Laika

Speedy requested that I cut Yimi Garcia for him. He did not realize that it would take him to 27 players and that would prevent him from drafting prospects. He has six open minors spots and three more picks. I cut Yimi because we are all figuring this out and there is no harm. He effectively just threw away his earlier pick.

no? i dunno. maybe. depends on what i had for lunch.

Correct. Add/drops are prevented by Fantrax while the Draft Room is running. We are only doing commissioner add/drops to help people if someone has come of the IL and needs to be activated, but those drops don't open up additional roster space. They also aren't even necessary now that I think of it, you can just leave the guy on the IL and activate them once the draft is over.

BTS up for two

System won't auto draft onto an MiLB roster so it skips the pick.

If we stick with the Draft Room next year we will reduce windows significantly. There's really no excuse for not just pre-ranking players. 12 hour windows suck.

Manoah did not throw a changeup. Just fastballs and sliders. Statcast says there were 4 seamers and 2 seamers though - I wonder if that's true and he is throwing two different fastballs.

The amateur catcher algorithm that North has written must be pretty good.

Well none of the current crop were high profile. Kirk signed for three hot dogs, Moreno was $25k, and I don't even think there are reported bonuses for Javier D'Orazio (2018) and Victor Mesia (2019). The most expensive Catcher in the entire organization in terms of signing bonus was Reese McGuire by far ($2.6M). The next highest might be Riley Adams at like $550k. You might need to ask some of the older fans.

