If you’ve never done an auction before, it will completely change the way you approach your fantasy draft. You don’t have to worry about missing out on your sleepers or breakouts because you will get a shot at anyone you want. There is so much strategy involved and so many different ways to succeed in an auction. The FantasyPros draft simulator is a great tool to quickly go through an auction and get an idea of how it works. It’s important to keep in mind that every auction will be different, so don’t put too much stock into your mock draft results. Use it as a way to try different strategies and gauge player value, and you’ll be ahead of the game.

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For this mock, I decided to go with the traditional ‘stars and scrubs’ strategy, which is perfectly acceptable in the more shallow leagues. Basically, the idea is to collect as many highly valued players as possible and fill out your roster with $1 players. The philosophy is built around your ability to find breakouts and acceptable replacements on the waiver wire throughout the season.

This is a standard 12-team 5×5 league with a $260 budget. I used the FantasyPros Draft Simulator and drafted the following team:

C – Francisco Mejia (C – SD) $1
1B – Freddie Freeman (1B – ATL) $25
2B – Jose Altuve (2B – HOU) $31
SS – Manny Machado (SS/3B – SD) $26
3B – Nolan Arenado (3B – COL) $26
CI – Brian Anderson (1B/3B – MIA) $1
MI – Nick Senzel (OF/3B/2B – CIN) $1
OF – Bryce Harper (OF – FA) $26
OF – Kris Bryant (3B/OF – CHC) $24
OF – Tyler O’Neill (OF – STL) $1
UT – Ian Happ (2B/OF – CHC) $1

SP1 – Jacob DeGrom (SP – NYM) $29
SP2 – Corey Kluber (SP – CLE) $23
SP3 – Mike Soroka (SP – ATL) $1
SP4 – Sonny Gray (SP – CIN) $1
SP5 – Michael Wacha (SP – STL) $1
SP6 – Brent Honeywell (SP – TB) $1
RP1 – Craig Kimbrel (RP – FA) $18
RP2 – Aroldis Chapman (RP – NYY) $19

BN – Shane Greene (RP – DET) $1
BN – Scott Kingery (SS – PHI) $1
BN – Matt Strahm (SP – SD)  $1
BN –Amir Garrett (RP – CIN) $1
BN – Jake Bauers (1B – CLE) $1

Strengths
The Draft Analyzer rated my team third in batting average, first in ERA, third in WHIP, and fourth in saves. The other hitting categories don’t look as promising, but this is contingent on finding a few diamonds in the rough on waivers. I was able to acquire a quality infield and a solid 1-2 punch in the outfield as well. It’s nice to have the two aces and two established closers. There is also some breakout potential with most of the $1 lottery tickets. Soroka, Strahm, and Gray are three of my favorite pitchers to outperform their draft value.

Weaknesses
The lack of strikeouts could be a problem, but there will likely be help on the wire for that category. I will likely struggle with home runs and RBI. While the players I drafted high are quality, they don’t necessarily provide a ton of power. I’m not worried about chasing stolen bases or wins in any draft. The lack of depth in the pitching staff could be an issue. There could be an argument for several pitchers as a number three on this staff with none of them having a great case.

Surprises
The eye-opener for me is the talent still available at pitcher late in 12-team leagues. There are still several guys available for $1 that I really like. It feels like starting pitcher could be becoming a deep position again after a couple of top-heavy seasons. I could also see some of these values inflate in the next month. It’s likely that names like Tyler O’Neill, Amir Garrett, Mike Soroka, and Nick Senzel could see their prices jump a few bucks in spring training. If not, though, I’d love to scoop them up at the end of most of my drafts.

Summary
This team appears fine on paper, but I didn’t come out of the draft in love with this team. Traditionally, stars and scrubs would include more of the top-level players and probably more $1 players as well. It’s probably a better move to go all-in on the stars and scrubs or go with a more balanced approach. I’ll be looking to try a more aggressive strategy in my next mock auction. Thanks for reading and feel free to reach out to me on Twitter with your results.

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Shane McDonald is a correspondent at FantasyPros. For more from Shane, check out his archive or follow him @coachshanemac.