SBaSABR Season 9 Draft Preview
The eyes of the fake baseball world will all be on the Stratomatic Baseball Association for the league's ninth draft. The draft begins Friday evening and there are lots of storylines to highlight as the league heads into the draft. We've collected the ten biggest stories and will highlight them here!
Many GMs were consulted on various questions in this article, all of them were granted anonymity in exchange for their candor.
#10 - Jacob deGrom is available in the draft for the first time since Season 1. Where will he end up?
In the inaugural draft, prior to Season 1, Jacob deGrom was selected in the first round, with the eighth pick by the Chernobyl Radioactive Fish Babies. deGrom spent the next six seasons with the franchise. Over those six seasons, he tallied 717 innings over 100 appearances. 717 is a record for any player with a single franchise. Simply put, deGrom was the man in his 6 seasons with Chernobyl/Philadelphia.
The league was shocked when deGrom was dealt to the Milwaukee Bovines in exchange for Paul Goldschmidt. deGrom was then dealt during Week 10 of Season 8 to the Columbus Macho Men, ending a stellar run with the Bovines. When the Macho Men released their players kept for Season 9, deGrom's name shockingly wasn't on the list, meaning for the first time in 9 seasons, Jacob deGrom is available in the draft.
#9 - Which player are you most excited to see where they are drafted?
We asked a number of GMs who they had their eyes on, not so much as targets but as stories for the league. We received a number of answers. Cody Bellinger received a few nods, not because he's expected to tear it up in Season 9, but because he would be an excellent piece to have for Seasons 10 and 11. Another GM was excited to see where Josh Lowe ends up. And one GM brought up Michael Brantley, suggesting that this might be Brantley's last season in SBa. Brantley isn't the only player who may be ending his illustrious career in SBa, more on those players later.
#8 - Shanghai has no pitching! What are they going to do?
As teams were offering contract extensions for Season 9, the Shanghai Wu Xia offered 7 players extensions. They were four infielders, two outfielders and team legend Salvador Perez at catcher. None of this is a surprise, except, there's no pitching! The Wu Xia begin the draft without having extended a single pitcher.
An astute observer might think, that's okay, that's why there's a draft! However, 39 pitchers are already off the board, having received contract extensions from their clubs. There are a few notable pitchers on the board, namely deGrom, along with a few others. But will any of the big picks be there when the Wu Xia pick eleventh?
#7 - Last Call for a few SBa mainstays.
As the league continues, we are forced to say goodbye to some players who will retire at the end of the season. This season brings about retirement tours for Yadier Molina, Steve Cishek and Andrelton Simmons.
Molina has played for 4 franchises: West Virginia, Philadelphia, Dallas and Hampton over 8 seasons. He has 962 career Plate Appearances with 218 hits, 33 homers and 1 stolen base. Yes, you read that right. He has a stolen base, way back in Season 3. Molina, heading into his final season, has a career slash line of .246/.301/.409. And, of course, Molina is known as a glove first catcher and has one Gold Glove to his name, in Season 3 with the Black Bears.
As most relievers learn in SBa, you're going to play for a lot of teams. Steve Cishek has played for nine of them over 5 seasons (He didn't appear in Seasons 1, 4 or 5). Cishek has 80.1 IP, 83 K and a career ERA of 5.71. He has indicated that Season 9 will be his final SBa season.
Simmons has played for 5 franchises over 5 seasons of work. Simmons has 937 career plate appearances with 229 hits, including 4 homers. He has a career wF% of .937 at shortstop. Simmons only received 2 plate appearances in Season 8, so we may have already seen the last of Simmons in SBa.
Adam Wainwright is in an interesting position. Waino pitched well in Season 8 and should certainly see use again in Season 9, but has hinted at retirement. If Season 9 is the end for Wainwright, he has the chance to add to his 480 innings and 381 strikeouts which he's amassed over 6 SBa seasons. Wainwright most recently appeared for the Wu Xia in Season 8, but has pitched for 5 franchises over his career.
Don't worry we know we forgot one, we'll get to him later.
#6 - Who will make the first post-draft trade?
In the Season 6 draft room, there was a trade brokered before the end of the draft between the Milwaukee Bovines and Denver Zephyr. Will there be a trade during the draft or one shortly after? If someone snipes a player, the trade negotiations usually open pretty quickly. Who will make the first post-draft trade and how soon after the draft will this happen? These are always fun to watch for!
#5 - The revamped Shoebills just barely missed the playoffs. What's their plan to get over the hump?
Since losing in Game 73 to the Philadelphia Phantoms, the Kampala Shoebill Storks have added Luis Guillorme, Nolan Arenado and Cedric Mullins while losing Sandy Alcantara and Randy Arozarena. The Shoebills still have Spencer Strider, the first overall draft pick of the Season 8 draft, to go along with their newly revamped offense.
But, the Shoebills have not been to the playoffs since Season 5, when they lost in the first round to eventual champions West Virginia. What is the Shoebills plan to get over the hump and make the playoffs in Season 9 after being so, so close in Season 8?
#4 - Will any of the Socialism candidates catch on?
In odd numbered seasons, the league has a program designed to give players who didn't play in the previous season a chance to make a roster. It's called "Socialism" and is designed to open roster spots to players who couldn't quite catch on in the previous season. We asked a number of GMs if they had any predictions for the Socialized players. Here are five Socialism Candidates to Watch:
Hunter Brown: Brown is a high cost swing-man who can fill multiple roles on a team's pitching staff. Brown can reliably start or can throw multiple innings out of the bullpen. While struggling to impress teams in Season 8, the righty could get a shot in Season 9, which would be his SBa debut.
