“People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.” — Rogers Hornsby

Pitchers and catchers report. That glorious sentence that brings hope to us all. The disappointments of last year are wiped away. Visions dance in our minds of how this could be the year. Dodger fans thinking about a three-peat. Seattle fans thinking about their first World Series. Colorado fans thinking about what could have been if Bo Nix hadn’t broken his ankle, and so on.

For the sixteen Owners in the HumBabe Dynasty League, hope comes every year from the Preseason Draft. Now is when you can get the players to fill out a championship roster, or turn around a struggling squad.

Below is a draft preview of each of the sixteen teams — their current situation, key players, positions of need, and potential players who could be taken there. Please let me (Pablo & the Secret Weapons featuring as our guest writer) know if you agree with this, and if you disagree, feel free to screenshot this and shame my bad takes after the season.

Eastside Bombers

2025: 4–16, 6938 points (15th)

2026 Keepers: 7161 points (12th)

Needs: 2B, SS, SP

The first pick goes to the Bombers who are looking to bounce back from a disappointing follow-up to their 11–9 season in 2024. The big acquisition of Gerrit Cole last year puts them in an interesting position. Do they go all in to push for their first playoff appearance behind veterans Cole, Manny Machado, and Zac Gallen? Or do they build around their youth with top prospects Jesus Made and George Lombard on the way, knowing the vets aren’t getting any younger? The great thing about having the first overall pick is having choices that would work with either strategy. We could see a Japanese starter (Tatsuya Imai) go first overall for the third straight year, Munetaka Murakami is a high risk-high reward option, or the Bombers could look at a number of vets like Trevor Story who would immediately upgrade the offense if they choose a win-now strategy.

Florida Squeeze

2025: 5–15, 8236 points (11th)

2026 Keepers: 6736 points (16th)

Needs: C, 1B, RP

The Squeeze were the big winners of the draft lottery, landing the 2nd overall pick with the 4th worst record. Despite the low points projection, there is serious young talent here with names like Junior Caminero, Jacob Misirowski, and some guy playing shortstop for the Royals. Add in a wave of pitching prospects hitting the majors soon, and you can really see things come together in the next few years. For now, the Squeeze will look to take advantage of their good fortune by adding another high-upside player. Murakami is an obvious fit with an opening at first base. A safer but less exciting pick would be to add to the bullpen, where Abner Uribe is the only projected reliever currently on the roster. 36-year-old Raisel Iglesias doesn’t fit their window, but a younger closer like David Bednar or Daniel Palencia could make sense here.

Golden City Gatekeepers

2025: 2–18, 7221 points (14th)

2026 Keepers: 7297 points (11th)

Needs: Pitching, C

Not much went right for the Gatekeepers in 2025. A lot of key players suffered down years or injuries and Emmanuel Clase preferred to make thousands in bribes instead of millions in salary. Forget all that because this team has the young talent to turn things around fast. Fernando Tatis Jr. is still only 27 and he’s backed up by 11 keepers 25 and under. This team will look for Roki Sasaki to bring his postseason form into 2026 and for continued development from names like Jackson Holliday and Bubba Chandler. The pitching staff is thin with significant injury history; adding depth should be a top priority. There would be weeks of trash talk on the GM Discord if Tatsuya Imai fell to them at #3. An interesting possibility is a reunion with Royals SP Noah Cameron who was on their 2025 roster but just missed the keeper cut. Closer is another option, with no relief pitchers currently rostered.

Galactic Crusaders

2025: 3–17, 5866 points (16th)

2026 Keepers: 6871 points (15th)

Needs: Bats, RP

A bottom feeder in their first three years, this rebranded franchise looks to take a big step forward in 2026. After aggressively selling in 2025, the Crusaders have built a potential death star of a rotation with Paul Skenes, Cole Ragans, Shane McClanahan, Jared Jones, Grayson Rodriguez, and others. All those guys but Skenes missed all or most of the 2025 season; with them back, this team could easily contend for its first playoff appearance. On the offensive side there is plenty of room to upgrade. Two open utility spots are an opportunity to draft the best hitters available regardless of position, and the Crusaders will be able to fill them with back-to-back picks after trading their 2nd and 3rd round selections to London Bag Club. With no relievers rostered, they could also use one of the two picks on a closer. The pressure to get these picks right will be high since they won’t pick again until the late 4th.

