23 ROUNDS 113 MINUTES
The Rotoman’s Guide Mock had a sprightly pace. With a minute to pick it is never oppressive, but most of us were making out picks within 15 seconds. That’s the virtue of good queue management.
I have no capacity to judge who did best. I’d like to hear what you think. What I know is that I liked my picks until I realized I had no speed, and so I spent the last handful of rounds trying to add steals. If that worked, if Bubba Thompson and Nick Gordon steal some bags, I like my chances. If not?
Whoops.
Here are some quick notes:
Juan Soto, OF: A discount coming off an off year.
Rafael Devers, 3B: This is a no-brainer. You need a third baseman and there are only four excellent ones.
Carlos Rodon, SP: I’ve been a fan since all the years he wasn’t good or hurt. He seems to have it figured out, especially if he can make the lefty thing work at Yankee Stadium.
Ozzie Albies, 2B: Coming off a disastrous season, but he’s a great hitter.
Dansby Swanson, SS: We’ll see how he adjusts to Chicago, but I just like his approach and the results. Understated and overachieving. Keep it up!
Camilo Doval, RP: The last classic closer on the board.
Kyle Wright, SP: There wasn’t a compelling hitter o my list, so I pounced.
Anthony Santander, OF: He’s a compelling slugger, who maybe hasn’t yet had the year he’s capable of. He’ll get chances this year to show that.
William Contreras, C: All the best were gone and it was time to jump in.
Tyler Stephenson, C: I don’t usually buy two catchers early, but when Stephenson was still available I had to jump in.
Rowdy Tellez, 1B: I needed a first baseman and Rowdy felt like a safe bet.
Tony Gonsolin, SP: Great starting in the 12 round feels precarious. Like I don’t know what can go wrong. I know what can go wrong.
Josh Rojas, MI: A play for some speed. I’m not a huge fan but he does produce.
Grayson Rodriguez, SP: Top prospect joins a team getting better. Not guaranteed success, but it could work out great.
Seth Brown, CI: Power and some speed. I hope a good fit.
Merrill Kelly, SP: He’s coming off a good year. This is late enough to hope that means he can do it again.
Adalberto Mondesi, MI: A ton of steals if healthy, but recovering from a leg injury. Big risk potentially, but a big reward if he plays regularly once he gets back.
Dylan Floro, RP: Maybe this year he ends up getting more chances.
Bubba Thompson, OF: This is a reach, but he’s an athlete and there is a chance he’ll push his way into more playing time and a lot of steals.
Sean Manaea, SP: Joins the Giants, revivifiers of worn-out arms. A lot of his struggle last year was bad luck, which makes him a prime bounce-back candidate.
Nick Gordon, OF: He’s blocked by some team members who have lengthy injury histories. To the extent he plays, he should be productive.
Edward Olivares, OF: Trying to add steals any way I could. Many of us thought he should have been playing more in the last two years. Some power, some speed, maybe this is the year.
Reynaldo Lopez, RP: Who closes in Chicago while Hendriks is out? This is a WAG.
Is this a contending team? I like the start, but chasing steals late puts me in precarious territory. I can imagine it working but the odds are not great. On the other hand, a solid core that should be consistently solid offers a lot of space for breakouts to contribute more than their share. I’m looking at you Bubba and Edward.
A Thursday night well spent.
The Guide has traditionally crowned winners from the Mock. Why not? Why should we forget what we did? And it doesn’t make sense to mock those who lost, but those who won did something right. They deserve notice.
We’ll revisit this at the end of the year.
Here’s the look:
See you tomorrow.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Rotoman's Guide to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.