3/17/22:

The boys at ACME are the first to say they liked the old Google format for DankeeAcme better than the new one. For those looking for a particular file, the Trade file is now attached to the WIFL a Brief History page. The Draft file is attached to the Archives page.

3/16/22:

Now that many of the free agents have signed and the A's have done most of their unloading the boys at ACME have updated their Position Ranking file. They haven't doe much shifting of individual rankings. They'll wait for most of the MLB depth charts solidify.

Perhaps is most useful function is to show what free agents will be available in the auction. But that will have to wait till after WIFL's Freeze Day.

2/24/22:

Based on some of the rumor pages, as soon as there's an agreement and MLB teams can start trading, the A's are about to get rid of all their best players. Kind of hard for the boys at ACME to make serious adjustments to their position ranking list. Not to mention all the free agents still out there unsigned.

And it's a tad hard for GM's to finalize their keeper lists when they're not sure what role some of their borderline keepers will assume. Not to mention that list of pitchers coming back from injuries. Nice to have a full spring training to see how those arms are doing.

The boys were following the negotiations for a while to see who they were rooting for .They finally decided they couldn't root for either side. If it gets down to an issue from which neither side will budge, Daffy has offered to lip a con!

2/20/22:

While waiting for development in the lockout, the boys at ACME couldn't resist doing their annual mock draft. Based on last yea's draft where 12 of the 15 1st round picks were prospects, they decided to concentrate on them since they haven't a clue which MLB players will pass thru the auction. It will be interesting to see how accurate this VERY early mock draft turns out to be.

1. DeJays: Anthony Volpe, ss, Yankees

2. Roy Hobbs: Marcello Mayer, ss Red Sox

3. 3. Street 45's: Khalil Watson, ss, Marlins

4. Bozos (from Moonfish): Jordan Walker, 3b, Cardinals

5. Moneyballers: Gabriel Moreno, c, Blue Jays

6. Bozos: Henry Davis, c, Pirates

7. 78ers: Christian Vaquero, of, Nationals

8. Pistoleros: Colton Cowser, of, Orioles

9. Pistoleros (from Dingers): Roderick Arias, ss, Yankees

10. Brushbacks: Jackson Jobe, p, Tigers

11. Bash Brothers: Drew Jones, of Ga. HS

12. Roy Hobbs (from Dankees): Nick Yorke, 3b, Red Sox

13. Jacks: Termarr Johnson, ss, Ga. HS

14. Street 45's (from Stompers): Cole Winn, p, Rangers

15. 78ers (from Ichiros): Benny Montgomery, of, Rockies

If nothing else, if a team isn't very excited about the guy they're projected to take, it could inspire some trade talk!

2/11/22:

Preparing for the auction, it's always good to check with the experts. Those CBS drafts are always a good source. But the boys have to admit, they were a little surprised when they checked their most recent experts draft. The first overall pick was Corbin Burnes. Curious, they went to the CBS projections for pitchers to see where they had him ranked. It was 31st!

Since Burnes is a free agent in WIFL, the Dankees can't help it. Their first nominee - Corbin Burnes!

2/7/22:

Wondering which WIFL teams to look out for in the next few years? Some would== suggest the first place to check would be the ACME 250.

Looking at the current 250, it would hard to argue any team could match the Bozos. Looking at the top hitters in the 250 (don't bother looking at pitching prospects for the Bozos, they basically ignore them). The Bozos currently have hitters ranked 1,2,14,15,17,35,39,52 &93. In the upcoming draft, they also have slots 4,6,21 In terms of activation, Franco almost HAS to be activated and Jung and Kelencic are worthy of consideration

About the only team that comes close is the Bash Brothers. Among hitter, they have prospects ranked 5,6,8,9 & 94 and pitching prospects ranked 20 & 27. In the next draft, they also have slots 11,20 &26. In terms of potential activations, Biggio is likely and Madrigal a strong possibility,

Will 2022 be their year? Are they looking at 3-yer runs!?

