There can be no other name for this BBL Auction other than “The Hall of Fame Draft”. Cotton and Pepper did an outstanding job as journalists reporting on this momentous occasion. The investigative skills to unearth the Champ’s father from prison…only to learn that the Champs true, blood father was…JINXSOS. Shocking.
In light of the revelation by Cotton and Pepper, several owners reached out to the Quibbler questioning the Hall of Fame induction of the Champ. The lack of transparency in the voting process leads to questions which simply cannot be answered easily. Here is what we know so far:
- The Champ has only won two titles. This alone should not automatically lead to induction.
- Is the Champ a US citizen? Obviously the spawn of a demon does not qualify automatically for citizenship, at least by our reading of the Constitution.
- The Champ does not sleep. This is just weird and we are not sure how it is related to his qualifications.
- Many argue that “selling soul to demon” is the same as “juicing” and therefore should lead to an automatic disqualification for the BBL HOF.
These questions and more will be investigated by the crack staff at the Quibbler. Meh, never mind, all of the BBL owners would trade their soul to Jinxsos for a shot at the title.
Also, the staff at the Quibbler is very concerned with the advent of BBL Network. Will the BBLN put the Quibbler out of publication? Already the viewership of the Quibbler is reducing from 14 to 13…someone is getting to our loyal reader(s). Is this the beginning of the end?
Some general observations:
- The hitter/pitcher split was 74/26. For context, 2018 – 72/28, 2017 – 72/28 and 2016 – 71/29. One day LABR and TOUT will figure out how to compete in a real fantasy baseball league.
- Six players sold for exactly $21…which is just an interesting fact that stands out.
- The talent level at catcher is really bad. The highest priced catcher was (a product of Realmuto being kept I am sure) again Buster Posey at $16. Posey went for $32 in 2016, $32 in 2017 and again $32 in 2018 (Contreras went for $36 in 2018 as the highest catcher).
- Chris Paddack went for $14 which is more than Ray (5), David Price (8), Castillo (7), Hendricks (12), Marquez (12), Bieber (10), and Pivetta (2). What is even more interesting? He may end up being worth more. I suppose the big question is how many innings the Padres will let him pitch this year.
- West learned that you do not mess with the Auctioneer. Just saying.
- Three owners are projected to finish under the innings limit (Champ, Pastries and Streak). The strategy of punting K’s may need to be tightened up by upping the minimum innings requirement to 1200?
In the BBL you can’t win a title on draft day, but you can lose the title on draft day. Unlike 2018 “Rufie Potter”, no owner appears to be totally out of the running this year. Without further delay, here are the Quibbler projections for the 2019 “Hall of Fame Draft”.
14. French Pastries (43 pts)
Swipe left. We love the Commissioner and we especially love the sweet red commissioner jacket, but we do not love this draft by the founder of the BBL. Frenchy held his money too long and ended up over paying for players that just do not put up the counting stats that are needed for the BBL. Big issues with SB, K’s and ratio. Also, the Pastries are going to struggle making the innings limit this year. Do the Pastries even have time to pull this pile of crap plane out of its nosedive? We are just not sure if the will exists in light of all the “swipe rights” our zero percent body fat French owner receives by the minute. Time will tell.
On the good side, the Pastries look strong in RBI and OBA. At 43 projected points, this team only needs 8 points to climb out of the bottom four. Some other owners may also claim that getting picked last by the Quibbler is almost a shoe-in for finishing in the money!
At the end of the day, Frenchy is going to need to “science the sh*t” out of this situation. Just to pile on, Daniel Murphy broke his finger as this article was being typed.
Picks: We love Juan Soto at $42. Soto’s OBP can basically carry an entire fantasy team. We also like the saves dart throws with Romo (4), Bradley (9), Rogers (9) and Jiminez (5). If any of those hit for 30 saves, then the total investment of $28 will break even. If two of them hit…well then there is good profit.
Pans: Pujols (4) reminds the Quibbler of a Blake auction purchase. Frenchy….he is old…really old, and slow and he doesn’t hit all that great anymore.
Favorite Reserve Pick: Adam Conley (MIA) – He could actually end up closing this year after Romo and Steckenrider are traded away.
