With the baseball season kicking off today, it is finally time to highlight my fantasy team and how my draft went.
I have chosen to spotlight my keeper league since it is one of the few things in this world that I am proud of. I have been building this team for a decade and have now given myself a potential young core that could last another 10 years.
The only rules that apply to keeping players is that you cannot keep more than 10. There are no contracts or keeper limitations…just a max of 10 per season. It allows for a proper core to be built and established, allows for significant freedom of opinion, and promotes the research and development of prospects.
I have played in other leagues with stricter keeper rules and respect the contract leagues that many partake in too, but it is largely an area of fantasy sports that comes with an abundance of space for creativity and flexibility. Choosing 10 Keepers every season can be tough, and it is never a process that generates easy decisions.
I have had stars come and go from my team including Giancarlo Stanton, a young Rhys Hoskins, prime Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer, and even a legendary 3-year run from Khris Davis. I have also tanked on many young players as well, with recent failures being Spencer Torkelson and Jarred Kelenic.
A key part of managing a team in this league is knowing when to cut the cord with young players who never took that next step and aging vets who have already seen their best days. Everyone has slipped up at some point in letting young players go in favor of an older player or vice versa, but it’s the successful decisions get remembered forever.
I will list out my core of 10 keepers below and explain how some of these guys fell in my lap over the years and even highlight some tough decisions I had to make entering this 2025 season.
The Core:
- Elly de la Cruz
- Juan Soto
- Gunnar Henderson
- Jackson Chourio
- Freddie Freeman
- Matt Olson
- Dylan Crews
- Jason Dominguez
- Kristian Campbell
- Jackson Jobe
Juan Soto is the face of my team. Freddie Freeman is the heart. Matt Olson is the soul. The rest are just children.
Having two of the three cover athletes for MLB The Show 25 in Elly and Gunnar plus Jackson Chourio make for a solid core in its own right. A core of young superstars who have already achieved some significant milestones at the MLB level and have added tremendous value to their real-life squads.
There is a third core at play here as well consisting of big-potential prospects who have not been able to greatly contribute to their respective big-league squads yet. This group is highlighted by the likes of Dylan Crews, Jasson Dominguez and Jackson Jobe and complemented by the fresh young rookie, Kristian Campbell.
The Campbell pick represented one of the toughest decisions I ever had to make as an owner, as I had to say goodbye to Corey Seager and even Zac Gallen to make it happen. Seager would be my third shortstop and with two stud First Basemen already on my team as well, he would have no consistent playing time even in a utility spot. While he would be a great depth/bench bat to have, I opted to lean into the youth movement a bit more with this one.
If you look at this team on the surface, you will just think “HOW?!” but it took me several seasons to make this happen. Let’s start with my big-time veteran core 3. Juan Soto was a waiver wire addition in early 2018 and the league has been paying the price ever since as he has been all mine from the moment he stepped foot on a major league baseball field.
Matt Olson has been on the squad since 2018, which represents the bulk of his career and certainly his premier productivity. His 35-40 homers a year (with that beautiful ceiling of 54 set back in 2023) has provided me with a base of power alongside Juan Soto each year since 2018. He is a staple to my core and one of my favorite players in the league so if he is productive and relevant, he will have a place on my team.
Freddie Freeman might be my greatest draft pick ever. Taken in the first ever keeper draft in our league’s history, he was my first-round pick back in 2017. At this point in time, he was not considered “good enough” to be kept in a 10-keeper league, so this 1st round pick was equal to an 11th round selection. He was always productive and that was never a doubt, but I have been able to enjoy all his dominant years as the best first baseman in baseball. As a member of my team, he has finished in top 4 of MVP voting 4 times and won it once. His high average, solid power and surprising speed in recent years has made him a fortifying pulse to my team’s heart.
Gunnar Henderson was a waiver wire add in 2022 and steady keeper selection for 3 years now. Kristian Campbell was also a very sneaky free agent addition near the end of last season.
Lastly, we have Chourio, Dominguez, Elly, Jackson Jobe and Dylan Crews. All are very valuable draft selections for me in recent years as I took an underperforming team and started a rebuild. I drafted them all as top prospects, with Elly and Chourio costing me valuable high draft picks.
There is no denying the sheer potential of this core and if all pieces hit, they can hold it down for my team for years to come.
With all that said, this league drafted last night on the eve of Opening Day, and I was given the chance to add to this team. Going into the draft, pitching was my top priority while also looking into some infield production. Jobe is my only pitching keeper and could be my ace this year, but mentally I could not accept him as my ace pre-season. I had to add legitimate starters early and aggressively.
In Round 1 (equivalent to a normal Round 11), I kicked off my draft by selecting Spencer Strider, who is expected to return to the team in mid-April. I was very pleased with his availability at this pick due to the massively high upside and future potential to keep him if he returns to his dominant form.
I followed this up with a multitude of pitchers and ended up with a fortified staff that includes Cristopher Sanchez, Ryan Pepiot, Gavin Williams, Shane Baz, and Jeffrey Springs. With my last pick, I added another potential rotation piece in Noah Schultz who enters the 2025 campaign as the White Sox #1 overall prospect and the #16 on the overall MLB pipeline list.
In addition to these starters, I was able to add in Andres Munoz and Pete Fairbanks as my primary closing options while also selecting Justin Martinez in Round 20, who has potential to become the closer for a very solid young team in Arizona.
Amidst this barrage of pitchers, I filled a crucial offensive hole at 3B in the form of Cam Smith of the Houston Astros. Smith was just acquired in the Kyle Tucker trade this winter and while he has not played many games in the minors, he showed the world what he is capable of during Spring Training.
His .342 average, .419 OBP and 4 HR in 15 games was enough to earn him a spot on the Opening Day roster. I exchanged some valuable draft stock to add him, so while there is some doubt about his major league projections, his ceiling makes him even more valuable in a league like this.
The rest of the draft was essentially just shoring up the bench with names like Brice Turang, Cedric Mullins, and Victor Scott to further bolster the unbelievable collective union of speed on the roster.
There are a lot of questions, of youth and injury recovery, on my team which is not always the most ideal situation to have, but the ceiling is hard to fathom. The hitting core that was kept prior to the draft speaks for itself, and my mission to acquire several reliable pitchers was achieved. It seems safe to say my season hinges on a full recovery by Strider and maximization of potential for Jackson Jobe, Ryan Pepiot, and Cristopher Sanchez.
Baseball is a wild ride every single year, and I am more than ready for the journey.
Leave a Reply