The Tals Hill Trajesty

Around a month ago, reports surfaced about the fact that the Astros were going to remove Tal's Hill, the oddball patch of grass in center field where Lance Berkman made this amazing catch:

Tal's Hill, like the Green Monster, the Ivy in Wrigley and the Factory in Baltimore, aught to be considered a baseball institution, and something that can't be removed.

More than any other sport, Baseball's home field advantage is truly that... a home field. When the Redsox look for lefty hitters who can go the other way, or the Padres pick up a fly ball starter, it's building to the place where they will spend 81 says or nights in the summer.

And the fall of Tal's Hill removes one of the unique oddities that makes home field home.

All Star Shananigans

There's a discussion happening about how MLB isn't happy about the way citizens of KC have stuffed the ballot, aiming to answer the question of "what happens if you out Mike Trout on our team?"

(By that, I mean KC has elected the entire starting roster of the Royals as starters in the All Star Game, and added Mike Trout).

MLB is apparently going to disallow many of the votes.

And that stinks.

I love what the fans in KC managed to pull off, and the only people who should be embarrassed are the fan bases for 14 other AL clubs.Seriously Red Sox Nation, we can't bother to go online go vote for Pedroia? Indians fans, no love for Jason Kipnis?Jays fans, Josh Donaldson?

Kudos to KC, and for everyone else, well, let's go root for our hometown team!

The All Start game is supposed to be about what the fans want to see.

Example A:

When MLB Decided this exhibition game needed to mean something, the took away the fun of the game.

Omar Infinte isn't going to turn around and bat opposite handed in this game.

Of course, if MLB has its way, we'll have no idea what Omar is doing, because the leading vote-getter at the Keystone will be watching the game on TV from the comfort of his own home.

The All Time Favorite Team- 2b

I already have my Catcher and number 2 hitter out there, so let me follow up with my lead off guy.

You would see him limping when he leaves the field, and all of a sudden, he's flying. That's the way he is and the way he's going to play. It's going to drive [Twins manager Ron Gardenhire] crazy because you think he's done, like when he's sliding into second base and all of a sudden he can't get up. But then the next pitch, he's gone -- stealing third.

Ozzie Guillen said that about Luis Castillo, second baseman on the All-Time, All-Mike team.

He was a 3 time all-star, and two time Gold Glove winner. He had more than 30 SB's four times, and got on base better than 37% of the time six times.

In the year 2000, he put up an OPS of over .800 for the only time in his career, getting on base nearly 42% of the time, and swiping 62 bags. No one noticed, as he didn't even make the all-star team.

Castillo was one of the most exciting players I've watched. The 2003 Marlins, with Castillo and Alex Gonzalez as the double play combo, is somehow etched into my mind as one of the most exciting SS/2b combos I've seen (although for the 2003 season, while Castillo saved 9 runs on the season, Gonzalez cost his team 3).

And he was part of the team that beat the Yankees in the World Series (bonus points awarded for that).

The All Time Favorite Team- Starting Catcher

I've been meaning to turn the "My Favorite Team" thing into a full blown series, and decided to start today.

Some of these guys are on this team irrationally. This isn't the "best I've ever seen" at any particular position, but more along the lines of "guys I'd irrationally draft a round or 2 early" in fantasy baseball, or guys who I somehow ended up really liked to watch, or even guys who I randomly hit well with in various baseball video games.

I'm also going to make a point of filling out the bench with bench players (my close 2nd in a lot of spots, like Catcher, wouldn't be OK with being on the bench).

Without further ado, the starting catcher on my all time favorite tea is: Jason Kendall-

First and foremost, Kendall was a gamer. For basically a dozen years (1997-2009), this guy had more than 500 PA's (to be fair, he missed the milestone one season in that 12 year period, with a broken ankle... considering the guy never had under 471 PA's.. it seems safe to say he'd have hit the mark). For reference, Jorge Posada and Jason Varitek each passed that number 7 times, and Pudge Rodgiruez was even (11 times).