13. Blue Moon Odum (50.5 pts)
At this point, the reporter for the Quibbler believes that the “Professor” is conducting a scientific experiment on the other owners. The experiment is trying to determine how many other owners he can piss off as he bids up player after player. Here is a quote from Earl’s Squirrels:
“That f’ing Odum bids on every f’ing player I have action on. This is starting to feel like targeting and it hurts my feelings.”
In addition, the Professor tested the a triple Patron shot on the Champ on the second day of drafting. Some would say this is dirty pool, but all is fair when the Smitty Cup is in play. If only the Professor had concentrated on building a team instead of pissing off the Squirrels or getting the Champ drunk. This team is going to struggle and will need some tight management to rise to the top.
BMO is really weak in HR/RBI with a projection of 214 HR and 765 RBI. To put this in perspective, the average “in the money” requirements for HR/RBI is 250/920. BMO will really need to spend FAAB and trade capital for power and rbi this year. Of course Sano could come back healthy and find his 40 HR power. In good news, BMO looks very healthy in saves, but as we all know saves are a fickle beast.
Picks: Muncy (24) and Ohtani (12). Those HR/RBI concerns could go away if Muncy plays like he did last year and Ohtani actually becomes the Japanese Babe Ruth. On a side note, Seager could also help in the HR department if he finds his power stroke again.
Pans: Kershaw (20). Yes…yes we know that Kershaw has gone for upper 30’s and low 40’s the last three years. But..dude has a bad back and only pitched 160 innings last year and is projected to only pitch 131 innings this year. Ohh…did I mention that his velocity is looking a lot like Tim Wakefield?
Favorite Reserve Pick: Jedd Gyorko. Gyorko at least has a history of production.
12. Sundance Kids (46 pts)
This projection will probably motivate the Kids to finish in the money this year. But…there is something missing here. Our Quibbler reporter did not notice the Kids macking on Destiny. Have the Kids lost their mojo? Did they have “low T” this year? Is this a preview of a poor BBL season? We are betting on the later.
Although, in all other instances, this was a typical Kids draft. Lots of action in the beginning and then, 12 hours later…the Kids jump back into the fray. The Quibbler reporter noted that the BBL Junior team sponsored by the Kids had much discord over certain draft picks. Maybe that discord in the Kids house rolled over to the BBL auction. We may never know. But what we do know is that the Kids love proving the Quibbler wrong so we would not be surprised for this owner (as he has done in the past) to prove us wrong.
The Kids look really solid on the pitching side of the ledger and SB’s. This should come as no surprise with a staff anchored by Thor (28), Nola (32) and Corbin (8 keeper)…not to mention the apparent phenom Paddack (14). On the SB side of the house, the Kids look very strong with Turner (45 keeper) and Buxton (17).
The Kids (like BMO) will struggle with HR/RBI. In fact, the Kids are picked dead last in both categories. McMahon (8), Schebler (8), Abreu (22) and Adam Jones (5) are going to need to find their launch angle and drive the ball this year. (Note: Adam Jones has 3 HR’s as of the date of this article).
Picks: We love, love Abreu (22) this year. In the past, Abreu was a lock for 100 RBI and 25-30 HR. Honorable mention goes to Pivetta at $2…which may be the steal of the draft.
Pans: Come on dude. Stop sucking the experts nether regions and picking Paddack at $14.
Favorite Reserve Pick: Hanley Ramirez. HanRam returns and is batting in the middle of a powerful Cleveland lineup.
11. Darcy Jaye’s Crew (51 pts)
See if you can guess what these numbers represent in relation to each of the last four Crew drafts….(don’t read the spoiler)……(think hard)……(it has to do with how much the Crew pays for players):
- 2016 – 14
- 2017 – 12
- 2018 – 8
- 2019 – 8
If you picked the number of $1 players purchased by the Crew in each of the last four seasons, then give yourself a gold star! Here are the finishes for the Crew during those same years:
- 2016 – 7
- 2017 – 2
- 2018 – 10
The Quibbler said this in 2017:
We really feel like we should cut and paste our review of the staple Crew “Stars and Scrubs” strategy every year in this spot. Basically, if he can cobble together a pitching staff and his stars stay healthy, he has a chance.
