Recap Needs
As my fantasy draft approaches, I wanted to jot down a few thoughts on the best available players who also meet my teams needs. As a recap, here is how my team currently looks:
Hitters:
C – Adley Rutschman
1B – Alec Burleson
2B – Nico Hoerner, Kristian Campbell
3B – N/A
SS – Corey Seager, Colt Emerson, Luis Pena, Jett Williams
OF – Bryan Reynolds, Emmanuel Rodriguez, Seiya Suzuki
Pitchers:
Shane Bieber, Slade Cecconi, Cade Horton, Rhett Lowder, Luis Morales, Noah Schultz, Abner Uribe, and Parker Messick
This leaves us with 9 roster spots we can claim. Ideally, we have an even split of hitters and pitchers for my first year while I figure this stuff out. However, after talking to my friend he said he usually keeps more hitters than pitchers. So i think I am going to try to go for a 15-13 split. This will also be better for me as a couple of my hitter will more than likely start in the minors this year.
Draft Style
This is the first time I will ever be doing an auction draft. I am excited to try the new format, but worry that my outlook on players will hold me back. Having helped my friend for the past couple of seasons I have noticed I am very stingy with my salary distribution, and it seems that others in the league aren’t. When I took over the team, the previous owner had Yamamoto at 60+ salary and Bellinger at 50 salary. That is over 1/3 of the total salary on just two players. That is not the style that I want to go with, honestly going above 20 salary for a player who is not a top 20 player in the league is hard for me to even consider.
Luckily, in my current position, I do have some freedom in being more passive in this draft. There is no shot that my team is competitive this year, so I can look into players who could be good in the long term instead of trying to get the top targets for this year.
Top 3B Targets
Third base is my biggest need in this draft, and unfortunately, there is not a lot of great options. According to the CBS rankings the top third basemen available are Kazuma Okamoto, Alec Bohm, and Paul DeJong. Okamoto is an interesting option, he is only 29 years old and will get to slot into a nice Blue Jays lineup where he will get pitches to hit. My fear is that he will go for much more than I am willing to offer for him, but if he happens to fall into my price range I will be happy to welcome him to the team.
My top targets outside of Okamoto are: Jordan Lawlar, Josh Jung and Nolan Arenado.
Jordan Lawlar
Lawlar is young, at only 23 years old, and will maintain his third base eligibility throughout the year even though Arizona is going to be trying him out in the outfield. His short stint in 2025 did not go very well, only batting 0.182 over 28 games. He seems like too good of a player to stay like that, he has hit at every level and I believe the position change was affecting him mentally at the plate. Looking at his trends, they seem to back that up. Once he finally got his first big league hit, he batter 0.308 the rest of the year. I can see him being a 0.280 batter and flirting with 20/20 in the near future. It would nice to be able to grab him cheap while others are down on him.
Josh Jung
A couple of weeks ago I would have had Josh Jung above Lawlar. I don’t think his 2023 was a fluke and that if he can just stay healthy he will be a top ten third baseman. However, the injury bug got him again with a hamstring strain in spring training. This could be good for me to get him even cheaper as others may stay away from him. I think he will be a good backup option for Lawlar and if he can just stay healthy will be a nice piece to this roster. If he does replicate his 2023, he could also be a piece I flip to a contender for some future prospects.
Nolan Arenado
A drastic change from the other two individuals. Nolan Arenado is old and definitely past his prime, but that could mean he falls to me cheaply. The league is made up of mainly Cardinals fans so they could still have some biases against Arenado for how his last few years went in the STL. The hitter friendly park in Arizona and the weight of no longer having to be ‘That Guy’ in the lineup could spark a nice little comeback for him. I doubt his average bounces back to his prime, but I could see him getting to 30 home runs if he gets to play everyday. An addition worth considering as a last resort.
Catcher Targets
Getting a new catcher is not as big of a need as a third baseman. I can keep Adley on my roster this year and keep an eye on any free agent catchers that might be popping off. However, I have identified two players that could be a good addition to my roster, or at least a place holder if I am able to trade Adley.
Ryan Jeffers
Not a big name by any means, but he will fill a need for our team, which is to be a transition piece so we can flip Adley and still meet roster requirements. He will get his games and be an okay bat at the plate. I don’t love the twins offense this year so I don’t think he will have many chances to do damage. However, he could build on what he did last year and I should be able to get him really cheap.