Kendall was unique, earnings double digits SB's 9 times in his career (including as a 36 year old).

Kendall got on base too, putting up a .370 OBP or better 7 times, and ending his career with more BB's than K's.(721 BB's to 686 K's).

Those are numbers any position player strives to hit, and Kendall did it while catching.

That's absurd.

On the All-time, All-Mike team, Jason Kendall is my catcher, and my number 2 hitter.

Draft Postportem

Let's breakdown of players I'm (potentially) adding to my system:

Player	My pick	Real life spot picked	Real life team	Notes
Daz Cameron	1.13	1.37	Houston	Cameron looks like a bonus baby, but one that will sign
John Aiello	1.41	Not Drafted	NA	This has me frustrated. I was figuring someone would draft him... I was wrong
Riley Ferrell	2.51	3.79	Houston	As I said when I picked him, it was a bit of a reach. That said, this guy seems to ensure I get a major leaguer out of the draft.
Rhett Wiseman	3.87	3.103	Was	This pick made me happy. He wouldn't have been there had I waited another round, and I think he's got 20/20 potential
Justin Garza	4.117	8.244	Cleveland	It is nice that he got picked in the first 10 rounds, and Cleveland has had some success with pitchers like Garza (Hello Trevor Bauer). I'm cautiously optimistic that my reach and the idea that Cleveland knows what they're doign will have lots of people saying "how did he last so long?"
Elih Marrero	5.147	29.865	Cin	Pretty good chance this guy doesn't sign. It is going to be a rough drafted for me.
Joe DeMers	6.177	Not picked	NA	Another wasted early pick for me. Like I said early in the process... not having access to the same info as "those who know things" makes this a really tough exercise
Riley Thompson	7.207	1,105	Cin	As a team picking in Ohio, I love that the Reds took this guy late in a "boy, we have nothing to lose" sort of way....I can't imagine he signs
Kyle Molnar	8.237	761	Stl	I can't imagine there is a chance he signs, but at least a well respected GM and franchise took the stab.
Sutton Whiting	9.267	713	CHN	As I said a few times in my diary, the Cubs picked up a bunch of players I was excited about. Perhaps this is a good luck thing?
Ty Moore	10.297	867	SD	A real life Padres' player!!!! We agreed on one!!!
Chandler Day	11.327	904	Cle	Like I said about the Reds' pick of Chandler Day, I like that Cleveland drafted an Ohio guy... it's a pipedream, but perhaps one that could end up working out
Cole Irvin	12.357	967	Pit	I can't imagine he ends up signing... seems like a chance he ends up as a senior next year
Nick Madrigal	13.387	514	Cle	Someone to dream on.
David Lucroy	14.417	601	Mil	Jonathan's little brother, and a guy who had ups and downs... I suspect he might end up the last man in the bullpen. And at this spot in the draft, that's worth it's weight in gold.
Luke Willis	15.447	909	KC	I'm happy to see him drafted. He is a guy I'm going to root for, based on sharing an alma mater.

If we're being realistic, there is a TON of upside here, but a lot of these guys, based on where they were picked, seem likely to head off to college. I suspect that victory ends up looking like:

• Cameron
• Ferrell
• Wiseman
• Garza
• Whiting
• Moore
• Lucroy
• Willis

It is a high upside HS player (Cameron), a RHSP and RHRP who could be helpful at the major league level (Garza and Ferrell), two college outfielders with potential (Wiseman and Moore), a defensive SS who can make life easier for my minor league pitchers and may one day be an OK backup (Whiting), a longshot OF and RHSP (Lucroy and Willis).

And if all goes well, I can get one or 2 of the HS players to sign. Aiello and Demers are off the table (actually, they're now the top of my 2018 big board). However;

One of Riley Thompson, Elih Marrero, Kyle Molnar or Chandler Day make this draft FAR more interesting... so here's hoping one of them signs.

Cole Irvin is a complete X factor. He only moves the draft a bit either way in terms of how strong the class is, but as a guy who could reasonably have an Alan Embree-like career... he can improve the class.