Keith Law 1. Jack Leiter, RHP, Vanderbilt Leiter is an age-eligible sophomore, and while he may not be the Commodores’ most famous starter right now, he’s their best prospect, with the best combination of stuff, command, and delivery in the draft. Leiter can pitch at 95-96 mph and hit his spots even at that velocity, with a plus breaking ball and a delivery he repeats very well to keep that command long-term. His father (Al), uncle (Mark), and cousin (Mark Jr.) all pitched in the majors, and he has the track record — Jack was a first-round talent in 2019 out of high school — to give teams the extra comfort level they want when taking someone this high in the draft. 2. Jordan Lawlar, SS, Jesuit College Prep HS, Dallas, TX Lawlar compares very favorably to another DFW-area high school shortstop taken high in the draft, Bobby Witt, Jr., who went second overall to the Royals in 2019. Lawlar is, if anything, a better overall athlete with better pure tools than Witt Jr., but lacks the baseball skills that the latter had in his draft year. He’s a plus runner with bat speed and a quiet approach, and projects to stay at shortstop with the chance to become a plus defender with more consistency on routine plays. Like Witt, he’s an older senior, turning 19 right before this year’s draft. 3. Kumar Rocker, RHP, Vanderbilt The Commodores could very easily have two guys go in the top three picks in the draft, or even 1-2, with Leiter and Rocker. Rocker might be more famous, having thrown a no-hitter in the postseason two years ago and a fastball that’s been up to 99 mph, but he does suffer slightly in comparison to Leiter, with the inferior breaking ball and a grade less command. Rocker is 6-foot-5, 245, with plenty of athleticism (his father, Tracy Rocker, played two seasons in the NFL), but the fastball is really his main weapon, and he could use a plus secondary pitch and/or better movement on the fastball to go before his teammate. 4. Jaden Hill, RHP, LSU If Hill posts every weekend this spring, he could jump up into the top three, passing Rocker, but concerns about Hill’s health history put him just below the other guys, as he missed much of 2019 with elbow soreness and didn’t get the chance to show he was durable last spring. Hill has the size (6-4, 234) to be a workhorse and he’s a superb athlete, and he’s started very strongly in 2021, working at 94-98 with three above-average or better pitches in the fastball, slider, and changeup. He has a great delivery and, through two outings, has thrown a ton of strikes and hasn’t walked a batter. 5. Adrian Del Castillo, C, Miami (FL) Del Castillo’s defense is the subject of some debate among scouts — whether it’s good enough for him to catch long term, or whether he’ll have to move to first base — but the consensus already is that his bat will play anywhere, with a sweet left-handed swing and a good approach that give him a chance to be a strong hitter for average, OBP, and power. 6. Marcelo Mayer, SS, Eastlake HS (CA) Right now, Mayer would be the second prep player off the board after Lawlar, both no-doubt shortstops but with Lawlar showing bigger tools. Mayer has an easy left-handed swing for high contact rates, but he doesn’t use his lower half enough, so while there’s the potential for above-average power here he’s not going to get to it without some mechanical adjustments. He’s an average runner with a 55 arm and should stay at short in the long term. 7. Gunnar Hoglund, RHP, Mississippi Hoglund was a sandwich-round pick in 2018, going 36th overall to the Pirates, but didn’t sign with the club after the team tried to go below slot with him. He’s been healthy and effective so far for Ole Miss, especially in limiting free passes — he’s walked 21 guys in 103 innings since he got to campus, and between 2020 and 2021 he’s dominated non-conference competition. His velocity was down last year but it’s been back up through two starts this season, and if that holds up into SEC play, his delivery and command will make him one of the safer picks among college right-handers. 8. Brady House, 3B, Winder-Barrow HS, Winder, GA House has obnoxious raw power and huge exit velocities, so if he hits, he’s going to hit in the middle of a lineup for a long time, but his hit tool is still the big question after he showed poorly in the summer of 2020. He’s also a pitcher and has a plus arm that will help him stay on the left side of the infield, where he could be a 55 or better defender at third. 9. Ryan Cusick, RHP, Wake Forest Cusick has been up to 100 mph and his fastball really plays, arguably the best overall fastball in the draft class when you consider not just velocity but how effective it is at getting hitters out. He’s improved dramatically since heading to Wake, from delivery to approach to using his offspeed stuff, and still has some room for growth in pitch selection and developing his changeup. There’s still starter/reliever risk here, but he has high upside as a starter and seems extremely likely to have some role in the big leagues either way. 10. Kahlil Watson, SS, Wake Forest (NC) HS Watson has a higher floor than some of the other high school bats likely to go in the top half of the first round, as he’s a high probability shortstop with no below-average tools, but his height (5-9) may scare some teams off him even with the success of many shorter position players in the majors in the last five years. He has a fast bat and should get to line-drive power, and he’s a plus runner with arm strength who should stay at short. 11. James Wood, OF, IMG Academy, Bradenton, FL If this were 1992, Wood would be a top five pick in the draft because he’s 6-6, 230, and has enormous raw power — but this is 2021, and teams care more about all-around baseball skills now than they did then, when being the biggest, strongest, fastest or hardest-throwing player could put you atop draft boards. Wood does have some of the best pure power in the draft, hitting them out to all fields and homering in every major event in 2020, and he’s an above-average runner with a plus arm. His hit tool is further behind. He’ll have some wide discrepancies in how teams rate him, with some clubs completely off him in the top half of the round. 