Lone Star Drillers

2025: 7–13, 8352 points (9th)

2026 Keepers: 7520 points (8th)

Needs: SP, RP, 2B, 3B

“What da hell is a Polar Bear doin in El Paso, Texas?” The Lone Star Drillers have yet to make the playoffs in a full season, but that could change this year. Their 2025 points total suggests they should’ve finished around .500 as they’re projected to in 2026. The lineup offers well-rounded production and on the pitching side, we all know what Yoshinobu Yamamoto can do. The real need here is more star power to compete with the elite of the league. That could come from outfielder Dylan Crews taking a big step forward after struggling with an oblique injury in 2025. In the first round, Lone Star could target a high-upside pitcher like Joe Musgrove or Bryce Miller after losing Justin Verlander and Charlie Morton to Father Time. Second and third base are also opportunities, where available players like Matt Chapman would be an upgrade from Jonathan India’s .669 OPS.

Nashville Stars

2025: 9–11, 7482 points (13th)

2026 Keepers: 7131 points (14th)

Needs: C, 1B, 2B, SP

Despite the decent win-loss record, the Stars may have been a bit lucky to get there, scoring the 4th fewest points in the league and having the fewest points scored against of any team. There is potential here: the rotation has some solid depth and could be very good if Kris Bubic and Pablo Lopez stay healthy. However, age and lack of star power are concerns with this roster. 7 of 15 keepers are in their 30s, and only two are under 27. With the clock ticking on their contention window, the Stars are another team that will need to decide whether to use their pitching prospect capital to acquire some impact players or to sell on their veterans and rebuild. Whichever way they choose to go, the Stars would benefit from adding a young impact bat to their lineup. Ivan Herrera, Luis Robert Jr. (still only 28), or Addison Barger are all names that could make sense here.

Super Smash Stros

2025: 9–11, 8285 points (10th), lost 1st round vs. Jackal Attack

2026 Keepers: 7667 points (7th)

Needs: Pitching

Living up to their name, Super Smash took an offense-heavy approach to keepers this offseason. The Stros retained hitters in all 10 lineup positions, led by Francisco Lindor who somehow seems underrated despite being a future Hall of Famer playing in New York. Keeping so many hitters came at the cost of pitching, and the Stros added to that with the interesting decision to keep Tylor Megill who will not pitch in 2026 after undergoing Tommy John. That leaves four healthy starting pitchers and no relievers on the roster. Yes, one of those four is Garrett Crochet, but this fan of the late ’90s Mariners can tell you one great lefty ace can’t do it all. The ‘Stros have a pretty clear objective in this draft to build rotation depth and a bullpen to back up Crochet, who no one wants to face come playoff time.

Say Hey Kids

2025: 12–8, 8882 points (8th)

2026 Keepers: 7747 points (6th)

Needs: 1B, SS, RP

There may be no one player in this league who affects his team’s fortunes more than Ronald Acuna Jr. with the Say Hey Kids. Acuna’s last healthy season produced a ridiculous 1089 fantasy points and the 2023 HumBabe Championship. But the torn ACL he suffered in ’24 turned three straight playoff appearances into back-to-back misses. If Acuna can stay on the field for the full season, backed by another supremely talented young outfielder in Jackson Chourio and a devastating big three of Skubal-Wheeler-Webb in the rotation, this team will have the high-end talent to get back to the playoffs and win their second championship. An underrated advantage is having four minor league pitchers projected to start in the big leagues this year. With that added pitching depth, the Say Hey Kids can use the draft to build a strong bullpen behind Jeff Hoffman and fill holes at first and shortstop. Established players like Trevor Story or Raisel Iglesias would fit this win-now team.

