In case you may have missed it, I really like fantasy baseball. While it might not be exactly 10 more, I fully intend on getting into as many mock drafts as my free time allows. For now, let’s examine my roster from our draft. I’ll leave the comment section to grade me, though I’ll try to set the context of each pick. I picked at the turn, probably my favorite spot in snake draft formats so if someone is a fifth rounder but you see them as a sixth, it’s basically the same thing for me with back-to-back picks. Rather than bombard you with thousands of words at once, today we’ll look at my infield, with the outfield and pitchers coming in separate posts.

Catcher — Brian McCann, 133rd
I went against my normal trend of waiting on a catcher, especially in single catcher leagues, and grabbed McCann in the 12th round, 133rd overall. Devin Mesoraco went four picks later and given serviceable guys like Evan Gattis and Wilin Rosario went as late at the 16th and 17th round respectively, this pick looks even worse.
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A little background on my home league before we dive into today’s post would be a good thing, as it is a custom Yahoo! league. It is a keeper 6×6 format with total bases and holds being the extra categories and with on-base percentage rather than batting average. The league is a snake draft, despite my best efforts to change it. Sporting the normal positions plus two catchers, CI and MI, as well as two OF positions in addition to individual LF/CF/RF slots and two utility options, it is a deep league.
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At 6′ 4″, 225 pounds calling Jake Arrieta a little man isn’t exactly accurate, but Queen didn’t really have a lyric that fit his description. Even still, Arrieta’s impact 2014 created fantasy ripples that was anything but little. Despite making just 25 starts spanning 156.2 innings, the right-hander proceeded to breakout with a 2.53 ERA backed up by a 2.73 xFIP and 2.83 SIERA. Factor in the 9.53 K/9 (27.2% strikeout rate) and you have yourself a fantasy ace.
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Of course it isn’t really the night before draft day, but I wanted to get something to go with the holiday season.

Twas the night before draft day and with all my rankings
I knew I would win, and take all the bankings.
The spreadsheets were loaded in my nerd lair
With a budget plus knowledge, I was fully prepared

My prospects and sleepers in bold and high-lighted
My mantra, “Trust the process!” had me delighted
An IPA in one hand, my mouse in the other
The draft began, names flying one after another
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It’s been a few years since Doug Fister was first able to legally drive a car, however 16 still represents a significant number for the right-hander. Last year he accrued 16 wins en route to being ranked as the 19th best starting pitcher, while torpedoing one of my Preseason Bold Predictions. Fister managed to crack the top-20 mark despite a weak 5.38 K/9, the second lowest mark seasonal average of his career, minimum 100 innings pitched.
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It is no secret around these digital pages just how big of an Andrew Cashner fan I am. That being said, yet again his season was cut short due to injury. This year it was elbow soreness that caused him to miss three weeks in late May and early June. Just two starts after being activated, Cashner once again found himself on the disabled list, this time with inflammation in his shoulder. Given his extensive history of shoulder issues, the San Diego Padres played it safe and kept him on the shelf for over two months.
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At a glance the 2014 season for Rajai Davis is mostly interchangeable with many of his previous years. He ranked as the 32nd best outfielder in Zach Sanders’ End of Season rankings, a nice surprise for his owners given his preseason rating of 81st. Davis stole a good number of bases, 36 on 47 attempts a 76.5% success rate, and posted a .320 on-base percentage, similar to his .317 career OBP. One outlier was his .282 batting average — Davis’ best since 2010 and what really drove up his value — this past season against his .270 lifetime average. While 12 points of batting average isn’t astronomical by any means, when placed against his recent seasons rather than career, .282 represents a massive jump.
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Despite playing his age-35 season, Jayson Werth posted another strong fantasy season. His .292/.394/.455 line equated to a 141 wRC+ and he posted the fifth highest qualified on-base percentage in the league. Unfortunately his days of 20 steals are probably gone, but Werth did chip in nine steals and was only caught once. Rather than his speed deteriorating, the most alarming issue may be that even though he appeared 147 games, Werth managed just 16 home runs. Even without his normal 20+ dingers Werth managed to finish in the top-20 of Zach Sanders’ 2014 outfield rankings.
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The 2014 season was not what most envisioned for Everth Cabrera. From the hangover of a 50-game suspension following the Biogensis scandal to separate hamstring-related disabled list stints and finally an arrest for suspicion of driving under the influence of marijuana, this year was disappointing for a variety of reasons. Cabrera had tons of hype and owned a pre-season rank of 4th best shortstop, but failed to crack even the top-25 of Zach Sanders’ end of season shortstop rankings, coming in at number 30.
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After a breakout 2013 where Josh Donaldson hit .301/.384/.499 in 158 games, there was no shortage of vocal skeptics. The third baseman posted that strong triple slash in part due to his .333 BABIP, a rate unlikely to continue given his skillset and 6-foot, 220-pound catcher-esque frame. His MLB body of work prior to 2013 was a brief stint in 2010 strictly as a catcher and 2012 as part catcher, part third baseman. Combining for a total of 328 plate appearances, Donaldson posted a sub-.85 wRC+. Whether or not Donaldson could be taken as a serious fantasy third baseman was still up in the air. Read the rest of this entry »