*My Fantasy Draft* Inside The Park Blog: Tuesday March 20, 2007

by user InsideTheParkFantasy

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

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

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 5 th 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 the full draft results go here (http://insidetheparkfantasy.blogspot.com/) and look at yesterday’s blog.

-Erik

TylersaltAll-Star

989 days ago

Score 0

I probably would have gone with Delmon Young instead of Francoeur, you're probably right on that count. I'm right there with you for picking Utley over A-Rod or Howard -- position scarcity is everything at second base, and Utley is the best of the lot by a long shot, especially in a keeper league. I think you'll be happier with Nathan than K-Rod, personally. Lackey will evolve into a legitimate top-flight fantasy starter in the next year or two. I'm assuming that since this isn't an auction draft, there are no salaries associated with the keepers, so if that's true I'm keeping Utley, Ramirez, Hafner, Gordon (over Zim), Lackey, and Nathan.

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Bball3345Draft Pick

989 days ago

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I also agree with Utley over ARod and Howard. I think you drafted a few guys too high, but you had some steals in the back-end of the draft to make up for it.

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InsideTheParkFantasySoccer Kid

989 days ago

Score 0

Who do you think I picked to high? I'm curious becuase I have a one-year league draft coming up and would like to improve.

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KelsdadAll-Star

989 days ago

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I agree with Utley as well, but I'm surprised both Howard and ARod were still on the board for you at #5. Being this is a keeper league, I probably wouldn't have drafted a closer so high, as they are a team's most interchangeable part. A 40 save guy this year may be on the scrap heap in three years, and vice versa. You said when you drafted Nathan there were no SP's worth taking, yet six rounds later got Sabathia and 10 rounds Ervin Santana. Not to mention Schilling and Anibel Sanchez, so you probably could have gotten a better starter early on yet still ended up with a decent set of closers. You only have one catcher and Martin is likely a one year wonder and your outfield is weak, I would consider packaging maybe Francoeur and a pitcher for a stud outfielder. You can get a backup catcher off the waiver wire pretty easily.

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