Fast Reacts from Draft Day

We're one week into the season and I can already tell it's going to be a tightly contested season. Eight out of twelve teams are hovering around .500 as competitive balance appears to be alive and well in NoJR, but the season will surely have some twists and turns as new stars emerge and draft day studs turn into duds.

What better time, then, to look upon the draft and engage in wild conjecture about the months to come. TDZ has returned from the draft day mines with tales of who struck gold and who caught the black lung.

	Gold Grabs	Pyrite Picks
Hughes Drubbers	Johnny Cueto ($6) - This is cheating a bit, but wow has this guy looked amazing through one week. Sonny Gray ($6) - Great young pitcher and major keeper potential. Joakim Soria ($1) - Not sure how this guy went for a buck, but has the stuff and the situation to be a great comeback story.	I don't see any egregious overpayments. Closest thing might be Everth Cabrera at $15, because steals are fickle, and PED users even moreso.
SHAQGASM	Paul Goldschmidt ($49) - Elite across all categories (plus steals for a 1B), and not sure he's reached his ceiling yet.	Koji Uehara ($15) - One of my favorite players, but is old and difficult to replicate the historic numbers he produced last year.
Teltecies	Billy Butler ($2) - Had a slightly down year, and his value was cut by a factor of 10. Over-correction imo. Dan Straily ($1) - Solid K guy who should improve control and provide solid value.	Clayton Kershaw ($48) - Best pitcher in the game, but rarely see a price tag this high on the pitching side; injuries may be flaring up. Jose Reyes ($24) - Will never trust this guy, especially when his value is tied to such treacherous hamstrings.
Non-Stop	Jose Fernandez ($24) - Has the best stuff I've seen since Pedro Martinez; solid keeper option. Xander Bogaerts ($7) - Might not be a big breakthrough this year, but will grow into star.	Don't really see any duds. Jason Kipnis at $30 might be frustrating since he's streaky, but ought to net out.
Nuckin' Futz	Masahiro Tanaka ($14) - Speculative, but he could be the next Darvish, half-priced. Alex Wood ($1) - Has best stuff in Atlanta and off to great start.	Bryce Harper ($47) - Could turn out just fine, but dislike lack of true breakthrough year. Needs to be less in the weight room and more in the film room, imo.
Saratoga Oldtimers	Brad Miller ($1) - Solid middle infielder that'll only get better in improving lineup; bats in front of Cano.	Aroldis Chapman ($20) - The auto-draft is brutal, but could provide usual substantial value in another month or two.
Lavallee Team	Carlos Santana ($17) - Walkaholic to get 3B eligibility; BA steadily improving. Steve Cishek ($3) - Rock solid the last couple years; reliable closers on bad teams still get saves.	Only a slight gripe with Carlos Gonzalez ($48) - greater injury risk and less power and BBs than Goldschmidt, but went for same price.
The Highlander	Brandon Moss ($5) - 1B/OF eligibility, and power doesn't appear flukey. Joel Peralta ($1) - Elite holds guy past 2 years, yet no one seems to care.	Robinson Cano ($44) - Should still be best offensive 2B in game, but expensive compared to other 2Bs, plus no short porch anymore.
Lloyd's Christmas	Mark Trumbo ($16) - Regularly hit 30 HR in a pitcher's park, now he's in friendly desert air and mashing. Julio Teheran ($12) - 23 year old with solid pedigree and major keeper appeal.	Addison Reed ($9) - Noticed habit of coming undone last year; needs much better consistency.
Rip City Reavers	Austin Jackson ($6) - Toolsy guy should have more SBs with Leyland gone; likely 15-20 campaign. Carlos Martinez ($1) - Grew into brilliant setup guy last fall; entrenched in 8th for winning club.	Billy Hamilton ($21) - Has only proven himself as a pinch runner at major league level; lack of hitting so far this year has me playing Russian Roulette nightly.
Gmonie16	Jonathan Lucroy ($7) - Consistent player and one of the top offensive Cs in game past 2 years. Jon Lester ($6) - Ace on WS-winning ball club in a primarily Red Sox fan league... where's the love?	Small gripe with Yasiel Puig ($36) - Too high risk/high reward for the most expensive player on the club.
Nickel Blitz	Desmond Jennings ($7) - Similar to A-Jax, poised for 15-20+ campaign after solid spring. Scott Kazmir ($1) - K/9 erupted late last year; friendly park now; after 1 healthy year, bigger things could be in store.	Tyler Clippard ($7) - Just find it funny that T-Clip goes for this amount when no other holds guy goes for more than $2.

Early, early power rankings:

1. Hughes Drubbers
2. Non-Stop
3. Lavallee Team
4. Nuckin' Futz
5. Lloyd's Christmas
6. The Highlander
7. Nickel Blitz 
8. SHAQGASM
9. Rip City Reavers
10. Gmonie16
11. Saratoga Oldtimers
12. Teltecies

It was a great draft with a lot of GMs paying out smartly for value, and I think that's reflected in how competitive things are in the early going. Still a lot of baseball to go and hardly a thing proven yet! Look for injuries and fantasy trades/free agent pick-ups to shake things up in the coming weeks.