The scene.

San Francisco, 11 AM, Saturday, February 25.

Twelve fantasy baseball minds met up at the Wreck Room in San Francisco to have a live fantasy baseball draft (special thanks to Tod Alsman for opening up the Wreck Room to us for the event). In the era of doing drafts on computers, it’s really neat to get a shot to draft in person, face to face with your competition. You can talk trash, see the pain when you steal someone else’s pick, and get the rush of adrenaline that only shows up when you’re sitting eye to eye with the competition.

Two of the competitors in the event were Howard Bender and Ray Flowers. Instead of letting each guy review their own squad and saying their teams were fantastic with no personal bias, we thought it would be fun to have both men review the other guy’s squad. In what follows, Howard and Ray will do just that.

LEAGUE SIZE: 12 TEAM, MIXED LEAGUE

LEAGUE SETUP: 5x5 Offense (OBP, HR, RBI, Runs, SB) and Pitching (QS, ERA, WHIP, K, SV)

LEAGUE PARTICPANTS (listed by pick order):

1 Mike Ulrich
2 Howard Bender
3 Greg Smith
4 Lawr Michaels
5 Justin Mason
6 Ray Flowers
7 Sammy Reid
8 Danny Zarchy
9 Doug Thornburn
10 Khang Do
11 Tod Alsman
12 Joe Green

LINEUPS: 14 hitters, 9 pitchers, 5 bench spots

*(Round in parenthesis)

LINK TO DRAFT BOARD

TEAM BENDER
C: Russell Martin (13), Matt Wieters (16)
1B: Carlos Santana (7),
2B: Robinson Cano (3)
3B: Matt Carpenter (5)
SS: Jose Peraza (10)
MI: Jedd Gyorko (20), Cesar Hernandez (25)
CI: Eric Hosmer (9), Greg Bird (22)
OF: Mookie Betts (1), Andrew McCutchen (4), Kyle Schwarber (6), Carlos Gomez (15), Manuel Margot (18), Ben Revere (23), Aaron Judge (28)

PITCHERS: Madison Bumgarner (2), Aaron Sanchez (8), Kelvin Herrera (11), Lance McCullers (12), Tony Watson (14), Marco Estrada (17), Sonny Gray (19), Luke Weaver (21), Jeremy Hellickson (24), Lance Lynn (26), Huston Street (27)

*round in parenthesis

Ray Flowers' review of Howard’s team follows.

PlayerRoundAnalysis
Mookie Betts1Howard went chalk with Betts. Can't blame him of course.
Madison Bumgarner2I'm not a fan of taking SPs early. If I was going to do it though, I would have no issue grabbing the only elite SP without health concerns.
Robinson Cano3Cano is a rock of stability, even with the coming HR pullback. Boring, but safe. A 'Ray type' pick. 
Andrew McCutchen4I was going to grab McC this round so of course I'm a fan of Howard jumping a few picks ahead of me to make the same call.
Matt Carpenter5I was also considering Carpenter in this round. Three positions, and it's OBP league. Tons to like even if it doesn't seem like a wonderful pick on the surface.
Kyle Schwarber6I do not like this pick. To me, Schwarber ain't much different than a guy like Jay Bruce who was taken in the 14th round.
Carlos Santana7Santana has ample counting category production, and with an impressive OBP it's like he's a .275 hitter too.
Aaron Sanchez8Sanchez isn't a bad pick, but as I wrote about in his Player Profile, I'm not as bullish as most, including Howard, appear to be. 
Eric Hosmer9Eric Hosmer is like the Cano pick. Stable, productive. Power is likely to pull back a bit, but it's the .335 career OBP that likely caused Hosmer to fall a bit.
Jose Peraza10I wrote an article saying make sure to draft Jose Peraza. Only complaint I might have was the timing of the pick, it's early, but someone likely would have been in on soon if not Howard.
Kelvin Herrera11Herrera has a power arm, and at this point there's no denying that his selection, while not a stroke of genius, made a whole lot of sense for HB.
Lance McCullers12McCullers has elite talent. He also can't stay healthy, needs to work on his fastball, and has to avoid the walks to reach the heights so many are predicting for him. 
Russell Martin13Russell Martin is just a guy, but compared to others that will be starting in this two C league he is pretty darn solid.
Tony Watson14Watson may or may not hold on to the job of 9th inning man all year long, but wit the elite closers off the board he's a passable addition here. 
Carlos Gomez15Gomez was on my radar at this point. It's almost like @rotobuzzguy was looking at @baseballguys rankings. Could it be possible?
Matt Wieters16Howard might have the best 1-2 backstop duo in this league. I've always been a fan of Wieters, and if the Nats deal Derek Norris this will be a great pick (hate to give credit).
Marco Estrada17I don't believe that Estrada was a good pick here. Others will disagree, but I just don't see Estrada as being a legit 4th SP. Check out his Player Profile for more of my thoughts.
Manny Margot18Margot was a very aggressive play here. Same time, Howard felt he was light on steals, I'm assuming, so he took a chance on a young, polished hitter with speed.
Sonny Gray19I personally looked at Gray for about three rounds. At this cost, the A's starter was a strong pick by Howard (better than Estrada IMO).
Jedd Gyorko20If nothing else, Howard is giving me a chance to say 'read out Player Profile Series.' Gyorko is a guy I can't fathom getting to 30 bombs again.
Luke Weaver21Weaver appears to have the first crack at the 5th spot with the Cards, but I worry a bit, as do some scouts, about whether or not he can be a top of the rotation type of arm.
Greg Bird22Searching for power, Howard grabbed Bird. A worry is the addition of Chris Carter late in free agency. Carter should at least face lefties if not more.
Ben Revere23I've long been a fan of Revere, and he's a strong add at this cost. However, like Bird, he doesn't have a lockdown on playing time.
Jeremy Hellickson24Hellickson has long confounded analysis. You buy in, he disappoints. You move on, he has success. Fine at the cost. I'm not personally interested though.
Cesar Hernandez25Can Cesar or Galvis hold on to his job and keep J.P. Crawford in the minors? Many missed Cesar's .294 AVG, .371 OBP and 17 SBs.
Lance Lynn26Lynn had extra time to get healthy after TJ surgery. He's a solid, strikeout per inning arm that with health should greatly outpace this cost.
Huston Street27Street is old/injured, while Bedrosian is younger/more skilled, but teams often default to the been there, done that arms in the 9th inning giving Street a chance to grab closing duties.
Aaron Judge28Someone must be from NY? Judge has 30 homer power, but he also could go the way of Zunino. Needs a big spring to gain the majority of PT in the outfield. 

