The Eleven Guys at Every Fantasy Baseball Draft

Everyone has their own drafting strategy.

Some teams load up on sluggers early and often whilst eschewing pitching for the backend of the draft. Others opt to pile on with power arms and stud relievers and round out the offense with late round value picks. Plenty of peeps aim for a balanced approach and adapt to fortify their weaknesses throughout the season.

While there are multiple draft strategies, there are also multiple types of guys at every fantasy baseball draft. This list aims to identify the eleven most frequently found guys at every fantasy baseball draft.

There’s a very good chance you know one or more of these guys. Heck, there’s a very good chance you *ARE* one (or more) of these guys.

. . .

2021 Bets Results

The tradition of the $1 bet in the Salmon League began many moons ago between Mike and Graves as a spin-off of their NFBC $1 bets. Over the years, more and more teams have gotten in on the tradition. It has grown in prominence to the point that a portion of the draft weekend agenda is denoted for the “paying of the bets and public shaming.”

Here are the results of the 2021 bets. Be sure to bring plenty of $1 bills to pay your debts (and/or prepare to Venmo those who won’t be in attendance).

*Note: Graves — who was not in attendance in 2021 — is still owed a dollar from John, G-Doggy, and Travis for unpaid bets!

Standard Bets for 2021

Bet #1 The Padres will post a regular season winning percentage of .605 or higher in 2021.
Graves = Yes | John = No
Bet: $1
Result: The Padres **DRASTICALLY** underperformed and finished with a .488 winning percentage.
Winner: John

Bet #2a Higher end of the season ranking: Aaron Nola vs Max Scherzer
Justin = Nola | Travis = Scherzer
Bet: $1
Result: Nola = 290 | Scherzer = 4
Winner: Travis

Bet #2b Higher end of the season ranking: Aaron Nola vs Max Scherzer
Justin = Nola | Adam = Scherzer
Bet: $1
Result: Nola = 290 | Scherzer = 4
Winner: Adam

Bet #3 Adalberto Mondesi finishes 2021 with a lower Yahoo ranking than the other shortstop keepers (ie: Bo Bichette, Xander Bogaerts, Francisco Lindor, Corey Seager, Trevor Story, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Trea Turner).
Mike = No | Adam = Yes
Bet: $1
Result: Mondesi = 1132 | Bichette = 18 | Bogaerts = 66 | Lindor = 251 | Seager = 285 | Story = 28 | Tatis Jr. = 14 | Turner = 11
Winner: Adam

Bet #4 – Who is the REAL Windy City Shortstop?
Higher end of the season ranking: Tim Anderson vs Javier Baez
Graves = Anderson | Grant = Baez
Bet: $1
Result: Anderson = 114 | Baez = 109
Winner: Grant

Bet #5 Higher end of the season ranking: Alec Bohm vs Hunter Dozier
Adam = Bohm | Mike = Dozier
Bet: $1
Result: Bohm = 1032 | Dozier = 276
Winner: Mike

Bet #6 Higher end of the season ranking: Travis d’Arnaud vs Gary Sanchez
Adam = d’Arnaud | Mike = Sanchez
Bet: $1
Result: d’Arnaud = 1167 | Sanchez = 913
Winner: Mike

Non-SLB Bet

G-Doggy will get $275,000 when he sells his house in Primghar, Iowa.
G-Doggy = Yes | Graves = HAHAHAHA no way…it’s f’n Primghar, Iowa!
Bet: $1
Result: G-Doggy sold the house for, like, $38,000 and a box Cap’n Crunch!
Winner: The Commissioner wins, BAYBAY!!!

Undetermined Future Bets

Who will win the SLB Championship first?
Jay = Jay | Steven = Steven
Bet: $5
Result: TBD
Winner: TBD

Who will win the SLB Championship first?
Craiggers = Craiggers | John = John
Bet: $1
Result: TBD
Winner: TBD

Who will make the playoffs first?
G-Doggy = G-Doggy | John = John
Bet: $1
Result: TBD
Winner: TBD

Official 2022 SLB Keepers

In anticipation of the 2022 Salmon League Baseball keeper deadline – Sunday, March 6th at 5:00pm Central – we’ll be tracking all of the announced keeper selections.