12. Ty Madden, RHP, Texas The once-mighty Longhorns program is starting to arrest its long decline; they haven’t had a first-rounder since Corey Knebel in 2013, and the last pitcher drafted from the school to have any extended MLB success was Huston Street in 2004. Madden might break both streaks, coming right down at hitters from a high three-quarters slot and two potential plus pitches in his fastball and slider, but he has to throw more and better strikes over this spring to cement himself as a starter and top-half pick. 13. Jordan Wicks, LHP, Kansas State The top college left-hander usually goes in the top half of the first round — in the last 10 drafts, the first college lefty has gone in the top 20 picks nine times, and in six of those drafts he went in the top 10 — so while Wicks doesn’t have the pure stuff of this year’s batch of college right-handers, he’s far and away the top southpaw and should go accordingly. He’s been 90-93 with an above-average breaking ball, feel for a changeup, and the command and control you’d expect from the college-lefty archetype. 14. Sam Bachman, RHP, Miami (OH) Bachman has been up to 100 mph this spring with good sink as well as a grade-70 slider up to 90 mph, with improved control since his freshman year, so while it’s not a classic delivery or arm action, he has the power stuff to start or be an impact reliever if he can’t do this in the rotation. 15. Richard Fitts, RHP, Auburn Fitts walked on to his high school team and only ended up pitching at Auburn after making the team in a tryout as a freshman, but his velocity has gradually crept up over the last three years. He can pitch at 94-95 and touch 97 with a wipeout changeup with split-like action, and he has above-average control. He does need to tighten up his slider, and last weekend’s dud against Baylor didn’t help his draft stock. 16. Tommy Mace, RHP, Florida Mace was No. 46 on my Big Board last year, but went undrafted when he chose to bet on himself and go back to Florida for his senior year. So far, it’s looking like a very good bet, as Mace is throwing his curveball more, giving him a strong second pitch along with a 90-95 mph fastball. He’s a safe bet to be a big-league starter, and since he’s 22 already and will have four years (one shortened) of experience in the SEC, he should be fairly close to the majors. 17. Colton Cowser, OF, Sam Houston State Cowser is set to become either the highest or second-highest draft pick in Sam Houston State history; the Bearkats have had just one first-round pick, Glenn Wilson to Detroit in 1980. Cowser has bat speed and a history of contact, but his swing is handsy and he’s going to hit for average more than power, which is fine as long as he stays in centerfield. 18. Jackson Jobe, Heritage Hall HS, Oklahoma City Jobe is a very hard thrower with elite spin rates on his curveball, possibly the highest in the class, and is an outstanding athlete whose father, Brandt, won the Boeing Classic on the PGA Tour in 2019. He’s not the tallest or most physical among the high school right-handers this year but has the best present combination of stuff and athleticism. 19. Matt McLain, SS, UCLA McLain is certainly famous, turning down the Diamondbacks’ first-round money in 2018 to go to UCLA, but hasn’t performed enough for the Bruins to move into the top tier of position players, especially since he’s going to move off shortstop (probably to second base) in pro ball. 20. Henry Davis, C, Louisville Will Smith was a sandwich-round pick out of Louisville in 2016, but Davis, a fellow Cardinals catcher, should beat that as a no-doubt catcher with power and, in limited time, a history of rarely striking out. He has a 70 arm and 60 or better raw power, with strength and bat speed, but has an exaggerated crouch and some length to his swing that gives pause about his future hit tool … except so far in college he has just 22 punchouts in 230 PA, with 0 so far in 2020. 21. Braden Montgomery, OF, Madison Central HS, Madison, MS The history of position players drafted out of Mississippi high schools is dismal; the all-time WAR leader is Charlie Hayes with 10.5, and only one hitter drafted from a Mississippi high school in this century has a WAR over 0.1 — Billy Hamilton, drafted in 2009. But the switch-hitting Montgomery stands out for his unusual polish for players from that state, with a commitment to Stanford, and huge tools, with plusses in power, arm, and glove. 22. Harry Ford, C, North Cobb HS, Kennesaw, GA Ford is a fleet-footed catcher who has the tools to stay behind the plate, with athleticism and agility as well as an average to above-average arm. He has electric bat speed and should come into power, with a huge stride in the box but surprisingly good balance even with such a dramatic movement. 23. Joshua Baez, OF, Dexter Southfield School, Boston, MA Baez could be a day one pick off the mound, where he’s hit 97, but he wants to be a position player and with his huge power and high exit velocities, he’s likely to go in the first round, especially to teams that value age highly, since he’s only 17 at the draft. 24. Anthony Solometo, LHP, Bishop Eustace Prep, Pennsauken, NJ Solometo is long and lanky, with an unrefined delivery, but he’s been up to 97 with a plus slider and plenty of changeup to see him as a potential starter. 25. Benny Montgomery, OF, Red Land HS, Lewisbury, PA Montgomery is a 70 runner with plus raw power and a tall, lean build, with somewhat narrow shoulders that give him more of a young Drew Stubbs frame than that of someone who’s going to put on 50 more pounds. 26. Chase Petty, RHP, Mainland Regional HS, Linwood, NJ Petty has hit 100 mph and can sit mid-90s with good arm speed on his changeup and a low-80s breaking ball, but he’ll be dinged by some teams because he’s a 6-foot high school right-hander. 27. Sal Frelick, OF, Boston College Frelick is a small, fast centerfielder, listed at 5-9, 175, with a quick, no-load, slashing swing that produces a ton of contact — he has 35 walks and just 26 strikeouts in 278 PA for Boston College — but won’t lead to any power. He’s moved to centerfield this year, and if he shows he can play average defense there, he’ll be a first-rounder with everyday upside. 28. Ethan Wilson, OF, South Alabama Wilson hit .345/.453/.686 as a freshman in 2019, but rolled his ankle before the 2021 season started, missing the first weekend and DHing the second. He was supposed to be one of the top bats in the draft this year, but adding a huge leg kick hasn’t helped his timing any more than the ankle injury has, and he could be in danger of slipping out of the first round. 29. Alex Binelas, OF, Louisville Binelas had a strong freshman year for the Cardinals in 2018, with power and some patience without too many whiffs, but he’s off to a very rough start this year, swinging and missing too often and going 2 for 26 in non-conference play. 30. Eric Cerantola, RHP, Mississippi State The Bulldogs’ entire weekend rotation should go in the top three rounds, but Cerantola is the guy with real first-round upside, as he’s been up to 100 mph with a power breaking ball. He just has no track record to speak of right now, with only 34 career innings — and 25 walks — so the 6-5 Canadian is all upside with no floor.