Coastal Splitters

2025: 12–8, 9610 points (2nd), lost league championship vs. Jackal Attack

2026 Keepers: 8829 points (2nd)

Needs: SP

The Commish’s squad looked to be starting 2025 in a championship hangover, inexplicably struggling to a 2–4 start. Of course, they proceeded to right the ship, going 10–4 the rest of the way and making their record fifth league championship. The Splitters now benefit from that early cold streak with a mid-first-round pick. Not much is needed for the offense, who are led by an absolute speed demon from the National League. No, not the one you’re thinking of. Not the other one either. I’m of course talking about 2025 NL steals leader Juan Soto. (He better learn you can’t steal first base.) This lineup isn’t just stacked, it’s young with only two players over 28 and big-time talent in the farm system. On the other hand, the rotation is thinner than in past years with Corbin Burnes rehabbing and Gerrit Cole traded away. Spencer Strider should do more this year, but the Splitters will probably still want to add more pitching. There should be plenty of solid starters available at #10 — Jose Soriano or Bailey Ober come to mind — who will help them do just that.

Perth Platypi

2025: 13–7, 9105 points (7th), lost 1st round vs. Brooklyn Robins

2026 Keepers: 7417 points (10th)

Needs: RP, 1B, 3B, SS

Just like their mascot, the Perth squad is interestingly built: strong at some positions but very thin at others. The outfield has depth and star power with Pete Crow-Armstrong and Christian Yelich. The rotation has upside if Reynaldo Lopez and Kyle Bradish can come back healthy and Cam Schlittler can keep up his postseason dominance. On the other hand, the Platypi have only one infielder (Nico Hoerner) and no relievers on their roster. This gives them plenty of options for drafting, but will they be able to fill all those holes before some positions get thin in later rounds? Perth may be in a win-now mode. While they have had four straight winning seasons, several players are over 30 and they would love to break through into a deep playoff run before time catches up. Roster fits could include Willson Contreras, Matt Chapman, or whoever is the best closer remaining on the board. Another option would be to make a trade from a position of strength like catcher, where many teams have need and could offer a strong return.

Wally Mash

2025: 14–6, 9532 points (5th), lost 1st round to Pablo and the Secret Weapons

2026 Keepers: 7863 points (5th)

Needs: C, 3B

The Green Monster’s squad has been one of the most consistently successful since joining the league in 2021, with no losing seasons and five straight playoff appearances. They came up just short in 2023 when Say Hey Kids beat them for the championship, but have been bounced in the first round their other four seasons. The offense has some big names like Ketel Marte and Rafael Devers, while Hunter Brown and Freddy Peralta headline a solid pitching staff. Of course, James Wood could become their biggest star of all as he continues to gain experience. Wally Mash will need to fill third base after Devers moved to first, as well as find a catcher, but this squad should be right in the mix in 2026. (Sign me to a rap label now with that bar.)

Brooklyn Robins

2025: 14–6, 9571 points (4th), lost SCL championship vs. Coastal Splitters

2026 Keepers: 7477 points (9th)

Needs: OF, SP

Brooklyn is one of five teams to have made the playoffs every year of this league’s existence but has not been able to reach the championship game since losing a close one to Pablo in 2019. This is clearly a win-now team with only three keepers under 30. This veteran squad can definitely get it done with stars like Chris Sale, Mookie Betts, and Trea Turner leading the way. And did anyone else realize Trey Yesavage was still eligible as a minor league keeper? He feels like a proven star but unbelievably has thrown just 14 regular-season innings. That should help the Robins outperform their 9th-place projected points from their major league keepers. A deep playoff run will depend on the continued health and performance of their veterans, but Brooklyn can move toward that goal by adding outfield bats and pitching depth. Jurickson Profar or Joe Musgrove could work for this roster, so long as GM Jonny Ingram is ok with drafting the Dodgers’ current or former division rivals.