Nick Madrigal has a great name.

Luke Willis will be a guy I root for throughout his career.

Round 3 of the draft

With my day 3 big board built, I'm sticking to the script.

• Pick 327- Chandler Day
• C.J Hinsjosa- Was once considered a first round talent.- Picked by the Giants.
• Pick 357- Cole Irvin- Quality LHP, who had a very inconsistent year, likely because of TJ recovery.
• Pick 387- Nick Madrigal
• Pick 417- David Lucroy- RHP from ECU
• Pick 447- Luke Willis- My binky pick... I'm picking a George Mason guy.

Lots of draft analysis and postmortem to come.

Thoughts and Big Board for Day 3

No Diary today, duty at the "real job" calls, so whatever order works out against the big board will have to stick.

The Baseball America recap of day 2 is a veritable who's who of guys I've already drafted, and doesn't exactly bode well for me.

The last player from my first big board available is Chandler Day, so he'll be the top of today's board. As for the rest of the board, well, keep reading.

• Chandler Day
• C.J Hinsjosa- Was once considered a first round talent.
• Cole Irvin- Quality LHP, who had a very inconsistent year, likely because of TJ recovery.
• Nick Madrigal
• David Lucroy- RHP from ECU
• Luke Willis- My binky pick... I'm picking a George Mason guy.

Thoughts After 2 days of drafting

Well, the good news is I have added a TON of talent to my system. The problem is that much of it will be on college campuses next year and not actually on my rosters. After 10 rounds, I'm looking at:

• Daz Cameron
• John Aiello- wasn't drafted
• Riley Ferrell
• Rhett Wiseman
• Justin Garza
• Elih Marrero
• Joe DeMers
• Riley Thompson
• Kyle Molnar
• Ty Moore
• Sutton Whiting

When we start to break it down in presumed-signability, we can guess the following:

• Daz Cameron- Will sign
• Riley Ferrell- Will sign
• Rhett Wiseman- Will sign
• Justin Garza- Will sign
• Ty Moore- Will sign
• Sutton Whiting- Will sign

And the question marks:

• John Aiello- wasn't drafted (if he doesn't sign, I get an extra pick next year)
• Elih Marrero- wasn't drafted
• Joe DeMers- wasn't drafted
• Riley Thompson- wasn't drafted
• Kyle Molnar- wasn't drafted

Do I hope to land 2 of those guys? 3? Based on how things went, I'm not sure what success looks like. An 8 or 9 player haul that includes:

• - A college RHP who was at times dominant (Garza)
• - A college closer (Ferrell)
• - 2 advanced OF bats (Wiseman and Moore)
• - A very good defensive middle infielder (Sutton)
• - A potentially exceptional CF with tools to drool over (Cameron)
• - A potentially great hitting 3b (Aiello)
• - A potential number 3 with upside (DeMers, Thompson or Molnar)

All together, that would be a pretty good haul. Anything on top of that would be gravy. More to come.

Draft Day Diary- Day 2

The big board for day 2 is updated. I have a bunch of picks today (just like everyone else). Today's goal will be to attempt to round out this draft class with a mix of college and HS.

The first, and perhaps most interesting question of the day is whether, if he's available, Michael Matuella being available at 87 changes the calculus for me. I don't think so. I do like Wiseman better than Matuella. However, if Matuella was there at 117, I'd probably have to pounce... And alternatively... if Wiseman is gone... I think Matuella would be a late addition to the second spot on my draft board. In the 3rd round, if he doesn't sign, I get a compensation pick next year... there's no such luck in the 4th. Yup... just talked myself into it.

