The keeper deadline is fast approaching — March 11 for those of you who just asked the question in your head — and that means the draft is not too far behind it.
This year, with the implementation of the straight draft and the new pitching configuration, we’re going to see a bit of a different draft.
First of all, no one — barring trades — will have to wait longer than 11 picks to select again. It’s even throughout and that’s going to make it a bit interesting on how all the picks go down.
In the past, there was a hefty group, whether they were at the top or bottom of the order, who knew they had back-to-back or almost back-to-back picks coming up before a big lull.
Then, a few lucky people — as I obviously see it since I moved the draft to straight — were in the middle and could just go every 11 to 14 picks.
The biggest strategy that will be interesting to see is the 3x3x3 pitching setup which will allow teams to potentially roll out six RPs on any given day.
This roster change — which was implemented to counteract the few SP/RP superstars that not everyone could compete with — raises the importance of RPs all around as opposed to giving the power to two or three teams.
This byproduct of the change is what I love the most. We’ve seen MLB shift toward heavy bullpen emphasis and it’s going to be really fun to see how that impacts the JLB now with larger starting bullpens available.
First of all, anyone not carrying two closers into the draft is likely going to have to pull a Firestine and draft a closer super early. You don’t want to be at Round 3 and all of a sudden see all your division rivals with three, perhaps four closers while you have just one.
Then again, we may see even those carrying two closers/relievers into the draft dive in early on another member for their bullpen.
In any case, that means we could see the run on RPs after a few teams take the plunge and add to their bullpens.
Thus, opening the door for other position players to drop in the draft.
Between the mix of high-level prospects, key position players that did not make keeper cuts and top-level bullpen arms, I’m excited to see how this develops and I hope it leads to an excellent competition in pitching in 2018.
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