Fantasy Baseball Today - FBT Express - Analyzing Our Teams in a 12-Team Roto Mock Draft! (1/18 Fantasy Baseball podcast)

Episode Date: January 18, 2025

Download and follow Fantasy Baseball Today Express! You can find FBT Express on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the Audacy App and wherever else podcasts are found. Scott took Shohei Ohtani with the first overall pick. Also, he only took one pitcher in his first seven picks. How did his pitching staff turn out? Frank took Bobby Witt Jr. with the second overall pick and then Paul Skenes made it all the way back at pick 23. To display your continued support of the show, please vote Fantasy Baseball Today in the Sports Podcast Awards in the "Best Baseball Podcast" Category https://www.sportspodcastgroup.com/sports_category/best-baseball-podcast/ Fantasy Baseball Today Express is available for free on the Audacy app as well as Apple Podcasts, Spotify and wherever else you listen to podcasts.  Get Fantasy Baseball Today merch here: http://bit.ly/3y8dUqi Follow FBT on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fbtpod?_t=8WyMkPdKOJ1&_r=1 Follow our FBT team on Twitter: @FBTPod, @CTowersCBS, @CBSScottWhite, @Roto_Frank Join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/fantasybaseballtoday Sign up for the FBT Newsletter at https://www.cbssports.com/newsletters/fantasy-baseball-today/ For more fantasy baseball coverage from CBS Sports, visit https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/ To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit https://www.cbssports.com/podcasts/ You can listen to Fantasy Baseball Today Express on your smart speakers! Simply say "Alexa, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Baseball Today in 5 podcast" or "Hey Google, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Baseball Today in 5 podcast." To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Let's recap our teams from our latest 12-team Roto Mock draft up next on Fantasy Baseball Today Express. Welcome into FBT Express on Saturday, January 18th. I am Frank Stamphle joined by Scott White, and let's take a look at our teams in this latest 12-team role moch draft. Scott was drafting first overall. I was drafting second overall, so back-to-back. And if you're watching on YouTube, I'll pull up our team so you can follow along here. But let's jump in. Scott, your infield.

You had Joey Bart, Gabriel Moreno, Michael Tolia, Catelle Marte, Rafael Devers, Willie Adamas, Danesby Swanson as your middle infielder, a Eugenio Suarez as your corner. And then in the outfield, you had James Wood, Christian Yelich, Brandon Nimmo, Jorickson Profar, Lane Thomas. Everyone is thinking, man, what's going on with this offense? He also has Shohei Otani as his utility bat. So keep that in mind. Scott, how do you think this offense came together here for your first overall team? Yeah, your eyes are so used to skipping over DH when you're reviewing a team that it kind of throws you when you draft Otani first, as I did first overall in this one.

Overall, I like it. I think there's a good balance here. Of course, the first three names you read off were maybe the most underwhelming three parts of my line of Joey Barg, Gabriel Moreno. A catcher. I obviously took them late when the bargain route was happy to get projected starters, at least in those two catcher spots for as cheap as I went. Michael Tolia at first base. That's a position that can get away from you if you don't, if you're not conscientious about filling it early.

And so once I realized, you know, Casas, Pasquantino, Cody Bellinger, were all gone. I decided I'd wait as long as I could reasonably justify at that position. Tolia hopefully will give me a nice dose of power. I think he has 30 to 35 Homer upside, but probably with a low batting average and potentially losing his job at some point,

if it doesn't pan out. But otherwise, once you get past those three, I think it's really strong. I think there's enough batting average there with Cotel Marte and Brandon Nimmo, who I still consider a good source of batting average, despite what happened to him last year. I think that was a fluke.

Christian Yelich, Shoha Tani, all providing good batting average. Powers definitely there between, you know, all the early round hitters and then Tolia and Suarez. And speed, I think, is going to be fine, too between Otani, Yelich, Wood, Lane Thomas was a nice boost. One of my last hitters drafted there. Hopefully give me 30 plus deals.

Adamas could give me 15 to 20, Swanson, 15 to 20. Yeah, I think there's enough here of everything. For as heavy as I went with hitter early, my first three picks were all hitters, and I believe it was six of my first seven picks were hitters. I kind of wanted to look even better, but I think it's fine and I don't have much to compare it to at this point so I'm going to take it

I'm going to call it a W. All right, well let's take a look at that pitching staff since you waited on pitching. Your SP1 was Dylan Sees followed by Aranola, Max Freed, Bryce Miller, Jack Flaherty, Jose Berrios and your relievers Robert Suarez, Jordan Romano

and Aroldus Chapman. You know, Scott, only one pitcher in the first seven rounds. I think this pitching staff really came together. Yeah, I, I, I agree. Cease being the last pick of round four, that was the one splurge there for me. I just thought the value was too good. It's crazy that I was able to get starters as proven as Nola and Freed at the 8-9 turn.