We are here to officially say the “extrema” Stars & Scrubs Crew philosophy is over! I am not so sure this is a good thing for the Crew. After consistently having 12 plus $1 players, the Crew started spreading the risk a bit more in 2018 with only eight $1 players which resulted in a 10th place finish. So, no “extrema” but still Stars & Scrubs…call it Mini Stars & Scrubs.
Here is what is different. Crew decided to spread some money around with Dejong (15) and Franco (8) with some dart throws at Candyman (9) and Martin (5). The Crew reports that Martin’s colon is just fine after feeding him some of that great food from the BBL draft this year.
The Crew is (not shocking) strong in HR and RBI. Shockingly, the Crew is weak with OBP and is picked to finish first in SB’s (thanks Whit). The Crew is going to need to manage its pitching staff like a well oiled machine since this club is picked low in saves and ratio.
Picks: Leonys Martin (4) is a legitimate 20/20 threat and looks to lead off the Indians all season, but our favorite pick for the Crew this year is Paul DeJong at $15. We think DeJong is going to hit tons of Dongs and drive in many runs this year for a lethal Cardinals club.
Pan: Lewis Brinson $1. I know, I know…a $1 dart throw should never be a pan. Brinson is a different beast because he is actually projected for NEGATIVE value for any team owning him this year.
Favorite Reserve Pick: The Crew always kill it in the reserve rounds. This year our favorite is Y. Solarte who is already seeing a ton of AB’s for the Giants.
NOTE: The following five teams have projected points between 55 and 56.5..for all intents and purposes a toss up as to ranking
10. Streak (55.5 pts)
Streak got a little fired up this year by the method of “running” down certain player auctions. Apparently Streak was not satisfied with the Auctioneer’s crowd control In an exclusive, the Quibbler can report that Streak will be in charge of crowd control at next years “Greatest Draft Ever” BBL 26.
Streak is above average to good on the offensive side of the ball and just horrible in pitching (although decent in saves). Streak finished in the money in 2017, so this owner has experienced success in the recent past in the BBL.
The Streak is really going to struggle with ERA and K’s this year. Freddy Peralta (2), Alex Reyes (6), and Porcello (3) just do not inspire confidence. G. Holland has to be one of the shakiest “closers” on a roster right now. Julio Urias (5) and Hader (19) can absolutely bring the heat though and may pull this entire staff out of the dumpster.
The Streak should be average to good on the offensive side. We really liked the Yonder Alonso (7) and Joc (12) as value purchases
Pick: Josh Hader (19). You want 100 k? Check. Potential for 30 plus saves? Check. Lots of opportunity to produce both on a good team? Check.
Pan: Greg Holland (6). Stop…just stop. If the over/under for Holland is 10 saves, we are taking the under.
Favorite Reserve Pick: Zach Godley. Remember Godley the sleeper from 2018? He went for $4 last year. Honorable mention Arcia who went for $16 last year. Really good picks by the Streak in the reserve round.
9. Pimpin Paezans (56.5)
In the category of best actor playing a father in prison, the oscar goes to….the Paezans! The Greatest Champ Ever, award winning actor, “Pepper”, “Mean” or “Nice”…it doesn’t matter what we call him, we are just glad that “Ruffie” Paezans didn’t show up to the draft this year.
If there is a team that can pull off a championship from the bottom half of our projections, our money is on the Paezans. The only reason this team is 9th and not 4th is OBA and Saves. The Paezans are picked last in each of those categories. In fact, the Paezons punted saves, which looks intentional. Not a bad decision in light of the fact that almost 50% of all saves come from players not opening day “closers”
We are not believers in Ozuna, Rosario and Belt. Injury, under performer and injury year after year. We love the pitching staff with Bieber (10), Marquez (12), Sale (33), Taillon (12) and Archer (1). Stud starting SP staff.
One thing is certain, the Greatest Champ Ever is a trading fiend. Or most extreme projection is that the Paezans will actually get Meat to make a trade before the trade deadline. Now..that is a BOLD projection.
Pick: German Marquez (12). Cheapest 200/200 SP that was not a keeper.
Pan: Amed Rosario (21). Stop reading BaseballHQ. It sucks ever since Shandler sold out and their man crush on Rosario disappoints every year. The sub .300 OBP and 10 HR is not worth the “up: 40 SB” BaseballHQ touts.
