APP Tour Houston Open – Fantasy Draft Preview
It feels like there needs to be a bit of a break after such an intense MLP event. It’s a mental let down not just for the players, but for the fans as well. As Jerry Seinfeld once said, I’ve flown first class…I can’t go back to coach. But alas, we are back to coach this weekend with standard tournaments. Not only are we back to regular tournaments, but we have an APP and PPA tournament in one weekend. Luckily, it’s one of the more intriguing APP fields we have seen in recent months so this is definitely something we want to watch. Can you tell we are addicted?
Slim is 6 up on the year and he seems to sweep every one of these 2 tournament weekends. It’s now or never for Gritty, or we’re looking at 2 straight calendar years of being out-fantasied by Slim. Gritty won the toss and elected to pick first. One thing to note in the above draft chart is that the numbers beside the players is a reference to where the player was selected in the draft. Let us know if that’s annoying or confusing, or you really don’t care about our fantasy drafts at all!
(1) Parris Todd (Gritty)
(2) JW Johnson (Slim)
(3) Zane Navratil / JW Johnson (Slim)
(4) Parris Todd / JW Johnson (Gritty)
(5) Anna Bright / Parris Todd (Gritty)
Gritty – I took a big chance here taking Parris 1st overall with a number of other strong gold medal favorites in this field. Parris is a virtual lock for gold in this singles field. The question is whether she is going to play after a Championship weekend at MLP. I’m obviously hoping she is going to play, but I recognize there’s a decent chance she withdraws too. Parris’ mixed partnership with JW is super intriguing. The two of them appear to be spending quite a bit of time practicing together since Parris has moved to Florida and this partnership has big-time, long-term upside. Anna and Parris were pretty close to winning the PPA Championships 2 weekends ago, and I like their power to be too much for Simone Jardim to handle, despite the fact that Simone/Andrea don’t lose together.
Slim – My number one rule of “always bet on JW Johnson”, almost always pays off, so I take JW in singles with the second pick and take JW and Zane in men’s doubles with the the third pick. Usually I’d be hesitant to take Zane this high in men’s doubles, but he has had excellent results in there lately and his consistency has really improved.
(6) Simone Jardim / Andrea Koop (Slim)
(7) Andrea Koop / Dekel Bar (Slim)
(8) Dekel Bar / DJ Young (Gritty)
(9) Federico Staksrud (Gritty)
(10) Megan Fudge (Slim)
(11) Jorja Johnson / Vivienne David (Slim)
Gritty– This men’s doubles field falls off after #2 so I take the talented square peg, round hole partnership of Dekel Bar and DJ Young. You have to think Dekel Bar plays the left in this partnership but who knows? Federico Staksrud has been too consistent in men’s singles and is getting a better handle on Navratil’s serve. Staksrud had to be my pick here.
Slim – The Simone Jardim / Andrea Koop team has yet to lose when they play together this year, so I like their chances this week. They will be in tough against Anna/Parris, but I do wonder if Parris has the consistency yet to hold up against Simone and Andrea. I still have questions about Dekel Bar in mixed but Dekel and Andrea Koop are too strong to pass up here. I like Megan Fudge in this singles field because I know that she is going to play and play at high level. The Jorja Johnson / Vivienne David partnership is extremely intriguing as their games should pair well and teams will have a tough time attacking them.
(12) Anna Bright (Gritty)
(13) Anna Bright / Zane Navratil (Gritty)
(14) Zane Navratil (Slim)
(15) Jorja Johnson (Slim)
(16) Gabriel Tardio / Travis Rettenmaier (Gritty)
(17) Hunter Johnson (Gritty)
Gritty – I have all the Parris Todd and Anna Bright this weekend. Bright’s singles results are up and down, but I think she has a good shot at a silver in this field, or even a gold if Parris Todd doesn’t play. I worry some about Bright on the right side in mixed still, but Zane with that spin serve in mixed is still a pretty big advantage. Despite Thomas Wilson being the best player left in the men’s doubles field, I think Rettenmaier/Tardio are the best pair left (I’m not going to hold it against Rettenmaier that he foolishly thinks he can beat Slim and I one against two). It will be interesting to see what Auvergne can do partnered with Wilson, but I want Auvergne to show it first before I’m picking him ahead of a team with more big match experience.
Slim – Zane and Jorja were easy picks at the 14 and 15 slots. They both have shown they have the potential to win the whole thing, but they also struggle a bit with their consistency in singles.
(18) Stefan Auverge / Thomas Wilson (Slim)
(19) Vivienne David / Thomas Wilson (Slim)
(20) Simone Jardim / Federico Staksrud (Gritty)
(21) Lacy Schneemann (Gritty)
(22) Lacy Schneemann / Lee Whitwell (Slim)
(23) John Cincola (Slim)
Gritty – Federico Staksrud looked very good at MLP as his doubles game continues to grow. Simone is clearly a believer in his talent too and, well, look at the results. Lacy Schneemann has some singles skills and has shown she can get wins. I like Lacy over Jorja going into this event and this is a field where she could make some noise on the right day.
Slim – I go back to back with Thomas Wilson here, taking him and Stefan Auverge and he and Vivienne in mixed. I actually had Thomas/Stefan as my number three men’s team so am very happy to get them here. Thomas/Vivienne also have strong podium potential. Lacy Schneemann and Lee Whitwell should be a good fit style wise in women’s doubles. I am hoping a rested a John Cincola can find his way to the podium.
(24) Federico Staksrud / Pablo Tellez (Gritty)
(25) Yates Johnson (Gritty)
(26) Jorja Johnson / Gabriel Tardio (Slim)
(27) Lina Padigemaite (Slim)
(28) Milan Rane / Bobbi Oshiro (Gritty)
(29) Sarah Burr / Susannah Barr (Gritty)
(30) Adam Stone / Rob Nunnery (Slim)
Gritty – Pablo Tellez has had a couple of disappointing weekends in a row as his men’s performance at MLP left something to be desired. Nevertheless, the fit between Staksrud and Tellez is good, and they both have weapons. It didn’t feel right to pick Stone and Nunnery, who have played a combined 3 events since the APP New York. When I put together my board, Mary Brascia/Lina Padigemaite were still in the field so I didn’t expect to have to go this deep with my women’s teams. I go with Rane/Oshiro and then Burr/Barr over Fudge/Truong simply because Barr is the best player of the bunch left. I didn’t get a chance to watch the Australian, Sarah Burr, play at the PPA Round Up last weekend so this could very well be an incorrect decision.
Slim – Jorja Johnson and Gabe Tardio could beat anyone in this field on the right day, it is just a matter of whether they can find the consistency, which they haven’t really shown together. Lina Padigemaite has shown that she can make the podium in women’s singles. And with the last pick it just feels right, with Adam Stone and Rob Nunnery. I am hoping after seeing some competitive play last week that Rob and Adam will be ready to go this weekend. My big concern though is still their health, but at this point the upside is too high.
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