We all make bold calls at the beginning of season. The preseason stats, last seasons stats, the projected stats; everybody has their own way of making sure the science adds up, and the math checks out. Then, the draft begins, and with it comes some obvious moves, and some not-so-obvious moves. Some people seem to reach more than others. Others wait much too long. Choruses of shit/fuck/balls rain down as each turn of the snake brings with it even less options than before.
Anyway, here are some of the calls I got right, and some of the calls I got horribly wrong; using Oilers draft picks to categorize the severity of rightness and wrongness.
The McDavids
These are players that ended up performing better than expected. Now, I know everybody thinks McDavid was already hyped up the ass when he came into the league, but nobody thought he would top Crosby this quickly.
Jose Ramirez was a steal for me in the 8th round. Since we play in a keeper league, most of the stud 3B had been taken already. He’s on pace to crush the numbers he put up last year. He could go 35/20! His multiple position eligibility (3B, 2B, OF on ESPN) has also been a life saver, as it seems like this is the year of the puss-puss DL stint. Yes, that is how I feel about the 10-day disabled list.
Current: .332/62/17/48/10
Last Season: .312/84/11/76/10
Carlos Correa has been on my team since his 2015 promotion. Before you call me out for adding him to this list, Correa was ranked outside the top 10 for shortstops at the end of last season. I was seriously considering gambling on a less shiny piece at SS, but I’m glad I didn’t. He’s already matched his dong total from last year! The only thing that bothers me is his complete lack of steals. It kind of makes sense though; when your offense is churning out that many runs a game, it seems stupid to risk your 3/4 hitter getting gunned down.
Current: .325/62/20/65/0
Last Season: .274/76/20/96/13
Dallas Keuchel has a fastball that barely hits 90. Pitchers with low velocity usually get dick slapped after teams have seen enough of their stuff, but so far Keuchel has proven otherwise. As an Astros fan I wanted to draft him at a deep discount this season, but I waited too long. I have no idea how long he will keep that sub-2.00 ERA.
Current: 9-0/69/1.67/0.87
Last Season: 9-12/144/4.55/1.29
Jacob Faria is pitching out of his ass, and I hope he’s got enough shit to last the whole season.
Current: 4-0/0/37/2.11/0.97
Last Season: He was still an infant
The Halls
What you see is what you get. Like they worked out, but you would probably move them to free up some cap space or something.
Kenley Jansen/Aroldis Chapman/Craig Kimbrel are perennial save kings and while it is awesome to have them on your roster, it would probably be worth it to upgrade at other positions. I’m not going to list their stats, but they are video game-esque as usual.
Billy Hamilton is fast. He’s “doesn’t-even-wear-Oakley’s-but-he-could-beat-me-in-a-race” fast. But that’s about it. If you’re playing roto he could win steals for you by himself, but he kinda sucks everywhere else. Would love to see him race against the Freeze in Atlanta though.
Current: .242/54/2/23/38
Last Season: .260/69/3/17/58
J.D. Martinez was injured to begin the season, but I drafted him anyway. J.D. isn’t even a real name, but I drafted him anyway. I just googled it, and his name is Julio Daniel. Could see him hitting 35 bombs by season’s end. Could see a lot of guys hitting 35 bombs by season’s end…
Current: .299/36/14/32/1
Last Season: .307/69/22/68/1
The Yakupovs
These guys suck haha.
Masahiro Tanaka was the second pitcher I grabbed in the draft. I think he’s playing through injury or something; like he’ll grab 10 K’s but somehow end up with 5 earned runs. No idea why the Yanks keep starting him when they could easily let him recover in the minors. Finally dropped him, so I hope he keeps shitting the bed.
Current: 7-8/103/5.47/1.37
Last Season: 14-4/165/3.07/1.08
Adrian Gonzalez is probably still alright at baseball, but I don’t think anyone wants him back. Bellinger was the one that got away from me on the waiver wire this year. I cry evrytim.
Current: .255/9/1/23/0
Last Season: .285/69/18/90/0
Miguel Cabrera might come back, but I bet he doesn’t. He was starting to heat up before the break, but I really doubt the power comes back. It’s a really sad day when you have to bury a guy that won a triple-crown. RIP Miggy.
Current: .264/31/11/41/0
Last Season: .316/92/38/108/0
The Toronto Blue Jays
Bonus Tracks
Guys that I thought would be shitty, that ended up being shitty
- Rick Porcello
- Pujols, but he’s old balls so that’s okay
- Felix Hernandez
- The Philadelphia Phillies
These guys fuck, but I didn’t think they would
- Aaron Judge
- Eric Thames in the first couple months
- Marcell Ozuna
- The NL West