Favorite Reserve Pick: Joe Panik. Nice little middle infielder that gets starter level AB’s with a nice OBP and will add a handful of HR/SB.
8. Peep Rub (55)
We love Peep because he enters our lineups and we can drool over all the new players on our teams. We hate Peep because he will not move from his spot on draft day. Seriously, my boy Peep sits down and he is not going to move…not an inch. We are not sure where you hides his pee bottles when he relieves himself in the random bottle so he doesn’t have to move.
Peep probably knows the player pool better than any other owner. So, did that help him this year? Maybe.
Peep is average to good in every category except ERA/Ratio and is picked for 12 points in OBP. So, can Peep offset the crappy ERA/Ratio he is gong to get from Quintana/Odorizzi/Arrieta with some good/great relievers? Will Morrow and Minter recover from their injuries? No way Morrow is going to come back when he is suppose to return. That dude is always hurt. Minter…maybe, although he is no lock to close games.
On the offensive side, Peep is anchoring his OBP with Votto. Quibbler is not a fan of Votto. Votto loves to walk with a man on second and less than 2 outs. Are you kidding me? Drive in the darn run! Rendon at $32 is a steal. Love the dart throws for Grandyman and Parra. Tapia is a nice idea, but the Rockies hate playing young players, which is stupid…but true.
Like the Paezans, Peep loves to trade and is very effective. We are sure he will fleece the Nitros again this year…like every year.
Pick: Rendon at $32 is the clear choice. Middle of the order production in one of the best lineups in the game. In our opinion, the best purchase price for a “star” in the auction.
Favorite Reserve Pick: Todd Frazier. We are just surprised he lasted until the second round of the reserve round.
7. Al’s Pals (55.5)
Ahh, now this is a Pals team we can understand. Hurt, white and slow. In the last four drafts, no owner has ever picked so many injured players in an auction. Pals picked 6 including Cepedes in the reserve round. If the Pals can somehow get some average stats for the next couple of months, he may be fine. If not…it is going to be a long season and this team may end up bottom four. Of the teams reviewed, this team has a real chance of ending up top 4 or bottom 4 depending on health.
On a more serious note, an official complaint was filed against the Pals by the Auctioneer. We are not sure how the Commissioner will rule, but the Pals may be due for a suspension (or at least a keg stand) for his intentional misconduct against the Auctioneer. We will report on the outcome of this investigation as facts come to light.
Rizzo, Martinez, Hoskins and Bellinger constitute the “White Power” of this team with the affirmative action representative being Lindor (who is hurt by the way). This is a really, really solid core which should have mucho production for the Pals.
On the pitching side, MadBum, Hamels and Strahm (all white) with a couple of dart throws for Ray and Musgrove (also white). Pals are also crossing their fingers that Keuchel gets picked up by a NL team, which is not a bad bet. We just do not see this lilly white pitching staff producing. MadBum is done, Hamels is old and Strahm is too young.
There are no saves or steals on this team. Kind of. Margot may live up to his hype and Bellinger will produce 10’ish SB’s.
Pick: Jed Lowrie (2) if he comes back in a month or even two months. Could be the steal of the draft. If he doesn’t come back…oiy. Honorable mention is Kipnis (2)…who is hurt, but not bad. Great..great value buy at the end of the draft.
Pan: Where to start? The entire pitching staff? I suppose if we have to pick a pitcher…we will pick MadBum (12).
Favorite Reserve Pick: Keon Broxton is a semi-starter that will provide some much needed SB’s.
6. HooDoo Cats (56.5)
The HDC officially placed all owners on notice that he does not believe that the Paezans are the “Greatest Champ of All Time”. Quibbler has decided to sponsor a “feats of strength” for BBL 26 to put this issue to rest once and for all.
HDC had a great draft, but is in the scrum of 6 teams all in the 55’ish projected point range. We pick HDC to come out on top of this scrum.
HDC’s draft strength is stolen bases and HR, but in all other categories HDC is average to slightly above average. Stolen bases are anchored by Hampson, Robles, Betts and Marte.
