We held the draft for our massive 20 team fantasy baseball league last night, which took us about three and half hours to complete. The turnout was very good, at one point I believe we had 19 of the 20 owners present. If you’re wondering what the first three rounds of a 20 team league look like, then click here. I had the second overall pick, meaning the wait between picks was either really short or unbearably long. Here’s my team, position by position…
C: John Baker (17th round, 322nd overall)
1B: Todd Helton (9, 162)
2B: Robbie Cano (3, 42)
SS: Hanley Ramirez (1, 2)
3B: Casey Blake (8, 159)
OF: Jayson Werth (2, 39)
OF: Carlos Gonzalez (6, 119)
OF: Brad Hawpe (7, 122)
UTIL: David Ortiz (10, 199)
SP: Wandy Rodriguez (4, 79)
SP: Cole Hamels (5, 82)
RP: C.J. Wilson (19, 362)
RP:
P: Ben Sheets (11, 202)
P: Brian Matusz (13, 242)
P: Dallas Braden (16, 319)
Bench: Jhonny Peralta (12, 239)
Bench: Carlos Santana (14, 279)
Bench: Josh Willingham (15, 282)
Bench: Edinson Volquez (18, 359)
Bench: Matt Diaz (20, 399)
Bench: Ronnie Belliard (21, 402)
Bench: Jonathan Niese (22, 439)
Obviously, I completely punted the saves category. I figured I was better off grabbing as many starters as possible since they’re much tougher to come by mid-season. Volquez was a straight DL stash with an eye towards midseason. I already slid him into a DL spot and grabbed Luke Gregerson for that empty RP spot. I was hoping to do the same with Erik Bedard, but he went before I got the chance. Santana is another guy I’m stashing on bench, hoping the Indians call up the game’s 10th best prospect sooner rather than later.
Our league counts OBP (and quality starts), so the Helton, Werth, Hawpe and (to a lesser extent) Blake picks are really going to help there. Ortiz was toiling away in the 10th round, and there was really no one else on the board with a realistic chance of 30-100, so I took the bait. Even if he gives me 20-80, I can’t complain. Hopefully Gonzalez’s second half breakout (.320-.384-.608, 12 HR, 11 SB in his last 62 games) is a sign of things to come, and maybe Belliard beats out Blake Dewitt for the Dodgers second base job. He, along with Peralta have multi-position eligibility all over the infield. Diaz could be useful if I’m smart and only play him against lefties, who he annihilates.
I thought my Wandy and Hamels picks were sneaky good in the 4th and 5th rounds of a league that deep. Wandy is on par fantasy-wise with Johan Santana, who went 25 picks earlier. Hamels’ peripherals in 2009 were nearly identical to what they were in 2008, yet his ERA was more than a full run higher, so I’m hopefully that corrects itself. Sheets was a total roll of the dice, but I figured his upside was worth a shot in the 11th round when guys like Kevin Correia and Kevin Slowey and Randy Wells went one round earlier. The idea of a rookie starter in the AL East scares me, but Matusz isn’t like most rookies. Braden, Wilson, and Niese … let’s see what you got.
The one guy I was really hoping to get with my second pick was Ben Zobrist because a) he can rake, and b) he was eligible at the two middle infield spots plus the outfield, and I heart flexibility. He went with the last pick of the first round, so I didn’t even had a chance to get my hopes up. Part of me wishes I took CC Sabathia over Cano in the third round, but the second base market was pretty shallow, and I’m hopefully Robbie breaks out in the fifth spot this year.
Once you’re done laughing at my team, go ahead and use this as your open thread. The Devils are the only local team in action tonight, but there’s a new episode of 24 on, and in case you haven’t heard, this will be the final season because the show’s been canceled. It sure was fun while it lasted…
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