Before I get into the team though, I just want to thank Greg and Tom for being great hosts out in Vegas. I loved meeting the new faces and some that I met for the first time last year. It can be kind of overwhelming at first to mesh into all the baseball geeks like yourself, but once you get over not being the smartest person in the room (Texas Bias I’m sure), it really is an amazing experience. Especially when the geeks take over a Penthouse Suite on top of the Bellagio at the MTM Party. What a blast Mikey. Was great meeting you and talking with some of the greatest minds in all of fantasy baseball like Lemke and Potts.
It was good to see Macey (fellow Houstonian who was in both my mains), Scott (almost the same last name Waggener) who I met last year and liken myself to in this huge landscape we call fantasy baseball, Zola, last year’s champ Glenn (Thanks for the drinks champ!), Lowy, Jupinka, and finally getting to see the man behind the Gekko board name. Was fun to lose my money early in the week to Stadts and KJ during a draft to see the over/under on where guys would get picked in a Super (I’m sure Greg wasn’t annoyed at all with this during his facilitation!). Finally, was good to see Yah Mule, Childs, Wayne (my fellow blogger) and Pausma (who seemed like he was in every draft of mine- thanks for giving me Correa in that OC Friday!). I’m sure there are many more I missed but my music is playing and I can’t be one of those people that rambles on like they do at the Oscars every year.
So let’s get to the Wags Warriors Main Event Team (Sorry to those who thought I would talk about the Plat, but I really do think Jupinka would kill me.) I drafted this team in Las Vegas Saturday and will track this team all year through the ups and downs. This league had the likes of Chris Liss, Bill Macey, Norred, Stadts, Gekko, and Baseball Furies, among others. I had the 5th pick in this draft, which was my first choice. I'll let you guess why in a minute. So here we go.
Round 1- SS Carlos Correa- When I talked to Vogel before the draft, we both had the same pick, and shockingly only one of us got him. He did have a great quote I wish now I should have used, but was too chicken- "You can put it on the board!!!!!! Carlos Correa!" Yes I am happy to be a proud owner of Correa this year, and no Lowy, it isn't just because I live in Houston. I really do think he will bring a huge edge at SS this year and gives me across the board production.
Round 2- C/1B Buster Posey- The original plan here was to go P-P, but SP went early and often more so than usual for me. So I decided to zig early and take another huge edge at a hard position. My thought process at this time was to grab one of the last aces on the way back, but I was happy to get two huge edges at two bad positons through the first two picks.
Round 3- OF JD Martinez- Well when pitching flew off the board at the end of the second, I decided right then and there I was moving to my plan B of fading pitching all-together. JD has a better lineup in front of him and while last year I faded him, he is the real deal. Yes, I know he is an ex-Astro, but grabbing a power OF here was ideal with what I was going to try and do for the rest of the draft.
Round 4- OF Adam Jones- I wanted Wainwright here, but when he went a pick before me, it was time to fade again. Adam Jones was a first rounder last year, and I don't think he has changed at all from who he has been all these years. Great hitters park with a great lineup around him, I feel like he will be back up to the 1-2 round in next years draft.
Round 5- P Wade Davis- If you are going to fade pitching, you can't fade closers as well. More on that later. With two of the top closers going on the turn, I decided to jump in on Davis, as the second tier closers have been going a round later and Id rather have a top one than a second tier one a round later. Great bullpen and great team, will get me a ton of saves this year.
Round 6- P Marcus Stroman- Here is another guy I am all-in on this year. I am fine with him as the ace of my staff. He had a great outing last night and I'm hoping he can roll like that the rest of the year. He was my target for this round when I decided to somewhat fade pitching as I liked the middle round pitchers a lot this year.
Round 7- 3B Kyle Seager-Another guy I'm high on at a position that drops off quickly. I wanted to grab a 3B early and he fits the bill as he will either bat 5th or 2nd most of the year. I was glad to get him as he fits my offense perfectly since I'm fading pitching.
Round 8- OF Adam Eaton-While the second and third tier closers were going here already, I needed some speed that wasn't a pure Judy. I think Eaton can grab me 30 steals this year and help get me stats across the board in that lineup up in Chi-town.
Round 9- P Masahiro Tanaka-This was where I wanted to fade to if I decided to go to plan B. Tanaka pitches like an ace, and while he has that shoulder that could fall off at any time, he seems like a gamer that is willing to pitch through anything. I know I'm taking a huge risk here, but I planned this team to either go for first or dead last. He fits the bill as he could be a monster if he ever pitched 200IP.
Round 10- P Jake Odorizzi-While anyone with a pulse continued to go at closer, I decided maybe, just maybe, I could decide to zig again and fade closers and still be able to grab a good SP collection to compete. Odorizzi has breakout potential all over him and with this team I need him to realize it and come to fruition. If he does, watch out!
Round 11- OF Kole Calhoun-After eating my steak at the break, I decided I had to keep pushing hitting to maintain my edge there. I almost went with Joc Pederson here but decided to go with Zola's guy instead of Childs' guy. I think Calhoun has the higher floor and needed a guy that could deliver for this team, rather than another home run pick.
Round 12- OF Byron Buxton-I took him last year, and no way was I going to let him have a great year without me. Worst case, I really needed speed with this team going all-in on the batting side, and if he does break out, will love owning him at this pick.
Round 13- P Hisashi Iwakuma-I actually was thinking of taking him in round 11 as I already had Tanaka, but I couldn't pass on him anymore. Just like Tanaka, if he can deliver 180-200 IP, he is exactly what this team needs since I decided to fade pitching. Like I said earlier, this team is either last or first depending on if it can stay healthy or not. I know it is a huge IF, but in the main event, you have to take chances somewhere.
