Harmony Division Preview

Zach's Team - Henceforth refered to as The Zack Attack (h/t to Saved By the Bell)
Just like Zach and Kelly, the Zach Attack went for the big stars early, winning Clayton Kershaw to anchor the rotation and Carlos Gonzalez to lead the offense.  Outside of those two, the team is very balanced with several players poised to reap huge gains over what they cost. 

BPB - 3b Manny Machado - $1 -  What?!?! Is that a typo? Thats the same Manny Machado that was a solid 3b last year as a 21 year old and will eventually move to SS making him even more valuable?  Yup...alright then...moving on.

BPO - OF Carlos Gonzalez - $60 - CarGo makes the offense go when he is in the lineup, but much like his Rockies teammate Tulo, CarGo can't manage to stay in the lineup for a full season.  Obviously, a player of his talents requires a sizeable investment, but he would need to stay in the lineup for 150 games to break even at this price.

Random Fact - If you put the letters on the back's of the jerseys for Samardzija and Saltalamacchia end to end, they would be taller than Jose Altuve.


Tyler's Team - Henceforth refered to as Merry Tyler's Moors
The MTM is one of only two teams in the league which did not take a single $1 player.  With so many interchangeable players, they will be the team least effected should an injury arise to one of their starters.  This team could have attractive trade bait come the deadline with Starlin Castro, Brett Lawrie, Aaron Hill, and Brian McCann all slated for the bench as of now.

BPB - 3b Kyle Seager - $8 - Seager was quietly one of the top young 3b in baseball last year.  Only 25, hes knocked 20+ HRs in each of the last 2 seasons and should only improve as the fences at Safeco have been moved in and the Mariners are fielding an actual Major League team this year.

BPO - OF Starling Marte - $31 - Marte has the speed, but his ability to hit for anything but single is a bit in doubt after his season ending wrist injury last year.  He may bounce back just fine, but an iffy minor league record raises large question marks.  As the third highest paid player on the team, those questions could become a problem.

Random Fact - The high school baseball coach at Tyler's high school was Jim Lindeman, former St. Louis Cardinal.  There is no one on Tyler's or anyone else's team that will come close to the awesomeness of one Jim Lindeman.

Backyard Superstars-
On offense, Kyler is counting on Joey Votto to continue to be Joey Votto, Justin Upton to remember he doesnt have to hit like Kate Upton and Yasiel Puig to continue to be Gozer the Destructor.  On the mound, Yu Darvish should continue his brilliance, but beyond that there are high power stud RPs (Kimbrell and Uehara) and unproven SPs with loads of potential (Garret Cole, Sonny Gray, Chris Archer).  Should the SPs realize their potential, this could be a playoff team.

BPB - SP Sonny Gray -$2 - By the end of last season, Sonny Gray was the top pitcher on the A's.  He has dominated at every stop of professional baseball and if he takes the next step, this will look like an all time steal.

BPO - OF Yasiel Puig - $36 - Puig was a stud last year. But now that the league has had a chance to digest him, will he see a fall off in year 2 similar to stud Cuban import Yoenis Cespedes?

Random Fact - Despite him pitching in the NL Central with Kyler's favorite team, Kyler thought Shelby Miller was actually a girl when he won him at auction.

MWP Masters
John won Jose Fernandez, and all the rest of our envy.  Jose Fernandez, for those of you that dont know, came to America on long journey that involved multiple attempts, jail, backstabbing Mexicans, and corrupt Federales.  After all that, dominating MLB hitters will continue to be as easy as it was last year.  Beyond Fernandez, MWPs two highest paid pitchers are RP (Nathan has since been traded for a completely unneeded Pedro Alvarez) .    MWP will need Tacoby Bellsbury to relive 2011 and Jason Kipnis to continue his ascent to the top of the MLB second base ladder.

BPB - 1b Albert Pujols - $5 - As Uncle Jimmy mentioned in the draft, 2010s head just exploded when Pujols went for $5. He had a down year, but he may be the greatest RH hitter in history and I wouldnt be surprised to see a rebound this year.

BPO - OF Ellsbury - $50 - I dont see any way that Ellsbury comes close to being worth this much.  His hits and steals will be there, but the OBP and power likely wont.  Maybe Yankee Stadium's short RF porch help bump his HR numbers up, but they would need to go way up to justify this cost.

Random Fact - This is my dream --"And so, Masahiro"Kamikaze" Tanaka, recently of the Rakuten Golden Eagles, knocks himself cold for the second time this week. Maybe in Japan that's actually better than catching the ball! Personally, I just think he's trying to get out of the lineup."


Lester's Molesters
LesMoles had to overcome some curious roster construction during the draft jsut to be able to field a whole team, but two early trades have helped to fill in the gaps.  On offense, Andrew McCutcheon, Joe Mauer and Evan Longoria form a great nucleus.  On the mound, David Price and Zack Greinke need to come up huge to lead this team.  One of the dangers of leaving the draft early is ending up with a player as bad as Dallas Kuechel or one as hurt as Patrick Corbin and needing to spend precious FAAB to right the wrong.  LesMoles needs to do some serious work to get into the playoff picture.

BPB - 2b Chase Utley - $7 - Utley isnt what he used to be, but he is still a second teir second sacker who went for a 5th teir price.

BPO - OF Andrew McCutcheon - $78 - The reigning NL MVP is a superstar.  But at $2 more than Miguel Cabrera, he will need to add to his last season's totals to break even on this cost.

Random Fact - At the end of the draft, Tom had spent $79 on players with only 3b eligibility.  Miguel Cabrera went for $76.