2015 Finest Stack

Over the past week I've been catching up on sorting and putting my 2015 cards into binders. While I prefer the 2014 Finest design over 2015, some of the cards below are pretty slick.

Oftentimes cards like this fail to scan as well as I'd like, but these scanned nicely. You can even tell which cards are refractors. Here we've got the base card, followed by a Prism Refractor of Manny Machado. Adam Jones really picked things up offensively in the month of June.

Base, refractor, and black refractor of Julio Teheran. Maybe I should go after the whole set of parallels for him. Teheran is quickly becoming one of my all-time favorite Braves. It's been fun to watch him pitch despite getting little to no run support.

And a base and black refractor of Freddie. 

I don't understand why the different parallels aren't labeled somewhere on the back. Pulling these from packs it'd be tough to tell what you have, especially if you've been out of the game awhile. I wouldn't know the difference between a prism parallel and a regular refractor. But overall, a solid design. Over the last several years, I rank them this way: 1) 2014 2) 2015 3) 2016

Talked About So Much, but Still Underrated

Stadium Club photography is talked about all over the blogosphere and it's now the identifying feature of a modern Stadium Club set. While it's widely discussed, the photography is far and away better than any other set that I still think it's underrated.

I just picked up my first cards from 2016 Stadium Club the other day, but I realized I hadn't even posted about a stack of 2015 Stadium Club I picked up last year! 

Will the Braves rotation ever get back to where it was in the mid-90s? Seems unlikely, but they are trying with all the young pitchers the team is accumulating.

For the second year in a row, Adam Jones has a memorable card in Stadium Club. In 2014 it was flags with Jones running onto the field.

The All-Star, MVP candidate, and first-round pick and 'captain' of my fantasy baseball team this year.

I love a good sliding shot. First one I can remember featuring Freeman, although it's possible there's another out there.

 Another young pitcher having a solid year for a first place team. Notice the tongue.

My second-round pick for my fantasy baseball team, and my favorite player in the game today. These horizontal shots are great.

Definitely missing this guy this season. Erick Aybar has been pretty painful to watch.

Another of the more memorable cards from this Stadium Club release, I'm sure. Best pitcher in the game.

He may not be an 'ace' on every team, but he's our ace and all-star. He's also one of only three starters listed on the active roster as of Friday when this post was written. Sad times for the Atlanta rotation.

Wish I had thought of this card for a July 4th post. Perfect way to end things in this one. 

Introducing my 2015 Fantasy Baseball Team

Over the weekend I drafted a fantasy baseball team in a yahoo public head-to-head league. I have at least one team a year and in recent years I've tried to limit it to just one. I definitely drafted based on guys that are on my favorite teams, but I don't feel like I reached too much for any of those players. Here's how my team looks with the round I drafted them in. It's a 12 team league.

Round 1 - Adam Jones, OF, Orioles

Could have gone with some higher rated players here, but Adam is off to a fantastic start to the season and is definitely worth being taken in round one. 

Round 2 - Felix Hernandez, SP, Mariners

Wanted to get a solid ace for my pitcher staff and I certainly got that with Felix. He struck out 12 over the weekend to move his record to 2-0.

Round 3 - Freddie Freeman, 1B, Braves

Was going to take Chris Sale if he was available, but he was picked right before my turn. It still felt like a steal getting Freeman here, but that might be the fan in me talking. Hopefully he picks up the Braves offense this year. So with two out of my first three picks I've taken guys on my favorite squads. At least I'll have fun cheering for my fantasy team this year. 

Round 4 - Corey Dickerson, OF, Rockies

The Rockies are off to a great start, and that includes Dickerson. I've had him on my team in the past, previously as a free-agent pickup, but if he produces like he's expected to, he's worth a 4th round pick.

Round 5 - Mookie Betts, 2B, Red Sox 

Although he's playing in center field to start the season, I'm playing Mookie at second. This is where I may have reached a little, but I expect Mookie to have a great season doing a little bit of everything. He's not hitting well to start the year, so we'll see how this pick pans out, but again, I'm a fan and will enjoy cheering him on either way.

Round 6 - Julio Teheran, SP, Braves

So through 4 out of 6 rounds I've picked guys that I collect. But really, outside of Betts I picked these guys where they were valued by ESPN and Yahoo experts. Teheran will lead the Braves pitching staff this year and if he produces as he has in recent years, he'll be a big help as the second pitcher on my team. If I had to do it again, I'd probably take Adam Wainwright. Injury concerns bumped him down in the order and he was taken just after I took Teheran. I was debating on those two but the injury worries led me to take Teheran.

