Atlanta Braves fans draft a lot of non-Braves for fantasy teams

Avoiding the Atlanta Braves?

Here’s my initial team… and Jake is already offering the moon and a couple of stars for one promising rookie (he actually offered Scherzer+… I heard it!):

Anthony Rendon (3B): The best offensive third baseman available coming off a career year. ‘Nough said.

Marcus Semien (SS): 3rd in AL MVP voting in 2019 with a break-out career year. All indications are that it was legit, too.

Jack Flaherty (SP): Was surprised to see him available in Round 3. Given his competition this year, he’s my odds-on Cy Young favorite in the NL.

Stephen Strasburg (SP): Was surprised to see him available in Round 4. The extra rest should certainly help him… fortunately for my fantasy team, maybe not for the Atlanta Braves.

Starling Marte (OF): this pick was actually a mistake thanks to a problem with my browser. I was after Eloy Jimenez at the time and he was taken immediately prior to my pick, though I didn’t realize it until later due to lag.

I kept clicking on his name to no avail, and when it disappeared, Marte’s slot came up and was inadvertently hit. I would have taken J.T. Realmuto instead… and he was snagged immediately after I got Marte.

All that said… I could have done a lot worse. Getting him out of Pittsburgh might rejuvenate him… and he wasn’t bad before.

Nick Castellanos (OF): 16 homers in 51 games as a Cub. He’s got to do something like that on a short Cincy field, right? Strikeouts are an issue, but a 1.002 post-trade OPS is better.

Paul Goldschmidt (1B):  Considered him strongly for the prior round, but opted to wait. That decision paid off as he was still hanging around. Had a down year for his first St. Louis season. Maybe better this year with better acclimation to the surroundings? At his best, it would be like drafting Freddie Freeman here in Round 7.

Luis Robert (OF). How on earth was he still on the board in Round 8?? This could be the steal of the entire draft.

Mike Moustakas (2B/3B): Did anybody else remember that he hit 35 jacks in 2019 and now plays in the Reds’ bandbox?  Apparently not.

Kenta Maeda (SP): he’s a Twin and the Twins are going to win a bunch of games… even if he doesn’t pitch that well.

Wilson Ramos (C): Well, I needed a catcher (having just missed out on d’Arnaud) and he can’t really as bad as he was in 2019, right?

Jake Odorizzi (SP): See Maeda, Kenta.

Carlos Martinez (RP): Was a little surprised to see the Cards closer here. He should be worth a handful of save points.

Alex Colome (RP): If you believe in the White Sox at all (and I think I do), then their closer should be worth a few points.

Edwin Diaz (RP): Like Wilson Ramos, can he really be that bad again? Well, maybe: he has to face the Eastern teams, but we’ll take a flier in Round 15. 3rd closer in a row.

Joey Votto (1B/Bench): He will have a lot of help in the lineup this year with Moose and Castellanos added… and maybe more. Surely he can still do more than walk 100 times, right?

Starlin Castro (2B): Strictly taken as a backup.

Dakota Hudson (SP): Yes: I’m taking a bunch of players in the Central divisions. There’s a reason for this… mediocre teams play here. This guy could easily be sneaky good… if he gets a chance to eat innings (175 in 2019).

Gio Gonzalez (SP). Yet another Central division starter.

Tommy La Stella (2B/3B): for backup purposes, though his bat wasn’t bad at all in 2019.

Didi Gregorius (SS): Why was he still on the board?? This is Round 21, for cryin’ out loud!

Corey Dickerson (OF): So why not take Adam Duvall here? Because I don’t know how the playing time is going to be doled out among Atlanta Braves outfielders. I do expect that Dickerson will be in the everyday lineup in Miami, and he can still hit (.304 with 131 OPS+ in limited 2019 action).

There it is… no Atlanta Braves players.  That wasn’t the intent at the outset, but it is the way things fell out.

So why didn’t I take A, B, or C in certain rounds? Well, “they weren’t available” or “I thought X would be a better pick there” would be the obvious answer.

Aside from the snafu that cost me Realmuto (though in fairness, I wanted Jimenez there), I am quite satisfied with this initial team.

For trade purposes, I could upgrade at catcher (though by how much?) and there’s some surplus at the 2B/3B positions, but it would be difficult to part with anyone in particular.

The core group is solid, and the supporting cast is liable to mash homers on a regular basis, so it will be fun to follow.

My first weekly matchup comes against Jonathan Magel. His team features Acuna, Harper, Vladdy Jr., Gavin Lux, Sano, Trea Turner, Paddack, Luis Castillo, and Darvish.

We’ll see how it goes…