S20 Draft Predictions

[By-Tor]

Season 20 Draft Predictions

The Season 20 draft is nearly upon us as young players from around the globe tune in to hear their name called and don the jersey of one of the prominent franchises of the leagues. While team needs may vary, there is no doubt that these holes will be filled and a new crop of young talent will flood the major and minor leagues very soon. And how many! This is the biggest draft class the SSL has ever seen! They are lining up around the block to get into the draft day event next Sunday there are so many of them! 

In the draft class, we have a number of top earners with a diverse position group. A lot of midfielders, a decent amount of defense, with some strikers and goalkeepers sprinkled in. So far at the time of this writing, five players have maxed out their TPE and are eagerly waiting on their landing destination. For this analysis, we will take a look at the top five picks in the upcoming draft and a bit about why it would work. 

Pick #1: A.C. Romana - Cade Power, CAM

I believe awesome user Jumbo will go first overall. Because midfielder is such an important position, the combination of good position, high TPE, and good user will catapult Cade Power to the top. S tier name, too. A.C. Romana needs talent in many areas and you can't go wrong with this combo.

Pick #2: CF Catalunya - Jakob Fendsterhausen, CD

CF Catalunya needs defense as they let in way too many goals this past season. Adding a solid, high earning defender to the roster will go a long way in shoring up that weak spot. Cycro is a good user and has the ability to go far in this league, so Catalunya should take note and not overthink it. 

Pick #3: Hollywood FC - Sam Albinson, RAM

I think Hollywood FC goes a tad off the obvious board here and wraps up Albinson. Port Royal won the academy league this year, and Albinson was a huge reason why. Clogging up the middle defensively and making key passes on attack, Albinson is the kind of player you want running the operation. Scoous is a top tier user too, so good pick up. 

Pick #4: Tokyo S.C. - Marean Dohbra, RAM

Tokyo is a bit in the middle, not too bad not too good. But given time and the right pick here, they could turn it around fast. Dohbra lit up the Academy league and is poised to take the league by storm. If Dohbra isn't gone by pick #4, Tokyo needs to consider the best available and just make this pick. 

Pick #5: CA Buenos Aires - Marcel Voda, CM

Buenos Aires needs help on both sides of the ball, and what better player to pick than one that can fulfill both needs? Voda is a great midfielder that is max earning and would give Buenos Aires the edge in the next few seasons. There a few other options for the team here, but I think this is where they go. 

As you can see, no strikers or goalkeepers off the board in the first five, and defense and midfield command such an apparent need. I think there could be some chaos here if too many teams go off the board, but I think the theme of the day could follow the above pattern. How right am I? We shall see next weekend!

[Daleks]

Thank you for the shoutout! Lovely article.

[OblivionWalker]

I think this could end up being a really interesting draft, depending on what teams need and when they want to make moves. I’ll be curious to see if there are any trades up or down between now and the draft. But hopefully we all end up somewhere we can succeed!

[Jumbo]

Oh wow. Thanks By-Tor for the #1 spot honor. S20 is such a great class and there are an incredible amount of great users. All of them are deserving of being drafted #1.