I post polls frequently on Twitter. Maybe you follow me on Twitter (@BaseballGuys) but missed them. Maybe you never got into the Twitter thing. Regardless of your Twitter exposure, I thought it would be a good idea to put all the polls in one spot in a free article. So, in what follows, we will take a look at topics such as using ADP, how many pitchers are ideal in the first 10 rounds, what is more important the draft or in-season management and more. This is what you thought.
WHAT IS MORE IMORTANT, THE DRAFT OR IN-SEASON MANAGEMENT?
Jeff Mans and I have had a long running debate about this, something that was heard recently on the Elite Sports Show (2-4 PM EST, M-F on Sirius 210, XM 87, on the SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio). He thinks that it’s more about in-season than the draft. I’m a little more on the ‘draft means more’ side, but to discount the in-season management part would be a massive mistake (check out my podcast on the topic). It’s interesting to me to see such a huge number in this vote for in-season management, yet folks still LOVE to bash draft boards of people which seems like an extremely odd disconnect.
DO YOU TRY HARDER WHEN YOU PLAY IN A MONEY LEAGUE?
Clearly people try harder when $ is involved. My frequent question to respondents the day this ran was ‘why are you doing free leagues if you don’t really care?’ Frequently I heard that folks use free leagues for practice, which obviously isn’t far for those people playing free leagues who really do care. My position? If you aren’t going to give 100 percent don’t do the league, period, end of story.
HOW MUCH DO YOU LOOK TOWARD ADP WHEN DRAFTING?
I really want to believe the results here, but it sure seems to me that (A) folks follow ADP closely and (B) many are afraid to deviate from ADP for fear that they are doing something wrong. Just because “everyone” believes something doesn’t make it so. Remember that. For more on ADP check out the podcast titled How to Rank Players Properly.
HOW MANY ROUNDS DO YOU CONSIDER JUMPING ADP BY?
Northing is going to stop someone when they want to get their guy. I get the sentiment, and don’t have an issue with it. I do find it surprising that the winner was 31 or more picks, which is basically three rounds ahead of ADP.
HOW MANY PITCHERS ARE IDEAL IN THE FIRST 10 ROUNDS OF A DRAFT?
Over half the respondents said three, and I can appreciate that. It’s not really fair to ask this question on Twitter since there is precious little context given here. How many teams are in the league? How many pitchers start in your lineup each week etc. Still, I was hearted to see that less than 30 percent of the respondents went rogue and said two or five. I discussed the ideal draft in this podcast.
HOW WILL YOU HANDLE THE STOLEN BASE THIS SEASON?
Nearly a third of the replies game back with ignore. I get not wanting to pile up a roster with the likes of Mallex Smith and Jarrod Dyson, but punting a category on draft day really isn’t a wise strategy.
HOW MANY OUTFIELDERS START IN YOUR LEAGUE?
The response to this topic were all over the map. Some folks seemed shocked to think that any league would ever use five outfielders, even though it has been the industry standard for decade. The other group, those that used five, seemed to regard any league that merely uses three as something out of a fictional story made into a television movie for Nickelodeon. Gotta say, I’m shocked/not shocked, that three outfielders led the way. I personally think that is a super simple/boring and really helps to devalue a draft because you just aren’t getting enough player pool penetration. In essence, your draft doesn’t mean a hell of a lot. Still, you gotta play what works for you, so if you are in that group don’t feel bad, though I would send a gentle nudge to consider expanding your setup.
WHICH HITTER ARE YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT?
I gave four options, and of course, everyone commented on 23 other guys not listed. Interesting here that each man got a good deal of votes. I would say that the player I’m least excited about is the guy who go the most votes.
WHICH PITCHER ARE YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT?
Paddack at the top I get, and the voting was extremely close with Giolito. Very interesting to me that they both doubled the vote percentage of Darvish given that (A) Darvish has a much longer record of success in the bigs, (B) that he pitches for the Cubs and (C) that he was dominant in the second half last season (.254 wOBA, .199 BAA, 2.76 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 13.0 K/9). Oh, for my thoughts on Sale see his Player Profile.
WHICH HITTER ARE YOU MOST WORRIED ABOUT?
Wong had barely half the votes of Smith? I can only assume that those of you who voted are worried Smith could lose playing time, because even when he stunk last season, he still led baseball in steals last season. Folks, there were only 14 players who stole even half as many bases as Smith last season.
WHICH PITCHER ARE YOU MOST WORRIED ABOUT?
Kluber has age on the group, and he was a mess last season cause of injury. I’m not at all surprised he led the list. I am surprised at the percentage league though. Severino threw three games last season, Carrasco will be 33 in March and suffered from leukemia last year, and Bauer has one season in eight years with an ERA below 4.15 and just one season with a WHIP under 1.25.
WHICH PLAYER WOULD YOU NOT DRAFT?
Recency bias perhaps? I admit this is a tough list, and the voting was extremely close, but the answer was really Machado? You know, the guy who qualifies at third base and shortstop this season. You know, the guy who is only 27 years old who has appeared in 156 games in each of the last five years. You know, the guy who has averaged .279-35-94-91-10 the last five years. Interesting.
WHICH PITCHER WOULD YOU NOT DRAFT?
I admit to being shocked that folks would rather avoid Bumgarner than Carrasco and Kluber. Shocked. People love to play the game of what could be versus what is. Don’t forget, that Kluber was the pitcher above who won the Most Worried About vote, so you’re even more worried about MadBum? Hope you all read Bumgarner’s Player Profile.
IF YOU COULD DRAFT ONE ROOKIE IT WOULD BE?
Robert has holes, but he also has that fantasy friendly game (you will get no argument there). The White Sox signed him to that big contract removing concerns about arbitration, so it’s certainly possible he opens the year in the bigs. For more, see my Rookie Report.
