UPDATE: As mentioned, Chief Nocahoma is the league commissioner, and he’s created the league with 5 spots remaining:
https://baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/b1/8803/invitation?key=42efa6fbdc694aa3&soc_trk=lnk&ikey=b422969f6bb7716e
As also mentioned, Chief would appreciate some input on how you’d like the league to be formatted, so if you feel strongly about something with the league format, include those suggestions in the comments.
ORIGINAL
The Braves Journal Fantasy Baseball League is back and better than ever. Chief Nocahoma is going to be the league commissioner on the Yahoo! platform this year, so stay tuned for league information, draft date, and a more detailed rundown of the league’s format.
More importantly, we need to know who is in. So far, I think I’m reading Edward, Chief, Sean Q, beege, Stu, and myself. So there’s still room for more, but we’ll need to know within the next few days.
Also, for those playing, do you have any preference for the type of leagues, which stats used, specific rules, etc.? No guarantee that it can be implemented, but working the league to the players’ wishes would be great.
Going forward, you should expect the draft to be on a weekend evening, so be flexible, please, for the date that works best for the most players.
Thanks!
I’ll create the league and have an initial ‘settings’ around lunch time today. It still has not gone live!
Thanks to all that plan to participate!
I would play but I know once I’m out of the running I’ll just stop looking at it and end up tanking like the Braves.
It’s been…5 years (?)…since I was in a league that used AL players. Woo boy. Be gentle…
No real preference on anything; I’m flexible and can prepare a nerdy spreadsheet no matter what the stat categories are.
@2. The format will likely be weekly head to head so at least every week you have renewed hope. Rotisserie lends itself to what you described. Personally, as someone that is HUGELY into fantasy, Rotisserie is probably better for me, LOL, but I prefer to try and keep people interested the whole season and I only do fun leagues, I don’t do $ leagues, etc.
@5 A couple years ago I was in a *2*0 team NL only league. Whoo boy that was difficult.
I’m interested. Fair warning: I’m not very good at fantasy.
Good Steve Hummer story on Acuna at AJC.
WHEN WILL YOU PEOPLE STOP WITH THE OVERHYPING OF ACUNA?!??!! HE HASN’T EVEN HIT 20 HOMERS YET!!!
I don’t want to be accused of attempting prospect hype, but I discovered today that Cristian Pache has a Twitter account and he’s actively posting video clips from his batting practice. Having never seen any footage of Pache before, I was encouraged by how much better his swings look than I was expecting to see.
Bonus reading – I found the Twitter account after locating this Fangraphs post, which includes some batting clips of Pache from 2015 and summer 2017.
I’m no scout, but from 2015 to now you can clearly see that Pache has gotten bigger and stronger (which makes sense, he was 16 years old in 2015), and the batting practice swings from 2018 appear geared to produce some flyballs. Who knows if he’ll ever hit enough to make it in the bigs, but frankly I came in expecting to see Billy Hamilton-esque cuts and instead was greeted with something far more impressive.
FREE RON ACUNA!!1!
Wait — the guy who hates defense and sees little value in players who don’t hit homers is HUGELY into fantasy???
Just make sure you don’t free the wrong one.
If there is any wordplay to be had, Adam R and Edward got you.
Venters ain’t done:
@10 for the record, I do not hate defense. That’s a mis-characterization of my position. My position is that it is much much less important than hitting and that the difference between the worst hitter and the best hitter is MUCH MUCH larger than the difference between the worst fielder at a position and the best fielder, thusly rendering that difference relatively meaningless. There are VERY few players in MLB history that have ‘let in’ more runs than they have created with their bat.
So that we are clear. I’m on record that WAR calculations factor dWAR WAY too highly and should have the dWAR portions halved or thirded as it pertains to either WAR or fWAR(fangraphs)in total.
Unless a fielder is TRANSCENDENT, IMO he has very little defensive VALUE over his peers. If the fielder IS transcendent, there is a line which you would PREFER him over a better hitter but only by so much.
That’s my thoughts on defense. And this coming from someone whose best tool as a HS and 1-scholly offer from college player (non Division 1) was defense and speed.
I’m interested. Also, like Alex, I am not good at fantasy.
Chief has a real point.
But rather than cut dWAR by an arbitrary number, why not just take a larger (multi-season) sample if you can?
I’ve always thought that it would make sense to weight oWAR and dWAR based on number of chances you have to do something positive for the team. The oWAR side is easier to think about because you have PA’s as decent measure of “offensive chances”. The problem always boils down to the much more subjective “defensive chances”. What does that even mean? It varies by position, and by difficulty of the play. Still, I feel like the average MLB regular gets a lot more offensive chances than defensive chances during the season, and the weights need to reflect that.
@7…Acuna has hit more home runs than Pache, so let the hype begin!I haven’t studied this, but it always seems that minor league HR numbers are substantially depressed from MLB numbers. Does anyone have a good rule of thumb for how much peak HR numbers are in the majors compared to what young prospects achieve in the minors? I would guess double.
