Team: Back 2 Back 2 Back
Manager: Dan Tancredi
Coach Tancredi has been a dominant force in this league, racking up a slew of titles in recent years. Let's go by category...
Hitting: B+
Daniel Murphy should be a nice value playing at Coors Field, with lineup protection from Charlie Blackmon, Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story. I expect some regression from Jose Ramirez and his bizarrely fat face. The Indians went cheap this offseason, and it appears they will be leaning heavily upon their starting pitching. We'll see if Francisco Lindor can stay healthy to protect Ramirez. Ramirez over-performed early in 2018. Story should again be a strong source of power production. Starling Marte and Lorenzo Cain bring both athleticism and versatility to Coach Tancredi's outfield. Byron Buxton can't hit. He's a physical freak, but that doesn't always get it done in baseball. You need to have the eye, discipline and approach. Utility is strong with Voit, Bader, Marwin Gonzalez and Kang. With Gregory Polanco injured, Tancredi has Pittsburgh's top two producers in Marte and Kang. Brinson and Gurriel, Jr. are his dart-throw upside kids on the bench.
Starting Pitching: C-
Gerrit Cole was a beast for me last year. No complaints there. Jon Gray is a piece of shit. Walks the ballpark and is totally inconsistent. He also pitches at Coors. I don't know what the hell a "Chris Paddack" is. Sounds made up. Maeda and Fiers are fairly consistent back-of-fantasy rotation vets. They shouldn't kill you. If Severino comes back strong, we can bump this grade up to a B- or B at that time.
Relief Pitching: A+
Dan's been crushing the league with money relievers in recent years. This year he has Edwin Diaz, Kirby Yates and Corey Knebel. I had all three guys in my top 10-12 relief pitchers.
Overall: B+
Team: Crooked Hillary
Manager: Steven Summer
Steve is the greatest "Beat the Streak" player on the planet. He's also a consistently successful season-long fantasy manager.
Hitting: A-
Love Steve's infield with Merrifield, Gennett, Suarez and Baez. Those are producers in their primetime years. I like the texture and complementary aspects of that group. Judge is a monster, of course. Conforto is tricky, but we know he has 30-35 homer ability in a full season. Brantley should enjoy being in a lineup with Altuve, Correa, Springer and Gurriel. I'm not sold on Mazara's sustainability over 162 games (starts strong, then fades), but I like where Stevie got Soler. Soler could potentially be the most important hitter on the Royals, which I guess, is like being the smartest kid on the short bus. Ji-Man Choi...that's a joke, right? Ji Ji Ji Ji Ji-Unit!!!
Starting Pitching: B+
Tancredi and Summer pickin' up my scraps. Gray and Chris Archer sucked for me last year. Steve likes the idea of Archer in the NL for a full season, and I can't argue with him on that. Blake Snell, Luis Castillo and Sean Newcomb are quality young arms. Pivetta could be good, as well. Sums got Wacha in a nice value spot, too. We'll see if Kikuchi can deliver in his rookie season with Seattle.
Relief Pitching: D+
Coach Summer will clearly be relying on his starting pitching. He will look to win Wins, Strikeouts and Quality Starts on a weekly basis. On the relief side, Jose Alvarado has a nice, live arm and Wily Peralta is competing with Boxberger for the Royals' closer spot.
Overall: B+
Team: Madd Dogs
Manager: Michael Alberts
Known for crunching the numbers like no other, Mikey is always lying in the weeds, putting together a seemingly-shitty team and winning championships. It's not about how pretty it looks on paper.
Hitting: A-
Can't argue with an infield of Cano, Albies, Bregman and Lindor -- that's just nasty. Rendon and Devers look awfully good down in utility, too. We'll see how long it will take Coach Alberts to get a call-up and production from mega-prospect Eloy Jimenez. Yolmer Sanchez has some tricky value down on his bench, too.
Starting Pitching: B-
Strasburg still hasn't established himself as a true ace. He had his best stuff in college before the surgeries, and he simply isn't as sharp as a pro. He's a front-line No. 2 starter, but his name is bigger than his results have been. Marquez has deadly strikeout stuff, but Coors makes everyone a question mark. Eduardo Rodriguez is a quality back-of-rotation lefty. Smooth arm. Teheran gets the ball on Opening Day for Atlanta, and Rodon the same for the ChiSox. Stripling tossed the ball well for the Dodgers last season, but their rotation is overcrowded. He'll likely start in the rotation with Kershaw out, but Julio Urias will always be peeking over his shoulder. Musgrove sucks. Harvey is a joke with a stiff arm.
Relief Pitching: B
Only two closers, but Leclerc and Givens should be good and relatively safe. Leclerc was dominant for Texas last season.
