Help Me Win LABR Mixed League!

The fantasy baseball industry has two primary high-profile expert leagues. The League of Alternative Baseball Reality (LABR) was formed in 1994 by John Hunt of USA Today’s Baseball Weekly, before it became Sports Weekly. In the past, it has only included an AL-Only and NL-Only league. Then in 1997, the “bearded one” Ron Shandler, publisher of the Baseball Forecaster and founder of Baseball HQ, created Tout Wars with an AL-Only and NL-Only version, with a mixed league added in 2005. This league was of course made famous by the book “Fantasyland”. This year, Steve Gardner and USA Today have decided to expand LABR to include a mixed league. I am excited to announce that I have been invited to participate in the inaugural LABR mixed league, which I have obviously accepted.

Our draft is the earliest I have ever had for a real league. It is this Sat night at 7 PM EST. Yes, this is what us fantasy baseball nerds do on our Sat nights. It is a 15 team league, with very standard rules. The starting roster is the typical 14×9 and adds a 6-player bench, with unlimited DL slots. We use weekly transactions and have a $100 FAAB to pick up free agents. Though the other expert leagues are all in-person auction drafts, this one is an online snake draft. The participants and draft order are below:

1. Mike Podhorzer – FanGraphs.com
2. Tom Trudeau/Craig Glaser – Bloomberg Sports
3. Fred Zinkie – MLB.com
4. Drew Silva – Rotoworld.com
5. Tim Heaney – KFFL.com
6. Bobby Colton – SportsGrumblings.com
7. Todd Zola – Mastersball.com
8. Steve Gardner – USA TODAY
9. Derek Van Riper – Rotowire.com
10. Doug Anderson – RotoExperts.com
11. Rudy Gamble/Grey Albright – Razzball.com
12. Ray Murphy – BaseballHQ.com
13. James Quintong – ESPN.com
14. Clay Davenport – ClayDavenport.com
15. Jonah Keri – Grantland.com

Yup, I actually have the first overall pick! Although that’s great and all, from past experience it sucks having two picks in a row. I usually scramble to even come up with one pick, now I have to figure out which two players I want every single time. I am still finishing up my projections and dollar values and won’t know who I value most until they are complete. I am fairly confident I know who that player is and who I will be drafting first though.

So now I ask you two questions:

-Who do you think I should pick #1?
Remember, this is a 15 team league. Contrary to popular opinion, position scarcity is typically less of a factor the deeper the league, as replacement levels between positions are closer. I know this is true in Only leagues, but have never calculated values for a mixed 15-teamer, so I am not 100%. Last Player Picked though has the top catcher, Mike Napoli, and top second baseman, Robinson Cano, only losing a buck in value going from 12 to 15 team. So although I was technically correct, there is little difference. The more important point is that the values of players at scarce position don’t increase as some might believe.

-Are there any particular strategies you would advise given the level of competition?
In a league full of owners who know what they are doing and know their SIERAs from their FIPs, luck becomes a bigger factor. Any unique ideas that could potentially allow me to zig as others zag would be welcome.

I will be discussing the league throughout the season and will post about the draft as soon as I am allowed to. The results will be published in the annual USA Today fantasy publication along with the other LABR leagues, so I might have to be close-lipped until then.

Wish me luck!