Here is the revised big board:

• Rhett Wiseman
• Michael Matuella
• Jake Lemoine
• Justin Garza
• Elih Marrero
• Joe DeMers
• David Berg
• Riley Thompson
• Kyle Molnar
• Chandler Day
• Benton Moss
• Sutton Whiting
• Garret Cleavinger
• Ty Moore

1pm And here is a wide range of stream of conscience thinking:

• Looks like my fretting over Matuella was for nothing, as the Rangers picked him before I had the chance.
• Nice to see Riley Ferrell come off the board at 79 to Houston, so my pick of him yesterday doesn't look like a huge stretch.
• 87th- Rhett Wiseman The real Padres took Jacob Nix, which makes sense to go after the boom/bust potential given that they didin't have nearly as many picks as my shadow team. Me? I'm thrilled to pieces to add Wiseman. Now, it's time to go find some pitching.
• Pick 102- Wow, the Orioles jumped up and took Cleavinger. I figured he'd be around about 3 rounds later. Dan Duquette. Nice pick.
• Pick 103- Wiseman went 103rd, so my pick wasn't as much of a reach as I thought it would be. That's encouraging.
• Pick 108- The Rangers may have identified the newest market inefficiency. Injured Pitchers. Can't believe they took Lemoine
• 117th Justin Garza, come on down!
• Pick 134, I'm glad to see Rivera Jr ended up somewhere besides the Yankees. Would have been an impossible legacy to live up to. Also... happy to no longer see a "Rivera" closing games at Yankee Stadium.. That guy tormented the Red Sox for years.
• 147th- Elih Marrero, Come on Down!

In previous years, I've done shadow drafts, and they seem to come off the rails right around here. There is SO much info I (or really, anyone who doesn't work for a team) don't have with regards to signability. The way things look, I'm probably going to snag a HS pitcher or 2 in the next couple rounds. Given where the picks are falling, I'm guessing they go off to school... and there's no way I can know that in advance.

• Pick 169 just happened and it's now looking like there is a good chance Demers falls to me. Kind of excited about that, but also feeling like this is becoming a very HS heavy draft for me. When I put the board together, I assumed at least a coupel of these guys would be gone before I got around to picking them... now it looks very realistic that I end up with 5 or 6 HS picks in the first 10 rounds, which wasn't really the plan coming in.
• Pick 173- And there goes another one to Theo. Dave Berg will be a major leaguer.
• 177th Joe Demers- Come on Down!
• Pick 178- Benton Moss goes off the board, and suddenly, I'm looking at a VERY HS heavy draft.
• 207th- Riley Thompson, Come on Down!
• Pick 228- I am SO disappointed in myself for leaving Colin Welmon off my big board. He was in an earlier version, and somewhere along the way, just fell off. Ugh
• 237th- Kyle Molnar, Come on Down!
• Pick 244- Garza finally comes off the board.
• Pick 261- Tucker Tubbs is a fantastic name.
• 267th I'm going off the board here, given that my last 3 picks were HS Pitchers. I'm going to grab Ty Moore.
• 297th- I'm going to stay off script with this pick, and nab Sutton Whiting.

Lots more thoughts to come in the next couple days, but based on the number of HS players I drafted who aren't drafted in the real world, either this draft is going to end up being a big mess, or I will set the record for "most guys drafted in a shadow draft who get picked in the 11th round in real life" ever.

Draft day 2 Big Board

Coming into this morning, I'm making a few changes ot my big board, based on how the draft has gone. After thinking it through, I'm going to move Rhett Wiseman to the top of my board today, because of the hitters I'm after, he's in a tier of his own, and I see a lot of parallels between the rest of the pitchers. I'm going to move LeMoine up ahead of Garza, because the ceiling is higher, but in honesty, I'm hoping to end up with both.

Board going into today is as follows:

• Rhett Wiseman
• Jake Lemoine
• Justin Garza
• Elih Marrero
• Joe DeMers
• David Berg
• Riley Thompson
• Kyle Molnar
• Chandler Day
• Benton Moss
• Sutton Whiting
• Garret Cleavinger
• Ty Moore

Actual Draft Diary

This is the big board in action, done diary-style:

• Pick 1.1- Swanson- Makes sense. I like the pick.
• Pick 1.2- Bregman- As I said, I'm feeling good to not be the guy who ended up with Bregman
• Pick 1.9- Happ- Totally a Theo pick. Grrrr... I knew he wouldn't make it to 13. This is like in fantasy baseball when you hvae the one guy who always managed to grab your player about 2 picks earlier than you.
• Pick 1.13-Daz Cameron is on the board!!!!! My best player available in the draft made it. Sweet!