Round 7 - Sonny Gray, SP, Athletics

Here's where I think I got great value. This guy was fantastic last year and was surprised he fell this far in the draft. Nelson Cruz for some reason was rated really low in the default rankings and I was hoping to steal him here, but he was picked two picks before I picked Gray. 

Round 8 - Jeff Samardzija, SP, White Sox

Here's where I think my team really started to come together. The four starting pitchers I would think rival any other top starts in my league. I'm thinking at this point I've got a great chance to win most of the pitching categories on a weekly basis.

Round 9 - Jonathan Lucroy, C, Brewers

If Lucroy starts hitting I think he's a steal at this point in the draft. Surely he'll come around after an awesome season in 2014.

Round 10 - Matt Carpenter, 3B, Cardinals

Was pleased to get Carpenter here, and he's off to a great start to the season hitting .401 with 10 RBIs. Obviously that won't hold but right now he's the 3rd rated third-baseman.

Round 11 - Michael Wacha, SP, Cardinals

Well I didn't take Adam Wainwright, but I did end up taking Wacha. I'm thinking he'll have a fine season and will add to my starting pitching depth, which I think is best in the league.

Round 12 - Koji Uehara, RP, Red Sox

First relief pitcher for my squad, and I think I got him a little later because of his injury to start the year. He already has a save and a win since his first appearance on April 14th. Lots of closers were already off the board at this point so I left like I needed to take one of my own.

Round 13 - Joc Pederson, OF, Dodgers

Took a chance here on Pederson having a great season, but at this point in the draft I'm good with it. Brings a bit of excitement to my team. Chris Archer was still available leading up to my pick but was picked a few picks before. I was hoping to steal him here. At this point I still needed a few relievers, a shortstop and some utility and bench players to round out the squad.

Round 14 - Xander Bogaerts. SS, Red Sox

Though Xander plays third these days, he has eligibility at short, and that's where I'll slot him. He's off to a great start, but if he doesn't pan out I may have to look at the free-agent list/waiver wire. I don't think that'll be the case though and I feel like this is pretty good value for Bogaerts.

Round 15 - Michael Pineda, SP, Yankees

Definitely an injury risk but in round 15 if he holds up I would consider this a great value pick. He's 2-0 so far on the season with one rough outing against the Orioles. He doesn't pitch deep into games but he's definitely got upside.

Round 16 - Neftali Feliz, RP, Rangers

At this point the pickings for closers were pretty slim so I took one of the remaining guys. Not much to say other than I need the saves, even if there may not be as many opportunities for the Rangers.

Round 17 - Luke Gregorson, RP, Astros

Again I was thinking I needed another closer before there weren't any left. He does have 2 saves in 6 appearances and no runs given up so far, so maybe he'll pan out. Even though I needed a closer, Will Myers went two picks before mine and I was hoping to add him as a utility player.

Round 18 - Lucas Duda, 1B, Mets

Seemed to be a value pick as he was rated higher than this draft position on every set of player rankings I saw. Definitely adds some power to my team.

Round 19 - Dallas Keuchel - SP, Astros
Another pick I feel could be a pretty big steal at this point in the draft.

Round 20 - Gregory Polanco - OF, Pirates
Low risk pick on a high-upside player. Don't have a ton of speed either and he could add that.

Round 21 - Chris Tillman - SP, Orioles
Another pitcher I will be cheering for all year. Ace of the Orioles staff and the O's will win a lot of games.

Round 22 - Jason Grilli - RP, Braves
Was pleased when I noticed the Braves closer still available. He was rated pretty low because Kimbrel was expected to be the closer until he was traded. Probably would have taken him earlier if I had noticed he was there.

Round 23 - Drew Pomeranz - SP, Athletics
This pick was supposed to be Jesse Hahn but I ended up mis-clicking and selecting another A's starter instead. I think I may actually hang onto him and see how he does in his next few starts. Looks like he has a chance to have a solid year for the A's.

Overall I think my team stacks up well with any other in my league. My starting pitching is deep, and hopefully that will carry me and allow me to win most weeks. I will need to drop a pitcher and add a hitter at some point in the early season.

How did I do? Does anyone here play fantasy? If anyone has an opening in a keeper league, that's what I'm really interested in.