Summary[]
For the third consecutive year, Ben and Sam draft the 20 minor league free agents they hope will earn the most major league playing time in 2016.
Topics[]
Banter[]
- Episode 808 follow-up: Ben and Sam discuss more reasons why Brian Doyle's batting average on the TV show Billions was said to be .168 when it was .161.
- Episode 808 follow-up: There were six hitters, not three as stated in Episode 808, with more walks than strikeouts.
Draft Selections[]
| Ben's Picks | Sam's Picks |
|---|---|
| Emilio Bonifacio | Dayan Viciedo |
| Hak-Ju Lee | Pete Kozma |
| Rafael Ortega | Jim Henderson |
| Andury Acevedo | Casey Kotchman |
| Jio Mier | Jarrett Grube |
| Buddy Baumann | Jeff Beliveau |
| Cesar Vargas | Clay Rapada |
| Trey Haley | Dayan Diaz |
| Blake Wood | Anthony Recker |
| Ji-man Choi | Jean Machi |
Notes[]
- Ben won the 2015 draft from Episode 607; Sam won the 2014 draft from Episode 326.
- Sam says that this year's free agent draft is a chance for him and Ben to decide if they will make it a 3 game series or an ongoing yearly occurrence. They decide that the winner will get to decide whether the draft continues.
- On the Minor League Free Agent Draft, Ben says, "I like the exercise but hate the preparation." Sam predicts that if Ben wins, he will elect to end the draft.
- Sam makes a squeaky laugh (38:50) when Ben questions if Sam's pick of "Jarrett Grube" is a real name.
- Minor league free agents have more than 6 years of minor league service time who are not on a 40-man roster.
- Sam historically does little preparation for the draft but does target minor league free agents signed by the Yankees. He believes the Yankees often sign the best minor league free agents with the intention of trading them to teams where they players will get meaningful time on the field.
- Pete Kozma had 111 plate appearances in 2015 without an extra base hit. He is the first player since 2010 to do have at least 100 plate appearances with no extra base hits. Before that it had not been done since 1995.
- Ben wins the draft with 898 combined plate appearances/batters faced to Sam's 303. Despite Sam's prediction, Ben keeps the draft going.