If you’re plotting your draft preparations around this information, please note that none of these choices are technically official or locked in place until the deadline has come and gone.

ZIMA

Draft Priority: 1
Francisco Lindor (SS-NYM)
Nick Castellanos (OF-TBD)
Zack Wheeler (SP-PHI)

SL Disappointments

Draft Priority: 2
Manny Machado (3B-SD)
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (1B/3B-TOR)
Jack Flaherty (SP-STL)

The Groundhogs

Draft Priority: 3
Ronald Acuña Jr. (OF-ATL)
Rafael Devers (3B-BOS)
Gerrit Cole (SP-NYY)

InSaNeAuDiO

Draft Priority: 4
Bo Bichette (SS-TOR)
Ozzie Albies (2B-ATL)
Nathan Eovaldi (SP-BOS)

SeaBass v.¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Draft Priority: 5
Bryan Reynolds (OF-PIT)
Kyle Tucker (OF-HOU)
Aaron Nola (SP-PHI)
Bonus: Craiggers’ Keeper Announcement

Dome Dog

Draft Priority: 6
Aaron Judge (OF-NYY)
Jacob deGrom (SP-NYM)
Lucas Giolito (SP-CHW)
Bonus: Adam’s Keeper Announcement

Captain Jack

Draft Priority: 7
Fernando Tatis Jr. (SS/OF-SD)
Mike Trout (OF-LAA)
Joe Musgrove (SP-SD)

High Cheese

Draft Priority: 8
Freddie Freeman (1B-TBD)
Corey Seager (SS-TEX)
Corbin Burnes (SP-MIL)

cracker jack

Draft Priority: 9
Xander Bogaerts (SS-BOS)
Matt Olson (1B-OAK)
Logan Webb (SP-SF)

Genies in a Bottle

Draft Priority: 10
Mookie Betts (2B/OF-LAD)
Juan Soto (OF-WAS)
Freddy Peralta (SP-MIL)

38 MPH Heaters

Draft Priority: 11
Trevor Story (SS-TBD)
Shane Bieber (SP-CLE)
Max Scherzer (SP-NYM)

money grubbers

Draft Priority: 12
Yordan Alvarez (OF – HOU)
Shohei Ohtani (UTIL – LAA)
Charlie Morton (SP-ATL)

Salmon Kings

Draft Priority: 13
Bryce Harper (OF-PHI)
Trea Turner (2B/SS-LAD)
Walker Buehler (SP-LAD)

Radioactive Rush

Draft Priority: 14
José Ramírez (3B-CLE)
Cedric Mullins (OF-BAL)
Yu Darvish (SP-SD)

SLB League Amendment Voting Results

The votes have been counted and the results are in for this year’s proposed amendments to the Salmon League. Three amendments received the necessary support for voting and all three were approved and will be adopted as part of league play going forward.

Two of the amendments passed quite easily as obvious improvements to the league. The third was more contentious and came down to a final vote, but ultimately passed as well. Without any further ado, here are the results of this year’s amendment voting process.

Amendment Proposal #1: Reduce the number of keepers from three to two: one qualifying pitcher and one qualifying hitter. Effective 2023.

Reasoning: Increase the quality of players in the draft. Reduces the tom-fuckery of big trades at the deadline.

Proposed: Adam
Supported: Justin and Steven

Result: The amendment was approved by a vote of 8 to 6. Beginning in 2023, we will revert to two keepers: one pitcher and one hitter.

Amendment Proposal #2: Adds/drops will now be rostered on the day of the transaction, not the following.

Reasoning: none provided

Proposed: Travis
Supported: Adam and Justin

Result: The amendment was approved by a vote of 10 to 4. Beginning in 2022, transactions will be effective on the day they’re made.

