Favorite draft steals outside of the top 250 picks in Tout Wars

Look, this isn’t going to be one of those insecure, smug, navel-gazing examinations of a fantasy industry blueprint. I’m not asking for your approval of my Tout Wars list; I already know it was a triumph of game theory and modern design principles. In fact, many say it’s the largest collection of human talent ever assembled for a virtual purpose (in a 5X5 OBP format).

If this team ever fails, it’s because the actual MLB players conspired against me. My process was flawless.

I opened with a classic Shandlers Gambit — Julio Rodriguez, Peter Alonso, Jose Altuve, Corey Seeger– before switching to a modified Erickson-Zola defense – Gunnar Henderson, Yu Darwish, Christian Javier, Max Muncy – at this point the room just couldn’t recover. it was over Several participants respectfully relented. The design became the crowning glory.

[Batter up: Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Baseball league for free today]

But again, I didn’t come here for positive reinforcement. don’t need it Obviously I’ve built a badass fantasy team. An ambitious roster, really.

Let’s not agonize over pick-by-pick analysis when nothing about the squad can reasonably be criticized. Instead, we’re here to focus on the endgame, beyond the top 250 picks. I’d like to highlight five late-round Tout selections (all mine, of course) that deserve attention in deeply mixed leagues…

Moncada is one of the game’s more obvious bounce-back candidates for a variety of reasons. First of all, he played through injury early last season after suffering a slant in late spring training, a problem that contributed in no small part to his disappointing performance. The switch-hitter was absolutely brutal from the left (.204/.257/.325) last year – unusual by his career standards – and he was particularly ineffective when pushed against (.233 wOBA), as he did in 78.3 percent of the Cases in point was his left plate appearances. So he’s a clear beneficiary of the new rules in terms of defensive shifting. Moncada is also a 27-year-old player who already has a season with 25 homers and .915 OPS under his belt.

The story goes on

Just two years ago he bottomed out at a .375 clip. That’s not a guy we should write off just yet.

I’ll consider the possibility that I streamed Lauer at the right times last season, which inflates his true talent level in my mind. He’s beat his expected ERA in each of the last two years, which is reason enough for people panicking about the regression to put his name on the do-not-draft list. Let’s just remember that Lauer excels when he rolls:

He ended 2022 with consecutive scoreless starts, conceding just one hit over 11.0 innings and striking 16. In April, he had a 13K performance against the Phillies followed by an 11K performance against the Phillies boys. Lauer’s K/9 over the past two seasons is 8.9, which is exactly what you should be looking for if you play in a league with an innings maximum (which Tout doesn’t have, but every public Yahoo league does).

It sounds like Abrams might just be a member of the Best Shape of His Life club That spring, at the age of 21, he had endured a mostly (but not entirely) disappointing debut season. He essentially lived on base in the minors (career .331/.385/.511) and he went 42-for-54 on stolen base tries in 114 lower-level games. Abraham is definitive will run in the much friendlier base stealing environment this year. If he competes for the Nationals this season (which seems likely), he can make an elite contribution in a category and also be a respectable source of runs.

In 2023, the season he turns 37, you may never make a draft pick as unsexy as Blackmon. Nobody will fight you for an old outfielder with only modest strength. Please note that according to Sports Info Solutions, Blackmon was one of the most robbed players by the shift last season. Blackmons Slugging and Average can both increase in the coming year. Also, we still like players who score their home goals at Coors, at or near the top of the lineup.

Baty absolutely wore pitchers down in the high minors last season, smashing .315/.410/.533 with 19 bombs in 95 games. He also got off to a brilliant start this spring, forcing his way into the opening-day roster call. At 23, he’s one of baseball’s best players and doesn’t have much to prove to the underage players. Even if Eduardo Escobar starts the season third for the Mets, only so long can he hold off the rookie.

As of this writing, Baty is +1500 to become NL Rookie of the Year at BetMGM, just for the record. It is an extremely rewarding prospect with significant upside potential.