Overall: A-
Team: Twin Towers
Manager: Billy Valeriano
Billy has some sort of personal issue with Jung Ho Kang...
Hitting: B-
At the top of his group, Billy is as strong as they come with Blackmon, Acuna and Springer. This gives him one of the elite outfields in our league. Overall offensive depth is an issue, though. Alonso may begin the season in AAA with Dom Smith and JD Davis around; Herrera has a nagging hamstring issue, and his value and playing time are hindered by Harper, McCutchen and Nick Williams, who will all get their ABs in the Phillies' outfield, and Ohtani is out the first month of the season. Jose Martinez doesn't have an everyday spot with the Cardinals. Schebler could provide a power boost, currently listed as a bench player.
Starting Pitching: A
Not much to say, here. Verlander, Paxton, Happ, Bieber, Freeland and Rodriguez all lookin' good. This is a stud staff.
Relief Pitching: B+
Doolittle and Hand are safe lefty closers. No depth here, beyond that.
Overall: B+
Team: Rockville Rube Baker
Managers: Jimmy Kelly & Tommy Herold
Considering his complete lack of knowledge, Jimmy did a nice job filling in for Tommy.
Hitting: A
Safe and solid at the top with Rizzo, Betts, Bogaerts, Khris Davis, Nelson Cruz and Peralta. This was where Jimmy shined. Superstars supplemented by Grandal, Tim Anderson and Justin Turner. Not much to knock, here.
Starting Pitching: D
I don't think Corbin can repeat what he did last year (246 ks in 200 innings). His velocity actually dropped from 92 to 90. He's likely being over-drafted across the board. Eovaldi has never sustained success in his career; same goes for Matz. Sonny Gray could bounce back in Cincinnati. Obviously he had a rough go in New York. I don't know who Freddy Peralta is. There are too many Peraltas who throw exactly the same way in the MLB. Maybe Samardzija could bounce back for San Fran, or maybe he's just finished. Time will tell.
Relief Pitching: A
This could be an A+ if Strop remains the Cubbies' closer. I know they are looking at Kimbrel, and Brandon Morrow will eventually return to action. Treinen is a top-two closer and Cody Allen's job is safe with the Angels.
Overall: B
Team: The Legend
Manager: John Frascella
Let's see how the Commish did...
Hitting: A-
After opening last year's draft with money picks in Aaron Judge and J.D. Martinez, Coach Frascella flopped with a third-round selection of Dee Gordon. Don't chase steals, early! This season he didn't make the same mistake, opening with Freeman, Machado, Correa, Castellanos, Chapman and Haniger. Bats, bats, everywhere. Commish ended up weak in steals, where he'll look to Cesar Hernandez (19 SBs), Joey Wendle (16), Machado (14) and Kiermaier (10 in an injury-shortened season) for some swipes. C.J. Cron and Palka mashed a bunch of dingers. Gregory Polanco is a high-upside stash.
Starting Pitching: B
Waiting until Round 7 for his first pitcher, The Legend picked up Bumgarner, who -- in the past -- was consistently a 2nd-4th round selection in our league. He joins fellow "safe" pick Kyle Hendricks, along with strikeout lefties in Robbie Ray and Hyun-Jin Ryu. Charlie Morton struck out 201 in 167 innings, and is on more juice than the Kool-Aid Man. Gausman and Alex Wood were grabbed for stash value.
Relief Pitching: B+
Like Coach Summer, Coach Fro isn't buying the Reds' story about Raisel Iglesias' mix-and-match role. They'll need him to save tight games for them. Barnes (96 ks in 61 innings) could potentially save an awful lot of games for the defending-champion Red Sox. I also have Strickland, Romo and Holland.
Overall: A-
Team: Overrated Fro's
Manager: Ross Schneidman
"Rudy" seemed to be struggling without his perennial captain, Jose Reyes.
Hitting: B-
Very similarly to Billy Valeriano's Twin Towers squad, Ross' Overrated Fro's are top heavy, offensively. Ross is super safe up top, with Trout, Benintendi and Hoskins. However, after that, he'll be relying heavily upon Puig and Contreras. It's all downhill after that initial five. Ross will need Amed Rosario and Adalberto Mondesi to breakout in major ways. Waiting in the wings is Vlad Guerrero Jr., the game's best prospect. Dead weight in Bour, Bird, Reddick, Hernandez and perhaps even Pujols.
Starting Pitching: C-
In terms of worst starting staffs, it's awfully close with Rockville Rube, thus far. To ask Wheeler to be a fantasy ace is pushing too far. As many of you saw in my texts with Ross: Darvish is shaky, Arrieta is declining, Weaver sucks and Cobb is in a terrible fantasy situation. Rusty made a solid late value pick in Derek Holland, and will need breakout seasons from electric youngsters, Julio Urias and Alex Reyes. It will be difficult for this staff to work out as presently constructed.
