Another day, another format to draft. This time, it's a Head-to-Head categories league using default Yahoo settings (since that's the platform where Head-to-Head categories leagues are most popular). That means two utility spots instead of one and eight pitcher spots broken down as two SP, two RP and four flex.

It's not the first time we've drafted for this format this Draft Prep season, but the last time was about a month ago. Some things have happened since then, as you're probably aware.

First, let's meet the 12 who took part in this draft:

1) Jake Holland, The Toss Up podcast (@jakebaseball17)
2) JR Fenton, TGFBI participant (@JohnRussell215)
3) Chris Towers, CBS Sports (@CTowersCBS)
4) Kayla Walz, former Podcast League participant
5) Phil Ponebshek, Patton & Company
6) Frank Stampfl, CBS Sports (@Roto_Frank)
7) R.J. White, CBS Sports (@rjwhite1)
8) Jeremy Heist, Fantistics Fantasy (@heistjm)
9) Scott White, CBS Sports (@CBSScottWhite)
10) George Kurtz, Sportsgrid (@GeorgeKurtz)
11) Darren "Doc" Eisenhauer, Scout the Statline (@DocHollidayDyna)
12) Sean Millerick, Marlins After Dark (@miasportsminute)

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And now for some of my observations:

  • I'd describe the discount for Aaron Judge amid concerns about his abdominal area as "insignificant," which is probably how it should be given that the MRI came back clean and he's likely to return to the lineup over the weekend. He went 13th overall, but it's not like Juan Soto, Spencer Strider and Trea Turner, the three players who might not normally go ahead of him, are of an entirely different caliber.
  • I'd describe the discount for Gerrit Cole amid concerns about his elbow as "appropriate." He went 58th overall, being drafted late in Round 5, which is sort of a hedge rather than a true reflection of his new value. By that, I mean Round 5 figures to be either too high or too low depending what we learn from the round of examinations he's undergoing.
  • Once again, we have a mock where everyone was slow to act at relief pitcher, though not quite as much as in our last Rotisserie mock. I actually made the first move with Josh Hader early in Round 6, which is completely out of character for me but made sense given the hitters available to me at that point. I also think going big at relief pitcher is more beneficial in this format than most. A saves surplus will give you an easy category win most of the time, and the superior ratios a stud closer provides will do even more good from week to week than over a full season.
  • Everyone was slow to move at catcher as well, with Adley Rutschman lasting until even later in Round 6. I considered taking him there instead of Hader, but it always pains me to pay anything for a catcher in a one-catcher league given the depth at the position this year. Bo Naylor, Jonah Heim, Keibert Ruiz, Gabriel Moreno were among the catchers to go undrafted, and we could view them all as must-start by season's end.
  • Jake Holland had a particularly interesting build, following up his Ronald Acuna pick in Round 1 with Elly De La Cruz in Round 2. Those are two potential 60-steal guys back-to-back, which might be overkill in a conventional Rotisserie league, but I'm not sure there's such thing as overkill in Head-to-Head. The smaller window of time (one week, usually) makes for less margin for error. To count on that category win week after week, you need players who don't just contribute to it but flat out dominate in it, ensuring the totals will be there every week. It's why I tend to zero in on category standouts in this format, with Matt Olson (home runs), Ha-seong Kim (stolen bases) and Andres Gimenez (stolen bases) being examples from my own roster.
