Reviewing The First SBL Draft

Toronto Bighorns started the draft with Pingu Flipperson, the batter with the highest WAR in the inaugural season of SBLM. As a do-it-all player with a very flexible build, Bighorns can surely go into any direction in this draft. They started by securing the ace of their franchise in Cid Ramirez, who is also a fellow Centurion teammate of Pingu. This is a very safe first pick as the user is a proven max earner in multiple leagues, very loyal, and has shown to not abandon a league out of nowhere. He is also a control freak so an extra safe archetype to grab early on. I think securing a pitcher early is smart in this draft due to a low amount of them. Batter is something you can worry about later as you can expect them to be available by 2.4. By that time, Bighorns decided to just go hard with double outfielders, which is a solid idea. By that time of the draft, the only infielders left were a 2B, a SS, and a 1B. So it's really "pick the outfielder you want" and Bighorns went with Sora Mekajiki and Flynn Fungo. Fungo will be duoing up with Pingu to present the speedster double threats and I think it's extra smart to keep the speed demons off all the opponents and just horde all the SBs for yourself. If you understand how OOTP sim works, you will understand this is an extra power move. Wayne Taylor is a solid pick up at 4.4. As a minor GM, it's extra security, but one can argue minor GM is a job with high turnover so not so much "security". I have not checked how Wayne Taylor is distributing his 150 bonus TPE but his minor build is a solid well-rounded build. There is only one ace in Bighorns this year, I wouldn't give a fuck about catcher's defense personally, I would just turn the catcher into an extra bat and accept that the pitching's going to suck. Eddie Donovan at last round is to be expected, so not much to say there. I am friends with Abaddon so I am easily biased if I want to say longer.

What do they need in the next draft?
- SS to pair up with Pingu
- Pitchers
- Power bat(assuming low investment with bonus TPE) OR Small ball batters(assuming they are abandoning power altogether)

What is their style this season?
I would say an offensive team that looks to bat their way to victory in Pioneers fashion. They have the speed and they have the contact to smash.


I totally expect Cardinals to become an offensive powerhouse with an elite batter in Rocky Mitchell, but when all four GMs are running great batters, some are going to not have an offensive-oriented draft. In this timeline, it's Cardinals. They went with a full defensive lineup and only their GM player is batting-oriented. Caramel Delight was an "oof" pick as the user is currently IA from this league or she'd be an excellent pick and the best C of this draft. The GM had to wait for a lot of picks before getting another one at 2.3 and then went right into a pitcher. It's smart to lock down a future ace and at least secure a pitcher before they are all gone in the draft. Domingo is another safe pick as a control freak so good pick up. After that, it's all defensive-oriented players. Cooper is ultra-defensive and is gunning for an eternal golden glove in CF with 90 range right out the gate. Lucas Peterson is versatile but definitely defense-first as of now. These two picks will make sure any ball hit into the center area is not going through easily. With such a defensive setup, Invaders ended the draft with Beatrix Ajax, another pitcher to add to their rotation.

What do they need in the next draft?
There are two ways to go:
(1) Golden Gloves
- Great fielders all over the field, including 3B and 1B(easily solved for 1B since GMP is 1B and can invest into fielding himself)
- Some batting -- even for a team that go all-in on defense, you need some run support to win games
- Elite pitchers
- Tune your park into a defensive park

(2) Balanced
- All kind of batters
- Good 2B
- More pitchers

What is their style this season?
Defense-oriented. Pray on Rocky Mitchell to hit homers and then try to hold the lead with great fielding.


Invaders' draft looks very balanced for me and I somehow feel like Prezzy picked great users behind the players more than anything and everything somehow aligned. They started the draft picking up the infield duo and if Rooks and Lewin both stay for long, they should be the best 2B-SS duo of the league for a very long time as they get a headstart as S1 draftees. Both men are great fielders so I expect Cardinals to have the toughest center infield of all the SBL teams at the moment. I really like how the GM then balanced the lineup with a hitter like Kurtis McKenzie to keep the O and D ratio 1:1 with 2 offensive-oriented and 2 defensive-oriented batters. Austin Schwartz, according to the draft, is a welfare player so he's picked last. If he sticks, he can be useful at least in the bullpen in the later seasons, and that's a way for the less hardcore player to contribute in a league. Nate Nitro is a good pick though, and can be a premier power pitcher of this league when fully developed. It will take some time though.

What do they need in the next draft?
The beauty of balanced drafting is that they can do whatever they want and there are some many ways for them to draft next year:
- Complete the starter rotation
- Complete the infield with a 3B
- Complete the outfield
- Find a style this season and strengthen that identity
OR just stick to being balanced in all things. It wins in baseball.

What is their style this season?
Balanced baseball, can win both ways. Sometimes it's a batting battle, sometimes it's a pitcher's duel, but they have the answer for every situation -- or at least they are the most prepared and adaptable of all SBL teams.


Drillers had the worst position of the draft and have to go with one less player. That can be a good thing long-term, as they can focus their money to develop the elite five this year, but long-term it can be good or bad depending on who sticks and so on. I do like the Drillers' drafting strategy though. Oildanman might be playing 8D chess, we will see. I would have drafted Nate Nitro for my 4.1 though, and go 4x SP right away, but that's me. I think Drillers draft with the future in mind, and don't really put their eyes on the next season. Or at least that's my feeling checking their draft. Like three SPs are great but you can't win without great bats or great fielding and let's just say fillers have a limit on either of those things, like fillers are unlikely to provide either one at a sufficient amount or do both at once.

What do they need in the next draft?
Here's my 8D chess idea: DRAFT.ALL.THE.PITCHERS.AGAIN. and use them to force trades with other teams and get your batters. If the other teams are hungry for rings(and I have seen more impatience than otherwise in sim leagues), they will need SPs. All other 3 teams don't have enough pitchers to trade, so they will knock on Drillers' door. Supply & Demand 101.

Simpler idea: Complete the rotation, maybe add a closer then find batters that can support the pitchers, so maybe those who are competent in fielding.

What is their style this season?
Tanking? They will try and I expect their pitchers to do some magic at times but I don't expect a great season from them as of now.

Great review!!

Nice article Goli