Fantasy : Let's Go Drafting : Charging the Mound

While I was surfing across the Internet looking for all the fantasy baseball content I could find, I decided to join a public league on Yahoo and participate in a live draft. The results were rather interesting and I would like to share them so fellow fantasy owners can get a feel for where players are being drafted. So here are some of the things I saw that stuck out to me as I was doing the draft.

Round 1: With the fourth pick Ichiro Suzuki was taken and I must say that is absolutely ridiculous. Ichiro is a great source of runs, average and steals; but to me power should be the number one priority in the first round or at least a player like David Wright who can get you power and steals. But as crazy as that pick was, the next one was shocking as Reds pitcher Aaron Harang was selected with the fifth pick. Now in most drafts I feel Harang has been unervalued, but not this time.

MY PICK: With the 9th overall pick I was really hoping that David Wright would fall to me, but alas he was taken with the 8th selection. I'm not a big fan of Chase Utley so I decided to take Miguel Cabrera as he joins a loaded Detroit Tigers lineup. While he will not provide more than 5 steals, his RBI and homer totals could approach 120 and 35 respectively.

Round 2: The second round went fairly normal with the exception of Mark Teixeira falling all the way to the 23rd pick. I feel Teixeira could approach 40-45 homers and upwards of 110 RBI. I like Ryan Braun's potential (17th pick), but I want a sure thing like Teixeira.

MY PICK: With the 16th pick I selected Alfonso Soriano to make up for the lack of steals that Cabrera will get. I wanted Teixeira, but I couldn't justify taking two guys that don't run at all.

Round 3: Inexplicably the same owner that selected Harang in the first round, decided to take Felipe Lopez with the 29th overall pick. Lopez doesn't even have a starting job as he sits behind Cristian Guzman and Ronnie Belliard who are not exactly all-stars.

MY PICK: I selected first baseman Justin Morneau with the 33rd pick overall. I like the power that Morneau brings and with Delmon Young and Joe Mauer hitting in front of him, RBI opportunities should be plentiful.

Round 4: Jonathan Papelbon went off the board with the 39th overall pick and I am a guy that likes to wait for saves so I though that might have been a questionable pick. While I feel Papelbon is the the No. 1 closer, guys like Joakim Soria and Kevin Gregg will be available later and still may approach 30 saves.

MY PICK: If you couldn't tell already, I like to build my squad around offense so I selected catcher Victor Martinez with the 40th pick. I have been playing fantasy baseball for 10 years and I have never drafted a catcher this early but with Russell Martin off the board, I felt Martinez's offensive potential was too much to pass up.

Round 5: With the 52nd overall pick Jacoby Ellsbury was selected and I for one feel this kid is way over-hyped. He only played 70 total games last year and even if he hits .300, his power numbers will be very low. Plus Boston does not run much so his stolen base total won't be that high. Add into the fact that he is battling Coco Crisp and he could hit low in the order, Ellsbury might have been the biggest reach of the draft.

MY PICK: With the 57th overall selection I picked Garrett Atkins from Colorado. Atkins is a solid run producer and I believe his a bit undervalued in drafts this year, especially considering he is eligible at 3B and 1B.

The remaining rounds were pretty non-descript but I would like to go into my picks. I have just finished typing up the draft so if you would like a copy to reference, email me at bphaines@yahoo.com and I can send you the Microsoft word file. I'll also take emails about fantasy baseball questions and any ideas you have for upcoming columns and what you would like to see me talk about.

Round 6: I selected the power/speed combo of Corey Hart with the 64th pick overall and that was one of my best picks of the draft. Hart will approach 30-30 and his RBI numbers could breach 90. He is more talented than Bobby Abreu but continues to fall much lower in drafts.

Round 7: I finally selected a pitcher with the 81st overall pick and it was Roy Oswalt. Now granted Oswalt's win totals have dwindled the past couple years, he still is a solid, dependable strikeout guy. When I draft pitchers so late, I have to lean more towards know commodities and Oswalt appealed to me the most at this position.

Round 8: With the 88th pick I selected Felix Hernandez, the Mariners young phenom. In full disclosure I am a huge Hernandez fan and I believe he is primed for a big year. Although detractors point to a high BAA, which is a fair point, his strikeout numbers are impressive and I think this is the year he makes the jump to ace status.

Round 9: I chose Rickie Weeks with the 105th overall selection and this was perhaps my riskiest pick of the draft. Weeks has excellent potential for 30-30, but injuries have slowed his career. I'm hoping this is the year he stays healthy and gets better.

Round 10: James Shields, SP/TB
Round 11: Nick Swisher, OF/Chw
Round 12: Matt Cain, SP/SF
Round 13: Phil Hughes, SP/NYY
Round 14: Tim Hudson, SP/Atl
Round 15: Khalil Greene, SS/SD
Round 16: Jeremy Hermida, OF/Fla
Round 17: Brian Wilson, RP/SF
Round 18: Matt Garza, SP/TB
Round 19: Yunel Escobar, SS;2B;3B/Atl
Round 20: Rafael Betancourt, RP/Cle
Round 21: C.J. Wilson, RP/Tex