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:
RD | Player | RD | Player | RD/td> | Player | RD | Player | RD | Player | RD | Player |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1.9 | James Harden | 11.9 | Giannis Antetokounmpo | 21.9 | Ben Revere | 31.9 | Deron Williams | 41.9 | Scooter Gennett | 51.9 | Juwan Thompson |
2.6 | Kyrie Irving | 12.6 | Jose Reyes | 22.6 | Jake McGee | 32.6 | Brandon LaFell | 42.6 | John Henson | 52.6 | Archie Bradley |
3.9 | Julio Jones | 13.9 | Brian McCann | 23.9 | Santiago Casilla | 33.9 | Zach Ertz | 43.9 | Nikola Mirotic | 53.9 | New England Patriots |
4.6 | Calvin Johnson | 14.6 | Matt Holliday | 24.6 | Luke Gregerson | 34.6 | Aramis Ramirez | 44.6 | Nick Foles | 54.6 | Josh Gordon |
5.9 | Paul George | 15.9 | David Wright | 25.9 | Chase Utley | 35.9 | Joel Embiid | 45.9 | Ronnie Hillman | 55.9 | Robert Griffin III |
6.6 | Ty Hilton | 16.6 | Shin-Soo Choo | 26.6 | A.J. Pollock | 36.6 | Carl Crawford | 46.6 | Stedman Bailey | ||
7.9 | Prince Fielder | 17.9 | Steve Cishek | 27.9 | Dwyane Wade | 37.9 | J.R. Smith | 47.9 | Dylan Bundy | ||
8.6 | Jeff Teague | 18.6 | Dustin Pedroia | 28.6 | LeGarrette Blount | 38.6 | Chris Iannetta | 48.6 | Shane Vereen | ||
9.9 | Hassan Whiteside | 19.9 | Justin Morneau | 29.9 | Wade Davis | 39.9 | Andrew Miller | 49.9 | Noah Syndergaard | ||
10.6 | Jason Heyward | 20.6 | Jayson Werth | 30.6 | Alcides Escobar | 40.6 | Billy Butler | 50.6 | Andrew Bogut |
And by position/sport:
Pos | NFL | Pos | MLB | Pos | NBA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
QB1 | Nick Foles | C1 | Brian McCann | PG | Kyrie Irving |
RB1 | LeGarrette Blount | C2 | Chris Iannetta | SG | James Harden |
RB2 | Ronnie Hillman | 1B | Prince Fielder | SF | Paul George |
WR1 | Julio Jones | 2B | Dustin Pedroia | PF | John Henson |
WR2 | Calvin Johnson | 3B | David Wright | Center | Hassan Whiteside |
WR3 | Ty Hilton | SS | Jose Reyes | G | Jeff Teague |
TE | Zach Ertz | MI | Chase Utley | F | Giannis Antetokounmpo |
FLEX | Brandon LaFell | CI | Justin Morneau | UT1 | Dwyane Wade |
DST | Patriots | OF1 | Jason Heyward | UT2 | Deron Williams |
NFLBench1 | Stedman Bailey | OF2 | Matt Holliday | UT3 | Joel Embiid |
NFLBench2 | Shane Vereen | OF3 | Shin-Soo Choo | NBABench1 | J.R. Smith |
NFLBench3 | Juwan Thompson | OF4 | Jayson Werth | NBABench2 | Nikola Mirotic |
NFLBench4 | Josh Gordon | OF5 | Ben Revere | NBABench3 | Andrew Bogut |
NFLBench5 | Robert Griffin | Utility | A.J. Pollock | ||
P1 | Steve Cishek | ||||
P2 | Jake McGee | ||||
P3 | Santiago Casilla | ||||
P4 | Luke Gregerson | ||||
P5 | Wade Davis | ||||
P6 | Andrew Miller | ||||
P7 | Dylan Bundy | ||||
P8 | Noah Syndergaard | ||||
P9 | Archie Bradley | ||||
MLBBench1 | Alcides Escobar | ||||
MLBBench2 | Aramis Ramirez | ||||
MLBBench3 | Carl Crawford | ||||
MLBBench4 | Billy Butler | ||||
MLBBench5 | Scooter 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.