Amendment Proposal #3: Change the playoff tiebreaker from ‘best regular-season record vs opponent’ to ‘higher seed wins’

Reasoning: What’s the point of kicking ass for 21 weeks to lose a tiebreaker because a team got luckier than you one random week when your team might have been decimated by injuries? Why do we not put more emphasis on being better for 21 weeks?

Proposed: Justin
Supported: Graves and Grant

Result: The amendment was approved by a vote of 11 to 3. Beginning in 2022, the playoff tiebreaker will now be ‘higher seed wins.’

2022 Draft Priority

1. ZIMA

2. SL Disappointments

3. The Groundhogs

4 .InSaNeAuDiO

5. SeaBass v.¯\_(ツ)_/¯

6. Dome Dog

7. Captain Jack

8. High Cheese

9. cracker jack

10. Genies in a Bottle

11. 38 MPH Heaters

12. Sad Sacks

13. Salmon Kings

14. Radioactive Rush

Official 2021 SLB Keepers

In anticipation of the 2021 Salmon League Baseball keeper deadline – Saturday, March 13th at 5:00pm Central – we’ll be tracking all of the announced keeper selections.

If you’re plotting your draft preparations around this information, please note that none of these choices are technically official or locked in place until the deadline has come and gone these choices are now 100% official, barring any major injuries over the next week.

SL Disappointments

Draft Priority: 1
Whit Merrifield (2B/OF-KC)
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (1B/3B-TOR)
Jack Flaherty (SP-STL)

ZIMA

Draft Priority: 2
Francisco Lindor (SS-NYM)
Christian Yelich (OF-MIL)
Luis Castillo (SP-CIN)

InSaNeAuDiO

Draft Priority: 3
Bo Bichette (SS-TOR)
Eloy Jiménez (OF-CHW)
Kenta Maeda (SP/RP-MIN)

High Cheese

Draft Priority: 4
Freddie Freeman (1B-ATL)
Corey Seager (SS-LAD)
Jesús Luzardo (SP-OAK)

SeaBass v.¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Draft Priority: 5
Alex Bregman (SS/3B-HOU)
Cavan Biggio (2B/3B/OF-TOR)
Max Fried (SP-ATL)

Radioactive Rush

Draft Priority: 6
Jose Ramirez (3B-CLE)
Yu Darvish (SP-SD)
Tyler Glasnow (SP-TB)

The Groundhogs

Draft Priority: 7
Ronald Acuña Jr. (OF-ATL)
Rafael Devers (3B-BOS)
Gerrit Cole (SP-NYY)

cracker jack

Draft Priority: 8
Xander Bogaerts (SS-BOS)
Luis Robert (OF-CHW)
Aaron Nola (SP-PHI)

Dome Dog

Draft Priority: 9
Cody Bellinger (1B/OF-LAD)
Lucas Giolito (SP-CHW)
Jacob deGrom (SP-NYM)

Captain Jack

Draft Priority: 10
Mike Trout (OF-LAA)
Fernando Tatis Jr. (SS-SD)
Chris Paddack (SP-SD)

38 MPH Heaters

Draft Priority: 11
Brandon Lowe (1B/2B/OF-TB)
Trevor Story (SS-COL)
Shane Bieber (SP-CLE)

money grubbers

Draft Priority: 12
Adalberto Mondesi (SS-KC)
Yordan Alvarez (OF-HOU)
Trevor Bauer (SP-LAD)

Salmon Kings

Draft Priority: 13
Bryce Harper (OF-PHI)
Trea Turner (SS-WAS)
Walker Buehler (SP-LAD)

Genies in a Bottle

Draft Priority: 14
Mookie Betts (OF-LAD)
Juan Soto (OF-WAS)
Jose Berrios (SP-MIN)

2020 Bets Results

The tradition of the $1 bet in the Salmon League began many moons ago between Mike and Graves as a spin-off of their NFBC $1 bets. Over the years, more and more teams have gotten in on the tradition. It has grown in prominence to the point that a portion of the draft weekend agenda is denoted for the “paying of the bets and public shaming.”