You have to think they are playing what, 125 games, probably 425 ABs on the very high range? To me, if a guy hits 20+ miLB HRs, I could see him being a 30 HR guy at least once in MLB.
@18
Double we will take, any day.
But where goes Nick? That is our driving focus.
I looked up the maximum single-season minor league HR totals for some past Braves…Aaron (22), E Mathews (32), Murphy (22), C Jones (15),A Jones (34), Freeman (18), Heyward (17), McCann (16), Justice (22), Lopez (17), Gant (26).
Eduardo Nunez has signed with the Red Sox. So barring a trade, it looks like some combination of Rio Ruiz and Johan Camargo will be your Opening Day third baseman. We’re riding with youth.
I suspect Sam may have AA’s cell number. I will ask him.
If that’s forthcoming he will be called, just before midnight. He will be shouted at, how could he be so blind?
His sobbing apologies ignored, he will be told the details of an early morning breakfast in Atlanta tomorrow where his attendance is required.
HINT- Nick will be there!
@21
Are those full seasons or just their largest total at a specific level?
The Yahoo portal just opened. I work 4 10s and am off tomorrow. I’ll work on the league tonight and tomorrow AM and look for the update to the main post with the link to join.
I’m hopeful we have fun, a bit of witty banter, some fun trades and a good time.
Speed develops really early; power (i.e. big strong muscles) develops relatively late. That’s why scouting the stat line doesn’t tell you a ton about a guy’s power, particularly if he’s an early bloomer. Just as scouts look to see whether a pitcher is likely to develop additional velocity as he fills out his frame, they look for the same thing in projecting future game power.
@24 and @21…HR totals were full minor league totals for the year at all levels combined but excluded major league totals for the same season (which were usually relatively minor)…Andruw, for example, had 34 HRs across 445AB in three levels and then another 5 MLB regular-season HRs in 106 ABs.
Riffing off of @21, here’s the age 19 HR totals for those same Braves notables:
Henry Aaron 22
Eddie Matthews 7 (very few games at age 19, he hit 32 at age 18 though)
Andruw Jones 34 (!!! played major league games at 19)
Dale Murphy 5 (he was terrible in rookie ball)
Chipper Jones 15
Freddie Freeman 8 (but 18 at age 18)
Jason Heyward 17
Brian McCann 12
David Justice 10
Javy Lopez 11
Ron Gant 3
So really pretty much all these guys showed big power potential by age 19, except for Murphy and Gant. What does all this mean? Maybe nothing since the sample size is so small. I’d still wager that power potential shows up before you are 20 more times than not.
@26
If only Anfernee Seymour’s skills would come together. People said he was one of the fastest players in the minor leagues. But at the age of 22, it hasn’t translated to defensive skills (he played a lot of RF last year at A+), and still hasn’t developed much power. He’s still an extremely interesting player that could have a huge year this year, and if it happens at AA (most likely), he could be a valuable bench piece in 2019.
I think you’ll see some power from Pache this year.
I still think there’s a decent chance Seymour turns into Jarrod Dyson, but this is why you have to stockpile grade C prospects by the barrelful.
Sweet, let’s do it. Thanks for setting it up, Chief. My vote would be for smaller rosters and no wacky categories.
Also, given the small number of teams, maybe an NL-only league would be a good option. I’ve played in super-shallow leagues before but some of the fun is scraping the bottom of the free agent barrel in hopes of a bit of production from a scrub.
MLB Auto Renewal 2018
The notices are out, the price is up ten dollars to $175, you have till March 29 to decline. Still only a smidgen above a buck a game but still the monopolistic aura jars. And at this new level still no MiLB which must be purchased separately, about 60 bucks last year.
Chief @25
Four tens
an evocative phrase among friends
extended heavy lifting, a bitch
long weekend though- worth it or not, you wondered which.
@34 Yes. Makes for a LONG day, plus I have a 35 minute commute. Permanent 3-day weekends though… 🙂
The league is created and Rob C will be updating the main post today with details. It’s a 12 team league both NL and AL with a slightly altered 5×5 to keep it somewhat simple given some of the abilities of our players… 🙂 The draft is currently scheduled for Sat Mar 17 5:00pm MST.
Once everyone gets joined, I’ll begin taking input on anything you all would entertain changing.
One house rule: Despite Ohtani being in the Yahoo league as both a pitcher and hitter, we’re going to institute a house rule that only one of those two can be chosen. So say Sean Q takes Ohtani as a pitcher, he’s done and if someone else drafts him as a hitter, that won’t be allowed. It’s messy, weird and the fantasy baseball meta world is up in arms over it. LOL.
I’m interested in taking a spot in the league if there’s still room. Thanks for setting up. Hard to find time to draft for a CPA, but a Saturday night should work.
Good read at BA (not behind paywall) on AA’s patience so far:
https://www.baseballamerica.com/majors/rebuilding-braves-opt-play-waiting-game/
@37
We’ve had quite enough trouble as it is drafting for a third baseman without having to worry about signing a CPA as well thank you. Have fun!
Hey us CPA’s are just like Matt Kemp, great in April and useless after that.