Relief Pitching: A-
Jansen has heart issues to worry about, but he's still one of the safest and most reliable closers in the game. Minter's injury opens up the full-time Braves' closing gig for Vizcaino, who I happen to like a lot. Colome appears to be beating out Herrera for the ChiSox's job. Very solid group, here.
Overall: C+
Team: Team Piazza
Manager: Jimmy Herold
Piazza's all-in on injured Dodgers - Seager coming off injury and Kershaw suffering through it now. Let's see...
Hitting: A-
This is a tricky-but-interesting group to evaluate. Goldschmidt, Carpenter, Shaw, Markakis and Smoak are the safe veteran plays, relative to where they were drafted. Soto, Olson and Mancini are the upside youngsters. Seager and Odor are wild cards, in that we don't exactly know what we will get from them. Jake Bauers seems to be getting some preseason hype, so we'll see if he delivers on that in any substantial way.
Starting Pitching: D-
One word...yikes. Jimmy HAS to get Kershaw on the hill and completely healthy. Otherwise he's totally done in the starting pitching department. Porcello is the only relatively reliable commodity of the rest, with Trevor Williams as his third-best starter? Matt Strahm will have to arrive in a major way.
Relief Pitching: B
We can bump this up to a B+ or A-, if and when Kimbrel signs on a dotted line and gets back on the bump as a full-time closer. Shane Greene and Will Smith will hold it down for Jimbo in the meantime.
Overall: B-
Team: Fightin' Zyls
Manager: Matt Zylbert
He's the best MLB over/unders guy in the country. Let's see how he did in fantasy...
Hitting: C+
And C+ might be a little generous. Bryce Harper is a no-brainer at the top of the heap, but Zyllie Cat will be asking an awful lot of 2018 surprises like Jesus Aguilar, Max Muncy and Profar. All three are regression candidates, though I think Profar will benefit from the expansive gaps in Oakland. He's a gap-to-gap line drive hitter. Ramos and McMahon were drafted too early. Schwarber never delivers on his name value. Christian Walker might as well be Christopher Walken or Luke Skywalker. Or both names put together. Adam Jones is over the hill and Matt Adams is a part-time player.
Starting Pitching: A
If he had better 6th and 7th starters, this definitely would have been an A+. Five guys in prime stages: Thor, Bauer, Buehler, Flaherty and Lucchesi. Most of them have room to grow and improve, too. If he goes with Heaney and Velasquez over Montas and DeSclafani, maybe this really is an A+ unit. "The Cat" knows pitching.
Relief Pitching: B-
This is a B or B+ if Boxberger beats Wily Peralta out for the Royals' closing job. Zyllie has Aroldis Chapman leading the way at this position. However, Steve Summer has much better luck than Matthew Zylbert, so Peralta will probably beat Boxberger out, in the end.
Overall: B
Team: The Rhombuses
Manager: Christopher Pearsall, Esq.
In the past, Chris has leaned on elite starting pitching, like Zylbert. Let's see which strategy he chose to employ this season...
Hitting: B-
J.D. Martinez and Altuve are two of the best all-around hitters in the game, but Pearsall's offensive core is vet-heavy. There are a number of guys inching toward the end of their primes - if some haven't already passed theirs, like Frazier, Gordon, Gardner, Kemp and Kinsler - while Peraza and Marte are two of the only upside offensive performers on his roster. Kemp is a 4th outfielder, Frazier is a bum and Rhombus has SIX players who hit .246 or less last season.
Starting Pitching: B+
This is easily an A- if Foltynewicz comes back healthy. Right now, Chris is super top-heavy with studs: Sale, Carrasco and Berrios, supplemented by steady vet Jon Lester. There's no depth here, though. Fulmer and Lamet are down for the count. Stroman's arm is shot.
Relief Pitching: B+
Osuna and Giles have safe roles, while the Phillies are talking about Robertson like the Reds with Raisel - "he won't be a traditional closer." At crunch time, I still feel like Robertson will be The Guy for Philly. The only difference is...the Reds don't have a legit second option like Seranthony Dominguez. This kid is electric for Philly. He'll get his opportunities in the lower-leverage games, at least.
Overall: B
Team: Brodie Van Hollywood
Manager: Mark Rue
After a multi-year hiatus, welcome back Mark, best known around these parts as "Mark Bills"!
Hitting: B-
The artist formerly known as "Mr. HD" has a bunch of nice hitters, but where is the superstar upside? Stanton and Bellinger will most certainly lead the way for him, but they are surrounded by capped guys like DeJong, Laureano and Miggy (always injured, now). Mark needs his Phillies - Realmuto, Franco and McCutchen - to produce at or above expectations.