But that speaks to how much high-end depth there is its starting pitcher. I talk about how there's this range. It's more or less 15 to 50 in my rankings where I think they all have the potential to deliver high-end outcomes. obviously Nola and Frieder on the higher end of that group because of how proven they are. But I just accepted value wherever I could find it. And there was good value there with those two. And then it continued,

Bryce Miller is the 120th overall pick. That felt like a nice luxury for me. Normally he goes around 80. And then Jack Flaherty, same thing. I think he only lasted so long because he's unsigned still. But I think as a fifth starter, I'll certainly take that. guy was borderline ace last year, had almost 200 strikeouts. And then even Jose Burrios, who was my last starting pitcher taken,

it's it's amazing that somebody that reliable and proven can last toward the end of a 12-team roto draft as he did, at least the starting lineup portion of the draft. You know, ERA is going to probably not be much help there, mid-to-high-3s ERA, but always delivers a lot. innings should give me a good strikeout numbers. Solid whip wins because of how many he's throwing.

He's a good choice. Went a little light on the closer side. Robert Swara's pretty safe as the number one, but then Jordan Romano has health concerns. Roll this Chapman. Maybe he won't even be a closer when I'll send done. But I tend to build my roto teams like that. And I'm fine getting three guys who at least as of now

are in line for saves. All right. Looks like a pretty good team. Was it better than mine? We'll find out right after this. Welcome back in, FBT Express. We're recapping our teams from our latest 12-teamontag. And I was drafting second overall. And let's take a look at my hitters. I had Will Smith, the catcher from the Dodgers, followed by Tyler Stevenson, Vinnie Pasquantino, Jordan Westberg, Austin Riley, Bobby Witt, Andres Jimenez as my middle. Matt Shaw, top prospect for the Cubs as my corner. and then in the outfield I have Brian Reynolds, I have Michael Harris, Tyler O'Neill, Parker Meadows, Alec Berluson,

and then I did grab a top end utility bat with Marcel Ozuna. So you know, it kind of feels like I don't really have big name value here, Scott, but these are all pretty solid players. I actually feel pretty good about this offense. What do you think?

Yeah, I do too. Given that you went a little heavier on pitching than I did and we'll get into how much heavier you went just a little bit. But yeah, I think it's really, it's pretty well-rounded. Steels a little bit of a concern for me, but there are sources of it. It's certainly plausible that you could be fine in that category. And you may, if it was a head-to-head league, I may want a little more, a few more true

studs in that lineup, but with as many hitters as a fill-out-a-roto lineup, with as many slots as you're having to get those, as you're accumulating those stats from, you don't necessarily need a star stud line. If you just need reliable contributors, and I think you have that, while still having a couple studs, obviously, and Witt and Riley and Ozuna.

Yeah, you got some good players here too. Of course, you have to like this team, Scott. I have three Atlanta Braves. So, come on. You've got to like that. I realized, you know, after my first five picks, I said, wow, I have three Braves on my team. All right, well, you know, hope their lineup bounces back

and they're awesome again. Let's take a look at my pitchers. You mentioned that I leaned a little bit more into pitching. Well, I did early on. I took Paul Skeens in round two because he felt all the way to pick 23. So that wasn't the plan coming in, but it just felt like the top player on the board.

So I took Paul Skeens and then maybe waited a little bit too long for my pitchers after that. I've got Shoto Imanaga. I got Joe Ryan, Carlos Rodon. I've got Brandon Fott and Luis Heel. and then my relievers, I have Kenley Jansen, Andres Munoz, and David Bednar. Jansen,

still a free agent, but I assume wherever he signs, he'll be a free agent. Obviously... A closer, yeah. Yeah. Top end starter, like Paul Skeens, love to have him. He's better than anyone on your pitching staff, Scott. But when you look collectively,

I think I like your entire starter group more than mine. Yes. Yeah. Yeah, I think... I think that's pretty close. clear to me. And it does make me question whether it's worth, at least in a 12 team or whether it's worth going for the Paul Skeen's type early or Zach Wheeler or Terrick Schuble, whoever it is. You did manage to build what I think is going to be a quality offense.

But I think I think what happened there is you had to try for that a little harder because you passed up early round hitting more. You passed up that second round hitter specifically. you had to work harder in the middle rounds to make up for that. And I think in that middle round range, that 15 to 50 range that I keep referring to, there's a lot of, a lot of, the talent at pitcher is a lot more interesting there than a hitter.

And so I just kind of loaded up on those guys, whatever came to me. Well, you had to stretch a little more for offense. And so the back end of your pitching staff doesn't look as strong. Yeah, I think that's basically what happened here. That's not to say this pitching staff couldn't be,

competitive. It could. It just feels, it just feels riskier overall. Yeah, definitely a more volatility, I think, involved with my pitching staff than with yours. All right, who won the draft? Me or Scott, who had the better team? Let us know in the comments for more extensive fantasy baseball coverage. Listen to our full-lane podcast Fantasy Baseball today on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or anywhere else podcasts are found. Thanks for listening to Fantasy Baseball Today Express, and we will be back again next week. Bye-bye. Thank you.