2017 RotoGraphs Staff Picks
March 31, 2017
You know the drill! The criteria for each “award,” so to speak, precede each table. Pitchers first, then hitters. Here are last year’s picks, by the way.
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Pitchers
Sleeper: Within picks #201-300 overall, per NFBC ADP
Deep Sleeper: 301-400
Undrafted: Outside top 400
Rookie/sophomore: Best hitter – <50 IP / 50+ IP previous season
Steal: Best value pick; outside top 200
SP Bust: Worst value pick; limit to top 100
RP Bust: Whoever, man
Pitchers
| ROTOGRAPHER | Sleeper | Deep Sleeper | Undrafted | Rookie | Sophomore | Steal | SP Bust | RP Bust |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al Melchior | Shoemaker | Hellickson | Corbin | Cotton | Matz | Nola | Arrieta | Osuna |
| Alex Chamberlain | Shoemaker | Ty. Anderson | Phelps | Gsellman | Maeda | Nola | D. Duffy | Watson |
| Andrew Perpetua | J. Ross | Liriano | S. Miller | Cotton | Fulmer | Gsellman | Maeda | Allen |
| Ben Duronio | Foltynewicz | W. Peralta | Duffey | Gsellman | Guerra | Eickhoff | Scherzer | E. Diaz |
| Ben Kaspick | Nola | Chen | Phelps | De Leon | Oh | Richards | Hamels | Watson |
| Birchwood Bros. | McHugh | Wood | Boyd | Cotton | Maeda | D. Norris | Hamels | Oh |
| Brad Johnson | Corbin | M. Montgomery | Morton | Gsellman | E> Diaz | Reed | D. Duffy | W. Davis |
| Brandon Warne | E. Rodriguez | Ty. Anderson | Bradley | Gsellman | Matz | Eickhoff | Hendricks | Kimbrel |
| Brice Russ | Ray | T. Ross | B. Anderson | Cotton | Matz | Capps | C-Mart | Allen |
| Jeff Zimmerman | Ray | Berrios | Morton | Hader | Urias | Pineda | DeGrom | W. Davis |
| Josh Shepardson | Shoemaker | Liriano | W. Peralta | Cotton | Maeda | Gsellman | Arrieta | Robertson |
| Justin Mason | Desclafani | Skaggs | B. Anderson | Cotton | Fulmer | Richards | Price | W. Davis |
| Justin Vibber | S. Gray | Wood | Morton | De Leon | Urias | Nola | Arrieta | K-Rod |
| Mike Podhorzer | Walker | S. Miller | Hutchison | Cotton | Maeda | Nola | C-Mart | K-Rod |
| Paul Sporer | Walker | Cobb | S. Miller | Cotton | Fulmer | Wacha | Hendricks | Davis |
| Rylan Edwards | Richards | Skaggs | Phelps | Cotton | J. Gray | Nola | Strasburg | Familia |
| Scott Strandberg | Shoemaker | Liriano | S. Miller | Cotton | J. Gray | Pomeranz | Price | Robertson |
| Trey Baughn | Bundy | Foltynewicz | Green | Hader | J. Gray | Lynn | D. Duffy | Ramos |
Note: The table scrolls laterally. Make sure you view the columns getting cut off to the right.
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Hitters
Sleeper: 201-300
Deep Sleeper: 301-400
Undrafted: Outside top 400
Rookie/sophomore: Best hitter – <130 PA / 130+ PA previous season
Steal: Best value pick; outside top 200
Bust: Worst value pick; limit to top 100
Hitters
| ROTOGRAPHER | Sleeper | Deep Sleeper | Undrafted | Rookie | Sophomore | Steal | Bust |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al Melchior | Do. Santana | Haniger | Joyce | Benintendi | C. Seager | Napoli | Myers |
| Alex Chamberlain | Bell | A. Dickerson | Park | Benintendi | C. Seager | V-Mart | Stanton |
| Andrew Perpetua | Rupp | Conforto | D. Herrera | Benintendi | T. Turner | Duda | Encarnacion |
| Ben Duronio | Cron | Tilson | Adams | Benintendi | T. Turner | Bird | Myers |
| Ben Kaspick | D. Peralta | Duda | J. Peralta | Benintendi | Bregman | Puig | Segura |
| Birchwood Bros. | Do. Santana | Revere | DeShields | Haniger | T. Turner | Bird | T. Frazier |
| Brad Johnson | Brantley | Owings | Altherr | Swanson | Story | Schimpf | Dozier |
| Brandon Warne | Kepler | Panik | E. Rosario | Benintendi | C. Seager | Puig | Desmond |
| Brice Russ | Heyward | Schmipf | K. Vargas | Benintendi | T. Turner | Reyes | Schwarber |
| Jeff Zimmerman | V-Mart | Haniger | Saladino | Bellinger | C. Seager | J. Dyson | T. Turner |
| Josh Shepardson | Joseph | Panik | Park | Benintendi | T. Turner | Pence | Contreras |
| Justin Mason | Semien | Haniger | Vargas | Zimmer | T. Turner | Forsythe | Kipnis |
| Justin Vibber | Do. Santana | A. Dickerson | Park | Benintendi | T. Turner | Bird | Cespedes |
| Mike Podhorzer | Moustakas | Gordon | Saladino | Benintendi | T. Turner | V-Mart | Myers |
| Paul Sporer | Grichuk | Panik | Parra | Brinson | T. Turner | Bird | Schwarber |
| Rylan Edwards | Castellanos | Conforto | Joyce | Benintendi | Bregman | Bird | Stanton |
| Scott Strandberg | Joseph | Choo | Vogelbach | Benintendi | T. Turner | V-Mart | Odor |
| Trey Baughn | T. Murphy | J. Polanco | H.S. Kim | Swanson | Mazara | Choo | D. Murphy |
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Comments
As curator of these fine picks, I also solicited comments from writers about their (or others’) picks. Presented below, without edit:
Comments
| Your Name | Player Name | Category | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Sporer | Schwarber | Bust | This is for leagues where he doesn’t have C-eligibility which is most |
| Justin Mason | Price | Bust | Might be unfair to pick him, but it was that or bank on Strasburg breaking down again. |
| Justin Mason | Schwarber/ Stanton | Bust | Love both these picks, but went with Kipnis just to be different |
| Andrew Perpetua | Maeda | Bust | I feel the league will adjust to his curveball and use of the inside half, he’ll regress to league average, K% drop a lot, 3.75-3.9 ERA. |
| Andrew Perpetua | Encarnacion | Bust | Very afraid of his batted ball profile, seems to be hitting more pop ups with age. I fear a dramatic drop in HR/FB and AVG. |
| Mike Podhorzer | Aa. Sanchez | Bust (not chosen) | Dying to choose Sanchez as SP bust inside top 100, but current ADP is 103.56 and I’m a stickler for the rules |
| Alex Chamberlain | Hendricks | Bust | I’ll speak on behalf of everyone who chose him: None of us think he’ll be bad. He’s good. You’re just overpaying for a Cy Young candidacy you probably won’t see again. |
Sooooo…. you guys know Folty isn’t a rookie, right?
It was my job to vet all these picks, so that’s on me. Wow, he’s not even close to being a rook.
Oh man, so this was 1000% my fault: I replaced Jharel Cotton’s name with Folty while ctrl+H’ing the crap out of the spreadsheet. Fixed now. I’m an idiot!!!!!
Effin’ A, Cotton. Effin’ A.
Just watched Cotton on The Ocho
It going to be really hard to see with that blindfold on