Here are the results of the 2020 bets. Be sure to bring plenty of $1 bills to pay your debts (and/or prepare to Venmo those who won’t be in attendance).

Standard Bets

Bet #1 – Double or Nothing from 2019
John will make the playoffs in 2020
Jay = Yes | John = No
Bet: $1 ($2 to John w/ a win or $0 to Jay w/ a win)
Result: John did NOT make the playoffs
Winner: John

Bet #2
Graves will win the SLB Championship in 2020
Graves = Yes | John = No
Bet: $1
Result: Graves won the 2020 SLB Championship
Winner: Graves

Bet #3
Better end of the season ranking: Chris Paddack vs Mike Soroka
Justin = Paddack| Levi= Soroka
Bet: $1
Result: Paddack = 648 | Soroka = 602
Winner: Levi

Bet #4
Better average end of the season ranking: Kershaw/Greinke/Bieber vs Scherzer/Nola/Paddack
Morgan = K/G/B| Justin = S/N/P
Bet: $1
Result: Kershaw/Greinke/Bieber = 118 | Scherzer/Nola/Paddack = 357
Winner: Morgan

Bet #5
Giancarlo Stanton and Byron Buxton will combine for 140.5 games played
Collin = Over | Travis = Under
Bet: $1
Result: CANCELLED DUE TO SHORTENED SEASON
Winner: NO ONE

Bet #6
Adalberto Mondesi will post an on-base percentage over .300
Adam = Under| Mike = Over
Bet: $1
*Injury Exemption: Void if Mondesi doesn’t get 400 at-bats
Result: VOID DUE TO EXEMPTION
Winner: NO ONE

Bet #7
Better end of the season standings (playoffs/consolation round included)
Craig = Craig | G-Doggy = G-Doggy
Bet: $1
Result: G-Doggy finished 3rd and Craiggers finished 5th in the consolation bracket
Winner: G-Doggy

Bet #8
Better end of the regular season finish: Justin vs Steven
Justin = Justin | Steven = Steven
Bet: $2
Result: Justin by .5 a game over Steven
Winner: Justin

Bet #9
Better end of the regular season finish: Travis vs Grant
Travis = Travis | Grant = Grant
Bet: $2
Result: Travis by 6.5 games over Grant
Winner: Travis

Bet #10
G-Doggy will *NOT* finish last and repeat as the Horse’s Ass (aka: Rob Manfred)
G-Doggy = Hell to the No | Graves = *extreme “Stone Cold” voice* “oh hell yeah”
Bet: $1
Result: G-Doggy finished in last again, but w/ rule changes made during the postseason, the 2020 Horse’s Ass went to the loser of the consolation bracket and will go to the loser of the 3 week playoff between the 13/14 seeds going forward
Winner: NO ONE

Bet #11
Better finish in the NL East: Braves vs Phillies
John = Phillies | Levi = Braves
Bet: $1
Result: Braves finished in 1st and the Phillies finished in 3rd place
Winner: Levi

Bet #12
Better regular season record: Twins vs Braves
Adam = Twins | Levi = Braves
Bet: Bag of Gardetto’s
Result: Twins 36-24 | Braves 35-25
Winner: Adam

Bet #13
Better finish in the NL Central: Reds vs Cardinals
Justin = Reds | John = Cardinals
Bet: $1
Result: They tied with matching winning percentages for second place
Winner: NO ONE

Bet #14
Better ranking in Cy Young voting: Jack Flaherty vs Jacob deGrom
John = Flaherty | Adam = deGrom
Bet: $1
Result: Flaherty = No Votes | deGrom = 3rd place
Winner: Adam

Bet #15
Better end of the season ranking: Mike Trout vs Bryce Harper
Travis = Trout | Steven = Harper
Bet: $5
Result: Trout = 14 | Harper = 9
Winner: Steven

