2021 Offseason Rankings

It's time to get the hot stove fired up again. There were a few trades in December, but it has been largely quiet since then.  Below are the current, somewhat scientific rankings at the current moment. The draftboard scores are an algorithm that awards points for each round and creates an overall score, which is reflected in the offseason guide. The keeper scores are more subjective. It is important to understand that even though it is a keeper league, we're ranking for the 2021 season. So, it does not take into account future value, but rather likelihood of 2021 value.  It also assumes everyone is keeping the six players I have the highest score for from your present roster.  So even though I will probably keep Kelenic, my team score is based on keeping LeMaheiu -- as I don't assume to know who you are all planning to keep. 

The offseason guide can be found by CLICKING HERE.  So check it out and lets get dealing!

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1. Montezuma’s Revenge (Adam)

Keepers: 1^st

Draftboard: 4^th

Hard to compete with Soto, Tatis, and Mookie as a base. Giolito, Alonso, and Lemaheiu make up a solid last three, with Kelenic and Brohm as potential young options. Draftboard lacks a first, but has four seconds and nothing in last four rounds.

 

2 (t). Grit Beer and Balls (Shomphe)

Keepers: 2^nd

Draftboard: 9^th

Bellinger, Harper, DeGrom, and Cole are all highenders and Abreu and Adalbero aren’t too far behind. Not a lot extra here outside of Corbin, unless you want to assume risk of injury (Sale, E-Rod) or youth (Luzardo, May). With no first or second, the draftboard is lacking at the top but all in all spread out so it’s close to the baseline otherwise.

 

2 (t). Tomahawk Chops (Chad/Hunt)

Keepers: 3^rd

Draftboard: 8^th

Acuna is a top tier and Bichette is on the verge. Sano and Albies are very solid, while Darvish/Gallen makes up one of the best 1-2s in the league. Lots of interesting extras like BLowe, Grusham, Winker, and Burnes too. Draftboard is OK, with no 1^st and a couple other holes, but nothing that can’t be overcome.

 

4 (t). Ring of Fire (Dagan)

Keepers: 6^th

Draftboard: 6^th

Story is the headliner, followed by a bunch of solid second tier guys like Suarez, Ozuna, Conforto, Berrios, Realmuto. Goldy, Bryant, Yaz, DomSmith, Maeda all have varying levels of potential as a keeper. Predictably, Dagan’s draftboard reflects his trading style: boring and solid with one gap and a near baseline score.

 

4 (t). One Nut Wonders (Jason)

Keepers: 10^th

Draftboard: 2^nd

Lots of solidness, but nothing spectacular with this keeper group. Springer, Rendon, JDMart, and Xander are about as consistent as they come, with Snell and Yordan much less so. There isn’t a lot extra here unless Gibby wants Buxton back and we keep pretending Correa is something he’s not. Soler and Semien are OK options. The draftboard is gorgeous though with three first rounders and three thirds.

 

6 (t). Ex-Presidents (Jeff)

Keepers: 4^th

Draftboard: 10^th

The keeper score centers around the presence of Lindor and three upper echelon young starters (Bieber, Woodruff, Flaherty). We don’t really know what we’ll get from Hiura and Devers on an annual basis, but the long-term value is strong. Paddock and Contreras aren’t great options as extras, but could be a sixth. Draftboard is still strong with first and second intact and just a couple holes.

 

6 (t). Donkey Punchers (Jed)

Keepers: 11^th

Draftboard: 3^rd

Lacking big piece outside of Bauer. Nola is great and Olson, TAnderson, Blackmon are solid if unspectacular. Meadows would be a wildcard. There’s potential for Carrasco, Gray, and Villar to perform like keepers but they’re outside the top 84 right now. Pretty draftboard with two firsts and a cluster of 9 picks in rounds 5-7.

 

6 (t). Cowhide Joyride (Dave)

Keepers: 13^th

Draftboard: 1^st

With great keepers like Machado and Seager, and solid options in Voit, Lamet and Giancarlo the score would be a lot better if Lux wasn’t the only option as a sixth. Just hasn’t shown anything to project him as good value in 2021, which is what this analysis is focused on. Dave and Jason have similar boards, but Dave is much more concentrated in the upper-middle rounds. With three firsts, it’s a beaut.

 

9 (t). Anal Hershiser (Justin)

Keepers: 5^th

Draftboard: 10^th

The youth of Justin’s keepers dampens the 2021 outlook somewhat, but with Tucker, Klewis, Vlad, Eloy, and Buehler – surrounding Arenado – this is one of the top two teams long-term. There’s also Wander, Thor, Gallo, Pham, and Adell, so could easily see Justin jump up the board with some trades. He could easily fill the holes in the first, fifth, sixth and seventh and have a top 5 draftboard.

 

9 (t). The Angry Pirates (Kyle)

Keepers: 8^th

Draftboard: 7^th

JoRam is a monster and Yelich usually is, so that’s a strong base.  But there’s a bit of a gap after that. Castillo is very solid, but Altuve, Glasnow, Fried, Muncy, Castellanos, Mancini, Swanson, and Bundy all have potential and warts. There’s some small gaps in the draftboard in the midrounds, but overall a near baseline board.

 

11. Knuckle Sandwich (Jones)

Keepers: 13^th

Draftboard: 5^th

Chris’ keepers would be better if Chapman and Gleyber didn’t have such challenging 2020s, as Merrifield is a top tier producer and Sixto looks like a potential ace. The final two keeper spots are a little up in the air with Kepler and Franimal intriguing options and IAnderson and Urias talented yet unproven.  Lynn is the less glamourous but solid option and GSanchez take a leap of faith to consider. Like Dave, some solidifying of the final spots would improve that keeper score quick, but the long-term outlook is better. The draftboard has a baseline score with only a couple gaps before a nice cluster before the last four rounds.

 

12. Sexual Napalm (Gibby)

Keepers: 7^th

Draftboard: 12^th

Gibby already went to work boosting his keepers and now has Scherzer and Freeman joining Trout in one of the best cores in the league. If Moncada and Baez had 2020s that replicated their 2019s, this would be a much higher score. It would also be higher if Robles and Soroka weren’t the only real options as a 6^th.  The draftboard is fine with a hole in the second and a couple in the mid rounds.

 

13. Moose is Loose (Brian)

Keepers: 9^th

Draftboard: 13^th

Marte is still a stud muffin with five category potential and Bregman should be expected to rebound.  It’s hard to give star grades to Judge and Strasburg due to injury and Cruz due to age. Biggio looks like a budding star with five-category potential, but could also fall short of being great in any category. Teoscar, Donaldson, and Plesac have potential, but require a lot of faith. With health, this is a top keeper group.  The draftboard has a first but is hindered by a huge gap in rounds 2-5.

 

14. Brokeback Mountain (Watson)

Keepers: 12^th

Draftboard: 14^th

There’s the headliner in Turner surrounded by solidness in Rizzo, Hoskins and Kershaw, mixed with the imbalanced season of LRobert. The only thing holding this group back is the sixth because it’s really hard to have faith in Ketel and Schwarber and WSmith aren’t going to excite anyone. The low draftboard score reflects the lack of a first, fifth and sixth, and could actually be improved quickly with some trades. But ranking doesn’t reflect that this is overall solid group of keepers and draft board that just needs some minor tinkering and/or faith.