For people who were complaining about Sportsnet's spring training broadcasting decisions, the wonky rules may have been part of it. Tough to send a production team down for a game without even knowing how long it will last, how many innings it will last, etc.

lol good question I'm not going to reverse the pick or drop the player. He'll just end up having to drop an MLB player after the draft. I actually don't see any harm in letting people burn a NPD pick to pick up an MLB free agent. I may tweak our rules in the future to clarify this. In the past you could not pick players with MLB experience in the minors draft because those players were fodder for the waiver draft AND we didn't want that to be a loop hole for demoting players that should not be demoted per our old rules. Now unowned players with MLB experience are just free agents year-round, and you can freely demote guys... He still has open MiLB spots though so his future picks could be used.

FanTRAX is still being wonky. You can get on one minute but not the next. If your pick comes up and you can't get on, just try again in a few minutes.

Anyway, L54 is up. Not sure if he got an email from the system based on the recent history here.

Yes, the extra picks don't disappear right away. I just deleted Havok's because it was evident that he was not on top of his team so I can't imagine he gives a s*** about trying to trade a 5th rounder for future considerations.

Right. Havok is full. I skipped his pick and deleted the rest of his picks, assuming he is done + inattentive. Done: Spanky Zeros Goldbull Havok (extra picks deleted)

Done: Spanky Zeros Goldbull

Yeah I'm not sold anymore. It is having the main desired effect of moving the draft along but the cumulative effect of the things you noted means it is more hands-on for the commissioners than I had hoped. The nice things about the spreadsheet system are that it's a) completely adaptable and the draft can basically be community policed and everybody collectively helps run it. I guess that's on the table too. We will look into it before 2022. I don't care about the money, I would just pay it and people could reimburse me in Dogecoin if they want. There might be some non-draft related premium options we have been avoiding that we could then use.

One thing that needs to be said: When you are at 26 MLB + 14 MiLB (ignoring the IL) you can't make any more picks, even though Fantrax will let you make one more because we temporarily expand rosters to 27. Once your clock starts on any extra picks a commissioner might skip the pick and move on. If you notice that a pick takes you to 26 + 14, let us know you are done. You can still try to trade future picks but when they come up they will be skipped. I want to avoid people unknowingly picking up a "27th man". It doesn't really matter - they would just have to drop someone after the draft - but there is a chance that the extra draft pick would snipe somebody which is the only problem.

Okay, so I guess we need the temporary 27th roster spot. Auto pick doesn't seem to put the player directly into the farm if the MLB roster is full. I backed up the draft and gave you Cabrera, Spanky. The computer also autopicked you an MLB player momentarily? Not sure why it would do that. But we are moving again

Can anyone Facebook or text Spanky? Catch him before the quaaludes kick in...

Hmmm maybe. I reversed the draft by one pick so we can work out the bug. I emailed Spanky to let him know he's on the clock. It will be good to know either way, for the future.

Spanky you around? Why would it say this: System skipped pick for Taijuan On! in round 3 - Reason: Unknown Reason (?) (9:55:22 PM) Did you have someone set to auto draft and it didn't work?

I was reading the league setup page and I believe that if your MLB roster is full the player automatically gets placed in the minors. I set the max roster size back to 26 because of this. I don't think we need a temporary 27 man roster after all. Regarding the "Skip pick if timer runs out" option being the default in the DDL but not in the other league... I think this must have been changed to a premium option by Fantrax because I would not have picked any premium options when setting up the league. Despite having the box ticked I don't think it is considering the DDL to be a premium league right now. Kind of weird.