If you love fantasy baseball, you’re surely familiar with LABR, the League of Alternative Baseball Reality. LABR, along with Tout Wars, is one of the premier expert leagues, and each year, some of the most well-known and brilliant fantasy baseball minds get together to see who will come out on top.
LABR has an AL-Only League, an NL-Only League, and a Mixed League. All three consist of 15 teams and use traditional 5×5 roto scoring, standard 23-man active rosters (which means two catchers and nine pitchers), a six man reserve squad and unlimited DL spots. Each league also uses a $100 FAAB system, with a minimum FAAB bid of $1 (not $0). In other words, you run the serious risk of running out of FAAB during the season if you sustain too many injuries or aren’t careful.
Today, we’re going to run through a mock of a LABR-style mixed league. As always, I used the FantasyPros draft simulation software to blitz through a draft, drafting against the expert consensus rankings. I randomized my pick and drew the eighth slot, which made me really angry and completely changed my planned strategy.
That last sentence was a joke – well, other than randomizing the pick and drawing the eighth slot! First, I never go into a draft with a mapped out strategy. Sure, I may think I’d like to get one of the big four starters or wait on a first baseman, but there’s no point in trying to plan it out much. In a draft, you’re at the mercy of what’s available when you pick, and you need to be able to adjust quickly. Just trust your evaluation of players and feel confident you’ll make the right call. And don’t complain about your draft position – seriously. If you are prepared, you can succeed from anywhere.
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The Beginning
1st Round – Trea Turner (WAS – SS)
2nd Round – Francisco Lindor (CLE – SS)
3rd Round – Carlos Carrasco (CLE – SP)
4th Round – Edwin Encarnacion (CLE – 1B)
5th Round – Wil Myers (SD – 1B)
6th Round – Gerrit Cole (HOU – SP)
So, if ever there was a way to explain why I don’t go into a draft with a mapped out strategy, it is the first six rounds of this mock. Two of the many reasons I love our draft simulation software are that it lets you do hundreds of mock drafts quickly during draft season and it is always random. Turner has probably fallen to the eighth pick in fewer than 15% of the mocks I have done over the last several weeks, so I was ecstatic to get him here. Bolstering your stolen base total early is always a good idea.
When it came back to me in the second round, my first instinct was to pass on Lindor, and to take either George Springer (who went next) or Madison Bumgarner (who went three picks later). But, particularly in a league this deep, locking up your middle infield spot right away has no impact on your strategy later in the draft. I mean, you’re not going to be sitting there thinking “Drat, why did I draft Francisco Lindor when I could have just drafted Addison Russell later?” Adding another solid source of five-category production from the shortstop position early not only allowed me to not have to focus on steals later in the draft, but it would likely force other owners to reach for the position. Plus, in my many years of drafting, I don’t believe I had ever drafted shortstops with both of my first two picks. So win-win-win!
After that, with aces flying off the board, I grabbed Carrasco as my ace and Encarnacion as my power bat. I was feeling good heading into Round 5 when I was faced with a bit of a dilemma. After double-dipping at shortstop early, I had to decide whether to also double dip at first base earlier than I would have liked. The players available (Robinson Cano, Willson Contreras, Lorenzo Cain, Yoenis Cespedes, Aaron Nola) were not overly inspiring right there, and the chance to add ANOTHER power-speed combo in Myers seemed too good to pass up. The days of huge bats at the corners being available late are pretty much over, and I still had my utility spot. So, in the end, I took the Myers plunge!
After several more starting pitchers went off the board, I grabbed Cole as my No. 2 starter. In a 15-team league, I’m more than happy with that, and here’s hoping that the Astros teach him to throw his offspeed stuff more. After the first six rounds, I was feeling very happy about my incredibly unconventional start!
The Uninspiring Middle
Round 7 – Travis Shaw (MIL – 3B)
Round 8 – Yasiel Puig (LAD – OF)
Round 9 – Adam Jones (BAL – OF)
Round 10 – Brad Hand (SD – RP)
Round 11 – Jeff Samardzija (SF – SP)
Round 12 – Jameson Taillon (PIT – SP)
Round 7 – 12 represent about as bland a run of picks as I could have done. With third base starting to get thin, I didn’t want to pass on the Mayor of Ding Dong City (that is legitimately Travis Shaw‘s nickname), who represented a fairly safe all-around floor. Recognizing that I had yet to draft an outfielder by the eighth round of a 15-team league, I shifted my focus there, drafting the dangerous but ultimately productive Puig and the always boring but steady Jones.
With closers starting to fly off the board, I scooped up Hand, who should have plenty of job security after his extension with the Padres. And I followed that up with the “why aren’t you as good as your peripherals say you should be” Samardzija.
At my 12th pick, however, I was faced with the first moment where I really had to pause. Overall, I felt that perhaps I was a bit light in power still, and with Kyle Schwarber staring me in the face, that felt like the right pick. But, taking advantage of one of the other outstanding tools of the FantasyPros draft software, I clicked on the “strengths and weaknesses” tab of my draft room, which gives your projected standings based on everyone’s current rosters. Here’s what it showed.