Starting Pitching: B
This could really be a B-, but Mark has some killer dance moves. We'll give him the tiebreaker and go with a solid B, here. He starts off really strong with Nola, Clevinger and Glasnow, but the talent and reliability drop off from there. Will German have a rotation spot for long? Will Pineda ever stay healthy and pitch consistently well? Lot of question marks in this group.
Relief Pitching: D
Hicks isn't going to be a full-time closer with Andrew Miller around. May will likely close for the Twins, but he'll be on a short leash. There is absolutely no depth, here.
Overall: C+
Team: Flawless Fantasy
Manager: Jamie Garland
"Hymee" is currently worried the Mets will go 0-162. He's commonly concerned about the worst-case scenario.
Hitting: B
This is really close to a B-. Arenado is as safe as they come, but I'm not sure Votto is elite-elite anymore. Only 12 homers in 503 ABs last season. He seems more focused on taking walks than being a star producer who earns his keep. Dozier dropped off a cliff last season. He strikes out way too much. I like Domingo Santana and Chris Taylor, but I worry about Donaldson and Gallo. Donaldson may be over the hill, and Gallo kills your overall team batting average. This is a generous B, perhaps.
Starting Pitching: A-
Hymee is set up for pitching glory with deGrom and Taillon atop his rotation. Tanaka makes for a rock-solid No. 3, with Chacin, Junis and Anibal as appropriate mid-rotation arms. Peacock could be a real sleeper, too. Keller tossed the ball nicely last season, as well.
Relief Pitching: D-
Mr. Garland better hope Bradley gets the D'Backs' closing gig. Otherwise, there are no saves here.
Overall: B
Team: Bichette Happens
Manager: Mike Rut
Welcome to our first-time manager, the man who still talks about hitting a triple off my hanging knuckleball. Let's see if some rookie hazing is in order...
Hitting: C
Mikey has world-class speed with Trea Turner, Hamilton and Inciarte, but he completely lacks in the power department. He'll need a return to top form for Gary Sanchez, as well as a breakout season from Victor Robles in Washington. His util is full of old bums.
Starting Pitching: B+
Scherzer is an absolute monster up top, with Price and Hill as solid veteran lefties. Mikolas is coming off an outstanding campaign but could regress, while Chase Anderson has been somewhat steady in the middle of Milwaukee's rotation. Dallas Keuchel is a smart stash, and Sabathia is coming off a surprisingly strong season.
Relief Pitching: B+
Hader and Andrew Miller are arguably the premier left-handed relievers in baseball, but are either true closers? This isn't a holds league, but these guys will keep your ERA and WHIP down. Wade Davis is old, but he's been a stalwart MLB closer for many years. He's a proven commodity.
Overall: C+
Team: King Martin
Manager: Matt Desantis
Marty is my right-hand man, and the Vice President of "The Legend" Enterprises.
Hitting: B+
"Marty" is very steady, all the way through his lineup. It never jumps out and WOWs you, but it maintains its productivity to the bottom. Kris Bryant, Yelich and Pham will lead the way, with steady assistance from vets Posey, Braun, Hosmer, Segura and Choo. Lamb and Hicks, both productive players, are waiting in the wings.
Starting Pitching: B+
Kluber, Greinke, Hamels and Quintana are safe up top, but it drops off a bit from there. Skaggs, Gibson and/or Gonzales will have to deliver for this to become an A- or A- rotation.
Relief Pitching: F
No closers. Marty is all-in on starting pitching. Good luck with that.
Overall: B
Team Grades by Category
Hitting: Tancredi B+
Steve A-
Alberts A-
Billy A-
Jimmy/Tommy A
Fro A-
Ross B-
Jim Herold A-
Zylbert: C+
Pearsall: B-
Mark: B-
Jamie: B
Mike: C
Marty: B+
Starting Pitching: Tancredi C-
Steve B+
Alberts B-
Billy A
Jimmy/Tommy D
Fro B
Ross C-
Jim Herold: D-
Zylbert: A
Pearsall: B+
Mark: B
Jamie: A-
Mike: B+
Marty: B+
Relief Pitching: Tancredi A+
Steve D+
Alberts B
Billy B+
Jimmy/Tommy A
Fro B+
Ross A-
Jim Herold: B
Zylbert: B-
Pearsall: B+
Mark: D
Jamie: D-
Mike: B+
Marty: F
Overall: Tancredi B+
Steve B+
Alberts A-
Billy B+
Jimmy/Tommy B
Fro A-
Ross C+
Jim Herold: B-
Zylbert: B
Pearsall: B
Mark: C+
Jamie: B
Mike: C+
Marty: B
Best of luck, my friends!