With Cameron falling to me, there is a chance I'm going to lean away from Aiello. I already have a high upside HS player out of this one, and I really like to balance things out. Right now, the perfect situation for me is something like Funkhouser or Kapriellian available at 41, Aiello falling to 51, and then a Garza/LeMoine/Wiseman trio in the 3rd, 4th and 5th rounds.

That would give me 2 high upside HS position players, a college OF, and three college pitchers. Fingers crossed at this point.

• Pick 1.16- There are no words to describe how much I hate that Kap. is going to the Yankees. Just... ugh.
• Pick 1.17- Well, we knew Aiken wouldn't last too long, and as expected, he didn't make it to a point where I was happy to go after him.
• Pick 1.18- Man, Brian Sabean is one of the smartest GM's available. In my fantasy league (it's a keeper league), Phil Bickford just became a target for me.

Around Pick 20, I'm starting to wonder if Daz's $ request is off the charts. I'm not alone:

Local mystery as draft unfurls, 6 spots from Detroit's pick: Will Tigers decide Daz Cameron is worth all the $$ that are causing his slide?

— Lynn G. Henning (@Lynn_Henning) June 9, 2015

Will report back if we hear something

• Pick 22- The Tigers didn't pick Cameron.. Given they're usual comfort with Scott Boras, I'm starting to feel like Daz Cameron will end up being an extra first round pick next year....
• Pick 24- Sad to see Buehler go off the board. At this point, I was starting to think (hope against home?) he'd be there at 41.
• Pick 31- Of course Brian Sabean picked up Shaw. Of course he did. Shaw and Bickford in the first round make it feel an awful lot like the Giants are going to have amazing letter grades when this is over and the pundits speak. Oh yeah, they're also going to have a new 1b of the future and a quality number 3 pitcher. In fact, I'd rather have the Giants draft going than the Astros draft (hashtag "early over reaction").
• Pick 33- Nolan Watson just went off the board, and now I'm 8 picks away from a really good situation for my draft... Fingers still crossed.
• At pick 35, I was walking around and singing (under my breath) "We Want the Funk, Gotta have the Funk." A little while ago, Brian Sabean was having the best possible draft... now, well, Andrew Friedman is (metaphorically) tapping me on the shoulder, point out that he landed 2 of my top 6 players, and I'm realizing that in picking the Padres, I have run into a buzzsaw of super smart GMs.

Pick 36 just went off the board, and now it's looking like, assuming nothing crazy, I'll end up with Daz Cameron and John Aiello as my first two picks. It's nothing if not high upside. It's problematic, especially given how unlikely it looks for Cameron to sign. I'm going to double down on Aiello, assuming he is there, with the hope I can sign one of these guys (would prefer both), and tomorrow's board will have to change to incorporate a few more safe bets and college guys.

Daz Cameron! Pick 37! Is there a deal in place? Does this mean he's going to sign? What just happened?

Pick 41 means I am ending up with Aiello. I mentioned it above as a scenario I wasn't hoping to have happen, but I'm going to stick to my board, and go with best player available.

Given how things are going, it feels like time to put together a more rounded approach to this draft, and I feel like I need to diversify my risk portfolio. If he is there at 51, I'm going to take Riley Ferrell, and then start fresh tomorrow with a revision to the draft board.

11:15- Ferrell is there, and it seems to make sense to end up with one guy who feel like a sure fire major leaguer at this point. I'm hoping he can provide a few solid seasons as a set up guy of closer. Real Padres select Austin Smith

• Pick 55- Cody once went off the board, and as we're closing in on the 3rd round, I'm feeling oddly OK without a case of buyer's remorse over grabbing the first reliever taken in the draft.
• Pick 65 came and went, and as of now, there needs to be some reordering on the big board, but I have 2 guys who have star potential, and a reliever, all in the first 75 picks in the draft.

