Earlier today, Brian Slack of BaseballHQ asked if I had posted a write-up about my TGFBI-winning team. I never really had the chance -- we were right into the magazine, which you can order here, by the way.
I thought I would take a little time on this lazy Sunday to look back at my draft and a full list of in-season transactions:
1.9 Giancarlo Stanton
2.22 J.D. Martinez
3.39 Christian Yelich
4.52 Aaron Nola
5.69 Jose Quintana
6.82 Xander Bogaerts
7.99 Trevor Story
8.112 Jose Berrios
9.129 Brad Hand
10.142 Manuel Margot
11.159 Kevin Kiermaier
12.172 Blake Treinen
13.189 Evan Longoria
14.202 Mike Clevinger
15.219 Jason Kipnis
16.232 Victor Robles
17.249 C.J. Cron
18.262 Wilson Ramos
19.279 Mallex Smith
20.292 Walker Buehler
21.309 Yoshihisa Hirano
22.322 Eduardo Rodriguez
23.339 Logan Forsythe
24.352 Jack Flaherty
25.369 Keone Kela
26.382 Andrew Toles
27.399 Albert Almora
28.412 Dominic Leone
MARCH 25
Add: Jose Pirela ($71)
Drop: Andrew Toles
APRIL 8
Add: Keynan Middleton ($132)
Drop: Dominic Leone
Add: Christian Villanueva ($51)
Add: Howie Kendrick ($31)
Drop: Albert Almora
Add: Robert Gsellman ($5)
Drop: Yoshihisa Hirano
APRIL 15
Add: Teoscar Hernandez ($32)
Add: Wilmer Flores ($16)
Add: Drew Steckenrider ($6)
APRIL 22
Add: Mike Soroka ($52)
Drop: Victor Robles
APRIL 29
Add: Alex Verdugo ($54)
Drop: Jason Kipnis
Drop: Robert Gsellman
Drop: Wilmer Flores
MAY 6
Add: Christin Stewart ($1)
MAY 13
Add: Freddy Peralta ($119)
Drop: Alex Verdugo
MAY 20
Add: Seranthony Dominguez ($120)
Drop: Keynan Middleton
Add: Eloy Jimenez ($0)
Drop: Drew Steckenrider
MAY 27
Add: Willy Adames ($98)
Drop: Freddy Peralta
JUNE 11
Drop: Christin Stewart
JUNE 17
Add: Cory Spangenberg ($22)
Add: Christin Stewart ($12)
Drop: Eloy Jimenez
JUNE 24
Add: Freddy Peralta ($42)
Drop: Keynan Middleton
JULY 1
Add: Jose Bautista ($12)
Drop: Christin Stewart
JULY 8
Add: Niko Goodrum ($4)
Drop: Logan Forsythe
JULY 9
Drop: Jose Pirela
JULY 22
Add: Jonathan Lucroy ($2)
JULY 30
Drop: Cory Spangenberg
AUGUST 5
Add: Trevor Richards ($36)
Drop: Keone Kela
AUGUST 12
Add: Anthony Desclafani ($3)
AUGUST 19
Add: Rich Hill ($71)
Drop: Christian Villanueva
AUGUST 20
Drop: Jonathan Lucroy
AUGUST 26
Add: Matt Holliday ($4)
AUGUST 27
Drop: Niko Goodrum
SEPTEMBER 3
Drop: Freddy Peralta
That's it. There weren't many impact pickups, and in fact some of those are pretty embarrassing, but I got windows of worthwhile contributions from Teoscar Hernandez, Christian Villanueva and Seranthony Dominguez early on, and later from Niko Goodrum, Rich Hill and Trevor Richards.
I guess my biggest takeaway here is that I should continue loading up on offense early because my strength as a fantasy player is finding value on the pitching side. I got an ace starter (Nola) and an ace reliever (Treinen) at non-ace costs, and tons of profit from Clevinger, Buehler, Rodriguez and Flaherty.
Hoard talent. Gamble on high-upside players late in the draft, with more weight on talent against context. Not every pick is going to be a winner, but the overall body of work is what matters (think of that Margot-Kiermaier 10-11 stretch as just a two-week slump in a six-month season).