A great catching duo is a highlight for Howard. A nice blend of veteran (Cano/McCutchen/Carpenter) and youth as well. There are a few picks on here I would never make at that cost - Schwarber and Sanchez - but there is a ton of youthful talent on the rise on this squad. If Peraza is who we think he could be. If McCullers is who we think he could be. If Schwarber is who many think he could be. If Margot "arrives" in '17. If Gomez rebounds. If Bird/Judge/Revere can find full-time work... yes, there are tons of "if's" here, but that's how Howard likes to play it. Go big or go home is a phrase he's been heard to utter from time to time. It appears that Howard's season will hinge on the arms he has. I would bet that Howard will be on the lookout early for waiver-wire arms or hit the trade market to see if he can gain some more stability. Of course, he might think I'm nuts and that his staff is fine. It's the beauty of fantasy baseball.

TEAM FLOWERS
C: J.T. Realmuto (10), Francisco Cervelli (21)
1B: Paul Goldschmidt (1)
2B: Javier Baez (12)
3B: Anthony Rendon (6)
SS: Corey Seager (2)
MI: Joe Panik (19)
CI: Mike Napoli (22), Mitch Moreland (26), Matt Duffy (28)
OF: Christian Yelich (3), J.D. Martinez (4), Carlos Gonzalez (5), Billy Hamilton (7), Randal Grichuk (17), Jason Heyward (18), Brandon Drury (25)

PITCHERS: Julio Teheran (8), Marcus Stroman (9), Craig Kimbrel (11), Andrew Miller (13), John Lackey (14), Jake Odorizzi (15), Aaron Nola (16), Taijuan Walker (20), Brandon Kintzler (23), Ian Kennedy (24), Hector Rondon (27)

Howard Bender’s review of Ray’s team follows.

