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The 2018 DTBL Draft kicked off Thursday, March 8. The first pick belonged to the league’s newest member, Kat’s Komodos. Inheriting a Gators roster that was well stocked with hitters but very much lacking in pitching, the biggest question going into the draft was if they would select a player based on need or take the best player available. The Komodos did the latter, picking the consensus top player in the draft pool, Dodgers first baseman Cody Bellinger. As usual, the first round as a whole skewed young with nine DTBL rookies selected, four of whom didn’t make their MLB debuts until after the All-Star break last season. The first round was light on pitching this year as eight of the top ten were hitters.
In retrospect, the decision to take Bellinger with the first pick was probably pretty easy for the Komodos. The reigning National League Rookie of the Year will give them a huge power boost and may even position them as one of the deepest offensive teams in the league. Bellinger made his presence known right from the start. He was a NL All-Star as a rookie. He hit 39 home runs with 97 RBI and 87 runs despite not making his debut until late April. His .267 average was quite respectable for a slugging rookie and he even stole 10 bases. Bellinger should be a star for the Komodos for a long time to come.
In many ways, the Kings faced a similar predicament to the Komodos with the second pick and made the same decision, taking the player they believed to be the best available despite it not being a position of great need. With that pick, the Kings selected first baseman turned outfielder Rhys Hoskins. The Phillies young slugger came up through the minors as a modestly rated prospect who did nothing but mash at every level of the minors. That continued in the majors, despite also having to learn a new position at the big league level. Hoskins slugged 18 homers in just 50 major league games, pumping out a ridiculous 1.014 OPS. With the Phillies signing Carlos Santana this winter, it appears they will continue to deploy Hoskins to the outfield. Even if that goes poorly, Hoskins’ bat will force its way into the lineup on a daily basis.
With the third pick, the Jackalope were able to do both of the things mentioned above: pick the best player available and fill a glaring hole in the roster. They selected Yankees starting pitcher Luis Severino. Severino is technically a DTBL rookie, having never appeared on an active roster before. But this is the second time he has been drafted. The Naturals picked him in the 5th round in 2016, but he started the season in the minors and was released in May. After that disappointing ’16 campaign, he was removed from the league last year, causing us to miss out on his breakout season. In 2017, he became one of the most dominant pitchers in the league, posting a 2.98 ERA, 1.04 WHIP with 14 wins and 230 strikeouts. The Jackalope pitching staff really struggled a year ago, making Severino a perfect fit. They are also quite heavy on Yankees now, employing Severino, Giancarlo Stanton, Gary Sanchez, Didi Gregorius, Sonny Gray and Dellin Betances. Not a bad group.
The top three of the draft seemed pretty clear cut. Predicting who would go fourth and beyond was a bit more challenging. The Choppers had the fourth pick and used it on second baseman Whit Merrifield who went from relative obscurity to fantasy monster during the course of the 2017 season. The Royals infielder hit .288 with 19 home runs, 34 stolen bases, 80 runs and 78 RBI. He was a plus contributor to all five categories, but especially stolen bases. The Choppers had the worst offense in the league last year (in terms of batting points), so adding a do-it-all infielder makes plenty of sense. It remains to be seen if the power was real, but in today’s home run climate, it seems quite possible it was.
Last year, the Moonshiners somewhat regretted passing on a young Red Sox up-and-comer in the first round in Andrew Benintendi. They ensured that the same mistake wouldn’t be made again this year, grabbing third baseman Rafael Devers with the fifth pick. Devers was just 20 years old when he made his MLB debut last summer. But he earned his promotion by demolishing every level of the minors on his way up. And the hitting continued when he reached the big leagues. He hit .284 with 10 homers in 58 major league games. Considering his age, the sky is the limit with this guy. Early signs are that he is going to be a great hitter with above average power. That should make him a fixture at hot corner for the Moonshiners for a very long time.
While hitters took most of the spotlight of the first round, there were a couple very intriguing pitchers selected as well. The second of those was Twins starter Jose Berrios, picked sixth by the Darkhorses. Berrios earned elite prospect status on his ascension up the minor league ladder, but a rocky MLB debut season in 2016 dampened expectations a bit. But in 2017, he regained his status as an exciting young hurler. He posted a solid 3.89 ERA and 1.229 WHIP with 14 wins and 139 strikeouts in 145 innings, helping lead the Twins to a surprising Wild Card berth. He should immediately boost a Darkhorses pitching staff that finished last in ERA, WHIP and wins last season.