2/2/22:

The boys at ACME have browsed thru numerous prospect rankings. They're satisfied they haven't missed any WIFL-worthy prospect. So they decided to go thru with a re-ranking of their 250 (which still exceeds 250 by quite a bit). The 2022 ACME 250 - Version 2.0 is attached to the Prospects' Page.

1/31/22:

When talking prospects, most GM's emphasize upside. But there's always that matter of patience and the cost of tying up a precious roster slot.

The MLB Network just had a piece about the possible #1 pick in the 2023 draft - Max Clark. Just one problem, he's currently a high school junior. Allowing for a couple of years to develop, that would mean the earliest he might be producing at the major league level is 2027. That's tying up a roster slot for a LONG time. Never mind whether you'd use a high draft slot, would you be willing to tie up a o roster spot for 5-6 years?

Interestingly, the boys have Clark going only 3rd in the 2023 draft. The first two - Dylan Cews and Jacob Gonzalez will be college juniors when they're drafted. They could arrive in the majors in 2025.

Will be interesting to see if any of the three go in the WIFL draft.

1/228/22:

While the boys at ACME love the various lists out there, they give even more attention to some of those auctions and drafts CBS puts out. Looking for a sleeper? Doubt any get by 12 "experts" in their draft. See a high ranked prospect that doesn't go in the first 5-6 rounds of an "expert' draft? That's quite a lot of experts that regard that original high ranking in on one person's list wasn't justified.

With that in mind, the boys created a ne column in their ACME 250 to note the results of that recent CBS prospects' draft.

1/25/22:

The boys at ACME ae always curious - just how far down their ACME 250one should one go before they basically can ignore the available players?

Currently, there are 63 open spots on reserve lists. This number should grow when teams make their cuts and activations. For comparison, last year there were 85 picks in the WIFL draft. 54 had prospect status and 31 were MLB reserves.

Sometimes those MLB reserves are underappreciated. Several WIFL teams believe it's a good idea to draft some SP's in order to get the depth and options we all know will be required. Never a bad idea. But actually, some of those MLB reserves have as much long-term value as a prospect. Looking t the current projected keeper lists, a number of keepers and realistic potential keepers includes (with the draft slot they were picked in):

#43 Carlos Rodon

#46 Adam Wainwright, p

#55 Brandon Crawford, ss

#69 Jonathan Schoop. 2b

#73 Joe Ross, p

#76 Justin Verlander, p

#90 J.P. Crawford, ss

Might be a good idea to go down the ACME 250 and draw a line under the name of the last prospect who's draft worthy. After that, see what MLB players (especially SP's) who ae still out there.

1/22/22:

When making your priority list for the draft, most of the guys near the top of prospect lists are already on someone's roster. As noted earlier, grabbing some of those recent teenage millionaires from the international signing period rank pretty high on many lists. And, of course, there are those guys projected to go in the next MLB draft.

What do the top three guys projected to go in the next MLB draft have in common? They're all high school players in Georgia! As with those international teenagers, one has to estimate their ETA in the majors. 2026??

How patient are you? Would you use a 1st round pick on any of those Georgia high schoolers?

1/21/22:

Is the race for WIFL's #1 draft pick over? CBS just came out with their top 150 players for Dynasty Leagues. #53 on the list was Anthony Volpe. This wasn't a prospect list but consisted of all players. Guys like Altuve, Springer and Arenado were behind Volpe in the rankings.

Earlier reports had the DeJays shopping the #1 pick in trade talk. It now seems they are quite content with retaining the pick.

1/20/22:

As the boys at ACME doodle with projected keeper lists, they often pay special attention to pitching. As unpredictable as pitchers can be, they always represent a key to success. And having a good part of your stating pitching staff already in place at a reasonable cost is a definite plus.

With this in mind, the boys take special note of the Jacks projected keeper list. The have all six of their SP slots filled at a reasonable total of 82 points. Don't think that alone is enough to make them favorites, but they look like they could end up in the preseason top tier.

