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Arizona Diamondbacks

Reds' Hamilton spurs bidding war in wild NL LABR auction

Steve Gardner
USA TODAY Sports
Reds outfielder Billy Hamilton has been working on his bunting this spring as a way to improve his on-base percentage.

PHOENIX – Over the 21 years the League of Alternative Baseball Reality has been in existence, there's usually something memorable to take away from each draft.

But when the 12 team owners gathered at the Arizona Republic headquarters for the National League auction, no one could have foreseen the strange twists and turns that unfolded over the next four-plus hours.

LABR owners are usually very aggressive at the beginning of the auction. And frequently the first few players nominated go for slightly more than expected.

But not this time.

In fact, the opposite occurred. Owners were uncharacteristically cautious with their $260 bankrolls, from almost the opening nomination (Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper went for $32) through the first break midway through the draft.

Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw was the second player tossed out and he sold for a reasonable $35. Next, Colorado Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez went for $36 and Atlanta Braves closer Craig Kimbrel for what seemed like a slight bargain at $22.

And just like that, the bar was set for hitters, starting pitchers and closers.

Not even Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen or Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt – the consensus top two National Leaguers in most fantasy rankings – could entice the owners to go the extra buck. McCutchen sold for $35 and Goldschmidt for $33. The expected bidding wars just never materialized.

However, there was one notable exception.

Without question, the single most-discussed fantasy issue this offseason has been the value of Cincinnati Reds outfielder Billy Hamilton.

Hamilton's lightning-fast speed – which propelled him to a record 155 stolen bases in the minors two years ago – could very well be a game-changer in fantasy leagues. But the jury is still out on whether or not the rookie will be able to get on base frequently enough to take full advantage of his great speed.

For a player with that kind of upside, there will usually be at least one person in the room who's willing to take the risk. In this instance there were two: defending league champions Greg Ambrosius and Shawn Childs of the National Fantasy Baseball Championships … and Dalton Del Don of Yahoo! Sports.

Although Hamilton has yet to win the center field job in Cincinnati or prove he can hit major league pitching, the bidding quickly passed the $20 mark. Both sides kept pounding away until Del Don got the final word with a bid of $28.

The bidding war made for plenty of drama – and great fodder for the SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio crew broadcasting the draft live to discuss – but it was merely the exception to the rule of the night.

To put things in perspective, Hamilton's $28 price tag was a dollar more than what owners paid for outfielders Yasiel Puig and Jay Bruce or first baseman Freddie Freeman. It was two dollars more than outfielder Giancarlo Stanton or the league's top third baseman, David Wright.

In fact, Hamilton sold for more than any pitcher – outside of Kershaw.

Pitching seemed to be discounted throughout the auction. Only seven pitchers topped the $20 mark, with Stephen Strasburg of the Washington Nationals and Jose Fernandez of the Miami Marlins the closest to Kershaw at $27 apiece.

A number of perfectly decent starters – Matt Garza, Patrick Corbin, Lance Lynn, Yovani Gallardo, Dan Haren, Ian Kennedy and Tim Lincecum to name a few – didn't even crack the $10 mark.

Closers were almost criminally cheap as four team owners chose to pass on them altogether.

The big three of Kimbrel, Aroldis Chapman and Kenley Jansen were all $20 and above. But outside of Sergio Romo ($17), Trevor Rosenthal ($16) and Huston Street ($16), the rest of the relievers went for $12 or below.

So where did all the money go? A disproportionate amount went to marginal players filling out rosters in the endgame – mostly in the infield.

For example, the Arizona Diamondbacks' Mark Trumbo (NFBC mixed-league ADP: 63) was purchased early in the draft for $20. Owners who waited until very late to get a first baseman ended up with Justin Morneau (ADP: 206) or Adam LaRoche (ADP: 269) for $17.

At third base, Washington's Ryan Zimmerman (ADP: 63) cost $22 in the early part of the draft – the same amount Colorado's Nolan Arenado (ADP: 175) went for late. Pedro Alvarez of the Pittsburgh Pirates (ADP: 82) was another early buy at $20, but that was just two dollars more than the Reds' Todd Frazier, who has an ADP of 211.

Unlike in the AL, which had the owners of all 12 teams return from last season, there are three new faces this year in NL LABR.

Perhaps a bit of unfamiliarity with each other contributed to the irregular bid results, but there was clearly something different at work during this year's NL auction.

It should make for plenty of wheeling and dealing during the season as teams look to shore up their weaknesses coming out of such an unpredictable draft.

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