The 2023 JLB Draft is upon us and the first round features the Nutz, Quad Eh, Topton, Stantonians, Philly Cheese and the Dude all making picks.
The other six picks in the first belong to the Sex Panthers and Crox Sox, three for each.
This is their draft to set the tone early. Both need to maximize those picks if they plan to compete in the American League this year.
So, let's look at what they need.
The Crox Sox bring a full lineup into the draft, and even though, they could certainly use some depth there, one would expect the Sox to do what most teams have done and will do in this draft — attack pitching early.
The Sex Panthers could use some starters, too, but attention will have to be given to the every day batting lineup with some holes, depending on where she aligns players. She has flexibility with multi-position players all over to pretty much select the best bats out there to fill in at UTIL, and/or move players around to fill 2B, DH or any of the OF positions.
By the time the perennial NL favorites get to pick in the first round, their SP targets may be gone — then again, who knows, we've seen some strange first-round picks in the past — but those two will be OK with that.
They are stacked heading into the draft.
With Dylan Cease, Zac Gallen, Luis Garcia, Alek Manoah, Jordan Montgomery, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander all being kept, the Dude has seven reliable starters and the framework for potentially the best pitching staff in the JLB.
His rival, the Steaks, has seven starters, too. (The Slammers also somehow have seven starters being kept, but they're not even in this conversation.)
The pitching staff is strong, as usual for a Steaks squad. Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander are gone (they were laundered through Choo to his NL rival), but in is Gerrit Cole and last year's risky mid-summer acquisition Jacob deGrom. Aaron Nola, Logan Webb, Freddy Peralta and Kyle Wright all join in to make a solid rotation to start out, but it still doesn't really compare the seven horses the Dude brings into 2023. A full season of deGrom could change that, but there's a reason Fantrax has only 125 projected innings.
Steaks will likely backfill that rotation early with his usual golden picks that will help bring the rotation up to the level of the Dude. That and I'm sure Cal Raleigh will drafted pretty early to cover catcher.
The Dude has a catcher, but strangely enough, he doesn't have a 1B or SS.
That's quite the oddity for a reigning division champ and a presumed contender for the NL again. To not have a single keeper at both 1B and SS on a contender has to be unheard of, at least until now. Yes, he has Alex Kirilloff, who will eventually get 1B eligibility, but he's not listed to be there everyday at this point, and with his health being a constant issue, he may not qualify for the spot until May.
He'll surely need to address those positions early.
And it certainly helps that he doesn't have to address pitching.
He also won't need to address the triples category. Did everyone see Corbin Carroll's projections? Thirteen triples?!
If Carroll were to total 13 triples, that would be just astounding. It would also be quite the game-changer for the Dude. With that total, he should figure to carry that category more often than not, and hopefully avoid the dread 0-0 or 1-1 ties in that spot.
In the American League, the defending World Series Champion and the team that just missed the playoffs, the Gamblers, both appear to have the best batting lineup construction heading into the draft. Both can be completely happy with all 11 starting slots.
Topton could fall into that, too, but I leave center field open as not a lock with Alek Thomas. That could easily change, but projection-wise, we have to call that a hole right now.
The Breakfast doesn't have many chances to add to his pitching staff early, but he's been there in the past. His first picks this year come late in the third, and that's where he'll look for this year's Spencer Strider.
If anyone knows who that is, please let me know. I pick right before Sam in the third round, and you've seen my team. I need all the help I can get.
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