1. Team Reynolds
Offense Rank: 1
Pitching Rank: 4
Branson boasts one of the most balanced attacks in the league, utilizing a strong crop of proven pitchers (Aaron Nola, Gerrit Cole, Luis Severino) while also supporting high upside pitching (Sean Newcomb, Tyler Glasnow). His offense is led by Mookie Betts who could top all point scorers in 2019.
2. I Goldschmidt My Pants
Offense Rank: 4
Pitching Rank: 3
Keelan had an incredibly strong draft, coming away with several top hitters and pitchers available. The pitching trio of Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, and Patrick Corbin will be hard to top – however there is a lack of SP depth beyond those three. Offensively Mike Trout will contend for top point scorer in 2019, while Paul Goldschimt and Charlie Blackmon easily could be Top 15 hitters. Depth again a problem on offense with two very sub-par OF’s (Billy Hamilton & Hunter Renfroe).
3. Team Dortch
Offense Rank: 5
Pitching Rank: 2
Ryan went out and got two of the top pitchers available in Chris Sale and Blake Snell, and also rosters the oft-injured Clayton Kershaw who is as good as any when healthy. Supporting cast has several nice candidates to break out (Eduardo Rodriguez, Andrew Heaney, Collin McHugh). Offensively he will look for his players to have repeat strong performances from last year (Trevor Story, Freddie Freeman, Miguel Andujar) while needing strong bounceback performances from Robinson Cano and Josh Donaldson to keep his offense strong.
4. Boopa-Dee Bappa-Dee
Offense Rank: 7
Pitching Rank: 1
Jordan provides another balanced roster. Nolan Arenado is clearly the jewel on the team, providing top 5 hitter potential, and is flanked by Bryce Harper and Joey Votto. George Springer and Jose Abreu have the potential to improve upon last year’s performance while Gleyber Torres and Jorge Soler offer high upside if they can stay away from the injury bug. Pitching is led by Trevor Bauer, Jack Flaherty, and Walker Buehler – all coming off of strong 2018 seasons. The big questions is can they repeat? Flaherty and Buehler are only on year two of the big leagues while Bauer needs to prove last year wasn’t a fluke. He also has other solid pitching options (Stephen Strasburg, Mike Foltynewicz) and one could make the argument he has the strongest pitching roster in the league.
5. Team Collett
Offense Rank: 3
Pitching Rank: 8
Grace had a really strong draft considering she was an auto-draft. She absolutely killed it on offense – nabbing 6 of the top 23 hitters from last years end of year rankings. Couple that will being able to grab aces Carlos Carassco and Zack Grienke shows the solid draft she had. However, SP depth after those two are lacking and there is a big question mark at 1B and now SS as Trea Turner was dropped.
6. Team Weseloh
Offense Rank: 6
Pitching Rank: 5
Jeff put together a decent team, but land squarely in the middle of both offense and pitching ranks. It’s clear Jeff’s draft focused more on the future (similar to Zach’s draft) by drafting Eloy Jimenez and rostering Nick Senzel. He has a solid group of hitters with some bounce back ability (Kris Bryant, Corey Seager, Brian Dozier, Miguel Cabrera), but a lack of a catcher on his roster limits his points availability. He has an aging ace in Corey Kluber and injury prone Noah Syndergaard anchoring his rotation – which might be what determines how successful his year will be.
7. Team Brack Baker
Offense Rank: 2
Pitching Rank: 10
Amy went with high quality names on the offensive side and lacks any type of pitching depth. Her offense is strong with 2018 points leader Jose Ramirez and the 7th highest in Manny Machado. Anthony Rizzo, Giancarlo Stanton, and Aaron Judge should all produce strong seasons, but there is room for improvement. Pitching wise German Marquez, and his not friendly home ballpark, looks to be her top pitcher alongside free agent Dallas Keuchel.
8. I am Jacob DeGroot
Offense Rank: 8
Pitching Rank: 6
Zach’s team is interesting at first look – as it’s loaded with young talent. Vladimir Guerrero Jr and Fernando Tatis Jr won’t arrive in the bigs until later this year and if they are as advertised should help his squad. He also holds rookies Victor Robles and pitcher Jesus Luzardo as both are expected to open the season in the bigs. He has a top tier pitcher in Jacob DeGrom, and consistent starters in James Paxton, David Price, and Cole Hamels. Offensively Fransisco Lindor is far and away the best hitter on his team, while Edwin Encarnacion is sneaky good. Look for bounce back campaigns from Carlos Correa and Gary Sanchez which could provide a boost.
9. Team Ogre
Offense Rank: 10
Pitching Rank: 7
Stephen finds himself down here by simply not coming to the draft or setting pre-set rankings. His offense has solid players to build around (Matt Chapman, Marcell Ozuna, Michael Conforto) but lacks any type of standout player. He has wild cards in pitching (Zack Wheeler, Mike Clevinger, Jameson Tallion), but holds too many bench bats and could greatly improve his team by hitting the free agents.
10. Team BatsmBalls
Offense Rank: 9
Pitching Rank: 9
Another victim to not coming to the draft, Mark’s team shows a little better pitching than he does hitting – but both could use serious upgrades. Pitching will all be about redemption on this team – as Mark will need strong seasons from former aces Yu Darvish and Robbie Ray to go along with improvement from Luis Castillo and consistency from Madison Bumgarner and J.A. Happ. Mitch Haniger is a solid OF, but considering he’s the best hitter by a long shot doesn’t look good for the offense. Trading for Mike Moustakas will at least allow the ever struggling Wil Myers to vacate the starting lineup, which leaves one additional OF for potential mix-and-match.
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