Faced with that breakdown, it appeared that not only was I likely doing better than I thought in power, but drafting Schwarber would essentially end any chance I had in competing in batting average. In addition, although things can change in an instant with a live analysis of strengths and weaknesses, it appeared that I could use some ERA help. With starting pitching beginning to thin out, I decided instead to draft Taillon, whose return after his cancer battle skewed what was otherwise looking like a decent season.
The Lost Cause Run of Picks
Round 13 – Kevin Kiermaier (TB – OF)
Round 14 – Kelvin Herrera (KC – RP)
Round 15 – Mitch Haniger (SEA – OF)
Round 16 – Jackie Bradley Jr. (BOS – OF)
Round 17 – Jacob Faria (TB – SP)
Round 18 – Tanner Roark (WAS – SP)
I call this the “lost cause run of picks” both because I am simply out of clever titles and because almost immediately upon picking Taillon, I realized that it was foolish to worry about batting average. At this stage of the draft, there are a handful of draftable assets who may offer a bit of help in the category (i.e., Michael Brantley), but it is doubtful that I would be able to find enough such quality bats who do so this late. In the end, I decided to accept that I wouldn’t be able to field a team that projected to be particularly competitive in batting average, and instead focused on rounding out the team the best I could.
Still needing plenty of outfielders, I devoted three of my next four picks to Kiermaier, Haniger, and Bradley Jr. None of them is exciting, but each offers a respectable floor that, when paired with the rest of my offense and considering the depth of the league, was exactly what I needed. I grabbed a second closer in Herrera, then paired the exciting but risky Faria with the unexciting but relatively safe Roark.
Again, at this point, I’m still filling out my starting lineup. I’m not necessarily looking for guys who could be true difference-makers, but rather players who I can (hopefully) start each week without giving them much thought.
The Boring Run of Picks
Round 19 – Yonder Alonso (CLE – 1B)
Round 20 – Starlin Castro (MIA – 2B)
Round 21 – Alex Avila (CHC – C)
Round 22 – Stephen Piscotty (OAK – OF)
Round 23 – Hyun-Jin Ryu (LAD – SP)
Round 24 – Dan Straily (MIA – SP)
Phew, the late stages of a 15-team league, especially when you’re drafting against experts, is never pretty. At this point, I’m largely just filling out the final holes in my starting lineup. The under-appreciated Alonso should make a fine utility player in the stacked Cleveland lineup. Unable to deny the fact that I would have to eventually draft both a second baseman AND multiple catchers, I finally start filling those spots with Castro and Avila. Seriously, once you miss out on the solid players at those positions, there is zero reason to rush to fill your spots.
Piscotty represents a bench piece, but one who could easily find his way into my starting lineup. It’s not a classic “upside” play that most fantasy owners, myself included, like to fill their bench with, but it makes sense for my team.
After that, two boring pitchers – Ryu and Straily – join the back end of my staff and bench. When healthy, both should be decent back-end-of-the-rotation starts in a league this deep.
The Finish
Round 25 – Neil Walker (NYY – 2B)
Round 26 – Jeimer Candelario (DET – 3B)
Round 27 – Lewis Brinson (FLA – OF)
Round 28 – Devin Mesoraco (CIN – C)
Round 29 – Yoshihisa Hirano (ARI – RP)
At this point, all that’s left to do is try to draft some depth and upside. After waiting forever on Castro to fill my second base slot, Walker makes the perfect backup. If things go well, he could easily start for me, particularly in weeks when the Yankees are home.
Candelario and Brinson offer a nice mix of both guaranteed playing time and plenty of upside, while Mesoraco fills my need to not have the draft simulator yell at me anymore for waiting so long to draft a second catcher. With only two relievers, I nab Hirano with my last pick, as the Arizona closing situation is still in flux as of this writing.
The Results
My final roster looks like this:
C: Avila
C: Mesoraco
1B: Encarnacion
2B: Castro
SS: Turner
3B: Shaw
MI: Lindor
CI: Myers
OF: Puig
OF: Jones
OF: Kiermaier
OF: Haniger
OF: Bradley Jr.
Util: Alonso
P: Carrasco
P: Cole
P: Samardzija
P: Taillon
P: Faria
P: Roark
P: Hand
P: Herrera
P: Ryu
B: Piscotty
B: Straily
B: Walker
B: Candelario
B: Brinson
B: Hirano
As you can see, this isn’t a perfect “Bobby Sylvester draft” (I’m convinced he cheats, but that’s a story for another time). There were plenty of mistakes along the way. I should have realized earlier that I either needed to focus on batting average or that it was too late to help, and I should have focused on pitching earlier and more often in the draft. But in the end, based on projections, I left myself in position to be competitive for the top spot.
Regardless of anything else, the best way to get better at drafting is to simply practice and get a sense of the type of players who will be available at various points. When the time comes to make those split decisions during your real draft, you’ll be ready!
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Dan Harris is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Dan, check out his archive or follow him on Twitter at @danharris80.
