2023 LABR 12-Team Mixed League Auction Results

Everybody loves their team after a draft, right? Wrong. I’m probably a little atypical in that regard. I vascilate all over the place after my drafts but tend to look at the worst possible outcomes. The good news is that I’m not seeing any terrible outcomes with my 2023 LABR Mixed League Auction team.

The auction was held on March 5 at First Pitch Florida down in West Palm Beach. The list of my enemy combatants is down with the full auction results, but needless to say, it was a room full of experienced players and more than a few big personalities and egos.

Admittedly, 12-team auctions are tough for me. I cut my fantasy teeth on deep NL-Only leagues, so it’s hard for me to wrap my head around the high prices that can happen. Industry leagues are actually a little easier to plan for in that regard because it’s a little more predictable. In private leagues there’s always that one crazy manager who pulls the unexpected move and throws the entire auction into turmoil.

There were no huge surprises in this auction. Probably the biggest buzz was around the bidding on rookies Corbin Carroll and Jordan Walker. As rookies always do, these two elicited many differing opinions. You can check out the full auction results a little further down the page, but right now we’ll discuss my team because that’s what you’re all here to talk about… Right?…

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My Offense

The #Nom column above shows you exactly at what point that player was nominated in the auction. That can have a pretty big impact on salaries in some auctions. People came pretty prepared for LABR so I’m not sure there were any incredible bargains to be had. You have to earn your profits a few dollars at a time.

With my monoleague background, I have a hard time paying for the higher-priced players. I was a bit surprised when Judge didn’t go that $1 more. I’m fine with the $44 and as long as he’s healthy I don’t think I’ll be disappointed, but it did throw off my plan just a bit.

I was also pretty happy to land Rafael Devers at $28. I think the value is fair, but more importantly, it allowed me to not worry about the third base position that is driving me crazy this year. I ended up with Ke’Bryan Hayes as well, but getting Devers meant I didn’t have to pay too much for a third baseman I didn’t like in the end game.

Overall, I’m happy with the balance I have on offense. I have eight different hitters who could steal at least 10 bases, and I don’t really have a single obvious batting average black hole. I probably need guys like Mancini, Conforto, and Marcell Ozuna (reserve) to hit 20-25 HRs to make sure I compete in power, but overall I think this is a solid offense with plenty of room for upside.

My Pitching Staff

I love high-upside strikeout pitchers. Can you tell? People will bash the Glasnow purchase but this is a 12-team league and there was good pitching still available in the reserve rounds and usable pitching will pop up all through the season. If Glasnow can give me 100 innings, I’ll be happy to pair him with Jose Urquidy who I drafted in the reserve rounds, and come out with the equivalent of a No. 3 fantasy starter.

I may have paid a dollar or two too much for Hader but I wanted to secure a high strikeout closer early so I didn’t get sucked into any bidding wars later on. As it turns out, closers were very moderately priced throughout the auction. I’m still fine with Hader who will give me plenty of strikeouts and hopefully avoid the ugly spell he saw in 2022.

I do wish I had grabbed another closer though. I did get Dominguez and Kimbrel, but I’m not sure anybody knows how that Philadelphia bullpen is going to play out.

My only concern with this staff (other than saves) is probably the number of innings these young arms will throw. I’ll have to be active during the season to supplement any limitations on Grayson Rodriguez and Hunter Greene.

There’s certainly some volatility to this pitching staff, but damn are they gonna be fun to watch!

Reserve Rounds

I don’t hate Elias Diaz as a second catcher but I wanted the upside of Langeliers. Problem was, he was only eligible at UT heading into the season. I’ll wait for a bit and slide him in if he is hitting well.

Ozuna does not give me the warm fuzzies but even in a terrible year, he hit 22 HRs. He could be a bit of a sleeper in the power categories… or he could be a waste of a pick. Churn baby!

Jose Urquidy is not an exciting pitcher but he’s on a good team and he has a career 1.09 WHIP which is just the safety I need to pair with Glasnow and the volatile pitching staff I drafted. Was hoping Merrill Kelly would make it to the reserve rounds but Urquidy is a nice safe pitcher to stream when needed.

Kimbrel makes me a bit sick to the stomach, but even as recently as 2021, he had a 15.08 K/9 and a 0.91 WHIP… So you’re saying there’s a chance?

Full Auction Results

Below are the full results of the auction. I’ve separated the results into 12 players so you can see how the nominations went each time around the room. There were certainly a few bargains and a few players were likely overpriced, but it was obvious that the room came prepared. This league isn’t likely to be won based on the auction. I think it’s up for grabs and whoever manages their team best in-season is going to take the honors.

The Participants

Where did Doug go wrong? Let him hear it in the comments below! For more great analysis check out the 2023 FantraxHQ Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit!