MLB

Staff Fantasy Baseball Draft: Analysis of Our 12-Team Head-to-Head League

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Round 4

PickOverallPlayerPositionFantasy Team
137Corey KluberPPeddle/Barry
238George SpringerOFScott Barrett
339Jose ReyesSSCory Rindone
440Freddie Freeman1BJim Sannes
541Zack GreinkePNick Friar
642Matt KempOFJeff Hicks
743Starling MarteOFDale Redman
844Albert Pujols1BMatt van de Merlen
945Carlos GonzalezOFKyle Stanzel
1046Evan Longoria3BAJ Weinberg
1147David Ortiz1BJacob Adler
1248Johnny CuetoPAlex Gutjahr

Corey Kluber is first to go, followed by George Springer to Barrett. It will be interesting to see how many bags Springer steals this year, after last season’s drop from 45 (in AA and AAA) to 11 (A, AAA, MLB).

Three veterans in Jose Reyes, Freddie Freeman, and Zack Greinke are selected next, before Hicks goes with Matt Kemp sixth. In a shallow league, Hicks has embraced risk, with Bautista, Chris Sale, and Kemp all candidates to hit the disabled list.

With the seventh pick, Redman nabs Starling Marte, the player I wanted. Coming off combined totals of 25 home runs and 71 RBI the past two seasons, I expect a small power spike, which would then make him an adequate or better contributor in batting average, home runs, steals, and runs scored.

My pick: David Ortiz

In H2H leagues, consistent players such as Big Papi are scarce and even more valuable than in Roto formats. Even if he eventually shows signs of aging, he’ll still be an above average bat. Yahoo giving him first base eligibility makes him slightly more versatile.