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An Atlanta Braves fan’s fantasy baseball dilemma: battling ourselves

By Alan Carpenter

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL - DECEMBER 06: In this handout image provided by Disney Parks, fireworks and confetti fly at Cinderella Castle during the Grand Opening of New Fantasyland at Walt Disney World Resort December 6, 2012 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Actress Ginnifer Goodwin, Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Tom Staggs, singer Jordin Sparks and Mickey Mouse joined dozens of Disney characters on Cinderella Castle stage to celebrate the opening. New Fantasyland is a new area in the Magic Kingdom and is the largest expansion in the 41-year history of the theme park. (Photo by Kent Phillips/Disney Parks via Getty Images)
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL - DECEMBER 06: In this handout image provided by Disney Parks, fireworks and confetti fly at Cinderella Castle during the Grand Opening of New Fantasyland at Walt Disney World Resort December 6, 2012 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Actress Ginnifer Goodwin, Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Tom Staggs, singer Jordin Sparks and Mickey Mouse joined dozens of Disney characters on Cinderella Castle stage to celebrate the opening. New Fantasyland is a new area in the Magic Kingdom and is the largest expansion in the 41-year history of the theme park. (Photo by Kent Phillips/Disney Parks via Getty Images) /
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KAPOHO, HI – Lava erupts and flows from a Kilauea volcano fissure on Hawaii’s Big Island on May 18, 2018 in Kapoho, Hawaii. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
KAPOHO, HI – Lava erupts and flows from a Kilauea volcano fissure on Hawaii’s Big Island on May 18, 2018 in Kapoho, Hawaii. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) /

Who’s Hot

There’s no way to discuss 22 picks here, but let’s take a quick gander at some Round 1 options, otherwise known as ‘the best in baseball’.

On ESPN’s board, here’s the way their drafts are trending at the moment this is written (top twelve players):

On yahoo’s site, their fantasy players have a slightly different order:

  • Acuna
  • Trout
  • Yelich
  • Bellinger
  • Betts
  • Cole
  • Lindor
  • deGrom
  • Arenado
  • Trevor Story (17th on ESPN)
  • Trea Turner (14th on ESPN)
  • Verlander

Interesting… Lindor is 7th on both lists.  Guess I oughta consider that.

In case you’re curious, Freddie Freeman is 15th on ESPN and 18th on yahoo. I have this inkling that among Braves fans, he won’t last that long on our draft sheets.

In fact… among our crew, the question I have is this for Freeman:  how high will he be taken?

Who’s #1?

There’s an easy reason to figure why Acuna is such a good bet for a top draft spot: he’s going to consistently fill up all of the numbers for hitters, which should give you a fighting chance for every head-to-head weekly contest.

If I had this problem (drafting first), I would also rank Acuna above Mike Trout right now: Trout will get walked a ton (more so than Ronnie), and while that will help his run scoring, he doesn’t steal enough to help that category and walks – by themselves – don’t count.

Beyond that,

In a bit, I’m going to raise another problem that will plague some when evaluating players to draft – the home run.  But let’s hold that for a moment while I reveal the worst player to take from these ‘trending’ lists.

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