Bet #16a
Better end of the season raking: Lance McCullers vs Andrew Benintendi
Justin = McCullers | Steven = Benintendi
Bet: $1
Result: Benintendi = 1130 | McCullers = 340
Winner: Justin

Bet #16b
Better end of the season raking: Lance McCullers vs Andrew Benintendi
Justin = McCullers | Jay = Benintendi
Bet: $1
Result: Benintendi = 1130 | McCullers = 340
Winner: Justin

Bet #17
Levi will win the pennant in 2020
Levi = Yes | Travis = No
Bet: $1
Result: Morgan won the pennant in 2020
Winner: Travis

Bet #18
Steven misses the 2020 playoffs
Levi = Yes | Steven = No
Bet: $1
Result: Steven was the #3 seed and lost in the championship (again)
Winner: Steven

Bet #19
Most team home runs in 2020
Mike = Mike | Justin = Justin
Bet: $1
Result: Mike = 90 | Justin = 98
Winner: Justin

Bet #20a
G-Doggy will finish 10th or higher in the regular season
G-Doggy = Yes | Graves = No
Bet: $1
Result: G-Doggy finished in 14th place
Winner: Graves

Bet #20b
G-Doggy will finish 10th or higher in the regular season
G-Doggy = Yes | Craiggers = No
Bet: $1
Result: G-Doggy finished in 14th place
Winner: Craiggers

Bet #20c
G-Doggy will finish 10th or higher in the regular season
G-Doggy = Yes | Travis = No
Bet: $1
Result: G-Doggy finished in 14th place
Winner: Travis

Bet #20d
G-Doggy will finish 10th or higher in the regular season
G-Doggy = Yes | Justin = No
Bet: $1
Result: G-Doggy finished in 14th place
Winner: Justin

Bet #20e
G-Doggy will finish 10th or higher in the regular season
G-Doggy = Yes | Grant = No
Bet: $1
Result: G-Doggy finished in 14th place
Winner: Grant

Bet #21
Twins will win 103.5 games
Adam = Over | Travis = Under
Bet: $1
Result: CANCELLED DUE TO SHORTENED SEASON
Winner: NO ONE

Bet #22a
Ronald Acuna goes 35/35
Jay = Yes | Travis = No
Bet: $1
Result: CANCELLED DUE TO SHORTENED SEASON
Winner: NO ONE

Bet #22b
Ronald Acuna goes 35/35
Levi = Yes | Travis = No
Bet: $1
Result: CANCELLED DUE TO SHORTENED SEASON
Winner: NO ONE

Future Bets

Beginning in 2017 and continuing until 2021, every year that Travis’ official keepers are his “big three for the future” (aka: Giancarlo Stanton, Bryce Harper, and Jose Fernandez)…Jeremiah will pay Travis $1 on draft day. Every year that those three are NOT his keepers, Travis will pay Jeremiah $1 on draft day.
*No injury exemption
Bet: $1 each year
Result: None of these people are on his team, one of them is dead, this was the worst bet that a trade obsessed dude could have ever made…but at least this is the final year he’s got to pay out.
Winner: Graves

Undetermined Long-Term Bets

Who will win the SLB Championship first?
Jay = Jay | Steven = Steven
Bet: $5

Who will win the SLB Championship first?
G-Doggy = G-Doggy | John = John
Bet: $1

Who will win the SLB Championship first?
Craiggers = Craiggers| John = John
Bet: $1

G-Doggy will get $275,000 when he sells his house in Primghar, Iowa.
G-Doggy = Yes | Graves = HAHAHAHA no way…it’s f’n Primghar, Iowa!
Bet: $1

2021 League Amendment

The votes are in and the lone amendment that reached the voting threshold for this season has been approved by a majority vote. The subsequent voting required went to a runoff and has also been approved by a majority vote.

In an attempt to curb the proliferation of streaming in the league, especially in the postseason. There will now be a weekly acquisitions limit in place. Each team will now be allowed to make four (4) player acquisitions per week for a total of 96 over the course of a full 24 week season, including the playoffs.

