Tuesday March 20, 2007

So last night was the draft for the inaugural season of a keeper league that I have with some friends (yes I have friends). I was kind of worried about this draft because over my spring break I did not really get to look into fantasy baseball as much as I wanted to. This was a concern because I was hoping to find some late round young sleepers since it was a keeper league. O and only 5 people showed up for the draft, wtf that is like the best part of the season. Here is how my picks went in order:

Chase Utley, 2B *Yes I picked him over A-Rod and R. Howard, he is young and the drop off after him at 2B is pretty far
Travis Hafner, DH *It was him or Beltran, went Haf because of his raw power
Derrek Lee, 1B *I feel he will have a great year with all that offense in the lineup
Hanley Ramirez, SS *Needed some speed and he is young
Joe Nathan, RP *Wanted F-Rod but he went 3 picks ahead of me, no SP was worth taking
Ryan Zimmerman, 3B *Feel he will be good this year and only improve over time
John Lackey, SP *Needed a quality SP, felt Lackey was good all-around
John Smoltz, SP *Don’t think he will drop off, considering he closed for a few years
J.J. Putz, RP *Wanted another quality RP and felt wasn’t much left
Jeff Francoeur, OF *Thinking I should have taken Delmon Young since it is a keeper league
C.C. Sabathia, SP *Saw an interview with him on ESPNnews and liked him
Adam LaRoche, 1B *Will fill my other Util spot, might produce well with Bay
Rocco Baldelli, OF *I really wanted Willy Taveras here but got taken 3 picks before me by same jerk who took my F-rod
Brad Hawpe, OF *Might have been early for him but didn’t want to lose him like Taveras
Ervin Santana, SP *Young quality pitcher that shares name with the best pitcher (Santana)
Curt Schilling, SP *Think he has some left in the tank and will get W’s in Boston
Russell Martin, C *Needed some to feel the catcher hole didn’t want anyone worse then him
Octavio Dotel, RP *Has the skill but will he get the opportunities in KC?
Josh Beckett, SP *Think he will come around this year in Boston
Dave Roberts, OF *Needed another man to get steals and if he gets on, Barry will drive him home
Alex Gordon, 3B *This is a keeper league so I’m thinking down the line here
Jeremy Hermida, OF *Another OF incase some of the earlier OF don’t pan out
Anibal Sanchez, SP *It was him or Ian Snell, Snell got snagged so went with him and yes he will throw another no-hitter

I’m pretty pleased with the draft personally; I got the people I was aiming for except Taveras. I really love my infield: Lee, Utley, Ramirez and Zimmerman. I feel it is easier to fill the OF during the season since there 3 times as many to choose from. We get 6 keepers for next year, right now I know three and assume they will stay that way: Utley, Zimmerman and Ramirez. All my infield, nice!

Things to keep in mind before you completely dog my draft: first year of keeper league, 10 teams, roto, I picked in the 5th spot.

Please let me know what you think of my draft, if you think it sucks please let me know if you think I am a drafting god please let me know.

To see all the draft results look at yesterday's blog (a.k.a. scroll down).

-Erik