Bases Loaded Fantasy Baseball Podcast · Fantasy Baseball | Mike Kurland | Age of Radio

Ep. 206: Navigating the early rounds - strategy, fades, and targets

·1 hr 15 min·5 clips

Shohei Ohtani can create a bench-eligibility problem in draft-and-hold leagues.

1. Bases Loaded Fantasy Baseball Podcast episode 206 focuses on navigating early rounds in 15-team draft-and-hold fantasy baseball leagues. 2. Mike Curlin hosts with George, his “loyal and trusty sidekick,” and both speak from their own DC experience. 3. The episode asks how to build a roster through the top 100 picks while balancing hitters, pitchers, and positional flexibility. 4. Mike says he usually starts with a hitter in round 1 and is trying hitter-hitter-hitter builds before turning to pitching. 5. George says earlier in draft season he could wait longer on pitching, but now arms like Yoshinobu Yamamoto are moving into the third round. 6. Both describe the early rounds as the place where roster foundation and construction matter more than chasing isolated names. 7. Mike says he likes Aaron Judge more than consensus because 37 home runs in limited games still play at the top of round 1. 8. George says Garrett Cole is the first-round pitcher he is most willing to fade because of declining swing-and-miss indicators. 9. The Cole discussion includes K-minus-walk rate, chase rate, swinging-strike rate, contact rate, and a late-season velocity dip to 96.1 mph. 10. George says Shohei Ohtani is harder to use in draft-and-hold leagues because his UT-only slot can block later UT-only reserve picks. 11. The Ohtani discussion specifically names Andrew McCutchen and Mark Vientos as examples of reserve bats that lose value when UT is already occupied. 12. Mike says that same limitation is less of an issue in fab leagues because a free-agent pool can cover injuries and depth. 13. George says Eli De La Cruz forces batting-average repairs that can close off later players such as Max Muncy, Schwarber, Drew Waters, and Jared Kelenic. 14. George also points to Luis Robert as a strong toolset pick, but says injuries and strikeout growth make him hard to trust at the price. 15. CJ Abrams becomes a major debate because one huge July and a 40.4 WRC+ against lefties sit beside a weak overall line. 16. George says Abrams’ profile looks good enough that he can still steal bases, but the batting-average and on-base concerns make him uneasy in the third round. 17. Mike and George keep the tone analytical and conversational, with long back-and-forths about draft tiers and how recent ADP movement changes the board. 18. The format is mostly strategy talk, with concrete player names, ADP notes, and roster-building examples rather than one-off hot takes. 19. Listeners who play 15-team draft-and-holds and care about roster construction will get the most from this episode. 20. Listeners looking for a quick standard-league sleeper list will probably skip it.

As heard by us

A tight draft-room argument about ceiling, floor, and what early picks really cost.

Early-round fantasy baseball gets treated here as a subtraction game, and the episode stays on the useful question: what can a manager afford to pass on?

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Why you'd press play

Pressure-test your early-round board before you lock in speed.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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