Hey Dusty, I resemble that remark 🙂
I don’t want to steal Rob’s thunder but I’ve been waiting all day.
Here is the link to join the league:
https://baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/b1/8803/invitation?key=42efa6fbdc694aa3&soc_trk=lnk&ikey=b422969f6bb7716e
We may not have Stenzel but we now have a Fantasy League. Is there a moral there somewhere?
Yes, of course there is. In the one instance we are in total charge/control. Chief with his four tens has three full days off every week, he will be unmerciful in the application of HIS RULES. Things will get done, pronto.
In the other timidity rules the day, nothing gets done. I don’t care about the Free Agents, to heck with them. I do care about this trade, us with our 173 pitchers and they with their built in replacement. I am beginning to believe the Russians may be involved, nothing else makes sense.
I am angry enough about all this that yesterday I put in a bid for what was to be Folty’s new car. No, I will not be giving it to him. Despite losing in arb he still makes a little more than me. If i get it I hope the fact that is now with one of his biggest fans- and critics – will soften the blow. It would be named Jett in the honor of you know who-
‘from your first hanging curve
and the bunts stay in play.’
Crack the whip, Chief. Train ’em well. No arguing allowed!
@43 I’m dying, man. You’re a hoot.
It’s hard to believe that our first spring game will be next Friday night. I’m thinking that the first game will set the tone for the whole season and we could have a special season if we win. Either that or the entirity of spring will mean absolutely nothing. One of the two.
@45
Anyone signed up for MiLBTV yet? Please advise if and when you know the details, thanks.
@44
Late night, Chief. Always the most fun. I do believe it might be the Russians though.
@45, I’m restraining my enthusiasm until I find out who’s starting. That’s when things will get serious.
This may surprise, but I have resisted jumping aboard the Dansby Swanson bandwagon. That said, his comments about the lost season showed great maturity, and his words on Ronald Acuna were gracious.
Be advised: though I applaud Swanson’s maturity and attitude, I will not cede him the everyday shortstop job until he earns it with his play. Make me a believer, Dansby.
Go Braves.
I think this team won’t hit a lot of homers, but will balance it out by giving up a bunch
6 slots remain in the Braves Journal fantasy league so get in while the gettin’s good…
You hear that Dansbo?! Coop from BravesJournal.us WILL NOT CEDE YOU THE STARTING SHORTSTOP POSITION ON YOUR GOOD HAIR ALONE!!! No one cares what Brian Snikter thinks!
@46, yes, blazon. The premium yearly subscription is 112.99 and you can add MiLB.tv for 25 bucks, which I have.
Sadly, I’m really struggling to come up with a Braves all hair team. Swanson and Acuna are the only ones I can think of, so they must be successful in Atlanta.
Julio has to make the cut.
@53 Max Fried actually seems to have excellent hair.
Culberson? What about him?
Sorry for the delay. This thread is updated with the league link. I’ve signed up, so there will be 5 spots left.
So mlb.com thinks that FF currently is the 14th best player in the game. Sounds about right.
https://tinyurl.com/y8xkjek6
Thanks, Sam. I knew you’d understand.
Didn’t Ralph Garr have some sweet hair?
Three of the top 10 players from the list @58 are free agents next year. Maybe saving cash for then is a good idea.
@58, interesting list. Four teams (Pirates, Padres, Rays, Royals) didn’t have any in the top 100, while 6 others including the Braves had one player. Astros, Nats, and Yankees had 8 (!!!) each, with the Nats having the best overall talent (if you assign 100 points for 1st, 99 points for 2nd, etc.). Dodgers with 7, Cubs and Indians with 6.
The Braves have some players who could conceivably out-WAR some of those 90-100 guys, leading to their potential placement in a top 100 list next year. Acuna, Albies, Gohara, Folty, Newcomb, and/or Teheran could, in theory, join Freeman on a list like that next year. I don’t think Dansby has the top-end talent to ever get there, and Ender probably doesn’t either unless he starts stealing 30+ bags at a high clip. No one from the pen unless there’s confidence that Minter could pitch as much as Knebel (76 IP) or Chad Green (69 IP).
Fun fact about Minter though: he accumulated 0.6 fWAR in 15 IP last year. Should he be successful in pitching as effectively across 60 IP, that 2.4 fWAR would make him the 6th most valuable reliever in baseball based on last year’s numbers.
@52
hey timo, good to hear from you.
All very confusing. As i posted the other day i can renew directly with MLBtv here in the states for around $165 plus another $60 or so for the MiLB coverage.
Are you getting your much lower rates from somewhere in Europe? Please advise, thanks.
Rumor has it that the Braves are interested in Corry Dickerson after being DFA’d by the Rays. I’m pretty neutral on it but do see much of an upgrade. You guys have any thoughts?
Different handed, but Matt Kemp 2.0 as a hitter while actually being serviceable in LF. Would make the team this year better and given that he won’t block Acuna, there isn’t really anyone else to block.
That said, the plan this year seems to be let the young guys develop while straddling being neither a contender nor embarrassment. I don’t see him pushing the former and I think we’re already there on the latter without him.
New thread.