Here are the actual results from my picks:

• Pick 13- Daz Cameron
• Pick 41- John Aiello
• Pick 51- Riley Ferrell
• Pick 87-

As a reminder, here is my big board.

• Daz Cameron-Pick 13
• Alex Bregman-
• Dansby Swanson-
• Walker Buehler-
• Ian Happ-
• Kyle Funkhouser-
• James Kapriellian-
• Chris Shaw-
• John Aiello-Pick 41
• Justin Garza
• Jake Lemoine
• Rhett Wiseman
• Elih Marrero
• Joe DeMers
• David Berg
• Riley Thompson
• Kyle Molnar
• Riley Ferrell Pick 51
• Chandler Day
• Benton Moss
• Sutton Whiting
• Garret Cleavinger
• Ty Moore
• Brady Aiken-

***There may be an edit or 2 after draft day 1 is over. It's to clean up speeling and grammer errors.

Shadow Padres Big Board

Coming into the draft, here is my big board:

• Daz Cameron- Mike Cameron has a spot on my all time favorite team, and if we assume his kid will be just a little bit better, he'a a perennial all start, going 15/15 or 20/20 every year while winning gold gloves. He's player I most want in this draft.
• Alex Bregman- I feel obligated to have Bregman high, because the ceiling is crazy. But, I don't know what he will become. Troy Glaus? Brandon Wood? I just don't know. With the 13th pick in the draft, I'm guessing he won't be available to me, and I'm sort of relieved about it.
• Dansby Swanson- He isn't going to be the next Derek Jeter, but he is going to be a very good hitter who plays a quality SS. Jhonny Peralta with a bit of a better glove?
• Walker Buehler- I'm a fan of a guy who starts out in the bullpen, earns his innings, and then dominates when he is supposed to do so. That's Buehler in a nutshell.
• Ian Happ- The best college hitter in this draft, and possibly the player I'm most hoping ends up on my roster.
• Kyle Funkhouser- Like Buehler, with a higher floor, but a lower ceiling
• James Kapriellian- More than a 9 K/9, right around 3:1 K/BB, a proven warrior. Sign me up
• Chris Shaw-Kyle Schwarber without the hype? A Northeast bat? Sign me up.
• John Aiello-This is my "out of whack pick," but here is a switch hitter who could end up somewhere between a Jed Lowrie and Carlos Beltran. I'm on board with reaching to make sure this guy ends up in my system
• Justin Garza-I'm probably higher on Garza than most, but if his downside is that of his brothers, that's one heck of a pitecher.
• Jake Lemoine- Lemoine was going to be a top 10 pick. He's had an awful season, making me think there s an injury issue. Like the Bluejays (Jeff Hoffman) or Nationals (Lucas Giolito), I have no problem picking up a player who's looking at TJ surgery
• Rhett Wiseman- WIseman would have been a Northeast bat I was all about previously (in fact, he was when I added him to my strat team). I'm hoping to pick up Wiseman
• Elih Marrero-His dad is one of my all time favs. This kid has some serious potential
• Joe DeMers- Potential for 3 above average pitches
• David Berg- When I wrote about my draft tiers, I discussed how I'll usually reach for a college reliever. His numbers are absurd.
• Riley Thompson-
• Kyle Molnar- Ground ball pitcher with some upside
• Riley Ferrell-
• Chandler Day-
• Benton Moss-College Senior with pinpoint control. He'll move quickly, but may top out as a long man in the pen (and that's OK).
• Sutton Whiting- Elite defense, very good speed. He's probably not a starter, but as a defensive sub in the Poor Man's Pokey Reese mold, I'm on board.
• Garret Cleavinger- I'm a sucker for a power LHRP later in the draft
• Ty Moore- He's a gamer who walked 30 times and struck out 19. The ~.430 OBP works for me.
• Brady Aiken-There is no way he slides until late... but if he is there in, for example, the 6th round, I'd have to move up and pick him up.