1/18/22:

As trade talk picks up, perhaps the most discussed after draft picks are expensive contracts. While many of those contracts can't be justified under ANY valuation system, you can't win a title without a few of these high-enders. The trick is to have enough bargains to offset the overbid. And the real question is how much would guys like these go for in the auction - deGrom (60), Trout (64), Tim Anderson (40), Jose Ramirez (40), Betts (55), Bieber (53), Cole (57) Yelich (60). Not to mention lots of players with contracts in the upper 20's and 30's.

Acknowledging the fat that there are seldom any high-end bargains in the auction, in recent years the pre-season favorites have been the teams that have the FEWEST bid points in the auction!

1/16/22:

Two days into the international signing period ad 3 of the 4 top prospects in the previous post have signed. And their high ranking certainly seems justified. With their ranking in order of their bonuses:

1. Vaquero $4.9 M rom the Nationals

2. Ariias $4.0 M from the Yankees

8. Bergolla $2.2 from the Phillees

Also coming in at #4 was Oscar Colas, signed by the White Sox for $2.7M (He was drafted by the Dankees last year.)

Based on these early returns, $2.2 million seems the cutoff for inclusion in the ACME 250.

1/15/22:

The international signing period has begun. Here come all those instant teenage millionaires. The boys at ACME will follow the money as they update their ACME 250. You can vet some of those teenagers will rank pretty high. Notably - Roderick Arias, Christian Vaquero, Ricardo Cabrera and William Bergollla.

Looking back, the attrition rate among the truly elite teenagers isn't that great. And the waiting period often isn't that great.

Looking back at WIFL's 2017 draft a couple of those teenagers went pretty high. The Dankees took Ronald Acuna with the 10th pick of the 1st round and the Boos took Juan Soto with the 14th pick. How long was the wait for them? It should be noted that their active 3-year contracts have already expired!

1/14/22:

Suffice it to say, some teams are already testing the trade market. In particular, teams with a surplus of high draft picks. Notably:

DeJays: have just two openings on reserves but have 5 of top 31 picks

Roy Hobbs: have just three openings, but have 4 of top 33 picks

Street 45's: have just 2 openings, and have 4 of top 29 picks

Bozos: have one opening, and 4 of top 36 picks

78ers: have NO openings and 4 of top 37 picks.

Teams showing the most interest:

Stompers: have 9 openings and top picks are #59 & 74

Ichiros: have 7 openings and top picks are #30 & 75.

Once MLB reaches an accord with the players, . . . .!

1/10/22:

While it may be too early for the boys at ACME to be doing a mock draft, it probably isn't too early to see if there's clear #1 overall pick.

Now that CBS has updated their top 100 prospect list, the boys used their list and the ACME 250 to see if there's a clear #1 pick.

It appears two prospects stand out from the rest. Marcello Mayer, ss, Red Sox and Anthony Volpe, ss, Yankees stand out among those available. It will be interesting to see how accurate this EARLY analysis turns out to be.

1/9/22:

Finishing 8th in a 15-teaam league doesn't usually qualify as a "good" yea. But the DeJays can build a pretty good case that it ain't necessarily a gad one either.

Despite finishing 8th, they won their division which made it a pretty good year financially. And that 8th place also earned them the 1st overall pick in this year's draft.

Besides that 1st overall pick, they also have 5 of the 1st 31 picks. And they currently have just 2 openings on their reserve list. Suffice it to say, once the lockout is over, Foghorn will probably be hearing lots of trade talk involving the DeJays.

1/2/22:

The main function of the ACME position ranking list going into the auction/draft is to focus on the players who might actually go in the auction or draft.

Currently, there are 129 RP's, 59 C's. 127 OF's, and 215 P's on the position-ranking list. Suffice it to say, there will be some serious deleting of names if and when spring training begins.

1/1/22:

The boys at ACME rolled over the final 2021 Position Ranking List into their 2022 Position Ranking List. Since this left the players ranked by their 2021 numbers, it really wasn't useful looking forward. So the boys added two columns to record the positional rankings of several sites. They then used these to create an ACME ranking column. The boys won't be entering projected numbers or values for a while. With all the free agents still out there and questionable roles, that's still a long ways away.