Last Wednesday, we hosted a 12-team mock draft over at Mock Draft Central and we will be doing this every Wednesday, with write ups to follow from each participant. Our first of these drafts featured writers and readers from Fantasy Phenoms of course, as well as writers from sites such as Fantasy Pros 911, Baseball Mafia, MLB Front Office and Roto Rob. We also had New York Newsday represented, as well as a great blog for guys, Sharapova’s Thigh.
FULL RESULTS
The league details this go around were pretty standard. 12-team mixed 5x5 roto-format. The draft was a serpentine 22-round session, with 2 Cs, 1B, 2B, SS, 3B, MI, CI, U, 4 OFs and a staff of 9 P both SPs and RPs. I had the 3rd slot, and in this year’s draft, you know you are getting a stud there, but the question for me, was who?
R 1- David Wright 3B NYM- Truth be told, when I saw Alex Rodriguez fly off the board No. 1, I had a quick hope that Hanley Ramirez would fall to me, but he did in fact go number two. So I had to “settle” for Wright. Well- if you call that settling, then I have no problem settling more often. Wright is a do it all fantasy stud, and will help my team's average, hit out 30 homers, combine for well over 200 RBIs and runs, and add in anywhere from 15-25 steals. Yea- I’ll settle with that.
How's .300-30-115-115-20 sound?
R 2- Ichiro Suzuki OF SEA- I had a choice of a few power hitting 1B’s, Prince Fielder or Justin Morneau to name a few, but first base is very simple to find in the later rounds, so I wanted to go for a guy who I would not be able to find…a guy who hits for average, scores 100+ runs AND powers my team in steals. I will safely ink in 40 swipes, and 100+ runs to complement a .310+ average. Sure the power and RBI numbers are low, but I see value in heavy steal guys who don’t kill you in average.
R 3- Manny Ramirez OF LAD- With my first two picks, I was pleased to have fine average, good power from Wright, heavy steals from Ichiro, and a few bags here and there from the Met 3B. So with my 3rd choice, I wanted to get major power, while not sacrificing my already solid team average. I had a few options, but Manny’s high average and RBI potential added to his long ball power was too good to turn down.
R 4- Kevin Youkilis 1B/3B BOS- If you haven’t noticed the trend, I was trying my best to keep my early offense heavy on average, and so far so good with the choice of “Youk.” Love the dual eligibility, and love his RBI, power and run potential in that Bo Sox lineup. Four hitters, four +.300 averages. I was very close to breaking my strategy in this round, and going SP here, with C.C. Sabathia still dangling, but I had a plan. No SPs until Round 7. Let’s see how that worked…
R 5- Chipper Jones 3B ATL- Being this draft was particularly deep in its starting roster, I figured, why not stake those CIs up? Sure there are plenty of solid CI’s you can get late, but there is a major drop off of the upper tier 3Bs and the mid-lower tier ones. Chipper is losing years left in him, yet he can still mash, and should hit in the .300s, basically locking up my teams average for top contention in the category. If he could stay healthy and give me 500 ABs, the pick is well worth the slight risk.
R 6- Garrett Atkins 3B COL- Might as well lock up the 1B, 3B, CI and U slot all by the 6th round. This move gives me yet another dual CI eligible option, and could come in handy should I have injuries to deal with later in the season. Atkins is a solid, hit for average and give some power kind of guy, who is sure to contribute in the RBI category for me. A negative is the loss of Matt Holliday in that lineup, but this gives Atkins the chance to be the man in Colorado and he and Brad Hawpe should carry that offense. Look for a close to if not over .300 average, 25 homers and 100+ RBI. He’ll come close to scoring 100 times as well. Now it’s time for pitchers.
R 7- Felix Hernandez SP SEA- So here is where the pre-draft strategy really starts to get going. I was very happy with my early offense, and knew it would mean sacrificing a top flight ACE, but hold the phone here…Felix, with the more often than not, “King,” in front of his name, has a chance to make a Cole Hamels/Tim Lincecum like leap this year. Meaning, that he has been very solid in his young career, but this year may be the year he becomes a certified star. If he can log 200+ innings, he could strikeout over 200, which would be nice from your No. 1 selected SP.
Can "King Felix" power a staff this year?
R 8- James Shields SP TB- That Felix selection would have meant nothing if I didn’t solidify my staff with at least two top 20 SPs. Shields is similar to Hernandez in that he will have a pretty decent ERA, yet what he may not have in strikeouts, he makes up for with solid WHIP numbers. I like him as a No. 2 SP in reality and fantasy alike, and was pleased to get a solid, although not outstanding 1-2 SP punch.
R 9- Jayson Werth OF PHI- Back to offense, and I was lacking a bit on my speed, and had decent although not earth shattering power numbers with my first six bats. I wanted to grab a guy who could help out in both HRs and SBs, and if last year's late season heroics were any indicator, he can surely do both. Werth, now that Pat Burrell is in Tampa is now a full time player. Here is a simple equation to why Werth in the 9th was a steal- 2008-418 ABs 24 HRs and 20 Steals. Let’s just add at least 100 ABs to that in 2009, and what do you get- a 28 homer and 25 stolen base, “Next Corey Hart.”
R 10- Vernon Wells OF TOR- At this point in the draft, you have to look for value, take risks and have faith…not necessarily all three for each selection, but in this case, my 10th pick had me doing all of those things. Vernon Wells was once a top 5 round KEEPER, yet experienced a set-back year in 08. This is still a threat to hit 25+ bombs while stealing in the double-digits. He has shown the potential of hitting close to .300, and his career BA is .283, so in the 10th, this is a fine risk/reward/have faith pick.
