On Friday, March 8, Fantom Sports Industries had our site-wide fantasy baseball league draft. This article will be a recap of our fantasy baseball draft. I will go over some of the biggest reaches as well as steals throughout the draft.
Draft trends
When it comes to reaches, I noticed a trend very early in our draft. Pitchers were being drafted much higher than their average draft position early in the draft. This trend started with Kevin Gausman was selected early in the second round by Dacota Haynes. Gausman had an ADP of 28.2 but was selected tenth overall. This trend continued with Luis Castillo being selected 20 spots ahead of his ADP by Jaden Mendoza. This was an ongoing trend throughout the draft with guys like Pablo Lopez, Logan Webb, Framber Valdez, Jesus Lozardo, and Joe Ryan all being selected before the end of the sixth round. All of the aforementioned pitchers were selected at least 20 spots ahead of their respective ADP.
With Pitchers being selected early and often that led to not very many pitchers being selected below their ADP. However, it did result in many position players being available well after their ADP. In our draft, there were four players projected to be drafted in the first round who were selected well after their ADP.
Biggest draft reaches
While pitchers were the most reached-for position in this draft, there were some position players who people took much higher than their ADP. The first position player to be drafted above their ADP was catcher Adley Rutschman. Dacota selected Adley with the 19th overall pick of our draft while his ADP was 39.2. This may have been a reach in terms of ADP, but he did land the best fantasy baseball catcher available in the third round. It was a reach that could pan out very well for him.
The next reach was third baseman Alex Bregman. With an ADP of 69.2, I reached by over 30 picks as I selected Bregman with the 32nd overall pick. Bregman finished 2023 with 483 fantasy points. This was good enough for second place among third basemen in fantasy scoring last season. As long as he can stay healthy through the 2024 season, I am comfortable with my selection as I believe he will once again be one of the most productive third basemen in the league.
With the 55th pick in our draft, Kyle Thibideau selected second baseman Luis Arraez. this was 71 picks ahead of his ADP. While this was a reach, Luis Arraez was the best available second baseman at the time. Mookie Betts, Marcus Semien, Ozzie Albies, and Ketel Marte were all selected ahead of Arraez in our fantasy baseball draft. Arraez finished as the fifth-highest-scoring fantasy baseball second baseman in 2023.
Rounding out the top reaches in the Fantom Sports Industries site-wide fantasy baseball draft we have the 58th overall pick, Steven Kwan. Using the 58th pick on Kwan means he was selected 122 picks ahead of his ADP. Kwan finished 2023 as the ninth-highest-scoring outfielder in fantasy baseball last year. I believe Kwan’s ADP was too low. This may be considered a reach in terms of ADP, but he was the best available outfielder when he was selected.
Early draft steals
The first of the biggest draft steals was Corbin Carroll. Carroll had an ADP of 6.2. This means he was projected to be drafted in the first round. However, Max Crider was able to select Carroll late in the second round with the 15th overall pick. Carroll finished as the fourth-highest-scoring outfielder in 2023 and has the potential to finish even higher in 2024.
Continuing the trend of position players falling past their ADP was my second-round pick Bobby Witt Jr. I was able to select Witt with the 16th overall pick. Witt had an ADP of 4.6 meaning he was projected to be selected early in the first round. Witt finished 2023 as the highest-scoring fantasy baseball shortstop. I was ecstatic when I realized he fell to me in the second round as I expected him to be long gone by then.
The next draft steal happened shortly after I selected Witt. With the 20th overall pick in the draft, Tyler Bednar was able to select Aaron Judge who had an ADP of 8.6. Judge is one of the most prolific hitters in the league and I’m sure Dacota was excited to draft him.
The last of our early-round steals came when Dacota added young Mariners outfielder Julio Rodriguez. Dacota was able to select Rodriguez with the 30th overall pick despite his ADP of 6.4. Julio finished 2023 as the sixth-highest-scoring fantasy baseball outfielder. Selecting him with the 30th pick is without a doubt a top steal in this draft.
The late rounds
As a result of pitchers being selected early and often, many position players fell into the late rounds well past their ADP. Resulting in some of the biggest steals of the draft.
The first of these position players to fall into the late rounds was Bo Bichette. While he had an ADP of 40.6, he had a massive slide in this draft. Bichette was selected with the 78th overall pick in our draft. Bo finished 2023 as the 12th highest scoring shortstop in 2023. He is expected to finish much higher than that in 2024.
The next late-round draft steal that was glaringly obvious to me was Mike Trout. Jeremy Brown was able to snag Trout with the 105th pick despite Trout having an ADP of 54. This was a slide of 51 spots. Trout played in only 82 games in 2023. Angel fans are hoping for a major bounceback from him in 2024. If Trout plays to his full capabilities in 2024, Jeremy might have the biggest steal of the draft on his roster.
Selected with the 119th overall pick by Kyle, Adolis Garcia had an ADP of 48. Kyle has to feel good about adding the eleventh-highest-scoring outfielder from 2023 to his roster in such a late round. The Rangers are expected to be a great team in 2024 and Adolis is a major key to that. There is plenty of opportunity for him to break into the top ten fantasy baseball outfielders in 2024.
Rounding out the top late-round steals of our 2024 fantasy baseball draft is my 145th overall selection. With pick 145 I drafted Elly De La Cruz. Elly had an ADP of 37.5. This means I got him ten rounds after his projected draft spot. In only 98 games played in 2023, Elly accrued 67 runs, 91 hits, 15 doubles, seven triples, 13 home runs, 44 runs batted in, 35 walks, and 35 stolen bases. I am projecting a top-five finish in fantasy points among shortstops for Elly in 2024.
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