PlayerRoundAnalysis
Paul Goldschmidt1A no-brainer at the sixth pick with that power/speed combo. Some may worry the speed could decline, but that doesn't take him out of being a top-five pick in my eyes.
Corey Seager2The breakout last year was impressive, the power is legit and it takes care of the shortstop position with an elite player. 
Christian Yelich3Big fan, but his 20% FB rate doesn't really jibe with 20 HR. I expect more of a 15-15 consistency. A little early based on his ADP numbers, but sometimes you have to reach when you want a guy.
J.D. Martinez4Continues to be an injury risk, but .290 with 20 HR is solid considering how fast outfielders were flying off the board.
Carlos Gonzalez5Two-straight seasons of full health has Ray breathing easier, but the power came back to Earth. So long as he stays in Colorado, he should remain productive, but if traded…
Anthony Rendon6A Player Profile done by Ray will explain his affectation for Rendon. For me, he's a good player (not great), but with the drop-off at third base, it's best to grab someone early.
Billy Hamilton7This was a surprise. Hamilton's second half last year was solid, but do we really believe that .369 OBP is sustainable? I don't. He gets you steals, but he'll hurt a little in this league with OBP as a category.
Julio Teheran8For a guy who wrote The Fallacy of Consistency, he sure looks to the consistency aspect of players. The Player Profile he wrote on Teheran cites good, not great numbers but consistency in performance. For me, he's not a great choice for your #1.
Marcus Stroman9The skills are there, the strikeouts are good and the GB% helps at the Rogers Center. I like him for a step forward, but again, the numbers need to really improve as Ray's #2.
J.T. Realmuto10I'm not as big a fan as some, but with the depth at the position and a two-catcher league, I understand. I don't see the OBP staying strong with that walk rate and the BABIP is coming down as well.
Craig Kimbrel11People losing faith in Kimbrel, but great strikeouts and the FIP last year was much more indicative of the talents. This is a bargain for Ray in the 11th round.
Javier Baez12He doesn't have a starting job, but Joe Maddon gets his bat into the lineup. I was eye-balling him as well as that multi-position eligibility will be big.
Andrew Miller13Not a fan of this pick at all. Could have had Miller later in the draft as Francona already named Cody Allen the closer and has shown that he prefers Miller in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. Good ratio stabilizer, but you get just as good with Dellin Betances five rounds later.
John Lackey14You would think a guy who went as Jackie Moon for Halloween wouldn’t go for such an unsexy pick, but Ray needs arms. A middle-of-the-road guy for a middle-round selection. Nothing special though.
Jake Odorizzi15Add another 26-year old to Ray's list here. Odorizzi is a stable arm with good strikeouts. The double-Z's in his last name give him a sexier look than Lackey, but they're probably comparable at this point.
Aaron Nola16I was looking to grab Nola this round, but Ray beat me to it. I like the development and the strikeout upside.
Randal Grichuk17Solid power but high strikeouts and a shaky OBP. He'll definitely suffice as a fifth outfielder though.
Jason Heyward18Considering it's the 18th round, why not? Maybe a repeat of 2012 is a pipe dream, but he's still only 27 years old. Worth the risk here and an easy drop if he fails.
Joe Panik19Just a stable middle infielder here. Limited pop, not much speed, mediocre on-base numbers, but he plays regularly. A set-it-and-forget-it type of guy.
Taijuan Walker20Not a fan of the new ballpark considering his penchant for allowing the long ball. Perhaps the move to the NL will helpo the strikeouts and offset some of that.
Francisco Cervelli21For a second catcher in an OBP league, Cervelli works. There's no power or speed, but he'll help stabilize some of the OBP concerns from other picks.
Mike Napoli22Good, solid power for the corner infield. Ray kinda crapped on my selection of Napoli in LABR Mixed, so this was a slight surprise.
Brandon Kintzler23Hate to shower the Oracle with praise, but I like this pick a lot. I was hoping he'd fall another round or two. He's the closer. He's a solid ground-ball specialist and his job hinges on Glen Perkins' health? Yeah, I'm buying.
Ian Kennedy24Another stable option here with good strikeouts. Nothing special…nothing sexy.
Brandon Drury25The multi-position eligibility makes him a good bench guy to own. Will he hold a starting job all year is the question. Ketel Marte could sneak in here and there.
Mitch Moreland26Another stable corner guy who holds the same value each year -- 20 homers and not much else.
Hector Rondon27Considering the concerns I have over Wade Davis' elbow, I like this pick a lot for Ray.
Matt Duffy28Multi-position eligibility makes for a good bench player, but there's nothing special in the numbers to make him that attractive an option.

Stability seems to be the word I’ve used most often in describing Ray’s team. There might be a little upside in the likes of Javier Baez, Corey Seager and Aaron Nola, but you’ve got a pretty good idea as to what you’re going to get from the rest of this team. Without putting it into any type of projection model, I have a hunch that, as is, this team would sit just slightly above the middle of the pack with a need for an ace on the staff and maybe a little extra help in the speed department. The good thing about drafting a team like this means that you have a good grasp of what the floor is and can maneuver accordingly. Though he won’t take a pitcher early, you can bet Ray will start handing out trade offers looking for a top-tier starter. Last year he ended up giving me Mookie Betts for Madison Bumgarner. Let’s see if he’s got someone with that kind of talent to give me this year!

The one thing I will add that Ray's team has over mine is found in his draft support. Major kudos to Jessie for supplying Team Oracle with proper draft attire. Not sure I'd ever wear it, but it's still pretty cool, nonetheless!

Again, big thanks to Justin Mason of Friends with Fantasy Benefits (@JustinMasonFWFB) for putting this league together and a big shout out to Tod Alsman (@RBarTod) for hosting at the Wreck Room (@theWreckRoomSF) in downtown San Francisco.