Most of the focus tonight is on the NBA draft. One of the things that the NFL and NBA have figured out is how to add intrigue to their drafts by allowing teams to trade players and picks to move up and down the draft board. MLB finally allowed limited trades of picks a few seasons ago, but those only involved competitive balance selections. Baseball has always resisted these kinds of moves because they are afraid smaller market teams will either be taken advantage of or will use these moves as a way to avoid spending money.

Yet, the NBA expanded their salary cap to over 90 million dollars because of all the extra revenue they have earned in recent seasons. Anything that generates interest is something that could be a revenue maker for the sport. Allow teams to trade players and draft picks during the draft and you could generate more interest and give teams a chance to be creative with their resources.

This Week in Baseball

If five games is the dividing line between being a legitimate contender and being a potential seller then we find that eight teams in the American League have a legitimate shot at a wild card berth. This obviously doesn’t include the three division leaders. Four teams are left outside of five games and only one (Minnesota) is outside of ten games. The National League is far different as only six teams are within five games of the wild card. Four teams are 8.5 games or more out of the wild card lead. Trade season is just around the corner.

If you read one thing

The annual battle of the Sox saw the bats come alive. A number of teams have three-headed monsters in their lineups, but the Sox probably have the best threesome currently going in baseball. David Ortiz hit his 30^th double on the season and walked three times. Xander Bogaerts a walk off hit to bring his average to .351 on the season. Finally, Mookie Betts had a couple of hits to bring his average to .290. While his average is not as high as Ortiz or Bogaerts, he has 15 home runs, 51 RBI, and 66 runs scored. Other teams have similar makeups, but none of their triumpherates are quite as prolific.

We kind of expected…

162 games is a long schedule, so you’ll forgive us if we don’t flip out over certain players struggling early on. Paul Goldschmidt had a rough six weeks to start the season, but things have returned to normal for Goldy owners. He lifted his average well above .290 this week and also has 46 RBI on the season. In other words, he is on pace to hit his customary .300 with power and run production. He also has nine stolen bases on the season to lead all first sackers. Everyone take a deep breath.

We didn’t expect…

Betting on baseball makes very little sense on a day to day basis. Sure, daily fantasy sports are fun, but people that simply bet on one team to win over another are just asking for trouble. With the Cubs and Jon Lester going against Wei-Yen Chen and the Marlins you would think a bet on the Cubs would be pretty safe. Nope. The Marlins won on this occasion with Giancarlo Stanton going deep and driving in two runs. Go figure.

Save Opportunities

• David Phelps (converted #3)
• Fernando Rodney (converted #16)
• Aroyds Vizcaino (converted #9)
• Santiago Casilla (converted #16)