Over at Baseball Prospectus there has been a fantasy baseball dynasty league draft going on for the last week and a half. They brought in prospect and fantasy writers from around the internet to conduct the draft, based on fantasy baseball purposes. While many things in fantasy baseball directly link to production on the field, and thus true prospect lists, they aren’t always seamless transitions between the two. A strong defender with a light bat will be overlooked in fantasy circles but could do well on a true prospect list.
The draft has been broken down into three parts so far. Here’s a link to the most recent one, which also has links to the previous two parts.
On the first day the Cincinnati Reds only had one player taken, Jesse Winker went 28th overall. Al Melchior, writer at CBS Sports, had this to say about Winker:
A strong power showing in the Midwest League in 2013 raises hope that his 13 homers in 53 Cal League games weren’t just a park factor mirage, and his ability to draw walks has been apparent at every level. All that may stand between Winker and the starting left field job in Cincinnati is Marlon Byrd, and he could be traded at the July 31 deadline or at least potentially become a free agent next offseason
The second day saw Robert Stephenson taken, 32nd overall in the draft. Baseball Prospectus writer Nick Shlain made the pick and had this to say about the right hander:
He needs to improve his control in order to take the next step, but I’ll take that chance in the third round.
Day three, which took place yesterday, saw two Reds prospects taken as the draft went 45 picks instead of the 30 that the previous two parts had gone.
Cuban right hander Raisel Iglesias went 95 overall to John Sickels of minorleagueball.com. Sickels had this to say about Iglesias:
He’s up to 95, shows a strong breaking ball, and the Reds think he will show a sufficient changeup to be a starter eventually. I don’t know what I’m really getting here: Is he a rotation anchor? A middle reliever? But it seems like a fun gamble to take.
Going 100th overall was a bit of a surprise, but Eno Sarris of Fangraphs selected Alex Blandino with his pick. Here is what he had to say:
At the very least, he’s a smart player who can play third or second (he was often the shortstop in college), has a good eye at the plate, has performed well to date, and as a 22-year-old out of college playing what might become a position of need for the Reds, I don’t think he’ll take all that long.”
The draft isn’t over yet, but it will be another few days before the next few rounds begin. While the fantasy drafts are a bit different than what a prospect list will look like, the Reds still had a good showing. Hopefully that will continue as they move forward with the draft.