First Year Player Drafts

First Year Player Draft Deep Sleepers

First Year Player Draft Deep Sleepers

Hopefully, you have read our FYPD Top 100 prospects and crushed the first couple rounds of your draft. If you haven’t held your draft, just stick to the script and you’ll be ok. BUT, what happens when the Top 100 are gone? Depending on league size and draft set-up, this could occur by round 3 or round 10. Either way, we got you covered.

FYPD Review: 24 Team Dynasty League

We recently released our FYPD Top 100 ranks as a great resource to help you get the most value from your draft. Matt and Ralph did a great job here ranking based on fantasy impact.

I run a 24 team dynasty that is starting year five. I thought it would be interesting to provide the first 52 picks in the draft as a resource. Mock drafts are nice, especially within the industry, however, real life results will give you better idea of how certain players are valued.

Team
Player
Round 1  
1. Arizona
Nolan Gorman, 3B - STL
2. Minnesota
Nick Madrigal, SS - CWS
3. Oakland -
Casey Mize, RHP - DET
4. Colorado
Joey Bart, C - SF
5. Baltimore
Travis Swaggerty, 1B/OF - PIT
6. NY Yankees
Marco Luciano, SS - SF
7. St. Louis
Julio Pablo Martinez, OF - TEX
8. San Francisco
Jonathan India, 3B - CIN
9. CH. Cubs
Alec Bohm, 3B - PHI
10. LA Dodgers
Jarred Kelenic, OF - NYM
11. Washington
Trevor Larnach, OF - MIN
12. Kansas City - Traded to TEX
Ryan Weathers, LHP - SD
13. LA Angels
Jordan Groshans, 3B - TOR
14. Cleveland
Xavier Edwards, SS - SD
15. Toronto
Jordyn Adams, OF - LAA
16. Houston
Victor Victor Mesa, OF - MIA
17. Pittsburgh - Traded to SF
Nico Hoerner, SS - CHC
18. NY Mets
Mike Siani, OF - CIN
19. Texas - Traded to SF
Malcolm Nunez, 3B - STL
20. CH. White Sox
Jeremiah Jackson, SS - LAA
21. Atlanta
Matthew Liberatore, LHP - TB
22. Boston - Traded to PHI
Seth Beer, 1B - HOU
23. Seattle
Brady Singer, SP - KC
24. Philadelphia - Traded to CLE
Grant Lavigne, 1B - COL
25. Washington
Orelvis Martinez, SS - TOR
26. Cleveland
Cole Winn, RHP - TEX
Round 2  
1. Arizona
Shane McClanahan, LHP - TB
2. Minnesota - Traded to COL
Jackson Kowar, RHP - KC
3. Oakland
Ethan Hankins, RHP - CLE
4. Colorado
Logan Gilbert, RHP - SEA
5. Baltimore
Brice Turang, SS - MIL
6. NY Yankees
Diego Cartaya, C - LAD
7. St. Louis
Connor Scott, OF - MIA
8. San Francisco - Traded to AZ
Alek Thomas, OF - AZ
9. CH. Cubs
Mason Denaburg, RHP - WAS
10. LA Dodgers - Traded to MIN
Tristan Casas, 1B - BOS
11. Washington
Blaze Alexander, SS - AZ
12. Kansas City
Tristan Pompey, OF - MIA
13. LA Angels - Traded to CLE
Kevin Alcantara, OF - NYY
14. Cleveland - Traded to CWS
Antonio Cabello, OF - NYY
15. Toronto - Traded to PHI
Kyler Murray, OF - OAK
16. Houston - Traded to LAA
Parker Meadows, OF - DET
17. Pittsburgh
Griffin Conine, OF - TOR
18. NY Mets
Noelvi Marte, SS - SEA
19. Texas
Greyson Jenista, OF - ATL
20. CH. White Sox
Raimfer Salinas, OF - NYY
21. Atlanta
Noah Naylor, C - CLE
22. Boston - Traded to WAS
Daniel Lynch, SP - KC
23. Seattle
Nick Schnell, OF - TB
24. Philadelphia - Traded to COL
Jake McCarthy, OF - AZ
25. Washington
Grayson Rodriguez, SP - BAL
26. San Francisco
Kyle Isbel, OF - KC

Some interesting observations to note. While we are low on taking Mize and Bart within the first five picks, in real life, they will go top five. Let them. Mize is a nice starting pitching option, but pitchers are extremely risky. If I have a top ten pick, I want a player that will shoot up the top 100. Gorman fits that description and went 1.1 here.

The biggest reach in the top ten is Marco Luciano. I’ve been a part of recent drafts where the top J2 bats lasted until the middle of the first round. With the success of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Wander Franco, the risk to take Luciano at six is not as bad as one might think. Luciano appears to be the safest bat of the J2 signings. I’m a believer that if you want a guy, don’t wait. He will get taken. So I don’t mind the reach here although there are less riskier impact bats on the board.

Picks 8-11 standout here because of the value. You could make a case for any of those guys (India, Bohm, Kelenic, and Larnach) to go one or two, depending on how you value Gorman. This is a deep draft. When Mize, Bart, and Madrigal go early, you can afford to trade back and still get a top five caliber player. If you’re sitting fourth or fifth overall and Gorman goes off the board, consider trading back into the 10-15 range. There will still be impact players to take plus the extra asset(s) acquired in the trade will add value to your system.

More importantly, wait on pitching. As you can see, four pitchers were taken in the first round. Hitters like Xavier Edwards, Jeremiah Jackson, Trevor Larnach, and Nico Hoerner will not be available after twenty or so picks. Let your league mates chase the arms.

Post-Draft Profile: Kyle Isbel, Kansas City Royals

Post-Draft Profile: Kyle Isbel, Kansas City Royals

Here’s the scene, it’s late July in Binghamton, NY. It’s about 80 degrees, but one of those awful overcast, humid, muggy summer days that feels like you live in a cloud. I’m sure Binghamton’s overall rustic charm only added to the effect. The fifth inning had just come to a close, and a few raindrops had began to drizzle down from the now ominous skies. This was an unusual ballpark trip for the summer of 2018. Not only was I slightly out of my usual New England based scouting radius, I was at this game with all three kids, my wife, my sister, and brother in law. I was here as a treat for dad, while on a family visit to see my sister and her husband, who live just outside of Ithaca.

Post-Draft Profile: Seth Beer, Houston Astros

Post-Draft Profile: Seth Beer, Houston Astros

Evaluating prospects isn’t an exact science. It’s a constantly evolving process that factors in countless variables to attempt to give the best snapshot of a certain player in a specific moment of time. If you’ve been tracking Seth Beer over his Clemson career you fully understand this. If this past draft actually took place two years ago, Beer might have been the first overall pick because of his dominant freshman season. Instead, he went to the Astros at pick 28. Did they get a steal? Let’s dive in.