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Rio Crande Typos – Joe Gray | ||
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1. | (6) | Ian Kinsler |
2. | (23) | Roy Halladay |
3. | (34) | Brian McCann |
4. | (51) | Nate McLouth |
5. | (62) | Aubrey Huff |
6. | (79) | J.J. Hardy |
7. | (90) | Cliff Lee |
8. | (107) | Joey Votto |
9. | (118) | Andre Ethier |
10. | (135) | Kerry Wood |
11. | (146) | Ty Wigginton |
12. | (163) | Ben Sheets |
13. | (174) | David DeJesús |
14. | (191) | Mike Napoli |
15. | (202) | Chad Qualls |
16. | (219) | Andy Sonnanstine |
17. | (230) | Jerry Hairston Jr. |
18. | (247) | Jon Rauch |
19. | (258) | Mark Buehrle |
20. | (275) | Hiroki Kuroda |
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RussDev Giants – Russ Dyas | ||
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1. | (7) | Grady Sizemore |
2. | (22) | Prince Fielder |
3. | (35) | Carl Crawford |
4. | (50) | Russell Martin |
5. | (63) | Joe Mauer |
6. | (78) | Magglio Ordóñez |
7. | (91) | Jermaine Dye |
8. | (106) | Derek Jeter |
9. | (119) | Howie Kendrick |
10. | (134) | José Valverde |
11. | (147) | Justin Verlander |
12. | (162) | Chris Young |
13. | (175) | Matt Garza |
14. | (190) | Erik Bedard |
15. | (203) | Frank Francisco |
16. | (218) | Hideki Matsui |
17. | (231) | Elijah Dukes |
18. | (246) | Mark Reynolds |
19. | (259) | Jonathan Sánchez |
20. | (274) | Mike Pelfrey |
Russ was relying on autopick for this draft, but hopefully he won’t be too disappointed with this team. He has plenty of power/speed players in Sizemore, Crawford and Martin to go with the power of Fielder and the average of Mauer. Throw in veterans such as Dye and Ordonez and you have a potent lineup.
He will be counting on Verlander, Bedard and Young to rebound this year while he should be OK for saves with Valverde and Francisco. I think he could use another reliever though, but he has a surplus of hitters to use as potential trade bait.
Overall, I like the offense and if his pitchers rebound, Russ could have a team which is tough to beat.
The Cheddar Chasers – Matt Smith | ||
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1. | (8) | Ryan Braun |
2. | (21) | Carlos Beltrán |
3. | (36) | Justin Morneau |
4. | (49) | Brian Roberts |
5. | (64) | Mariano Rivera |
6. | (77) | Chipper Jones |
7. | (92) | Jay Bruce |
8. | (105) | Chris Iannetta |
9. | (120) | Javier Vázquez |
10. | (133) | Lastings Milledge |
11. | (148) | Zack Greinke |
12. | (161) | Milton Bradley |
13. | (176) | Hong-Chih Kuo |
14. | (189) | Randy Johnson |
15. | (204) | Jose Arredondo |
16. | (217) | Édgar RenterÃa |
17. | (232) | Paul Konerko |
18. | (245) | Orlando Hudson |
19. | (260) | Oliver Pérez |
20. | (273) | Melvin Mora |
Matt’s team were the next to pick, and he’s got a nice balance of power and speed with his first four picks of Braun, Beltran, Morneau and Roberts. Add in the potential of Bruce and Iannetta, and you’ve got a promising offense.
Rivera, Kuo and Arrendondo are a nice trio of relievers, but I think Matt could use more starting pitching to go with Vazquez, Greinke, Johnson and Perez. He does have some useful surplus hitters for potential trade bait.
Overall, a strong hitting line-up, but it could use a little more pitching.
Orpington Isotopes | ||
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1. | (9) | Ryan Howard |
2. | (20) | Chase Utley |
3. | (37) | Manny RamÃrez |
4. | (48) | Curtis Granderson |
5. | (65) | Joe Nathan |
6. | (76) | Adam Dunn |
7. | (93) | Jon Lester |
8. | (104) | Michael Young |
9. | (121) | Edinson Vólquez |
10. | (132) | Matt Cain |
11. | (149) | Mark DeRosa |
12. | (160) | James Loney |
13. | (177) | John Danks |
14. | (188) | Heath Bell |
15. | (205) | Gavin Floyd |
16. | (216) | Kelly Shoppach |
17. | (233) | Joe Saunders |
18. | (244) | Justin Masterson |
19. | (261) | Rafael Pérez |
20. | (272) | Mike Lowell |
My team was the last of four straight BaseballGB participants to pick in the opening round.
Looking back, I feel pretty good about my overall draft, especially with Howard, Utley and Ramirez as my top three picks.
In the past I have tended to reach early for closers, but limited my self to grabbing Joe Nathan early and waiting for one of the lesser closers – in this case Heath Bell – later on.
I was unsure whether I took DeRosa too early, but I like his versatility, and even if he has a down year, I can plug Mike Lowell in at third.
I seriously considered taking Pat Burrell instead of Loney, but I thought a team with Burrell, Dunn and Howard may do too much damage to my average, so I opted for Loney instead.
My pitching staff is stacked full of promising young arms. Normally I like to try to get an experienced quality starter, but one my main targets were gone, I went for youth.
In past seasons, my teams have had strong pitching, and I’m hoping this year will not be an exception.
I’m usure how many holds I’ll get with Masterson and Perez, but I’m pleased with my rotation of Lester, Volquez, Cain, Danks, Saunders and Floyd.
Overall, this might be the best draft I’ve done, but I am relying on talented young arms to carry my staff. If they struggle, I will too.
Please feel free to post you thoughts below.
6 comments
You’re too kind (which I don’t mind, of course).
Thanks for the positive analysis Mark.
This was also my first draft and it wasn’t until late on that I realised plenty of other players were stocking up on starting pitchers. So I wouldn’t argue with your ‘shortage of starters’ assessment at all. A bit of a rookie mistake perhaps, but hopefully I can add some more pitching along the way to make amends.
There were a few players who I had earmarked as being ones I’d particularly like to get, mainly on the back of a hunch. Vazquez, Greinke, Arredondo, Iannetta and Bruce were all right near the top of the list, so I was pleased to get them. Maybe they will prove to be my downfall, but I thought just following the traditional fantasy rankings would be a bit boring. So I’ve take a punt on a few players and we’ll see how they shape up.
The best thing is I think all of the rosters look decent and there should be plenty of competition throughout the season, with injuries, trades and waiver wire pick ups no doubt playing a key role.
Playing as the Border Bats, it was my first live draft, and the first draft where I had to take pitching into account (last year I was playing on the MLB Fantasy League, which works out pitching by team.) Overall it was an enlightening experience, and exposed the shallowness of my knowledge. However, I’m reasonably happy with the roster; the prospect of such stiff competition ensures that at the very least the year will prove a learning experience.
Hi Thomas. Yep, I definitely feel this could be a learning year for me as well. Maybe beginner’s luck will see us through?!
Hi Thomas,
I watched the Bad News Bears on Sunday. It made me laugh that one of the kids in this film was called Ogilvie:
http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0014849/
Joe
Ha! I’ve only seen the re-make. That character seems ominous. There’s been no Ogilvies in the majors, but one Oglivie (not sure where the mis-spelling came from), Ben Oglivie, All-Star outfielder for the Brewers in the late seventies.