My NFBC Draft at the AFL (Next 11 rounds)

I covered the first 12 rounds of my AFL draft last week and today I’ll show the rest that we did in Arizona. We will finish the remaining 27 rounds online in January.

13.193 – Scott Kingery | OF/3B, PHI

I liked the positional flexibility and power-speed capability here with Kingery. His 2018 was a flop (.605 OPS) and while he couldn’t sustain his early-2019 success (.889 1H), he still hit eight homers and stole 10 bases in the second half. I still think there’s more here, but a full season of 2019 would essentially be a 20/20 season.

14.198 – Hunter Renfroe | OF, SD

My team is power-starved. It’s definitely a problem and this pick alone doesn’t change that, but it at least helps a bit. I certainly think I have enough batting average everywhere else on the team to absorb even another .216 from him, but I think there’s another 30 HR here even with a neutral ball.

15.223 – Domingo German | SP, NYY

He won’t win 18 games again in 2020 and the aforementioned return to a neutral ball would no doubt make his 4.03 ERA more believable as the 1.9 HR/9 would likely drop down. Although, it’s worth noting that he has a 1.6 mark in 2018, too. He will likely face a suspension for a domestic violence case that kept him out of the playoffs for the Yankees.

16.228 – Jon Berti | SS/3B/OF, MIA

The speedy 29-year likely won plenty of fantasy leagues with his 16 SBs in the final two months of the season and while I would never just extrapolate his SBs and tab him for a full season of 35+, I do think the Marlins will find time for him around the diamond and give him a shot at 25+ stolen bases. His speed is absolutely legit with a 29.8 ft/sec sprint speed that ranked 13th in the league. He can take a walk, too, so his OBP should remain at or north of .330 and give him ample opportunity to steal bases.

17.253 – Nick Anderson | P, TB

I think Emilio Pagan gives up too many homers to be a trusted closer in Tampa Bay (1.6 career rate) and while they will always have several options, Anderson should definitely get a shot at some point and could run with it. He has a 2.11 ERA, 0.66 WHIP, and 41 strikeouts in 21.3 innings with the Rays after a July 31st trade from the Marlins.

18.258 – Luis Arraez | 2B/OF, MIN

I’m new to the Arraez train. After listing him as an honorable mention in my 2B rankings, I got some quality comments regarding Arraez including a lengthy one from Jonathan Sher that did a lot to bring me around on him. While he looks like an empty AVG bat, there is a case for him adding some punch and becoming a more well-rounded asset.

19.283 – Lance McCullers Jr. | P, HOU

McCullers had TJ back in November so he’ll be 15-16 months clear of it when he reports for Spring Training. He shouldn’t be too heavily limited for innings given the extended recovery, but he also hasn’t put up more than 128 innings in a season anyway, so I’ll take 115-120 and be perfectly happy.

20.288 – Kyle Lewis | OF, SEA

Regardless of the ball, he’s not going to post another .324 ISO and his 39% K rate is pretty ugly, but again, I’m chasing some pop here and I think he’s good for at least 25 HR even with a neutral ball.

21.313 – Garrett Cooper | 1B/OF, MIA

Why did I draft two Marlins?! Health kept Cooper from continuing his 20 HR-80 RBI-80 R pace and that was with the supercharge ball so my expectations aren’t crazy here, but I do think he’ll be another batting average asset with a little bit of punch.

22.318 – Mike Tauchman | OF, NYY

Alex Chamberlain made me do it. Brett Gardner is a free agent and Aaron Hicks is a perennial injury risk who is eschewing the advice to get Tommy John surgery for his elbow so there should be some playing time for Tauchman… if he himself can stay healthy, of course!

23.343 – Tommy La Stella | 2B/3B, LAA

La Stella no doubt got some benefit from the ball when he clubbed 16 HR in just 80 games before a fractured tibia ate the bulk of his second half, but he also changed his approach with a surge in flyball rate (+10 points to 33%). He also took advantage of his new home park as they recently dropped a rightfield wall in Anaheim as he hit 11 of the 16 at home.

—

OK, so I know my team needs pop as my foundational hitters outside of Muncy are more well-rounded instead of power-heavy (Rendon, Altuve, Robles), but otherwise I like the pitching, speed, and batting average. Whattya think?