ND5533

Here's my attitude towards adding a 6th SP. They need to either be clearly better than Montgomery, or they need to have options/team control so there's some longer term hope that can be cultivated. Ross is neither, and I really don't have any interest in him. As for what the FO is actually doing, well they clearly have some interest in Ross so maybe they're more optimistic than Ross than me or just want the body to sort out later. If they don't get Ross, I imagine they'll continue trying to get some level of controlled SP, be it a failed prospect or someone more in the Montgomery mold. They may also like Zastryzny as a 6th starter more than we think, and they also might believe that finding a 6th starter without options(like Ross) is easier near the end of ST as teams sort out their 25 man rosters. I hear ya and that all may be completely accurate, I don't know. Like I said I trust the FO just wondering. I do think Ross is perfect for the Cubs. I get the control part but even today news is coming out that the Cubs intend to go with a 6 man rotation at times. I kind of expected that to be honest we don't want our guys to wear down. Arrieta may have had that issue 2 years ago, Lackey is getting up there and Montgomery hasn't experienced that workload. That's all IF they stay healthy for the whole season. With an established 5 we don't have to push Ross and can let him take his time in rehab. I like Montgomery but I don't know if we can clearly state he's better than Ross. Obviously huge red flags with Ross right now but we'll see.

Thanks greatly appreciated. You don't think Maeda is worthwhile to keep? At least realstive to the other guys. For some reason I think he's gonna have a solid year (18 ish wins). Maybe I'm crazy though. It's probably best to auction him though as I need every dollar I can get right now. The other thing about Javy is versatility is a big thing but odds are Story and Turner will be my SS & 2B all year. Turner will be 2B eligible for the season, so my line of thinking is that hurts Baez's value significantly for me. It'd still be nice to have that versatility on the bench but I'm not sure if it's the right move for me. What are your thoughts on Maikel Franco? Do you think last year is basically the norm for him or does he take another step forward? Personally I think last year is more than norm for him. Oh one last thing! Do I keep Swanson as a minor leaguer for the season (barring an injury to Story) or do I activate him right away? If I activate him after auction he's $1 for the season but the clock starts so in 2018 he'd be $6. If I keep him down all season he'll remain $1 in 2018 and will create a little monetary separation between he and Story. I am allowed 2 minor leaguers and will be adding another one now that Giolito is no longer my property.

I gotta think he (Ross) is must have for the Cubs. He doesn't even know want a long contract so even if we have to overpay for him what's that mean? An extra 2-3 mil, so what. I'm confused about what we're doing with starters this year. I have full faith in Jed/Theo but I'm just not sure what their stance is. Last year it was obvious they wanted to stockpile potential starters. Although we didn't need those guys due to remarkable health of our 5 starters it didn't exactly flop. Warren turned into a piece for the closer to push us over the top, Wood turned out to be pretty valuable and Cahill had some decent moments in the pen too. I think that strategy was the right decision even thought it wasn't necessary. Obviously we've built a pretty solid pen and we don't really have room on major league roster, making their task much much harder but I'm wondering what caused the shift in philosophy. Just thinking out loud I guess, don't mind me!

Thanks for the reply! Money is pretty tight and I think I have to use Yelich as an auction guy. Do you think there are 3 guys I can put up for auction that will for sure be bid on? I guess that's the biggest struggle for me since I haven't been in an auction draft and wasn't around for any of the auctions in this league before. I can't lose my #2 pick. Btw I should have been more clear on Minors. Since I didn't activate Swanson he can remain my property for only $1, as long as I want, while not counting toward the 6. Prior to keepers I only have $228 salary, the lowest in the league sadly. The moves you make throughout the season count toward that salary. I won't bid on anyone in the auction (30 players) but I will fill my roster through the draft. First 3 picks $9, next 3 $6, next 3 $3 and $1 for rds 10-completion. Also do you think Javy is a sure keep? Will he for sure play enough games to warrant $11? I'm kind of intrigued by Hedges and Renfroe. Hedges seems to have a decent stick and the potential to be a solid young C for a few years for me (I think he'll be the guy this year) while Renfroe continued to put up good numbers in the minors (I think he'll be the everyday RF and middle of the order hitter). I'm also very intrigued by Maeda and Montgomery, like most leagues strikeouts are important but wins are huge. I think it's 10 pts a win if I'm not mistaken. Have those guys on two elite teams would be big, assuming Monty stays in rotation. lol yikes!

Dbl post

Hey guys new to posting, long long time reader. I finally got off my butt and created an account to ask for help. I joined a new (new to me, long running league) NL only keeper league and need your help. My team sucks! I took over mid season for a guy that ran it into the ground and got booted, I got in for free but now need to pay yearly. I tried to salvage what I could in terms of future assets but it was slim pickings. Here is my roster, I need to keep 6 guys and put 3 up for auction. Minor leaguers are not included in that. If a player is kept his dollar amount increases by $5. If I put a player up for auction and he is not bid on I have to keep him and he becomes my first pick and so on. I have the #2 pick in the draft so I can't have that happen. Anyways here is my roster, please help! P.s. I have the least amount of money going into the year so I really want to keep prices as low as possible for at least a year or two. Pos, Player, 2016 cost C- Austin Hedges $1 C- Jorge Alfaro $1 1B- Justin Bour $6 2B- Chase Utley $1 3B- Maikel Franco $6 2B/3B/SS- Javy Baez $6 OF- Jorge Soler $3 CAN'T KEEP OF- Trea Turner $1 OF- Christian Yelich $16 OF- Hunter Renfroe $1 SS- Trevor Story $1 SS- Dansby Swanson *Minors get to keep him for $1, do I activate him right away? SP- Jason Hammel $13 SP- Kenta Maeda $9 SP- Tanner Roark $1 SP- Jeff Samardzija $9 SP- Jake Thompson $1 SP- Brandon Finnegan $1 SP- Wei-Yin Chen $6 SP/RP- Mike Montgomery $1 SP- Zach Wheeler $1 RP- Arodys Vizacaino $3 SP- Lucas Giolito *Minor CAN'T KEEP :(