I had my first draft this weekend and I thought I should post the results so you can see that I practice what I preach. This is a standard 5x5, 12-team, roto league. I had the fourth overall pick. Here's my team (along with which round I took them in):
Hitters
C - Victor Martinez (3rd round) - I feel a little strange taking a catcher this early, but he is the best and it makes for a more complete team.
1B - Adrian Gonzalez (7th round) - I missed out on the big sluggers, but felt pretty fortunate to snag Gonzalez in the 7th round.
2B - Ian Kinsler (4th round) - Too early? Maybe. But I love this guy and wanted to make sure I got him.
3B - David Wright (1st round) - I actually have Johan Santana ranked one spot ahead of Wright, but I have trouble pulling the trigger on a pitcher that early.
SS - Stephen Drew (18th round) - After I missed out on the top tier, I just wasn't in any kind of hurry to draft a shortstop, so I waited and grabbed Drew late.
OF - Chris Young (5th round) - Love the upside.
OF - Nick Markakis (6th round) - Love the upside.
OF - Matt Kemp (9th round) - Love the upside.
Util - Jeremy Hermida (14th round) - He was a steal at this point and I needed some run production.
Bench - Michael Bourn (20th round) - In case I need steals.
Bench - Joey Votto (17th round) - Power and speed at first base.
Bench - Mark Reynolds (21st round) - Shows you just how deep third base is this year.
Pitchers
SP - Jake Peavy (2nd round) - I thought real hard about Vlad at this point, but I just couldn't pass up the second-best pitcher in baseball.
SP - Tim Lincecum (8th round) - I love this guy more than is healthy. I know he won't win games, but I don't care. He's awesome.
SP - Rich Hill (10th round) - The man-crush continues.
SP - Francisco Liriano (11th round) - High-risk, high-reward. Looking back, I wish I had gone with a little more of a sure-thing (Gallardo and Maine were still available), but the upside was just too tempting.
SP - Clay Buchholz (15th round) - My pitching staff could be absolutely incredible or a complete flop. Again, I think I may have taken on a little too much risk.
SP - Matt Garza (16th round) - I plan on sitting him against the Red Sox, Yankees, Tigers, and Indians.
RP - Joakim Soria (12th round) - I hate taking closers, but it has to be done. Soria will rack up some K's too.
RP - Joe Borowski (13th round) - The sole purpose of this pick was to get saves. Obviously. Borowski sucks.
RP - George Sherrill (19th round) - He'll be a good value for the 19th round.
Bottom Line
I think my lineup is deep and well-balanced. My only weak position is shortstop, although Drew has considerable upside. My pitching staff is way too risky. There's nothing wrong with drafting Liriano, Buchholz, or Garza; but all three of them? I think that's the only thing I'd change if I could do the draft over again.
Let me know what you think.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Evaluating My Team - Team #1
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I really like your offense. No weaknesses really. Kemp is a bit of a gamble but he could bust out and give you first round value (30/30 and .300+) If and Kinsler reach their upsides this yr, I think your offense will destroy ppl this yr. BTW, am a big Drew fan. He woke up in the playoffs and proved he can play under pressure. For his K rate and power, I think he was probably the very very unlucky...if a few more of those dropped in, he's probly 12/75/75/9/.275 and would be on everybody's short list as a 20/90/90/20/.290 sleeper--tulo type value in the 18th round.
In fact, I like your offense so much I would probably dump Reynolds and maybe even Votto and grab some really good MRs (assuming all closers gone) like Broxton, Fuentes, etc. that would likely dominate if given the closer job. Your SPs are fine as long as Peavy stays healthy...Your SPs will kill ppl if Peavy AND Liriano stay healthy...simple as that.
Overall, great team esp. if you were drafting against "experts" or at least non-beginners. I agree you may have rolled the dice more than needed, but you rolled it on the right guys...kemp, drew, and liriano imo.
My 2 cents.
Thanks for the thoughts.
I'm glad Drew doesn't stand out as such a weakness. I hope you're right!
I had thought about adding a reliever. Heath Bell and Hideki Okajima are probably the two most attractive options. I've also thought about trying to trade some of my offense for a more reliable starter. Maybe Daisuke or John Maine.
Thanks again.
Post a Comment