If you've read the recap for any of our mock drafts this preseason — or have read this piece or this piece — you know the story with starting pitcher by now. The most egregious example of it came in our recent Head-to-Head points auction, where Zack Greinke ($39) went for more than Ronald Acuna ($37).
We drafted for the same format just a few days later and, this time, colored inside the lines. True, a starting pitcher (Gerrit Cole) still went ahead of Christian Yelich, and 17 of the first 35 picks were still hurlers. The demand for what has come to be accepted as the game's most pivotal position is still probably jarring for someone exploring the 2020 player pool for the first time. But the way this draft played out is close to what you should expect for your own draft, provided it's a Head-to-Head points league, so we should stop feeling scandalized every time we see it.
One additional strain on this draft was the uncertainty surrounding Chris Sale, who's set to have an MRI on his elbow after feeling some soreness during a recent throwing session. Where he went (late in Round 6, 69th overall) probably reflects more of a best-case outcome — inflammation, with another week or two of rest being prescribed — but of greater interest is the ripple his removal from the top tier created in the Round 2-3 range.
I bore the brunt of it, I thought, picking right there at the turn, and I'll admit to getting that sinking feeling when I kicked off Round 3 with Lucas Giolito. But given that one of the two hitters I was considering at that point (Yordan Alvarez, with Trea Turner being the other) lasted until my next pick at the Round 4-5 turn, I'd say it worked out. In fact, having Giolito in the bag already gave me the confidence to also take Ketel Marte at that same turn ... which then set me on the path of having a grab bag of pitchers for my No. 5 spot. it's not a weak starting rotation compared to the league as a whole, but it isn't as protected from injury as my usual staffs of excess are. Is my team better for it? I'll let you be the judge.
One new development I noticed is that drafters seemed more inclined to go aggressively after their preferred sleepers once the rounds reached the teens, no longer adhering so much to ADP. It's pretty typical for this time of year, when draft strategies are closer to fully baked and player preferences more set in stone, but it's a worthy reminder that if you like, say, Josh James to break out, you should target him where you think he deserves to go and not necessarily where you expect him to.
Speaking of James, the recent hype surrounding him adds yet another starting pitcher with relief pitcher eligibility to the drafting stable. He joins Carlos Carrasco, Jesus Luzardo, Carlos Martinez, Julio Urias, Kenta Maeda, Adrian Houser, Ryan Yarbrough and A.J. Puk, to name just a few, and with that many starting pitchers drafted to fill relief pitcher slots, the demand for closers was especially low. You'll notice it with picks like Nick Anderson, Craig Kimbrel and Brandon Workman in Round 15.
So who took part in this draft?
1) Scott White, CBS Sports (@CBSScottWhite)
2) George Kurtz, RotoWire (@GeorgeKurtz)
3) B_Don, Razzball (@RazzBDon)
4) Phil Ponebshek, Patton & Company
5) Jamie Sayer, Pitcher List (@Jamie__Sayer)
6) Connor Rooney, FantasyPros (@c_rooney_)
7) George Maselli, CBS Sports
8) Devin Davis, The Scorecrow (@devindavis_14)
9) Nick Mimikos, Stack Attack podcast (@NMimi)
10) Alex Fast, Pitcher List (@AlexFast8)
11) Adam Aizer, CBS Sports (@AdamAizer)
12) R.J. White, CBS Sports (@rjwhite1)
Here's how the scoring works in our standard Head-to-Head points format:
| Head-to-Head point values | ||||||||
| For hitters | | For pitchers | | |||||
Single | 1 | Walk | -1 | |||||
Double | 2 | Earned run | -1 | |||||
Triple | 3 | Hit | -1 | |||||
Walk | 1 | Hit batter | -1 | |||||
Caught stealing | -1 | Inning | 3 | |||||
Hit by pitch | 1 | Strikeout | 0.5 | |||||
Home run | 4 | Win | 7 | |||||
Strikeout | -0.5 | Loss | -5 | |||||
Run | 1 | Save | 7 | |||||
RBI | 1 | QS | 3 | |||||
Stolen base | 2 | | | |||||
So which sleepers should you snatch in your draft? And which undervalued first baseman can help you win a championship? Visit SportsLine now to get rankings for every single position, all from the model that called Kenta Maeda's huge breakout last season, and find out.
