Expansion Draft Grades

With the addition of two new teams into the Stratomatic Baseball Association starting in Season Four, the league needed to have an expansion draft to give the new teams a chance to ensure that they entered the league draft with a respectable core of players. The last time SBa had an expansion draft, four teams pilfered talent from the “Dirty Dozen” of Season One. The Slimers were the only team that didn’t make the postseason after that first Expansion Draft in Season Two. This time around, the talent was everywhere as teams used varying strategies in protecting players, with a couple of teams only protecting one player, thus raising the cost to steal from them. The Sao Paulo Parrots and the Wichita WonderWolves had every opportunity to load their teams. How well did they accomplish their goal? The Co-General Managers of the Season Two Expansion Tokyo Kaiju take a look at their picks and grade them.

#1. Parrots: Corey Seager - 5th Round

We’re going to disagree with the writer of the Mock Expansion Draft, even though we shamelessly stole his format. Corey Seager was a no-brainer at Shortstop. Seager probably doesn’t have quite the upside that Lindor has, but he’s got a vastly better card for this season and next. His defense will never be as good as Lindor’s, but you’re paying for the bat, not the glove here. At 4.98 WARa, he’s pricier, but a slam dunk pick that could be the anchor for the Parrots for many, many seasons. Obviously, anyone with a brain would’ve taken Bryce Harper here instead, but…

Current Card: A
WAR Value: A
Long-Term Outlook: A-
Round Value: A+

#2. WonderWolves: Francisco Lindor - 5th Round

In the pitchers paradise in Wichita, a defensive wizard like Lindor is projected to be the centerpiece of the WonderWolves for years to come. Unfortunately, it came at a steep cost that could have been used on a staff ace, or middle-of-the-order bat. With Sao Paulo taking a shortstop first overall, this pick could have been used on literally any other position without risk of losing Lindor, since it’s reasonable to assume the Parrots would not draft two shortstops to play one position.

Current Card: C
WAR Value: B+
Long-Term Outlook: A+
Round Value: D

#3. WonderWolves: Gerrit Cole - 2nd Round

Gerrit Cole is a flat out stud. He is the SBa career strikeout leader, and looks to continue his reign at the top this season. The only downside is that Cole knows he is an unquestioned ace, so he’s paid like it. For a new franchise though, he’s a player to build around for years to come. A Cy Young is not out of the question, especially in pitcher’s paradise. The second round of the SBa draft might initially feel early, but for a staff anchor like Cole it is a worthy investment and will be worth every penny of WARa and worth any slot value passed up to retain his rights.

Current Card: A+
WAR Value: C
Long-Term Outlook: A
Round Value: B+

#4. Parrots: Yu Darvish - 6th Round

Generally, in a two-entity draft, when one person zigs, you want to zag. So when a SP is taken off the board, you could generally think, go in the other direction. The WonderWolves took Gerrit Cole with the previous pick, and the Parrots went right after another Starting Pitcher in Yu Darvish. With the WonderWolves pitching park, we thought there was a chance they’d go Cole/Darvish with their picks. But they didn’t. That left Darvish to the overjoyed Parrots who snagged up a guy who’s almost as good as Cole and did it FOUR ROUNDS LATER. This pick was a major win for the Parrots.

Current Card: A-
WAR Value: A-
Long-Term Outlook: B+
Round Value: A

#5. Parrots: Lorenzo Cain - 4th Round

LoCain is very good at baseball. It’s a bummer he doesn’t have any stealing this season because he’s so fast. But getting two seasons worth of this card in the fourth round? Wow. Wow. Wow. Huge get for the Parrots who are putting together an insane core of players.

Current Card: A+
WAR Value: A
Long-Term Outlook: B
Round Value: A+

#6. WonderWolves: Jackie Bradley Jr - 3rd Round

For the second time in as many chances, the Wolves zigged when the Parrots zigged on a specific position. Bradley is a defensive wunderkind, not unlike earlier pick Francisco Lindor. He definitely fits into the Wichita mold, but we can’t help but wonder where the offense is going to come from. We can see (and truly appreciate) the defensive foundations being laid, but with a player like Kevin Pillar being available for half the price and a later round of the draft, this feels like another reach for the WonderWolves, especially considering his real life counterpart is on the wrong side of 30 and doesn’t look to improve on his last season.