The Demigods selected the lone non-DTBL rookie of the first round with pick number seven. Outfielder Ender Inciarte continues to be one of the more underrated all-around players in baseball. With a weak Braves team around him last year, he managed to hit .304 with 11 homers, 93 runs scored and 22 stolen bases. What a difference a year can make to a player’s stock. The Darkhorses drafted Inciarte for the second time last year, in the 12th round. Now he’s a first rounder. For the record, the Darkhorses also drafted him in the fourth round in 2016. With the investment of a first round pick, I have a feeling he will stick around for a while this time with the Demigods.
Following that selection of a DTBL “veteran”, the Cougars picked an outfielder who will be a rookie in this league, but is actually almost three years older than Inciarte. Now 30 years old, Tommy Pham broke out big time for the Cardinals in ’17. He hit .306 with 23 home runs and 25 stolen bases, becoming a legitimate five category force, seemingly out of nowhere. This has become a consistent trend in the Cardinals organization: late blooming non-prospects becoming excellent major league contributors. There are plenty of reasons to believe Pham’s breakout is sustainable, most notably that he has been able to harness his degenerative vision problems.
For the second straight year, the Naturals used their first round pick on one of the top prospects in baseball who probably will spend a bulk of the upcoming season in the minors. With the ninth pick, they selected young Nationals outfielder Victor Robles. Considered the possible heir apparent to Bryce Harper in the Nats outfield, should Harper decide to take his talents elsewhere next winter, Robles has elite hitting, fielding and running skills. Though not a big time slugger to this point of his career, scouts believe that will come as well. MLB.com has him ranked as the #6 prospect in baseball and #1 among those who have already made their MLB debuts. Robles is just 20 years old, so this is a long-term play for the Naturals.
Finally, the defending champion Mavericks closed out the first round by selecting another young hitter who splashed onto the scene late in the 2017 season, Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies. Albies hit .286 with six home runs and eight stolen bases in 57 big league games, basically replicating the numbers he posted in AAA as a 20 year old. So for those of you scoring at home, that’s three first round picks on guys who will enter the ’18 season at age 21 or younger (Albies, Devers, Robles). The Mavericks don’t really have any holes, but Albies will slot in nicely at 2B.
The first round didn’t feature any trades this year, but there have been three separate deals since the first round ended, involving six different teams. First, the Mavericks continued a revamp of their bullpen, dealing Aroldis Chapman to the Komodos for their second round pick (11th overall). That pick was used on a very interesting pitcher, Alex Reyes. Reyes should return from Tommy John surgery in May. While his exact role remains a mystery, there are a few intriguing possibilities including closer or spot starter. The fact that he will be designated as a reliever for this season could make him extremely valuable once he is healthy. Meanwhile, Chapman gives the Komodos a reliable anchor in their bullpen which had no such commodities on the returning roster.
The next trade saw the Choppers flip their second round pick (14th overall) to the Naturals for outfielder Andrew McCutchen. Once one of the best players in the league, McCutchen quietly put up pretty strong numbers across the board last year and will now be applying his craft in San Francisco. As mentioned above, the Choppers needed a boost to their offense, so McCutchen should help to that end. The Naturals used the acquired pick on the top closer in this draft, Pirates lefty Felipe Rivero, a former teammate of McCutchen’s. Rivero had a dominant debut as a closer in ’17, saving 21 games with a 1.67 ERA and 0.889 WHIP.
The third deal was a swap of power hitters, in an attempt to clear position log jams on both ends. The Kings dealt their longtime slugging outfielder Jay Bruce to the Cougars for first baseman Justin Bour. On the Kings side, this was mostly a move to clear an overcrowded outfield, but also to get younger. Trading away Bruce allowed them to select rookie outfielder Willie Calhoun with their subsequent pick, in the fifth round. Of course, hours after they drafted Calhoun, he got sent to the minors. But this was a future value play anyway. Meanwhile, the Cougars didn’t have much use for Bour after drafting Justin Smoak and Bruce fills a need for a power hitting outfielder.
With four rounds remaining in the draft, we should easily finish up with time to spare before Opening Day. Thanks to everyone for keeping things moving. I hope to start my season preview articles this upcoming weekend. Until then, keep up the good work!