WAIT..did we just say Marte? As in Starlin Marte? The Champ has some unfinished business with HDC concerning the acquisition of Marte. If you do not remember, Marte went for $31 and the Champ thought he had the bid. Shockingly, HDC was silent during the count down…some would say criminally silent. Was this a conspiracy to make the Champ fail? Who was in on this devious event? We may never know…but we do know that the Champ is PISSED and looking for vengence.
For pitching, HDC did not spend much money but used it wisely. Stripling and Hicks combined with Buehler/Flaherty should keep HDC in the middle of the pack which we suspect was his goal. Steckenrider is a bust…simply put. Romo will close for the Marlins.
Pick: Conforto $32 is going to hit BOMBS and have a great OBP. Conforto will be one of the best keepers for BBL 26.
Pan: Steckenrider $9. For closers, HDC could have purchased Colome (8), Vizcaino (9), or Cody Allen.
5. Earl’s Squirrels (61)
Do you remember that young prospect with so much talent that just never panned out? You know…Byron Buxton. Yes, the Byron Buxton of the BBL is Earl’s Squirrels. My man shows up with three screens, his own special algorithms and equipment…the time and effort put into the draft. Yet, just no production. For some reason this owner just cannot get over the hump. All of the so-called experts picked this team to have multiple titles by now…but to no avail.
The Squirrels need to get out of the BBL basement. With finishes in the bottom four in the last four years, so call this franchise the “D League” and the D does not stand for “Development”.
This is the year. Mark the Quibblers words. This is the year that the Squirrels make it out of the bottom four and may (just may) have a shot for the top four.
The Squirrels are studly on pitching with deGrom and Carrasco anchoring its staff and Hand and Davis closing games. Strong, strong pitching points this year. Just need health.
On offense, the Squirrels have a solid team, but lack HR/RBI. Not sure where they are going to find those stats, but power is easy to find this year. We really like Winker and Incearte and Segura at their price points.
Pick: Nelson Cruz at $26 is a felony. One of the most consistent bats available for purchase this year, Cruz is a nice foundation to make up ground in the HR/RBI stats for this team.
Pan: The Happ dart throw at $1 seems like a waste but really, this is a solid team without any obvious misses on the purchase side. I suppose we could also pick E. Nunez at $3, but we suspect that player will be replaced with FAAB in the near future.
Favorite Reserve Pick: The Shark in the last round of the reserve round. If Shark can give 150-200 K’s with a nice Ratio, this is a nice selection. Basically, Shark is a cheap Robbie Ray.
Note: The next three teams have points between 72.5 and 74
4. Meat (72.5)
In many projections Meat drafted the most points and is ranked #1. Unfortunately, Meat does not manage his team much (if any) during the season.
In a surprise, Meat purchased a great pitching staff and is middle of the pack on offense. Nice back end pitchers in Vazquez and Diaz anchor ERA/Ratio and Saves. Add Miller and Strop and you have a nice concoction for a staple of ERA/Ratio/Saves points. Bauer, Folty and Hendricks should add solid production for K’s and not hurt you in the other pitching categories.
On offense, Meat probably had the best keepers with Ramirez and Baez. Add to that Cano, Castellaos, Myers and Josh Bell and the offensive stats may end up being much better than anticipated.
The Quibbler says that Meat will pay attention this year, make at least one trade (with the Paezans FYI) and make things interesting this BBL season. Recall that Meat was in the top four for almost the entire first half of BBL 24.
Pick: Cano at $20 is good value for the cleanup hitter for the Mets with a history of 30/100 production. Honorable mention for Boyd at $1. Dude is going to rack up K’s like Robbie Ray this year
Pan: Quinn at $1 was a waste of a slot.
Favorite Reserve Pick: Colin Moran in the third round. Moran was a trendy pick last year and has fallen off the prospect chart this year. Should see good AB’s for the Pirates.
3. Limp Wists (74)
The Limps are…almost there. Every season this owner gets better and better. Of course they are already the MVP and Champion of the charcuterie board (also, try to spell that word without looking it up).
We know this owner is not afraid to mix it up with the (literal) big boys of the BBL. Recall that Limp called out the Pals in the whole “Judge Fiasco of 2017”. Never mind that this owner likes to wear lady’s activewear, just keep an eye on him as he climbs the ladder to immortality and the Smitty Cup.