Current Card: B-
WAR Value: D
Long-Term Outlook: C-
Round Value: D

#7. WonderWolves: Dallas Keuchel - 6th Round

The WonderWolves are attempting to limit opposing teams to as few runs as possible, but we are not sure that Dallas Keuchel is the guy to do it. Some may worry about him being left handed, but we don’t think that’s the problem here. When spending this much WARa on a starter, they have to be able to go late into games, and as an S(5), that leaves a lot of innings on the table over the course of the season. They could have spent the little extra WARa on a pitcher like Zack Wheeler, who will throw a dozen more innings with very similar stats.

Current Card: C
WAR Value: D
Long-Term Outlook: C+
Round Value: B

#8. Parrots: Julio Urias - 3rd Round

This is a tough call. Urias may end up being a stud. And he’s definitely got a good card. And he’s definitely cheap. Not sure we want him for a 3rd rounder, but after slam dunking the first few picks, getting him as a 3rd rounder is fine. They basically got Darvish for free, so adding Urias for cost is fine, and he could be a stud for the Parrots for a long time.

Current Card: B
WAR Value: A+
Long-Term Outlook: B
Round Value: C

#9. Parrots: Kevin Pillar - 7th Round

We didn’t love this pick when it was made. Pillar doesn’t feel like a keeper to us, and he’s a redundant piece to Lorenzo Cain. He can play the corners, but he is at his most valuable in center, which is locked down by Cain. But he’s a fine bat, plays all over the OF and doesn’t break the budget. Knowing now that the Parrots would end their night here, this feels even better. They got 3 GREAT players, 2 solid adds and still have 2 of the top 4 picks of the draft. Insane night for the Parrots.

Current Card: B-
WAR Value: B
Long-Term Outlook: C
Round Value: C

#10. WonderWolves: Marco Gonzales - 7th Round

Now this is a pick worth writing home about! Gonzales is slated to be a top 15 pitcher in the SBa this season, and at only 3.90 WARa and a seventh? Yes, please. This pick is everything that the Keuchel pick wasn’t. The top of the Wolves rotation is filthy, entering the draft with the second best pitching core behind the Birds of War.

Current Card: A
WAR Value: A
Long-Term Outlook: B
Round Value: A+

#11. WonderWolves: Whit Merrifield - 4th Round

Whit “Few Hits” Merrifield is certainly a baseball player. His versatility is great, but spending a fourth rounder on a role player seems a tad early. For now, we will slot Whit in as the Opening Day Right Fielder since that’s where he plays the best defense. The positional flexibility to be able to slide Whit to second base should the right corner outfielder become available is a nice bonus, but we just don’t think Whit has the card to justify the slot. They needed a queen for their chess board, but instead opted to nab a third bishop.

Current Card: C+
WAR Value: A
Long-Term Outlook: D
Round Value: D

Expansion Draft Summary

Sao Paulo Parrots

The Parrots are the absolute winners of the expansion draft. In addition to a cost-effective core, they retain the #1 and likely #4 overall in a draft oozing with top end talent. Look for the Parrots to snag not one, but two of the top bats available, WARa cost be damned. During the x-draft VC, Derek was dripping with newfound confidence, and it’s easy to see why with a cast like this. The jokes about the mutually-assured-destruction management style in Sao Paulo are fun to make, but this team will assuredly not be fun to face. Look for them to push for a division title right away, unless they Derek up the rest of the draft, of course.

Current Cards: A-
WARa Value: A
Long-Term Outlook: B

Wichita WonderWolves

With the exception of draft steal Marco Gonzales, none of the WonderWolves picks really stand out as being a great pick on their own merit. However, there is a clear, defined strategy in place that looks to have Wichita ready to truly be a team greater than the sum of its parts. They will allow among the fewest runs in the league, however unless the SBa draft falls just right for them, they may also score the fewest runs. This team is destined for .500, which may push for the playoffs and with such a tight grasp on their mold, we like their chances against anyone in a short series.

Current Cards: C+
WARa Value: C
Long-Term Outlook: C-