I was looking at last year's draft and comparing it to overall values. I was struck by how much dead money there was (players who were drafted, but were below replacement level) - $338 split between 66 players. Most of that money went to players who were at least on the bubble of starting ($264 to players paid $8 or more).
Here is a team (using the full $260 budget), comprised entirely of below replacement players:
Ouch. The money lost on bad picks dwarfs any keeper gains ($492 of salary for $564 of value). No surprises at the bottom of the keeper value list - Brett Lawrie and Prince Fielder both fell more than $10 short of their cost, but Josh Hamilton "wins out" at -$13.
On the flip side, the top 24 undrafted free agents accounted for $245 worth of value. This doesn't even take into account the many, many players who were drafted, cut, then went on to provide a lot of value, such as Leonys Martin ($15), Ivan Nova ($8), or Ubaldo Jimenez ($12).
Better use the wire well if you want to win!
Here is a team (using the full $260 budget), comprised entirely of below replacement players:
Ouch. The money lost on bad picks dwarfs any keeper gains ($492 of salary for $564 of value). No surprises at the bottom of the keeper value list - Brett Lawrie and Prince Fielder both fell more than $10 short of their cost, but Josh Hamilton "wins out" at -$13.
On the flip side, the top 24 undrafted free agents accounted for $245 worth of value. This doesn't even take into account the many, many players who were drafted, cut, then went on to provide a lot of value, such as Leonys Martin ($15), Ivan Nova ($8), or Ubaldo Jimenez ($12).
Better use the wire well if you want to win!
