My twelfth chance to compete in the League of Alternative Baseball Reality was an online experience. The software experience worked well, but the timer to nominate pick was too long (one minute), leading to a six-hour event. So it’s time to reflect over the American League roster and give some insight on my decisions within the auction and the pre-game prep work.
Foundation Game Plan
Heading into this year’s LABR AL auction, my plan targeted many young players with upside. I wanted to make sure I had enough speed leaving the draft table while also securing strength at the front of my starting rotation. On my cheat sheet, I had SS Bobby Witt and SS Wander Franco both listed for $24, and Javier Baez was the target at second base for $28.
I had an open plan for saves while expecting to build my starting rotation on this group of arms: Shane Bieber, Alex Manoah, Chris Sale, Justin Verlander, Logan Gilbert, and Cristian Javier. I went into the auction with an open mind of Bieber bouncing back with a healthy season if his price made sense. Chris Sale was my initial target as my ace, and Alex Manoah and Logan Gilbert were on high alert when they came out.
MORE: Full LABR AL-only auction results
Auction Opening Players
The first player called out was 3B Jose Ramirez, who went for $42 to Bret Sayre of Baseball Prospectus. Larry Schechter secured Liam Hendriks ($26) with the next player on the table, followed by SS Bo Bichette ($37) to the Colton/Wolf team.
Here’s a look at the other top players at each position and their values:
C Salvador Perez ($23)
1B Vladimir Guerrero ($40)
2B Whit Merrifield ($31)
OF Kyle Tucker ($38), OF Luis Robert ($35)
SP Gerrit Cole ($37)SP/DH Shohei Ohtani ($31)
As expected, I called out SS Bobby Witt (11th player) on my first nomination. I wanted to know his level of interest and how much he could cost me. I picked him up for $20, which was $4 lower than my breakpoint.
The first call in the second round of action was SP Shane Bieber. After missing the second half of 2021 and no injury updates over the winter, I wasn’t sure if anyone would pay over $30. The bidding was slow in the mid-20s, so I pushed to win him for $28.
Six players later, someone called out SS Wander Franco. He drew more interest, and the NFBC team (Greg Ambrosius and I) went the extra dollar to secure him for $28. I viewed it as saving $4 on Witt, putting us even par for our first two bats.
The Colton/Wolf team tried to slide SP Grayson Rodriguez through for short money, but I made two overbids to roster him for $4. I expect him to pitch four months in the majors, and he is the top pitching prospect in baseball. It was also nice for the Orioles to move back the outfield fences before his arrival.
On my third nomination, I threw Spencer Torkelson on the mat. I love his approach and upside while expecting him to be in the starting lineup for the Tigers on opening day. With no playing time news, I was able to sneak him through for $8.
At this point, I was content to see how the player inventory unfolded. I pushed for SP Alex Manoah, but I had to let him go for $21 to James Anderson of Rotowire. My thought after rostering Bieber was that I would target Logan Gilbert as my SP2 while paying attention to Chris Sale (he went for $24 in the second round of calls to Steve Gardner of USA Today).
In the fifth round of nominations, I picked SP Triston McKenzie ($10) and 3B Alex Bregman ($23). McKenzie was challenging to hit last year (.194 BAA), but he battled the velocity of his fastball and command. With more strikes thrown (something he did in the minor), his arm has ace upside. Bregman offered an excellent major league bat at a discount.
After bowing out on Logan Gilbert ($14 to Jason Collette of Fangraphs), we gave SP Justin Verlander a ride for $20. At the very least, he should provide plenty of innings to support the front end of our pitching staff.
The catching pool in AL-only leagues looked thin, leading to the investment of two young, unproven bats – Adley Rutschman ($9) and MJ Melendez ($2). Unfortunately, Rutschman should start the year at AAA, creating a potential void in our plan.
In the seventh round of calls, I decided to throw 2B Javier Baez on the mat to see how much he would cost. There was plenty of fight, and Todd Zola made a $2 jump from $27 to $29, but I pushed the extra dollar to land him for $30. In the end. He cost $2 more than expected in my pricing.
Over the next seven rounds, the only players of interest called out were Jarred Kelenic ($18) and Cristian Javier ($7). At this point in the auction, I thought I needed to roster three outfielders for about $50. Kelenic was the top target due to his ability to add power and speed. I was willing to spend $20 on him. Javier was another arm who was tough to hit (.186 BAA) that offered a high ceiling with better command and a starting job.
After watching 55 players come off the table, we gained an edge in remaining money. In the 15th round, I secured my second and third outfielders – Ramon Laureano ($12) and Andrew Vaughn ($12). Laureano adds a balanced skill set, but he was discounted because he missed the first 27 games of the year (failed PED test). I expect Vaughn to be much better in his second season with the White Sox.
The goal for filling the backend of the roster was to bid on upside players at a discount: SP Casey Mize ($5), Luis Severino ($9), OF Josh Lowe ($3), Ken Giles ($5), and OF Edward Olivares
Full Roster
The end game of this auction went relatively smooth, except for the corner position and DH. I settled on SS Elvis Andrus ($1) at DH for potential at-bats only. 3B Jake Burger ($1) is a decent bat, but he doesn’t have a clear path to starting at-bats.
Overall Hitters
My offense is exceptionally young, and my success relies on multiple players hitting the ground running. I expect to be competitive in steals, but it looks as though I’ll need to trade pitching for power at some point in the season. On a side note, if any of the top 12 free agents sign in the American League, there will be an open auction before the season using our free agent budgets ($100).
Overall Pitchers
My pitching staff should rank highly in wins, ERA, WHIP, and strikeouts. I’ll need to massage saves. If Ken Giles locks down the closing job for the Mariners, it gives us a chance to be competitive in saves out of the gate. With success by the backend of the pitching staff, trading a starter for a closer should be an easy transition.
Final Thoughts
It would have been much more difficult to roster some of my young players with uncertain playing time with a typical offseason. I expect to be in the hunt for the AL league title. The first goal is getting major league baseball and the players on the same page for a new deal. For a look at all my research for all 32 teams, here are the links for each team (see links below).
Here are the full auction results from Friday night.