Round 14- 1B Mark Teixeira-I guarded my batting average early for this reason. I knew another injury-prone guy would be available to me. I love his power and he is another guy that if he can stay healthy for an entire season, could be a monster in Yankee Stadium. I'm starting to detect a theme here with this team...
Round 15- 2B/3B/OF Josh Harrison-I wanted a 2B with speed and like Harrison to bounce back on top of the Pirates lineup, which I think is very good this year, even in that ballpark. His multi-positional eligibility is a plus as well when it comes to trying to tinker lineups around injuries or matchups.
Round 16- P Mike Leake-Looking back, I probably should have grabbed Colome here but thought I could fade him one more round. Then Hoover went and I was left holding my... well you know, next round. I wanted to grab Leake though as St. Louis always becomes a haven for pitchers with good control. I think he even can get his strikeouts up to 140 or so and give me some wins and a great whip as the guys that I already grabbed are those types of guys.
Round 17- UTIL Evan Gattis-After the closers went, I decided to take another chance here. I like Gattis in the middle of the order as a power bat once he gets back from his injury in the spring which will only be the first two weeks. I also think he has a small chance to gain catcher eligibility by the all-star break as Hinch has said that he wouldn't mind Gattis becoming a personal catcher as the Astros have nobody as their backup catcher. That would be a huge get then.
Round 18- P Andrew Cashner-Surprisingly, only 1 pitcher went in between round 17 and round 18 picks. Cashner was a guy everyone was high on last year and this year not so much. Before last year, he was a fine pitcher and is in a pitcher park. He said he found what he was doing wrong in the offseason, so I'm believing him and hoping he can return to form.
Round 19- 1B AJ Reed-I wanted Grilli here, but he went the pick before me. So much for not fading closers with pitching.
As for Reed, I think he will be up soon enough, if not by the Super 2 deadline and be this year's version of the amazing talent from the Astros farm system. He will have to sit on the bench, but I have no qualms burning a pot for him for the first month or so. 
Round 20- 2B/SS Chris Owings-Honestly was hoping to get Aaron Sanchez here, but he was taken so decided to grab some more speed for this club. I read before the draft that Owings would get the first shot in CF from the Pollock fallout, so wanted to grab a guy that would play full time in a good park and has some speed to help me out.
Round 21- P Phil Hughes- I know many are down on him for his HR/9 issue and his MPH on his fastball are down, but I think he can bounce back. This was a guy that was huge for me two years ago, so I thought it was only right to give him another chance for my team to see if he can come back and give me same dark magic.
Round 22- P Ryan Madson-I couldn't take the chance to fade anymore. I love Madson this year to steal the job from Doolittle sooner than later. I still think Doolittle is hurt from his fastball being way down and his spring training news. Madson easily could be a dominate guy for a scrappy A's team.
Round 23- P Drew Storen-This is one of those picks that I am so mad about. I picked Storen out of spite than taking Gregerson here, as I committed to Storen early and often during the spring drafts. I still think he has a chance to steal it if Osuna has trouble, but Gregerson should have been the pick since I had been saying all spring he would close. Would have really gotten this team over the hump and been the pick to make it a contender early without playing the FAAB game. I just thought I could get Gregerson one round later, and I was wrong, which may have just cost me some money.
Round 24- SS Jimmy Rollins-Here was a guy I was high on as a later pick this spring. I loved that he wanted to earn a staring job rather than get a guarantee for a backup role. He did well during the spring, which I rarely look at, but when a guy like this places a bet on himself, I take notice and willing to do the same.
Round 25- 1B Joe Mauer-I'm fine grabbing a number 3 hitter for the first month or so while I wait for Reed to come up. Was a perfect fit for this team. Would also be amazing if he put the catchers hat on early on in the season once in awhile. I know, we can all dream can't we?
Round 26- P Jake Peavy-Another guy that easily can be a spot starter at home or in pitcher parks. He still has that gamer in him and for a guy being a 6-8 starter, he will be just fine in a matchups game for me.
Round 27- P Joaquin Benoit-If you remembered from last year, I took Benoit the day before Kimbrel got traded and took the job from him. At this point, I think he owes me one for stealing the job from another guy. Since I faded closers, I had to take some lottery tickets late to save some FAAB money.
Round 28- C Hank Conger-Another guy I saw right before the draft, should get the lions share of AB in TB. He has some pop and with Posey locked up at my other C spot, I just need Conger to play more than 50% of the time to be useful for me. Plus he was my favorite robot in the Astros dugout last year after a home run. That counts for something, right?
Round 29- P Jeff Locke- Full disclosure here, I knew I wanted some pitching depth to play pitching matchups so I decided to go with a Lemke guy since he knows how to pick those late starters after he gets done bullying hitting.
Round 30- Martin Perez-Another pitcher who could bounce back or be my first drop. He has two starts the first week, so we will see if he can come back to form early on.
So there it is boys and girls. The first place team overall or the 450th team.. Hopefully it wont be the ladder. You tell me, where did I mess up? Where did I go right? Like the team or hate it?
In the meantime, baseball was being played and just like my week, seemed like it went to quickly, and while it had some ups, it definitely was as dead as me during the week. So let's get to this past week baseball-wise, since I'm already late posting about it.
And Glenn, JB is awesome, but I do have a gofundme account set up for paying for my psychiatric services if you are interested in footing the bill… In all seriousness though, it was great getting to hang out with you, Glenn, and Steve for a few drinks, as it has become one of the highlights of my trips every year now. 
