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Fantasy Baseball Chat With Brad Johnson
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Brad Johnson
12:02
Welcome everyone. Before we get started, I wanted to mention a few things.
12:04
  1. I'll be focusing on fantasy baseball topics for this chat.
  2. We're expecting this to be a busy chat so I might not get to your question. Every other Monday, we're running one of these chats for Front Office members only. Last week, I had time to answer every question. https://mlbtraderumors.com/membership?ref=chat-1-17-22
12:05
In general, it also helps if you provide certain details like league depth when relevant. Or any unusual categories. I will assume generic 12-team mixed settings if you don't say otherwise.
Kevin
12:05
I’m in a 3 year 7 player keeper league, when is the earliest you’ll draft a prospect that might not make the opening day roster (AKA Julio Rodriguez). Also who is a late round prospect flier we should keep an eye on?
Brad Johnson
12:06
Speaking for myself, I'm very confident I can find quality prospects post-draft so I usually won't reach for a JRod type unless I was thinking about him as a trade piece.
12:08
It's usually a good idea to take a non-contributing player at a point in the draft where you don't have pressing needs. For instance, you need a middle infielder and feel comfortable with any of the next six on your list. Then you might reach for a prospect or specific category guy like a deep closer target.
12:09
As for a late-round prospect... I think we really need to see how and when the CBA is settled before we have a good idea who to target
it's all about opportunity, and we just don't have a good sense of that in most cases. I know that's a dissatisfying answer.
Dipoto
12:10
First round...pitcher or hitter?
Brad Johnson
12:10
I play a lot of leagues so I try to mix it up.
Let's pull in this question too...
Tyler
12:10
Are pitchers or position players more important to draft early?
Brad Johnson
12:10
As you might have heard, hitters are more reliable. Mainly because they're less likely to suffer a debilitating injury.
12:11
But they also experience less year-to-year volatility. It's the nature of the stats we count.
12:12
So in terms of building a stable base, hitters are the safer play
That said, getting some pitchers right is a necessary component to winning a league. I find the late bats provide more reliably positive value than late arms. Those are very much dart throws.
MV3
12:13
I can only keep 3 "rookies" in my keeper league and have the following: MacKenzie Gore, Drew Waters, Oneil Cruz, Nico Hoerner, Sixto Sanchez. Would like to see your rankings.
Brad Johnson
12:13
I'm extremely interested in Cruz. I'm not sure he'll have an easy go of it this year, but the skills are there to create some big value as soon as this season.
12:14
He's a mutant
Sixto is an easy yes despite obvious concerns for his health.
12:15
I'm honestly not a fan of the other three. I think MacGore probably has the edge for trade appeal. I'd deal him ASAP though.
Blake
12:15
1st overall pick... Vlad, Tatis, Soto, Trout, Acuna?
Brad Johnson
12:16
I'd go Tatis today. You're not wrong with any of them - it just affects how you build out behind them. The advantage of Tatis is you can pick best player for longer since he's SS/OF and fills every category.
12:17
If you go Vladito for instance, then you need a plan for solving SBs. And that probably means eschewing any SP in the first 3 rounds.
Which can be fine. You just need to know the plan you're committing to.
mynameismarktoo
12:17
With the scaled down SP innings who do you feel are the best middle relievers for wins?
Brad Johnson
12:18
That's not something I'd try to plan right this moment. We'll only know who those Brent Suter role guys are closer to game time. And unless your league is quite deep, you don't need to draft them.
Yankees fan
12:18
Does Gary Sanchez have any value?
Brad Johnson
12:20
I think in 12-team, 1 C, he's really close to replacement level. There's something to be said for getting 20+ HR out of the C slot though. And he's finally cheap enough (249 NFBC ADP) to maybe outearn his slot.
12:21
If we're talking trades, I'm not too interested. If we're sorting late-draft Cs, I feel better about him than Zunino or Narvaez
(they're the guys ahead and behind him in ADP)
Tiger Fan
12:22
When do ESPN leagues start? I’ve never done this before and am having a hard time getting into an online league for free
Brad Johnson
12:23
I'm not privy to ESPN's production schedule. I do have a dynasty league on their site which is active. Yahoo usually opens sometime around the Superbowl. CBS (not free) and FanTrax (mostly free) are open.
Colin
12:24
Whose the next soto/acuna? The player rising that isn’t as known right now.
Brad Johnson
12:25
heh, it's easier said then done to pick the next one of these guys. I think the obvious choice is Witt Jr., but he's got a top 100 ADP in NFBC.
12:26
I'll pick Alek Thomas as someone I think impacts 2022 but isn't getting talked about
12:27
And I shouldn't pass this opportunity to remind that Oneil Cruz might be a shortstopping Aaron Judge.
Bill
12:27
Do most rotisserie style baseball leagues require “linkage” of players and their injury replacements such that the replacement player has to be waived (or traded away) in order to activate the injured player off of a fantasy team’s reserve roster? My 30 year old league has always required linkage but now there is a view that they linkage rule  is a fossil no longer required
Brad Johnson
12:28
I've honestly never played it this way. Does sound very old school to me. I came onto the scene shortly after Yahoo pushed out most of the old pen-and-paper leagues.
Shaggy
12:29
Went DeGrom 1st round last year and was one of the best teams while he was healthy. When he went out the team dropped off hard. Is DeGrom worth a 1st round pick (1-12)?
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