R 11- Bobby Jenks RP CHI (AL)- I was pretty happy with the way things were going at this point, and I had to take care of a gapping whole on the team, and that was closers. I don’t think I will ever reach on a closer before the 10th, mainly because injuries and lack of job security are major factors here. Imagine a 6th round pick burned on a guy who may not even close for his team mid-season…ouch. The 11th is a perfect time to get that 30+ save anchor, and Jenks is just that. Not a “K” guy really, but certainly not a detriment to my ERA or WHIP.
R 12- Joba Chamberlain SP NY (AL)- I knew the next two slots who be pitching here, and I had one stat on my mind- Strikeouts. He is a K machine, and if he could log upwards to 190+ innings, that would very easily mean 200 Ks. He is certainly an iffy, risky situation here, but in the 12th, I like the odds if it being worthwhile. Now I have two young arms that should get me heavy K numbers.
R 13- David Price SP TB- Probably the highest touted young pitcher this year in fantasy, Price is worth the pick anywhere from Round 11 on. I consider this a potential steal of a pick, as Price can be the next young talent to impress us as we have seen from many young arms the last few seasons. This pick gives me yet another yes K/9 guy, who won’t hurt me in ERA and WHIP. I am not going to chalk up win totals with him or any pitcher, as the W stat is simply too hard to predict. If he can get me 170 Ks as my 4th starter, I should be in decent shape in that category.
"So how good can I be? I say- very."
R 14- Bengie Molina C SF- Just like I waiting on pitching, I planned on going into this think looking for budget catchers, being that we needed two to start. The 14th didn’t have many left, yet I was happy to see a C who is a decent power hitter for the position as well as a good average guy. Nothing fancy here- the key word is- serviceable.
R 15- Huston Street RP COL- Yeah- this was definitely second closer time. Street is the guy now in Colorado, and I see no reason to not expect 30 saves. At this point, I wasn’t finding overall category RPs so I went with one of the last big number SAVE total guys I could find.
R 16- Khalil Greene SS STL- So I will be the first to say, that Greene is no fantasy gem, yet with no MIs until this spot in the draft, I was pleased to see a guy who could potential drive out 20 bombs on his new team, the Cardinals. Greene’s average would kill most fantasy team averages but luckily, I had a solid crew to help power that stat, so 20+ HRs from my SS is not too shabby.
R17- Edgar Renteria SS SF- With this pick, I got another SS to change addresses, and Renteria returns back to the National League, which may be just what he needs to get back to his status as a top 10 option in fantasy at SS. I expect a better average at least, and a higher power total now that he will be back in parks he grew accustom to for the vast majority of his career.
R 18- A.J. Pierzynski C CHI (AL)- I was happy here, to get a C who would provide 15+ HRs for me as my No . 2 Catcher. You know what you get here, a .280 BA and mid-teen home runs with not so much else. Hey- he is my No. 2 catcher- could be worse.
R 19- Akinori Iwamura 2B TB- This was merely a fill pick, meaning, I needed to fill my 2B slot. This pick was nothing special, although it is nice to stay above the .270 BA range, while getting a nice run total from a 19th pick. If only defense counted…
R 20- Jose Arredondo RP ANA- Believe it or not, if this mock played out, Arredondo could very well be the key to my season. With Francisco Rodriguez now closing in NY, the Angels signed Brian Fuentes, so that may create a tough path for Arredondo to close. Fuentes is no lock however, and the young Angel may be a candidate to replace him should he falter. Arredondo can help me in the other stats, and a lucky break just could turn him into a total package saves options.
R 21- Armando Galarraga SP DET- The last two slots had to go to SP for me, so I scrapped the bottom of the barrel for guys who may be OK in ’09. Galarraga has potential, but he may have been a bit too luck last year to prove he is a solid fantasy player.
R 22- Joe Saunders SP ANA- Similar situation here- as Saunders’ stats may look appealing, but really, this is a drop waiting to happen. I’d be curious to see how many 20+ round picks actually make it wire-to-wire on fantasy rosters. I’d probably be dead on by saying, these last two sure wont.
Fantasy Phenoms wants to thank our guests for taking the time to draft their teams, and provide their summaries on the teams they selected.
We’ll be doing this every week until Opening Day, so continue to check back for our results!
*Want to participate in upcoming drafts? PLUS members welcome to join! Please email us if you would like to participate in our next mock, this Wednesday night, at www.mockdraftcentral.com.
COMMENTS/
CONVERSATION
by: ducat2 | date: 01/24/2009 3:46 pm
Jason,
I like your pick of Garrett Atkins in the sixth round, especially because he has both CI eligibility. There is a question of a drop in power potential because he has slipped in bb/k and his contact rate. Yet I don't understand, as stated on your homepage, why he is in ADP free fall. Please explain.
by: mick605 | date: 01/15/2009 2:40 pm
why did you draft so many 3rd basemen? 4 out fo the top 6 are 3B eligible
by: JasonS | date: 01/12/2009 12:17 pm
I decided to wait on MI's and see how it played out- and I was not thrilled, yet not terribly disappointed.
I think my staff is solid, yet I waited too long on closers. Closers though, can always be found on the WIRE.
The offense should carry this team, while the SPs just have to be good.
I give myself an 8/10. Could have done better.
by: JasonS | date: 01/12/2009 10:10 am
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