*Complete Fantasy Draft Results* Inside The Park Blog: March 21, 2007

by user InsideTheParkFantasy

So yesterday I (Erik) posted my results from a fantasy keeper league I took part in. Following is the complete results from the draft round-by-round, it probably should of been put up before my team but never-the-less here it is round-by-round with commentary by Adam...

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.

• Erik is Team 5
• Adam is Team 2

Round 1-

Team 1- Albert Pujols

Team 2- Jose Reyes

Team 3- Alfonso Soriano

Team 4- Johan Santana

Team 5- Chase Utley

Team 6- Alex Rodriguez

Team 7- Ryan Howard

Team 8- David Ortiz

Team 9- Ichiro Suzuki

Team 10- Vladimir Guerrero

Not sure everyone realizes this is a keeper draft, so it follows the path of a one-year league mostly. First round goes mostly as planned, Ortiz is a little early for my taste, but its a reasonable pick. Suzuki was a surprise this early for sure, but a contract year rise could be the reasoning, but that still doesn't work for me. Even with a contract year I don’t see the rationale for drafting him in the first round, he could put up his best season ever and only be a marginal late first round pick. Ryan Howard falls to seventh mostly because Team 4 wanted him but didn’t act fast enough and auto-picked Santana.

Round 2-

Team 10- David Wright

Team 9- Joe Mauer

Team 8- Justin Morneau

Team 7- Carl Crawford

Team 6- Miguel Cabrera

Team 5- Travis Hafner

Team 4- Carlos Beltran

Team 3- Miguel Tejada

Team 2- Mark Teixeira

Team 1- Manny Ramirez

Team 9 isn’t winning me over with another premature pick. Mauer may or may not be the best catcher this year, but there is still so much talent that is better at this spot in the draft. Morneau also goes a bit early, but if he repeats or improves last year’s stats, he will earn the draft spot. Crawford and Cabrera went later than they should have, considering Crawford should be a first-round lock especially in keeper leagues.

Round 3-

Team 1- Sizemore

Team 2- Berkman

Team 3- Jeter

Team 4- Holliday

Team 5- D. Lee

Team 6- Bay

Team 7- Carpenter

Team 8- C. Lee

Team 9- Zambrano

Team 10- A. Jones

Sizemore dropped through the second round, which is unexpected. I expect this to be the last year that you’ll be able to get Grady outside of the first round. This round went along pretty standard, with Derek Lee going earlier than you will see in most drafts. A calculated risk, but it could pay off if he can produce another healthy, MVP-type season. I will continue my distaste for Carpenter, but I can’t fault Team 7 for taking him here.

Round 4-

Team 10- M. Young

Team 9- Rollins

Team 8- Oswalt

Team 7- A. Ramirez

Team 6- Halladay

Team 5- H. Ramirez

Team 4- Abreu

Team 3- Konerko

Team 2- Peavy

Team 1- Webb

Pitching starting to fly off the board as four of the ten picks were pitchers in this round. I can’t condone taking Young over Rollins at short. Rollins will steal a ton more, hit more homeruns and score more runs. Young might make more hustle plays on the field, but as a fantasy owner that just means more opportunity for injury. The Ramirezes are both pretty good value at their spots. Hanley is basically Jose Reyes-lite three rounds later. If he takes a step forward he’ll match Reyes’s ’06 stats.

Round 5-

Team 1- Atkins

Team 2- F. Rodriguez

Team 3- Wells

Team 4- Roberts

Team 5- Nathan

Team 6- Furcal

Team 7- V. Martinez

Team 8- McCann

Team 9- Swisher

Team 10- Damon

Atkins, K-Rod, and Wells all were good values and went lower than average. Victor Martinez and McCann 35 and 36 draft spots lower than Mauer and should perform similarly, if not better. I wanted Swisher, but this is a round or two before I was expecting to get him. He is a budding star, and added 20 pounds of muscle in the offseason. I expect a very Adam Dunn-like season, with 20 points added on top of Dunn’s batting average.

Round 6-

Team 10- Dye

Team 9- Guillen

Team 8- Mussina

Team 7- Figgins

Team 6- Cano

Team 5- Zimmerman

Team 4- Hall

Team 3- Ryan

Team 2- Sheets

Team 1- Delgado

Mussina is very questionable here, with Sheets, Kazmir, Bonderman, and Lackey all still available. If Sheets can stay healthy, he can be third or fourth-round value. I like the Zimmerman pick because, contrary to popular belief among these drafters, this is a keeper league and he will get even better and Washington can’t stay this bad forever.

Round 7-

Team 1- Rivera

Team 2- Kazmir

Team 3- Pierre

Team 4- Bonderman

Team 5- Lackey

Team 6- Matsui

Team 7- Wagner

Team 8- Rolen

Team 9- Matsuzaka

Team 10- Street

Pretty ordinary round. Bonderman and Lackey might put up better overall stats than Kazmir this season because their teams can win. But in the long run, Kazmir should be more valuable. Teams started to realize that closer depth was slowly thinning, so three went in this round. It was hardly a run, more of subtle trend.

Round 8-

Team 10- Thome

Team 9- Hoffman

Team 8- Uggla

Team 7- Glaus

Team 6- Sexson

Team 5- Smoltz

Team 4- Jenks

Team 3- F. Lopez

Team 2- Weeks

Team 1- F. Hernandez

Uggla, Sexson, and Lopez are a little early for my taste, but repeats by Uggla and Lopez and a rebound by Sexson could have them all earning their spots. Weeks is a little concerning because of his questionable wrist health, but if he is okay, then he’ll be a top-3 second basemen by next year.

Round 9-

Team 1- Willis

Team 2- Lidge

Team 3- Dunn

Team 4- Giambi

Team 5- Putz

Team 6- Fielder

Team 7- Harang

Team 8- Renteria

Team 9- Schmidt

Team 10- C. Jones

The fact that Harang went after Willis shows just how disrespected Harang is. Can Lidge return to form? Dunn here is a much better value than Sexson a round earlier because he’ll hit more homeruns and is younger, with a better chance to improve that average. Fielder is nice here in a keeper league. If Putz repeats last season, he is a steal this late. Chipper will be solid as always, for the 95 games that he plays.

Round 10-

Team 10- Phillips

Team 9- Sheffield

Team 8- Ordonez

Team 7- Myers

Team 6- Kendrick

Team 5- Francoeur

Team 4- Ray

Team 3- Patterson

Team 2- D. Young

Team 1- Johjima

I dislike the first three picks of this round and love the second four. Personal issues aside, Myers will be close to the top of the strikeout list. Fancoeur still hasn’t figured out that you can take a walk in the grand game of baseball (he has fewer walks this spring than vowels in his last name) but he can rake when he is on one of his hot streaks. Delmon Young was a great value in Round 10 in a keeper league even though (as one of my fellow drafters so kindly pointed out to me) throwing bats is not a standard 5X5 category.

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