Cooper Ingle
Honestly, a very opposite draft acquisition from Jeffers. Ingle may not even make the opening day roster for Cleveland, but he is young and a plus hitter. Getting an above average hitter at catcher would be great, and he is a piece I could keep around for a long time. He probably isn’t someone I will target heavily in the draft, but if the need arises I will take a stab at him.
The Field
A lot of catchers available just feel equal in value. Tyler stephenson, Pedro Pages, JT Realmuto, etc. Nobody I want to spend a ton of salary on and I would be fine with getting any of them in free agency for $1 after the draft. The field is feeling the best option for me at the moment, especially without a deal being in place for Adley yet.
Other Targets
There are several other young players available in the draft that I would love to add to this team. Needing at least 3 batters, but more than likely 4, we have a few good options we can entertain.
Cam Smith
Cam Smith had a good year in Houston and I think he will continue to trend upwards. At only 23 years old he gives us a young piece that can contribute now and hopefully will be a start in a few years. Looks like he was on a roster last year for $15 but was dropped for this draft. If I could get him for around the same price that would be a good addition.
Evan Carter
Another 23 year that I think will continue to get better. He got hit with the injury bug after the 2023 season but I am banking on him being healthy again. He would bring a nice Steal person to my team as well. He said he wants to get to 30 stolen bases this year, and with no other speed guys on my team that could be a big addition. Last year he was on a roster for $17, I would probably bump him to $20 to get him.
Minor Leaguers
Several other players I have on my radar are minor league guys that are available and could make it to the big leagues later this year. I am wanting guys to get some MLB experience this year so that they can hopefully get the call up next year to play full time, and then the year after they are ready to break out.
- Charlie Condon – Big bat that will play well in Colorado.
- Zyhir Hope – Big Dodgers prospect, even if I don’t want to keep him around forever, good trade piece to have.
- Tommy White – A’s third baseman that could help fill our void at that position. A’s are loaded with talent though.
- Kaelen Culpepper – Twins short stop who may get called up with how bad I think the Twins will be this year.
Pitching Targets
With only 8 pitchers currently rostered, we will need to draft at least 5 to get us to 13 on the roster. I’m not for sure if their are 5 guys that I really love in this draft, at least in the long term. Several players I think will be great for this year, but probably won’t be apart of my winning years. We do need to make sure we grab someone who can get saves, right now we do not have a closer on the roster. Abner could get a few but he performed so well as a setup man last year I doubt they will stray from that. I will give my thoughts on my big 3, and then quickly list out the rest.
Tatsuya Imai
Another player who is making his debut this season after coming over from Japan. From what I can tell he looks like he will do very well. At 27, he would still be in his prime when I expect this team to do well, however, I expect him to go for way more in the draft than I am willing to give for him.
Kevin Ginkle
An older player, who will only be a rental. He is just a guy I expect to get a lot of save opportunities on a revamped Arizona team. This is more of a need add than a player I want to add.
Hagen Smith
He is very intriguing at only 22 years old. If I could get both him and Noah Schultz on my team, that could be a dynamic one-two-punch for many years to come on my roster. He might not make the opening day roster which would be great for me as that will decrease his value.
Here is the rest of the pitchers I am looking at targeting.
- Kenley Jansen – Closer that I need.
- Shane Baz – Looking to have a bounce back year.
- Griffin Jax – He has a path to being the Rays closer, but the Rays may not have many save opportunities.
- Joey Cantillo – Young player who could be a starter in Cleveland this year.
- Robert Garcia – Potentially the Rangers everyday closer.
- Matthew Liberatore – Cardinals will be bad and will give Liberatore 30+ starts if he is healthy. Last year that hurt him though.
- Jose Berrios – Always at least decent, worried he might go for too much.
- Payton Tolle – Red Sox guy who will probably start in the minors, so could go for cheap in the draft.
- Jaxon Wiggins – big arm, big upside.
Of course, this is not my final list of players. I plan on revisiting my draft plan again once the World Baseball Classic is done and teams start to finalize their rosters.
The Kutty Katt's Thoughts 