Limp is nails on pitching and good in all offensive categories. However, there are serious holes on this team. Longoria, Swanson, Fowler, Frazier and Lamb are big question marks. Longoria is below replacement level except for RBI production. Swanson is below replacement level. Fowler is old. Frazier is a trendy pick this year…but what in his past gives anyone hope he can actually produce as a regular? Lamb is looking like a platoon player with Walker. This team, above all other top four teams, has the potential to drop all the way to the bottom four if Limp cannot fill those holes on offense.
Pitching..pitching for this team is like a cold beer on a hot day. Perfect. Scherzer and Kluber together..are you kidding me? Keep an eye out for Burnes. Guy has the stuff to rack up serious K’s over the season.
Pick: Braun for $17 is great value. Obviously dependent on health, but middle of the order production with good HR and a handful of steals.
Pan: Swanson and Longoria are both dead weight for this team and actually have negative value. Limp would be better off fielding minor league players that produce no stats.
Favorite Reserve Pick: Austin Riley as a keeper for next year.
2. The Champ (74)
What can we say that has not already been said about the first inductee into the BBL HOF? Well ,we can say that he may go back-to-back. This team can absolutely win the title if the Champ can find some SB’s and stream his pitching staff sufficiently to not kill has ERA/Ration and increase K’s.
A hidden talent that led to the Champ’s 2018 title run was mining the waiver wire. Recall that this team was picked next to last place in 2018 and had injuries to Cespedes and Eaton right out of the gate. But, he found Muncy and Marquez on the waiver wire and turned his season around. In a surprise move, the Champ purchased Eaton again but for a discount of $11.
We particularly like Suarez at $32. Everything we wrote about Rendon applies to Suarez. Young stud, in his prime…only getting better. Ketel Marte is going to break out this year and we expect a 20/20 year with .340 OBP and will be a stud keeper for 2019 or great trade bait.
The hurdles that the Champ must jump are K’s and his ability to stream or find K’s on the waiver wire. He really, really needs one of Ryu, Hill or Maeda to out perform their projected IP’s. All are great pitchers, but the Dodgers typically place their pitchers on the IL to control and limit innings pitched. I do not see this as a health issue (which can potentially result in a good surprise), but a Dodger’s issue. This means that the Champ cannot count on any of those pitchers greatly increasing their production. This is the single and only reason we did not pick the Champ to repeat.
On a more serious note, we are anxiously awaiting the “Mueller”…I mean “Marte Report” to the Commissioner lodging the Champ’s formal complaint against HDC for tampering with his Starlin Marte bid.
Pick: Suarez at $32 will produce $40 in value. Young stud, middle of the order…everything we said about Rendon applies here.
Pan: Miggy for $23? Really?
Favorite Reserve Pick: Scott Kingery. Guy has wheels and may solve the Champ’s SB issue. If history is any lesson, this may be the main reason the Champ repeats.
1. Nitros (89 pts)
Well, not to be a homer…but the numbers are too extreme to overlook this year. Projected at 89 points, the Nitros are well ahead of the nearest competitors by 15 points. That is a significant margin that can’t be ignored. This projection actually removes Justin Upton’s statistics and replaces them with Chris Owings (meh).
Of course it would be a shame for the Nitros to not draft a player that gets hurt during the draft. That would just be too much to ask for…and a break from tradition apparently. So, the Nitros obliged by purchasing Justin Upton who (20 minutes after the purchase) was reported injured for the next 8 weeks or so.
Can the Nitros not screw this up? That is 50/50. The Nitros traditionally have the most waiver wire moves and spend their FAAB dollars faster than any other team. Can the Nitros simply not tweak this team to death? Uncertain.
Picks: Starlin Castro for $3 should purchase 75 RBI, 20 HR and .330 OBP batting in the middle of the Marlin’s lineup. Not sexy, but productive for sure.
Pan: Justin Upton for $21 is too easy, so let’s go with Calhoun for $6. Barely replacement level production for a price that could have purchased much more production.
Favorite Reserve Pick: Chris Walker who will become the starting first basemen for the Diamondbacks and hit the most HR for the Diamondbacks.
Venture 