We are within spitting distance from the baseball season, and the New York Yankees will play their opener against Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday. I am excited about the season, not just for the game, but also for a chance to do an excellent job in my fantasy baseball league. Last year was a disaster — after winning the 12 team league in 2016, I reverted to losing trend and finished seventh. In a way, I was like the Kansas City Royals. The new season means a fresh start, and yesterday we had our team draft, and I am feeling pretty okay with my picks.

I had the #2 pick this season and ended up taking Jose Altuve, who is as good a player as any.  I have to admit there are too many Yankees in the lineup — three hitters: Gary Sanchez, Aaron Judge, and Didi Gregorius. I am surprised I got Didi. Also, I am chuffed by being able to get Christian Yelich and his replacement in Miami, Lewis Brinson. I am buying him early, and it is going to great to see how he evolves in years to come. There is a lot of pop and base-stealing capabilities in this line-up, and they drive in a lot of RBIs and have good OBP. I like the balance of this line-up.

On the pitching side of things, there aren’t any prominent bold-faced names, but I like the staff I have, though in some cases the worry is health, but the entire team is pretty young and built for distance. I am expecting a big bounce-back season from Aaron Sanchez, though I don’t want him to win against the Yankees on Thursday.

Send me your thoughts on the team.