I’ve done quite a few fantasy baseball drafts so far this season, but the one tonight is the big whammy. It is a 10-team mixed keeper league with some friends and family. This is the first season of the league, so there are no incoming keepers. I’ll do a blog-through of my impressions on each round.
Second half of the draft, see Monday’s blog for the first half…
Round 11-
Team 1- Zito
Team 2- Harden
Team 3- Haren
Team 4- Crede
Team 5- Sabathia
Team 6- Lugo
Team 7- C. Young (SD)
Team 8- Papelbon
Team 9- C. Cordero
Team 10- Rios
Seven out of the ten picks in this round were pitchers, and some of them were pretty good bargains. Sabathia and Haren continue to be underrated, and are great values in the 11th round. Harden could push Johan for the AL Cy Young if he can find a way to stay on the field. I’m not crazy about Lugo who will get more runs, but steal fewer bases in Boston. I’ve never liked Crede for some reason, and I feel like Team 4 paid for a career year (which wasn’t spectacular anyway). I like Rios, barring any staff infections, and wanted him next round.
Round 12-
Team 10- Cain
Team 9- Bedard
Team 8- Cuddyer
Team 7- Saito
Team 6- A. Gonzalez
Team 5- LaRoche
Team 4- Contreras
Team 3- F. Cordero
Team 2- Hamels
Team 1- Iguchi
Cuddyer left before I could get to him. My plans of a Berkman, Rios, Cuddyer outfield just flew out the window. I like Hamels over Contreras, especially in a keeper league. Saito is older than most think and has Broxton waiting in the wings for any tiny chance to become the closer. Gonzalez and LaRoche are two pretty good, young first baseman. I can’t condone Iguchi here, when Josh Barfield was had three rounds later and Ian Kinsler was had seven rounds later. Both have better upside.
Round 13-
Team 1- Hunter
Team 2- Taveras
Team 3- Gordon
Team 4- Overbay
Team 5- Baldelli
Team 6- R. Hernandez
Team 7- Cameron
Team 8- Otsuka
Team 9- Bonds
Team 10- Chavez
I took a lot of joy in selecting Taveras a round early just so that Erik couldn’t have him. Otsuka might be the Rangers’ closer within the first three weeks, and a repeat of last year would be an insane bargain here.
Round 14-
Team 10- J.D. Drew
Team 9- Helton
Team 8- Arroyo
Team 7- R. Johnson
Team 6- Thomas
Team 5- Hawpe
Team 4- Ibanez
Team 3- Garciaparra
Team 2- Markakis
Team 1- Verlander
Pretty much all of these picks are good values at this position. Drew should excel in Boston. Helton won’t revert to 2002, but he’ll be pretty good. Arroyo and Johnson will come close to last season. Hawpe might improve, and Ibanez continues to put up solid numbers and be underrated. Markakis is a nice pick in a keeper or regular league.
Round 15-
Team 1- Burrell
Team 2- Valverde
Team 3- Beltre
Team 4- Jer. Weaver
Team 5- E. Santana
Team 6- S. Drew
Team 7- Tracy
Team 8- Matthews Jr.
Team 9- Fuentes
Team 10- Barfield
Valverde was interesting last season because he was amazing for a bit, then absolutely terrible, then just decent. I believe we’ll see closer to the amazing version, or at least good enough to be worthwhile. I’ve never liked Weaver, and now he’ll open the season on the DL. Ervin Santana is a great pickup and should provide strong ERA and wins, with passable K’s. I like Barfield, his power numbers should increase with a move away from Petco.
Round 16-
Team 10- Kent
Team 9- Posada
Team 8- Isringhausen
Team 7- Burnett
Team 6- Huff
Team 5- Schilling
Team 4- Lo Duca
Team 3- Barrett
Team 2- Encarnacion
Team 1- Wainwright
Burnett went from the most overrated pitcher a year ago to one of the most underrated now. His talent has always surpassed his success, but he has to stay healthy and put it together eventually, right? Barrett is much better than Lo Duca, especially if Lo Duca can’t hold down the two-hole in New York. Kent, Posada, and Isringhausen are a great representation of aging stars on the decline that can still provide something, as long as expectations aren’t too high. Huff should improve with a return to the AL East. You may ask what my reasoning for that is, and there is none, aside from a gut feeling. A full healthy year for Encarnacion could produce some very nice stats. Wainwright might step back into the closer role if J-Isri gets injured, but even if he stays in the rotation, he should be good.