It is not clear at this time if these limits will impact preseason acquisitions or if all preseason acquisitions will count toward week one.

In addition to the limit on acquisitions, the bench has been permanently expanded from four (4) players to five (5) – a carry-over from the unique rules put in place for the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season. All other rules put in place for 2020 have been reverted to our standard rules for 2021.

Good luck to everyone in 2021.

2021 Draft Priority

1. SL Disappointments

2. ZIMA

3. InSaNeAuDiO

4. High Cheese

5. SeaBass v.¯\_(ツ)_/¯

6. Radioactive Rush

7. The Groundhogs

8. cracker jack

9. Dome Dog

10. Captain Jack

11. 38 MPH Heaters

12. money grubbers

13. Salmon Kings

14. Genies in a Bottle

Changes for the COVID-Shortened 2020 Season

Per the commissioner’s announcement from last month, the voting members of the Salmon League Baseball executive committee voted on proposals to improve play in the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season.

There were three questions in play involving the schedule/playoffs and roster construction.

The first question regarding the schedule/playoffs offered a number of options including:

Option 1 – No changes to current format
Regular Season: 5 weeks
Playoffs: 6 teams/3 weeks (weeks 6-8)

Option 2 – Move playoffs back a week
Regular Season: 6 weeks
Playoffs: 6 teams/3 weeks (weeks 7-9)

Option 3 – Reduce playoffs, expand regular season
Regular Season: 7 weeks
Playoffs: 4 teams/2 weeks (weeks 8-9)

Option 4 – Expand playoffs
Regular Season: 6 weeks
Playoffs: 8 teams/3 weeks (weeks 7-9)

Option 5 – No playoffs – Best Record Wins
Regular Season: 9 weeks
Playoffs: None

Option 6 – Cancel the whole thing and give the Genies the pennant and championship right now!

Owners were asked to rank the ideas from their most to least preferred. Ultimately, after the first round of voting, there was a three-way tie between Options 2-4. A second wave of ranked voting was done and a clear winner was chosen.

We will be expanding the playoff field in both the championship and consolation brackets to eight teams. This will elongate the regular season by a week over the current setup and ensures each team gets to continue participating in the postseason for at least two weeks to settle the final standings.

This is the best overall option for giving managers the most bang for their buck in terms of games played in the 2020 season. The consolation round will, as always, be played for draft priority in the 2021 SLB Draft to ensure no one tanks.

Two additional questions were on the docket regarding roster expansion.

We will be adding a second NA roster slot that is only for players who have opted out due to COVID (primarily intended for potential keepers) and/or for players who are on leave (ie: parental, bereavement, etc.). Teams are not to use the second NA for stashing prospects. Any team found in violation of this rule, will lose both players occupying NA slots. The commissioner will drop them from that club’s roster and the players will be placed on waivers.

We will be adding an extra bench slot for similar purposes. This bench slot is intended to be a sixth IL slot, to account for Yahoo’s limitation of five IL slots in the system. Only players listed on the IL are allowed in this roster slot. Once a player is removed from the IL a team has 24 hours to make a corresponding roster move. Any team found in violation of this rule, will lose the player occupying the IL bench slot. The commissioner will drop them from that club’s roster and the player will be placed on waivers. Unfortunately, Yahoo is a punk-bitch and this has imploded rather quickly. Due to additional loopholes, we opted to dump the extra bench slot altogether and go back to four total bench slots, but Yahoo will not allow us to lower the bench slots once they’re set to five because…reasons?! As such, we are doing a mini-one round supplemental draft from the FA pool to fill the final roster spot. The purpose of the draft and mini-freeze on roster changes is to give every team an equitable chance to add players and not give a competitive advantage to the folks who are online at the moment.

These changes are official for the 2020 season. The league will revert back to traditional rules — and any changes brought about via the traditional amendment process — in 2021.