Jimmy Herget: Another reliever who can go multiple innings. Herget does not have as much versatility as Brown because he's not also a starter, but also comes at a lower cost. Herget only played in Season 4, registering 11.1 innings between the Denver Zephyr and the Tokyo Kaiju. He could see some work this season after the long break.
Max Kepler: Not a pitcher! Kepler, a five-year veteran in the league could not break onto a roster in Season 8, but, according to the GMs we spoke with, the career .215 hitter could find himself drafted and playing in Season 9.
Gabriel Moreno: The rookie catcher spent Season 8 preparing to hopefully make his SBa debut in Season 9. He is extremely versatile, also able to play 2B, 3B and LF and could prove to be a valuable piece of a team in Season 9. Will this be the season when Moreno hears his name called during the draft?
Cionel Perez: Also looking to make his SBa debut is another reliever. Perez is a more traditional one-inning reliever, but is the only lefty on this short list of socialized players.
#3 - There are a number of high profile players in this draft, where will they go?
There are a remarkable number of very high profile players joining Jacob deGrom in the draft, an outfielder, a starting pitcher, 2 relievers and a dynamic infielder.
Will Brennan won the batting crown in his rookie season, hitting .359 with the West Virginia Black Bears. Black Bears GM Cal rewarded Brennan by not offering him a contract extension. Brennan plays all three outfield positions, though his natural position is left field. Where will the hot hitting outfielder be drafted as he heads into his second SBa season?
Max Scherzer has played in each season, but has had an uneven career in SBa. Scherzer started his SBa career by winning the Cy Young Award in Season 1 with the Baltimore Crabbers (who became the Dallas Drillers) before spending time with the Tokyo Kaiju and then heading to spend the last few seasons with the Denver Zephyr. "Mad Max" is coming off a season where he pitched 72.1 innings with 86 strikeouts to the tune of a 4.23 ERA. GMs were surprised when Denver GM Foxx didn't extend Scherzer so all eyes are on the heterochromiac heading into the Season 9 draft.
A pair of high powered relievers have both re-entered the draft pool after not agreeing to extensions with their Season 8 clubs. First, Emmanuel Clase, is leaving the Dallas Drillers, the only club he's been with in SBa. Clase has 123 innings in his career and has a career mark of 8 strikeouts/9 innings. In Season 8, though, Clase made 23 appearances, recording 11 saves with an ERA of 2.96. Over 27.1 innings, he struckout 30 (a career low mark for the hard throwing righty). Clase is on the open market for the first time in 3 seasons, could he be finding a new home?
Edwin Diaz is entering his seventh season in SBa. He is second among career saves leaders with 74 (Liam Hendriks is first with 89). In Season 8, with the Columbus Macho Men, the master of the trumpets pitched in 24 games for 23.2 innings. He notched 12 saves, 29 strikeouts and finished the season with a 2.66 ERA. Diaz will bolster someone's bullpen, the only question is where.
Finally, the top star of this draft is Xander Bogaerts. Bogaerts has been in the league since Season 2 and has a career batting average of .279. Bogaerts is a servicable shortstop who has been getting better at the position and had his best defensive season in his career in Season 8 (.922 wF%). Bogaerts won't hit a lot of homers for whichever team drafts him (he only hit 7 in Season 8), but his OPS was still .792, just under his career mark of .831. Bogaerts is a star that can be built around and could certainly be a candidate for receiving a contract extension in Season 10. Some GMs think Bogaerts could go first overall to the Bovines.
#2 - Season 9 will be the final season for the legendary Albert Pujols. Where will he be drafted for the final time?
It's a shame that it took Albert Pujols so long to really catch on in SBa. The immortal slugger did not play in Seasons 1, 3, 4 or 5 and only registered 9 plate appearances in Season 2. He finally broke on for a more regular role with the Tokyo Kaiju in Season 6. He finished Season 6 with a .321/.367/.857 slash line, for an incredible OPS of 1.224. Pujols mostly faced lefties with the Kaiju as a platoon DH, hitting an astounding 10 HR over only 60 plate appearances.
In Season 7, the Denver Zephyr drafted Pujols and used him in a similar role. The slugger hit .233 that season with a .732 OPS. His real breakout season was Season 8, though. Pujols was re-drafted by the Zephyr in the 12th round. Season 8 was Pujols' first season of regular work, getting a career high 270 plate appearances and hitting 22 homers. He finished Season 8 with a .919 OPS.
Pujols has indicated that he has one year left in the tank and wants to go out on a high note. Who will draft the legend in his final draft and where will he finish his career?
#1 - Who will the Milwaukee Bovines select with the first pick?
The league seems to believe that ace Gerrit Cole will be returning to the Cows with either the first or second pick, but with the non-Cole pick, will Basebally eschew his defense-first philosophy in favor of a bat-first player? The Bovines offense was sorely lacking in Season 8 and could use a boost in the form of one of the available power bats. Basebally has lots of options, and loads of cap space; but he's also proven to be a bit of a wild card in the past. There's no way to predict what he will do, we'll all just have to wait and see.
For good fun, we asked GMs who they thought Basebally would take. Most of them said Gerrit Cole, but when pressed for another answer, people also thought a reunion with Jacob deGrom could be happening, or that Basebally picks up Xander Bogaerts. Intriguingly though, a few GMs thought the Bovines will use their first pick to reunite with Christian Yelich. One of the GMs, on a reunion with Yelich, "He's not getting sniped this year, and guaranteed it by keeping the least (sic) players."
The SBa Season 9 Draft begins at 8:00 EST on Friday January 12.