Shadow Padres Draft Picks

Based on the shadow offseason, I didn't lose my first round pick. Here are my picks, with the associated slot values:

Roound	Pick	$$ Value
1	13th	$2,962,100
1A	41st	$1,506,400
2	51st	$1,178,400
3	87th	$687,300
4	117th	$484,000
5	147th	$362,300
6	177th	$271,300
7	207th	$203,300
8	237th	$172,600
9	267th	$161,400
10	297th	$150,600
11	327th	$100,000

The total value I've got going into the draft is $8,139,700.

The Offseason

I meant for this series to be an entire exercise in showing off that I knew more than a major league GM. Since I waited so long to post an actual offseason... well... there is the opportunity for a TON of (unfair) hindsighting. As such, I'm only going to claim credit for moves I can prove I was going to make... which means moves I either made in my fantasy baseball league or my Strat league (after all... if it is actually written in the interweb's ink, it has to count, amirite?).

For starters, my Padres team isn't going to make any of the deals that AJ Preller made. He was bold, but I'm going to be reserved.

I have a team with quality pitching, and a few gaps on offense.

I need help on the left side of the infield, so as you can imagine.... I'm starting HERE.

Once I've got Jed Lowrie, I'm going to finish up the left side of the diamond, picking up Nori Aoki.*

The starting lineup vs RHP is:

• C- Grandal
• 1b- Alonso
• 2b- Gyorko
• 3b- Lowrie
• SS- Kang
• LF Aoki
• CF- Venable
• RF- Smith

It is lefty heavy, but that's OK. Based on the roster, there is also a very good chance that Cabrera could have bee the starter at SS or 2b, Lowrie at one of 3 spots, and well, there was versatility built in. Lots of it.

It is also a team that will need to carry at least 3 platoons.

A pair of them are in the OF, where Maybin is a RHH half of a platoon with Venable (and also a offence/defense portion/defensive sub).

Sean Rodriguez or Jeff Baker would have been ideal partners, but I can't prove that was my thinking, so I end up with a whole to fill.

In the IF, Alonso is an easy guy to platoon, but based on depth, a RHH needs to play multiple positions.

I need a bench, so that means:

• C- Austin Hedges
• CI-
• MI- Everth Cabrera
• OF- Cameron Maybin

On the pitching front:

I came into the season with:

• Andrew Cashner
• Ian Kennedy
• Tyson Ross
• Odrisimar Despagne
• EMPTY Spot

For my 5th starter, I love both the Josh Johnson signing and the Brandon Morrow signing, so both of those guys will be on my 40 man roster and/or in my minor league system.

In the bullpen:

I'm making the deal to add Shawn Kelley (He was on my strat team previously, and I'm a sucker for a BP arm with a high K rate). It means I have:

• Joaquin Benoit
• Dale Thayer
• Shawn Kelley
• Brandon Maurer
• Kevin Quackenbush
• Frank Garces
• LHP to be determined later (Note... I'm kind of a fan of WTF is his name....

In terms of players I want to have on my roster... I see a few gaps, so my minor league invites are:

• Jake Fox- can play all over the field, and hit HR's
• Jake Elmore- Literally players every position except catcher
• OF TBD- I wanted this to be Nolan Reimold, but he resigned with Baltimore, so I'll assume he wasn't an option
• SP- I love me some Casey kelly

*I said I wouldn't pick up a player I couldn't prove I was excited about... here is what my 3rd grade math teacher would call "showing my work":

• I blogged about Lowrie
• Aoki is on my fantasy team, signed to a 2 year deal.
• I drafted Kang in my Strat League.
• Everth Cabrera is on my fantasy team
• Jake Fox has been on my strat team for 2 years.
• Elmore was on my strat team last year.
• Casey Kelly is on my fantast team
• Nolan Reimold in on my fantasy team

There is more to come here in future years, but since the draft is coming up, I really felt like I needed to post this.