Justin Mason’s FPAZ Draft (Rounds 11-21)

I covered my first 10 rounds and the strategy that went along with it in my article yesterday.  

You can also find the full draft board there. This is a 50-round draft and hold league that will finish the draft in January. Here are my picks from round 11-21:

11.153: Jo Adell, OF, LAA
I have been driving the Adell train since before he was drafted, but this is becoming eerily similar to a previous hype train I drove for a similar player when I first started writing about fantasy baseball, George Springer. I was a huge Springer fan before he made it to the Majors. I was not alone either, but I famously made the comment that I loved him so much, I’d drink his bathwater. Springer has been a great pro, but has failed to live up to some of the hype we had for him because he doesn’t run. Springer was supposed to be a 30/30 type canidate, but that never came to fruition, in large part because of the organization’s philosophy. The same fate may fall Adell. With Joe Maddon now the manager, the team may put the breaks on the basepaths. Over the last three seasons, the Cubs have ranked 29th, 24th, and 24th in stolen bases. I still love him, but I may have to back off my desire to pull the trigger after the 10th round.

12.178: Carlos Martinez, SP/RP, STL
Will he be a starter or the closer? I am leaning that he stays the closer, but no matter where he pitches, he will have value. In a league that I will make 50 picks, I can afford not knowing his role for now.

13.183: Will Smith, C, LAD
If you sort by a minimum of 150 plate appearances from when Smith was called up, only Mitch Garver had a better wRC+ at catcher over that span. There was a huge drop off in September, but that is help depress his price.

14.208: Mallex Smith, OF, TB
All the talk of FPAZ was how you should avoid rabbits like Mallex. However, that dramatically dropped his price and at some point it is worth taking the gamble. I have the power to offset his weakness, but now I have stolen bases locked up after pick 200.

15.213: Julio Urias, SP/RP, LAD
I am hoping next year is the year that Urias is finally given a full time rotation spot. He has all the tools to be a dominant starter, but the Dodgers have yet to give him the opportunity due to their depth in the rotation. Even if he continues to swing back and forth, this isn’t bad value, but with both Hyun Jin-Ryu and Rich Hill hitting free agency, he should get his shot.

16.238: Domingo Santana, OF, SEA
Santana was amazing in the first half and dreadful in the second half. I am choosing to believe the second half was more about injury than a drop in skills. I am willing to take the gamble on him especially on a rebuilding Mariners team that should play him every day regardless.

17.243: Kevin Newman, 2B/SS, PIT
This is the depth available at shortstop. There is no rationale that Newman should be available this late. Newman is definitely a compiler, but the Pirate led him off in every game he started in form August 23 on and he hit .338/.390/.546 over that span. He has the ability to be a 15/20 player with a great average.

18.268: Anthony Santander, OF, BAL
Santander will be a popular sleeper heading into 2020. He quietly hit .265 with 20 home runs in just over 400 plate appearances for the Orioles. More importantly, he hit clean up most of the second half of the season for Baltimore. There isn’t much to like in Baltimore, but Santander is one of the few fantasy gems on this team for 2020.

19.273: Garrett Richards, SP, SD
Before I drove the Adell and Springer hype trains, Richards was my first job as a hype conductor. After most of the year off recovering from Tommy John surgery, Richards came back and therw 8.2 innings in the Majors. The results weren’t good, but the velocity was there and his breaking stuff looked good. Most importantly, he finished on the mound. I will have a lot of cheap shares here.

20.298: Willy Adames, SS, TB
Maybe I am dumb, but I will keep falling for this guy until the Rays give up on him. I still think there is a Marcus Semien like breakout coming for him. Around pick 300, there is no harm in that gamble.

21.303: Joe Musgrove, SP, PIT
Because I like a little bit of torture in my life. After pick 300, it feels like a good value in spite of the headache.