Like many of you, I play fantasy Baseball. Next to collecting cards it's my favorite downtime hobby. Over the years, I've had some ups and downs, but have mostly seen my fortunes dictated by the health of the key players I've drafted. (No surprise, eh? Just like the real game)
This season, like no other, is making me feel like a genius. The one league I play religiously moved to an entirely different format this year. We went to a paying league to up the stakes, turned the draft into a auction format, and changed to a keeper league. So, I can actually win some money, take any player I wanted as long as I was willing to pay the cost, and get to keep 5 players on the current roster for the following season. Therefore, this first year draft under the keeper format was very important. The choice of our best players could determine not only how you do this season, but long into the future.
So, I changed my draft strategy. I decided to chase after a prospect who could keep my team winning years from now. This meant that I went big for some key guys, and filled the rest of the roster with good secondary players in hopes of having enough dollars to take my best prospect pick without any competition.
As Spring Training got underway this year, it became clear to me that Yasiel Puig was a diamond in the rough. He showed that he wasn't as far away from the show then I originally thought, and I would have to seriously consider taking him - even if he was sent to the minors for some additional seasoning.
As this years draft came in my league, I was able to pick up players like Votto, Carlos Santana, Choo, King Felix, Shields and Jared Weaver. I was also able to grab Cliff Lee, Pence and Seager to help fill in the gaps. As for a breakout candidate, I chose Matt Moore.
Then, for my prospect pick I grabbed Puig in the very last round. I had over $40 left in my account and knew nobody could compete with that. So, since that day Puig has sat on my fantasy league roster waiting for the day that he would visit Dodger Stadium.
Well, this past week was that time, and am I ever thankful I chose to go after him. I sat just 5.5 games behind first, and basically wiped the floor of the team I played this week in our head-to-head format. If he continues to contribute for the Dodgers I expect that this will be a very good year for my team. On top of that, there is no way Puig will be allowed to leave my team. He's a keeper.
Pic credit at very top: Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2013
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