{"id":602506,"date":"2026-03-02T23:32:40","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T23:32:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/602506\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T23:32:40","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T23:32:40","slug":"fantasy-baseball-draft-tips-how-nl-labr-experts-managed-their-auction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/602506\/","title":{"rendered":"Fantasy baseball draft tips: How NL LABR experts managed their auction"},"content":{"rendered":"

PHOENIX \u2014 Even with longstanding traditions, it\u2019s not a bad idea to change things up a little every so often.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s League of Alternative Baseball Reality<\/a> drafts were unique in that they were held in conjunction with the annual Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) Analytics Conference at Arizona State University.<\/p>\n

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So for the first time in its 33-year history, LABR paired with SABR. Pretty cool.<\/p>\n

That could also describe the auction room, where \u2013 outside of Shohei Ohtani at $47 and Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr. at $40 \u2013 the bidders seemed intent on conserving their cash.<\/p>\n

In contrast to the LABR AL auction the day before<\/a>, the top NL players at several positions went for what felt like slight bargains.<\/p>\n

Through early drafts this season, either the Braves\u2019 Matt Olson or the Phillies<\/a>\u2019 Bryce Harper lead the way at first base. However, Rafael Devers of the Giants was the most expensive in this one, going for $30, which was $3 more than Harper, $4 more than the Dodgers\u2019 Freddie Freeman and $5 more than Olson.<\/p>\n

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On the other corner, third basemen Manny Machado, Eugenio Suarez and Austin Riley barely cleared the $20 mark.<\/p>\n

Bidders were a little more willing to spend on outfielders, but after a power trio of Juan Soto ($39), Kyle Tucker ($32) and Fernando Tatis Jr. ($31), just seven other flychasers made it into the $20s.<\/p>\n

That reluctance to spend early on the most talented performers had serious repercussions later when demand outpaced supply on middle- and lower-tier players.<\/p>\n

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FULL DRAFT GRID:\u00a0NL LABR dollar values, team rosters<\/a><\/p>\n

1 \/ 19<\/p>\n

MLB spring training 2026: Sunshine, good vibes in Arizona and Florida<\/p>\n

Feb. 13: New York Yankees<\/p>\n

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1 \/ 19<\/p>\n

MLB spring training 2026: Sunshine, good vibes in Arizona and Florida<\/p>\n

Feb. 13: New York Yankees<\/p>\n

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2 \/ 19<\/p>\n

MLB spring training 2026: Sunshine, good vibes in Arizona and Florida<\/p>\n

Feb. 13: Los Angeles Dodgers<\/p>\n

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3 \/ 19<\/p>\n

MLB spring training 2026: Sunshine, good vibes in Arizona and Florida<\/p>\n

Feb. 13: Detroit Tigers<\/p>\n

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4 \/ 19<\/p>\n

MLB spring training 2026: Sunshine, good vibes in Arizona and Florida<\/p>\n

Feb. 13: Milwaukee Brewers<\/p>\n

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5 \/ 19<\/p>\n

MLB spring training 2026: Sunshine, good vibes in Arizona and Florida<\/p>\n

Feb. 10: Atlanta Braves<\/p>\n

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6 \/ 19<\/p>\n

MLB spring training 2026: Sunshine, good vibes in Arizona and Florida<\/p>\n

Feb. 10: San Francisco Giants<\/p>\n

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7 \/ 19<\/p>\n

MLB spring training 2026: Sunshine, good vibes in Arizona and Florida<\/p>\n

Feb. 10: Chicago White Sox<\/p>\n

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8 \/ 19<\/p>\n

MLB spring training 2026: Sunshine, good vibes in Arizona and Florida<\/p>\n

Feb. 10: Arizona Diamondbacks<\/p>\n

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9 \/ 19<\/p>\n

MLB spring training 2026: Sunshine, good vibes in Arizona and Florida<\/p>\n

Feb. 11: Toronto Blue Jays<\/p>\n

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10 \/ 19<\/p>\n

MLB spring training 2026: Sunshine, good vibes in Arizona and Florida<\/p>\n

Feb. 11: Philadelphia Phillies<\/p>\n

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11 \/ 19<\/p>\n

MLB spring training 2026: Sunshine, good vibes in Arizona and Florida<\/p>\n

Feb. 11: Los Angeles Angels<\/p>\n

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12 \/ 19<\/p>\n

MLB spring training 2026: Sunshine, good vibes in Arizona and Florida<\/p>\n

Feb. 11: Athletics<\/p>\n

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13 \/ 19<\/p>\n

MLB spring training 2026: Sunshine, good vibes in Arizona and Florida<\/p>\n

Feb. 11: New York Mets<\/p>\n

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14 \/ 19<\/p>\n

MLB spring training 2026: Sunshine, good vibes in Arizona and Florida<\/p>\n

Feb. 11: Chicago CUbs<\/p>\n

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15 \/ 19<\/p>\n

MLB spring training 2026: Sunshine, good vibes in Arizona and Florida<\/p>\n

Feb. 12: Chicago CUbs<\/p>\n

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16 \/ 19<\/p>\n

MLB spring training 2026: Sunshine, good vibes in Arizona and Florida<\/p>\n

Feb. 12: New York Yankees<\/p>\n

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17 \/ 19<\/p>\n

MLB spring training 2026: Sunshine, good vibes in Arizona and Florida<\/p>\n

Feb 12, 2026; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; New York Mets infielder Bo Bichette (19) warms-up during spring training. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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18 \/ 19<\/p>\n