Pablo and the Secret Weapons

2025: 14–6, 9585 points (3rd), lost BCL Championship vs. Jackal Attack

2026 Keepers: 9918 points (1st)

Needs: RP, 2B

After dropping the 2024 championship game to the Splitters, Pablo went on a win-now push in 2025, spending a lot of young talent to add Kevin Gausman and Matt Olson in midseason trades. They fell to eventual champion Jackal Attack in the 2nd round but look poised to compete for another title. “Arson” Judge appears headed to another MVP season and the offense could get even better with a healthy Yordan Alvarez and full seasons from young stars Nick Kurtz and Roman Anthony. The glaring need is the bullpen after a disappointing performance by Tanner Scott and a disastrous midseason trade for Randy Rodriguez, who pitched all of 4 2/3 innings before needing Tommy John. An established closer like Raisel Iglesias could help bring stability here. Second base is also a need: a Brandon Lowe reunion makes sense, or GM Paul Strong could reach for new Mariner Brendan Donovan. Don’t scoff because he is probably overconfident with fantasy homer picks after taking some mid-round wide receiver by the name of Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

Jackal Attack

2025: 16–4, 9504 points (6th), won league championship

2026 Keepers: 8629 points (4th)

Needs: C, 3B, OF

The Jackal duo defend their title starting with Shohei Ohtani, the highest-scoring hitter over the past two years. I say ‘hitter’ because that’s not even including his pitching points. By the way, he’s planning to pitch full-time again. Good luck everyone else. But remove Shohei and the defending champs would still be a strong team. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. brings MVP potential and is still just 26. In case you didn’t hear, Brice Turang was acquired for Bo Bichette and gave a breakout performance at the thin position of second base. Bryan Woo headlines a strong rotation who can hand the ball to a lockdown duo of Edwin Diaz and Emilio Pagan. Like Trey Yesavage on the Robins, Jackal effectively gets another keeper with Nolan McLean still minor-league eligible. This is a team that doesn’t need to overthink the draft, just take the best players available at their catcher, third base, and outfield openings. A few Blue Jays would work here in Addison Barger or Kazuma Okamoto, or they could go with Luis Robert Jr. for a risk-reward play.

LeBronto Blue James

2025: 18–2, 10097 points (1st), lost 1st round vs. Coastal Splitters

2026 Keepers: 8762 points (3rd)

Needs: SP, 2B, UT

LeBronto fans are probably getting impatient for more championships. It’s been a whole three years since their three-peat after all. Team LBJ looked to have the title in their grasp with their 18–2 regular season record but were bounced in the first round courtesy of a brutal seeding draw in the 12–8 Coastal Splitters. What sets this offense apart is the number of elite bats at premium positions. Jose Ramirez at third, Big Dumper behind the plate, and Geraldo Perdomo at shortstop are all legit MVP candidates. In the pen, Jhoan Duran and Andres Munoz bring enough gas to crash oil prices worldwide. All LeBronto needs from this draft are solid complementary pieces: a second baseman, utility bat, and pitching depth behind their strong rotation. Brandon Lowe or Joe Musgrove would make sense as established complementary players rounding out the roster, furthering their pursuit of not three, not four, not five, not six…

London Bag Club

2025: 8–12, 8050 points (12th)

2026 Keepers: 7156 points (13th)

Needs: 1B, 2B, OF, RP

London is taking a quantity-focused approach to the draft, trading out of the first round for the Galactic Crusaders’ second- and third-rounders. With back-to-back picks in the second, third, and fourth rounds, “The Club” has a lot of opportunities to pick up a breakout performer. They will need to add quite a few bats, especially given the injury risks to Byron Buxton, Royce Lewis, and Corey Seager. This squad’s strength is its starting pitching collection: one of the best in the league with Jacob deGrom, Tyler Glasnow, Mackenzie Gore, Joe Ryan, Aaron Nola, and others. If London can build a steady offense and bullpen with their picks, that rotation could easily bring the Club’s playoff drought to an end.

With fifteen keepers per team, it might seem like opportunities for top talent are limited. Yet every year we see steals like Byron Buxton in the 6th Round or Framber Valdez in the 4th. The later rounds are also a great time for teams to reassess their farm systems and add top prospects. In 2020 alone, we saw Bobby Witt Jr, Corbin Carroll, and Julio Rodriguez all drafted as minor leaguers. Who will make the big move this year that sends them all the way?

-Pablo & the Secret Weapons