immediately when Eno Sarris of FanGraphs got the Yankees' Chad Green for $2 a couple picks later.

Tyler Thornburg, P, BOS - $1 - Not looking good this spring, but I'm hoping he gets things ironed out ahead of Opening Day. I have some concerns with Craig Kimbrel.

Reserve rounds: Joey Gallo, Rowdy Tellez, Michael Kopech, Ryan Pressly, Greg Allen, Jason Grilli

In case you missed it, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons has said several times this spring that Tellez is the organizational prospect who is closest to being big-league ready. He also had this to say about Tellez recently:

"The guy can hit," Gibbons said of Tellez. "He's not going to steal a lot of bases, but he'll surprise you at times. It's kind of interesting. I was talking to [Raines] the other day and asked him what kind of baserunner Rowdy was. And he said he might be the best in the system. I mean, he's not a fast guy. But that tells you something about him. He's a complete player. He's a talented kid."

You can check out the full auction results here:

http://rtsports.com/labr-al-auction

Let me know what you think of my team on Twitter @claywlink.

Thanks to Steve Gardner of USA Today for hosting and everyone that was a part of LABR weekend for being so welcoming.