Round 17-
Team 1- Wang
Team 2- Piazza
Team 3- R. Hill
Team 4- J. Jones
Team 5- R. Martin
Team 6- Gagne
Team 7- Willingham
Team 8- Lowe
Team 9- M. Giles
Team 10- Wickman
Ming Wang could just as easily get slammed and lose his rotation spot. He had wins, which are unreliable, and no strikeouts, which are reliable. A DH spot might keep Piazza healthy and relevant for a couple more years. Rich Hill took huge steps last season, and looks very good. Martin and Willingham are good picks. Gagne might get hurt in the first month and he might get hurt in the second month, but he surely won’t save 50 games. Wow, Giles has fallen. Maybe a San Diego family reunion will inspire some early decade Atlanta success. Wickman has Gonzalez and Soriano, who have both put up sick stats, sitting behind him, just waiting for a slip-up.
Round 18-
Team 10- I. Rodriguez
Team 9- Durham
Team 8- Hudson
Team 7- Freel
Team 6- Sanchez
Team 5- Dotel
Team 4- Bush
Team 3- T. Jones
Team 2- C. Jackson
Team 1- Peralta
Freel will be what he always is, a super-utility man who will steal in the mid to upper thirties. Sanchez might help again in average. That’s about it. If Dotel can get opportunities, he has closed successfully in the past. Bush is a great sleeper, especially this late. He teams with Sheets to make the top of that Brewers rotation pretty impressive. Todd Jones is the older, reliever version of Wang, pass. Conor Jackson should make strides, similar to Prince Fielder last season. Peralta might rebound, but not back to the numbers of two years ago.
Round 19-
Team 1- Monroe
Team 2- Blalock
Team 3- Kinsler
Team 4- Teahen
Team 5- Beckett
Team 6- Capuano
Team 7- Granderson
Team 8- O. Cabrera
Team 9- Varitek
Team 10- Clemens
The Kinsler, Teahen, Beckett run was a nice time for sleepers. Beckett followed Burnetts path from over to underrated. Not sure about Capuano, I really expected a regression last year. I don’t want Clemens since he can’t even be stored on the DL.
Round 20-
Team 10- Zumaya
Team 9- Crisp
Team 8- Hillenbrand
Team 7- Pierzynski
Team 6- Pettitte
Team 5- D. Roberts
Team 4- Garcia
Team 3- Cantu
Team 2-Vazguez
Team 1- Alou
Everyone here has a certain amount of upside, except Hillenbrand, Pierzynski, Roberts, and Alou. Crisp will run more at the bottom of the lineup, Zumaya might close eventually, Pettitte should get more wins. Roberts will do what he always does, run.
Round 21-
Team 1- Ensberg
Team 2- Broxton
Team 3- Byrnes
Team 4- B. Molina
Team 5- A. Gordon
Team 6- Benitez
Team 7- L. Castillo
Team 8- Kearns
Team 9- Podsednik
Team 10- Olsen
Not sure how Broxton, Olsen, and especially Gordon fell this far in a keeper draft, but there they are.
Round 22-
Team 10- J. Johnson
Team 9- Mo Pena
Team 8- Mora
Team 7- Iwamura
Team 6- Dempster
Team 5- Hermida
Team 4- Griffey Jr.
Team 3- Youkilis
Team 2- Torres
Team 1- Crosby
Johnson is talented, but hurt. Iwamura is a mystery. Dempster was terrible, but might not be so bad this year. Hermida is a good late keeper league pickup, as is Crosby.
Round 23-
Team 1- Borowski
Team 2- Snell
Team 3- Escobar
Team 4- J. Lopez
Team 5- A. Sanchez
Team 6- Penny
Team 7- Uribe
Team 8- Garland
Team 9- Upton
Team 10- N. Johnson
Nice to get a closer this late, even if it is Jo Bo. Snell has some serious strikeout potential, the trouble is, so far it has come with serious walks. Escobar deserves better than this. Hannibal or Animal Sanchez, whichever one you think sounds better, is overrated by some, but you can’t call him that when he is getting drafted in this spot.
So there is the draft, comments on teams or picks are welcome.
-Adam
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