  • Chris Towers also had an interesting build, devoting most of his draft capital to hitters and closers while mixing in a few starting pitchers (Joe Ryan, Luis Severino, Reid Detmers and Bryce Miller) who he thinks could dramatically outperform their draft cost. It could work in this format if he can find a way to be competitive in strikeouts without blowing up his ERA and WHIP (depends how well he does wrangling those SP breakouts), but he'll practically need to run the table in the hitting categories.
  • Wyatt Langford was the 35th pick, and Jackson Chourio was the 50th pick. Not so long ago, taking them around Pick 100 was considered aggressive. Maybe this draft is just a one-off, but if those turn out to be the going rates for those players (or something close to it) going forward, then I can no longer say the reward justifies the risk.
Round By Round
Round 1
Pos Team Player
1 Sean Millerick
2 Jake Holland
3 Phil Ponebshek
4 Frank Stampfl
5 JR Fenton
6 Chris Towers
7 George Kurtz
8 R.J. White
9 Scott White
10 Darren "Doc" Eisenhauer
11 Kayla Walz
12 Jeremy Heist
Round 2
Pos Team Player
13 Jeremy Heist
14 Kayla Walz
15 Darren "Doc" Eisenhauer
16 Scott White
17 R.J. White
18 George Kurtz
19 Chris Towers
20 JR Fenton
21 Frank Stampfl
22 Phil Ponebshek
23 Jake Holland
24 Sean Millerick
Round 3
Pos Team Player
25 Sean Millerick
26 Jake Holland
27 Phil Ponebshek
28 Frank Stampfl
29 JR Fenton
30 Chris Towers
31 George Kurtz
32 R.J. White
33 Scott White
34 Darren "Doc" Eisenhauer
35 Kayla Walz
36 Jeremy Heist
Round 4
Pos Team Player
37 Jeremy Heist
38 Kayla Walz
39 Darren "Doc" Eisenhauer
40 Scott White
41 R.J. White
42 George Kurtz
43 Chris Towers
44 JR Fenton
45 Frank Stampfl
46 Phil Ponebshek
47 Jake Holland
48 Sean Millerick
Round 5
Pos Team Player
49 Sean Millerick
50 Jake Holland
51 Phil Ponebshek
52 Frank Stampfl
53 JR Fenton
54 Chris Towers
55 George Kurtz
56 R.J. White
57 Scott White
58 Darren "Doc" Eisenhauer
59 Kayla Walz
60 Jeremy Heist
Round 6
Pos Team Player
61 Jeremy Heist
62 Kayla Walz
63 Darren "Doc" Eisenhauer
64 Scott White
65 R.J. White
66 George Kurtz
67 Chris Towers
68 JR Fenton
69 Frank Stampfl
70 Phil Ponebshek
71 Jake Holland
72 Sean Millerick
Round 7
Pos Team Player
73 Sean Millerick
74 Jake Holland
75 Phil Ponebshek
76 Frank Stampfl
77 JR Fenton
78 Chris Towers
79 George Kurtz
80 R.J. White
81 Scott White
82 Darren "Doc" Eisenhauer
83 Kayla Walz
84 Jeremy Heist
Round 8
Pos Team Player
85 Jeremy Heist
86 Kayla Walz
87 Darren "Doc" Eisenhauer
88 Scott White
89 R.J. White
90 George Kurtz
91 Chris Towers
92 JR Fenton
93 Frank Stampfl
94 Phil Ponebshek
95 Jake Holland
96 Sean Millerick
Round 9
Pos Team Player
97 Sean Millerick
98 Jake Holland
99 Phil Ponebshek
100 Frank Stampfl
101 JR Fenton
102 Chris Towers
103 George Kurtz
104 R.J. White
105 Scott White
106 Darren "Doc" Eisenhauer
107 Kayla Walz
108 Jeremy Heist
Round 10
Pos Team Player
109 Jeremy Heist
110 Kayla Walz
111 Darren "Doc" Eisenhauer
112 Scott White
113 R.J. White
114 George Kurtz
115 Chris Towers
116 JR Fenton
117 Frank Stampfl
118 Phil Ponebshek
119 Jake Holland
120 Sean Millerick
Round 11
Pos Team Player
121 Sean Millerick
122 Jake Holland
123 Phil Ponebshek
124 Frank Stampfl
125 JR Fenton
126 Chris Towers
127 George Kurtz
128 R.J. White
129 Scott White
130 Darren "Doc" Eisenhauer
131 Kayla Walz
132 Jeremy Heist
Round 12
Pos Team Player
133 Jeremy Heist
134 Kayla Walz
135 Darren "Doc" Eisenhauer
136 Scott White
137 R.J. White
138 George Kurtz
139 Chris Towers
140 JR Fenton
141 Frank Stampfl
142 Phil Ponebshek
143 Jake Holland
144 Sean Millerick
Round 13
Pos Team Player
145 Sean Millerick
146 Jake Holland
147 Phil Ponebshek
148 Frank Stampfl
149 JR Fenton
150 Chris Towers
151 George Kurtz
152 R.J. White
153 Scott White
154 Darren "Doc" Eisenhauer
155 Kayla Walz
156 Jeremy Heist
Round 14
Pos Team Player
157 Jeremy Heist
158 Kayla Walz
159 Darren "Doc" Eisenhauer
160 Scott White
161 R.J. White
162 George Kurtz
163 Chris Towers
164 JR Fenton
165 Frank Stampfl
166 Phil Ponebshek
167 Jake Holland
168 Sean Millerick
Round 15
Pos Team Player
169 Sean Millerick
170 Jake Holland
171 Phil Ponebshek
172 Frank Stampfl
173 JR Fenton
174 Chris Towers
175 George Kurtz
176 R.J. White
177 Scott White
