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The League of Leagues

I'll write more on this when I have a moment, but this week we just had our epic 14-team League of Leagues draft this week. It comprised 55 rounds and three sports, MLB, NFL and NBA, runs for two seasons with the winner having the highest aggregate score in the six contests. The scoring is 5 x 5 roto for MLB (with OBP instead of average), head-to-head NFL and eight-category roto for NBA. If you finish first in a given league you get 14 points, second 13, third 12, etc. Add up your finishes in all six, and the highest cumulative point total wins.

The concept is simple enough, but the reality of the draft was insane. For starters, there's no ADP to consult in order to decide whether a player you're contemplating might get back to you. Is there going to be a closer run now or 12 rounds from now, as people fill in not only their catcher slots, but also their centers, point guards and second running backs? Second, NFL season doesn't start until next fall (there will supplemental NBA and NFL drafts after the college drafts this summer) and NBA season until next November. So yes, we took Paul George, who might be out for the year, in Round 5.

I partnered with former RotoWire and current Yahoo! writer Dalton Del Don (@daltondeldon), and our strategy was as follows:

(1) Focus on NBA early because elite players have the biggest impact on a per-player basis, especially given the smaller roster sizes;

(2) Get elite wide receivers because their production is more predictable and still relatively scarce in a 14-team 3-WR/FLEX format;

(3) Punt starting pitching because at relatively little cost, you can get half the pitching points with a few closers and elite middle relievers. (Remember, you don't have to win any individual league, but just be strong across the board;)

(4) Punt running backs who are injury prone and fickle, and whose shelf lives are especially short in a two-year format; and

(5) Punt quarterback in a 1-QB league where you can stream or just find someone late.

Overall, we felt we executed the strategy pretty well. We played chicken for a long time on closers, missing out on all the elite ones before settling on Steve Cishek, Jake McGee (when he returns) and Santiago Casilla. We loaded our team with quality bats, but not before the sixth round, figuring we'd do well in hitting by accumulating volume and spend the elite picks on NBA players. But every position is covered by a full-time run producer, almost all of whom have .350-plus OBPs. (Our hitters are pretty old, something that could bite us, especially in Year 2, but we also stocked our five-man MLB bench entirely with full-time hitters.)

We're predictably thin at RB and QB, and strong at WR, and we think we can fix our weaknesses in NFL as we go. And our top-two picks (James Harden and Kyrie Irving) and six of our first 11 were spent on basketball.

Here's our entire team by draft order:

RDPlayerRDPlayerRD/td>PlayerRDPlayerRDPlayerRDPlayer
1.9James Harden11.9Giannis Antetokounmpo21.9Ben Revere31.9Deron Williams41.9Scooter Gennett51.9Juwan Thompson
2.6Kyrie Irving12.6Jose Reyes22.6Jake McGee32.6Brandon LaFell42.6John Henson52.6Archie Bradley
3.9Julio Jones13.9Brian McCann23.9Santiago Casilla33.9Zach Ertz43.9Nikola Mirotic53.9New England Patriots
4.6Calvin Johnson14.6Matt Holliday24.6Luke Gregerson34.6Aramis Ramirez44.6Nick Foles54.6Josh Gordon
5.9Paul George15.9David Wright25.9Chase Utley35.9Joel Embiid45.9Ronnie Hillman55.9Robert Griffin III
6.6Ty Hilton16.6Shin-Soo Choo26.6A.J. Pollock36.6Carl Crawford46.6Stedman Bailey
7.9Prince Fielder17.9Steve Cishek27.9Dwyane Wade37.9J.R. Smith47.9Dylan Bundy
8.6Jeff Teague18.6Dustin Pedroia28.6LeGarrette Blount38.6Chris Iannetta48.6Shane Vereen
9.9Hassan Whiteside19.9Justin Morneau29.9Wade Davis39.9Andrew Miller49.9Noah Syndergaard
10.6Jason Heyward20.6Jayson Werth30.6Alcides Escobar40.6Billy Butler50.6Andrew Bogut

And by position/sport:

PosNFLPosMLBPosNBA
QB1Nick FolesC1Brian McCannPGKyrie Irving
RB1LeGarrette BlountC2Chris IannettaSGJames Harden
RB2Ronnie Hillman1BPrince FielderSFPaul George
WR1Julio Jones2BDustin PedroiaPFJohn Henson
WR2Calvin Johnson3BDavid WrightCenterHassan Whiteside
WR3Ty HiltonSSJose ReyesGJeff Teague
TEZach ErtzMIChase UtleyFGiannis Antetokounmpo
FLEXBrandon LaFellCIJustin MorneauUT1Dwyane Wade
DSTPatriotsOF1Jason HeywardUT2Deron Williams
NFLBench1Stedman BaileyOF2Matt HollidayUT3Joel Embiid
NFLBench2Shane VereenOF3Shin-Soo ChooNBABench1J.R. Smith
NFLBench3Juwan ThompsonOF4Jayson WerthNBABench2Nikola Mirotic
NFLBench4Josh GordonOF5Ben RevereNBABench3Andrew Bogut
NFLBench5Robert GriffinUtilityA.J. Pollock
P1Steve Cishek
P2Jake McGee
P3Santiago Casilla
P4Luke Gregerson
P5Wade Davis
P6Andrew Miller
P7Dylan Bundy
P8Noah Syndergaard
P9Archie Bradley
MLBBench1Alcides Escobar
MLBBench2Aramis Ramirez
MLBBench3Carl Crawford
MLBBench4Billy Butler
MLBBench5Scooter Gennett

Couple other thoughts:

While we're happy with the strategy and relieved no one else tried it, starting pitching dropped a good deal in the draft - so much so we briefly considered switching gears at one point and tanking ERA and WHIP instead. When the starters finally went, and we held to the plan, we realized later on we didn't need to fill up all nine starting pitching slots with relievers and instead could stash elite minor league pitching prospects in our active lineup. After all, as long as we have three full-time closers going and three low ratio guys, we don't need to accumulate counting stats in Ks and wins. So essentially we create three extra bench slots for top prospects who we can deal if they dominate in the high minors, and a call-up in imminent. Of course, we don't ever want to use those guys should they get the call.

For NFL, we got stuck at QB because I went to run an errand (the draft was about 13 hours long over two days), and DDD took our second catcher (Chris Iannetta, a good OBP guy) for God knows what reason over Eli Manning. Actually, I know why he did it, it's a 14-team 2-C league, and he thought no one was insane enough to draft a back-up QB with only five bench slots (he was wrong.) If Nick Foles starts for the Eagles, we're fine with that, we also drafted RGIII just in case he winds up in a good situation and we're happy to trade for better option or just stream week to week if it comes to that.

As for the Josh Gordon pick - aside from a moral obligation we have to draft him given the grave injustice to which he's been subjected - we'll have to drop someone for the rookies that come into the league next summer. But in the unlikely event someone important ever sticks up for Gordon and points out what a joke it is he'll essentially lose his career over four drinks and a smoking weed a few times over several years, and the NFL reconsiders its monstrous and stupid policy, we've got an elite wideout. Most likely, he'll be someone to drop for a rookie RB or QB, though.