MLB spring training 2026: Sunshine, good vibes in Arizona and Florida<\/p>\n

Feb. 12: Seattle Mariners<\/p>\n

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19 \/ 19<\/p>\n

MLB spring training 2026: Sunshine, good vibes in Arizona and Florida<\/p>\n

Feb. 12: Pittsburgh Pirates<\/p>\n

Strength up the middle<\/p>\n

One of the first things any fantasy manager should do in preparing for a draft is take a good look at the player pool. When breaking down the NL, one thing that stands out is the exceptional depth in the middle infield.<\/p>\n

Coming off an outstanding 2025, Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz (22 HR, 107 runs, 37 SB) was the first infielder nominated. Predictably, the talented 24-year-old set the bar at $33, but those who missed out were still able to find capable alternatives.<\/p>\n

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Eight other shortstop-eligible players fell in the $20 range, with eight more between $11 and $19. Similar depth exists on the other side of the keystone.<\/p>\n

As a result, 10 of the 12 LABR NL teams paid double-digit prices for both their primary second baseman and shortstop.<\/p>\n

DHs invade the NL<\/p>\n

Another wrinkle in the NL player pool is an unusually large number of hitters who are eligible only at the utility spot.<\/p>\n

Certainly, Shohei Ohtani is in a class by himself and also able to slot in on the pitching side (but not both at the same time). But managers who drafted Kyle Schwarber ($27), Ivan Herrera ($17), Christian Yelich ($16), Marcell Ozuna ($9) or promising Cubs rookie Moises Ballesteros ($7) had to tie up that utility spot for the rest of the draft.<\/p>\n

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As a result, those players seemed to come at a decent discount \u2013 especially Schwarber, who was the NL\u2019s third-most valuable fantasy hitter last season.<\/p>\n

Precarious pitching prices<\/p>\n

Defending NL champion Matt Cederholm, Baseball HQ\u2019s injury expert, had the honor of kicking off the auction with the first nomination, calling out the name of \u2026 Brandon Woodruff.<\/p>\n

The oft-injured Brewers ace, who was part of the title-winning squad last year, returned to his old (Cedar?) home for $17, even though he might not be ready for opening day.<\/p>\n

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From there, prices on the top starting pitchers \u2013 with the exception of $35 for reigning Cy Young winner Paul Skenes of the Pirates \u2013 didn\u2019t really set the auction room ablaze. The Phillies\u2019 Cristopher Sanchez was the second-most expensive pitcher at $30, but only six others even went in the 20s.<\/p>\n

The bidders\u2019 reluctance to spend on the elite arms had serious consequences in the middle and later stages, with prices getting pushed up on far less-talented pitchers. A total of 28 starters (2.3 per team) fell into the $10-19 range. That made it almost impossible for teams to find late bargains to round out their pitching staffs.<\/p>\n

With closers, there\u2019s a distinct tier of four elite ones in the NL And you\u2019ll have to pay up to get them.<\/p>\n

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Jhoan Duran, Edwin Diaz and Mason Miller (nominated in that order) all went for the exact same price of $24. New Mets closer Devin Williams joined them at a slightly discounted $20.<\/p>\n

After that quartet, it\u2019s anyone\u2019s guess how the rest will shake out. On this day, the Reds\u2019 Emilio Pagan was next at $16, with Raisel Iglesias of the Braves and Daniel Palencia of the Cubs just a dollar less. Perhaps the most interesting bullpen situation is in Milwaukee, where Trevor Megill cost $14 and Abner Uribe $10.<\/p>\n

NL prospect watch<\/p>\n

Finally, one of the most exciting things about the NL this season is the wealth of top prospects expected to see big-league action.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how optimistic LABR managers were about this year\u2019s crop:<\/p>\n

Pirates SS Konnor Griffin: $13<\/p>\n

Cardinals SS J.J. Weatherholt: $13<\/p>\n

Phillies OF Justin Crawford: $10<\/p>\n

Diamondbacks 3B Jordan Lawlar: $9<\/p>\n

Marlins OF Owen Caissie: $6<\/p>\n

Phillies SP Andrew Painter: $4<\/p>\n

Diamondbacks OF Ryan Waldschmidt: $3<\/p>\n

Marlins SP Robby Snelling: $3<\/p>\n

Marlins SP Thomas White: $1<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fantasy baseball NL-only auction results: LABR bidders frugal<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PHOENIX \u2014 Even with longstanding traditions, it\u2019s not a bad idea to change things up a little every…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":602507,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2276],"tags":[1110,5161,14782,78364,662,5,127,1207,1301,888,83,38,39,1087,1177,1105,92,920,815,6012,3276,543,134,81,29,76909,2291,1527,78,1101,541,101,843,4,1586,9677,877,40,863,104,921,6513,468,78365,1094],"class_list":["post-602506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb-draft","tag-abner-uribe","tag-andrew-painter","tag-arizona-state-university","tag-auction-room","tag-austin-riley","tag-baseball","tag-brandon-woodruff","tag-bryce-harper","tag-christian-yelich","tag-daniel-palencia","tag-devin-williams","tag-diamondbacks","tag-dodgers","tag-edwin-diaz","tag-elly-de-la-cruz","tag-emilio-pagan","tag-eugenio-suarez","tag-fernando-tatis-jr","tag-freddie-freeman","tag-ivan-herrera","tag-jhoan-duran","tag-jordan-lawlar","tag-juan-soto","tag-kyle-schwarber","tag-kyle-tucker","tag-labr","tag-major-league-baseball-draft","tag-manny-machado","tag-marcell-ozuna","tag-mason-miller","tag-matt-olson","tag-mets","tag-milwaukee","tag-mlb","tag-mlb-draft","tag-owen-caissie","tag-paul-skenes","tag-phillies","tag-rafael-devers","tag-raisel-iglesias","tag-ronald-acuna-jr","tag-sal-stewart","tag-shohei-ohtani","tag-society-for-american-baseball-research","tag-trevor-megill"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602506","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=602506"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602506\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/602507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=602506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=602506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=602506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}