178 Darren "Doc" Eisenhauer
179 Kayla Walz
180 Jeremy Heist
Round 16
Pos Team Player
181 Jeremy Heist
182 Kayla Walz
183 Darren "Doc" Eisenhauer
184 Scott White
185 R.J. White
186 George Kurtz
187 Chris Towers
188 JR Fenton
189 Frank Stampfl
190 Phil Ponebshek
191 Jake Holland
192 Sean Millerick
Round 17
Pos Team Player
193 Sean Millerick
194 Jake Holland
195 Phil Ponebshek
196 Frank Stampfl
197 JR Fenton
198 Chris Towers
199 George Kurtz
200 R.J. White
201 Scott White
202 Darren "Doc" Eisenhauer
203 Kayla Walz
204 Jeremy Heist
Round 18
Pos Team Player
205 Jeremy Heist
206 Kayla Walz
207 Darren "Doc" Eisenhauer
208 Scott White
209 R.J. White
210 George Kurtz
211 Chris Towers
212 JR Fenton
213 Frank Stampfl
214 Phil Ponebshek
215 Jake Holland
216 Sean Millerick
Round 19
Pos Team Player
217 Sean Millerick
218 Jake Holland
219 Phil Ponebshek
220 Frank Stampfl
221 JR Fenton
222 Chris Towers
223 George Kurtz
224 R.J. White
225 Scott White
226 Darren "Doc" Eisenhauer
227 Kayla Walz
228 Jeremy Heist
Round 20
Pos Team Player
229 Jeremy Heist
230 Kayla Walz
231 Darren "Doc" Eisenhauer
232 Scott White
233 R.J. White
234 George Kurtz
235 Chris Towers
236 JR Fenton
237 Frank Stampfl
238 Phil Ponebshek
239 Jake Holland
240 Sean Millerick
Round 21
Pos Team Player
241 Sean Millerick
242 Jake Holland
243 Phil Ponebshek
244 Frank Stampfl
245 JR Fenton
246 Chris Towers
247 George Kurtz
248 R.J. White
249 Scott White
250 Darren "Doc" Eisenhauer
251 Kayla Walz
252 Jeremy Heist
Round 22
Pos Team Player
253 Jeremy Heist
254 Kayla Walz
255 Darren "Doc" Eisenhauer
256 Scott White
257 R.J. White
258 George Kurtz
259 Chris Towers
260 JR Fenton
261 Frank Stampfl
262 Phil Ponebshek
263 Jake Holland
264 Sean Millerick
Round 23
Pos Team Player
265 Sean Millerick
266 Jake Holland
267 Phil Ponebshek
268 Frank Stampfl
269 JR Fenton
270 Chris Towers
271 George Kurtz
272 R.J. White
273 Scott White
274 Darren "Doc" Eisenhauer
275 Kayla Walz
276 Jeremy Heist
Team by Team
Sean Millerick
Rd Pk Player
1 1
2 24
3 25
4 48
5 49
6 72
7 73
8 96
9 97
10 120
11 121
12 144
13 145
14 168
15 169
16 192
17 193
18 216
19 217
20 240
21 241
22 264
23 265
Jake Holland
Rd Pk Player
1 2
2 23
3 26
4 47
5 50
6 71
7 74
8 95
9 98
10 119
11 122
12 143
13 146
14 167
15 170
16 191
17 194
18 215
19 218
20 239
21 242
22 263
23 266
Phil Ponebshek
Rd Pk Player
1 3
2 22
3 27
4 46
5 51
6 70
7 75
8 94
9 99
10 118
11 123
12 142
13 147
14 166
15 171
16 190
17 195
18 214
19 219
20 238
21 243
22 262
23 267
Frank Stampfl
Rd Pk Player
1 4
2 21
3 28
4 45
5 52
6 69
7 76
8 93
9 100
10 117
11 124
12 141
13 148
14 165
15 172
16 189
17 196
18 213
19 220
20 237
21 244
22 261
23 268
JR Fenton
Rd Pk Player
1 5
2 20
3 29
4 44
5 53
6 68
7 77
8 92
9 101
10 116
11 125
12 140
13 149
14 164
15 173
16 188
17 197
18 212
19 221
20 236
21 245
22 260
23 269
Chris Towers
Rd Pk Player
1 6
2 19
3 30
4 43
5 54
6 67
7 78
8 91
9 102
10 115
11 126
12 139
13 150
14 163
15 174
16 187
17 198
18 211
19 222
20 235
21 246
22 259
23 270
George Kurtz
Rd Pk Player
1 7
2 18
3 31
4 42
5 55
6 66
7 79
8 90
9 103
10 114
11 127
12 138
13 151
14 162
15 175
16 186
17 199
18 210
19 223
20 234
21 247
22 258
23 271
R.J. White
Rd Pk Player
1 8
2 17
3 32
4 41
5 56
6 65
7 80
8 89
9 104
10 113
11 128
12 137
13 152
14 161
15 176
16 185
17 200
18 209
19 224
20 233
21 248
22 257
23 272
Scott White
Rd Pk Player
1 9
2 16
3 33
4 40
5 57
6 64
7 81
8 88
9 105
10 112
11 129
12 136
13 153
14 160
15 177
16 184
17 201
18 208
19 225
20 232
21 249
22 256
23 273
Darren "Doc" Eisenhauer
Rd Pk Player
1 10
2 15
3 34
4 39
5 58
6 63
7 82
8 87
9 106
10 111
11 130
12 135
13 154
14 159
15 178
16 183
17 202
18 207
19 226
20 231
21 250
22 255
23 274
Kayla Walz
Rd Pk Player
1 11
2 14
3 35
4 38
5 59
6 62
7 83
8 86
9 107
10 110
11 131
12 134
13 155
14 158
15 179
16 182
17 203
18 206
19 227
20 230
21 251
22 254
23 275
Jeremy Heist
Rd Pk Player
1 12
2 13
3 36
4 37
5 60
6 61
7 84
8 85
9 108
10 109
11 132
12 133
13 156
14 157
15 180
16 181
17 204
18 205
19 228
20 229
21 252
22 253
23 276