18-team draft, 540 players chosen

[stlb1ues]

Just finished a grueling 18-team, 30-player draft, and I'm feeling pretty alright about my team. As to be expected, there are a couple holes, but overall I think I should finish near the top of the standings. 6x6, standard categories plus BB for hitters, and holds.

C Brian McCann
C Jake Fox (C, 1B, OF)
1B Prince Fielder
2B Ben Zobrist (1B, 2B, OF)
3B Chase Headley
SS Jhonny Peralta (3B, SS)
CI Kevin Youkilis
MI Skip Schumaker (2B, OF)
OF Jason Heyward
OF B.J. Upton
OF Seth Smith
OF Franklin Gutierrez
OF Carlos Gomez
Util Justin Smoak
(bench: R. Bernadina, Jose Lopez, M. Trumbo, M. Saunders)

SP Gio Gonzalez
SP Clay Buchholz
SP Ted Lilly
SP Tim Hudson
RP John Axford
RP Hong-Chi Kuo
P Rafael Soriano
P Chris Sale
P Erik Bedard
(bench: David Hernandez, Wilton Lopez, Matt Lindstrom)


16th pick in the draft is not a great place to be, but luckily Prince Fielder lasted where I snapped him up, then grabbed Youkilis coming back with #21. With BB as a category, those guys seemed extremely valuable and a great foundation to build the rest of the offense upon. I ended up using my first six picks on hitters (Heyward, McCann, Upton, Zobrist), and then focused all my energy on pitching (8 straight pitchers).

By the time I stopped taking hitters, people were already snapping up good closers, so I quickly grabbed the best of what was left with Axford. They kept taking questionable closers ahead of the more reliable starters, so I snagged Gonzalez, Buchholz, Lilly and Hudson in rounds 8-11 (that is Hudson with pick 196, which I thought was excellent value). The downside of having both Buchholz and Hudson is the low K-rate, but I wasn't planning on reaching the innings limit of 1600 anyways, so K-rate wasn't nearly as important as in a public league.

By pick 200, things were starting to look bleak, so I surveyed to see where the best value remained. Holds! I targeted pitchers who were either in line to take over a closing gig, or guys who could possibly vulture 9-10 wins over the season. And if not, they'd at least be good for 20-30 holds. Kuo, Soriano, and Chris Sale in Rd 12-14, and could easily combine for 15 wins, 25 saves, 50 holds, and 200+ K's, all with excellent ratios.

Having secured a very serviceable pitching staff (8 of my 9 starting spot filled), I went back looking for bargains on offense. Priority 1: playing time. Gutierrez at OF3, Peralta at SS, Headley at 3B, Smoak at Util, and now we're well into the 300's.

In a two-catcher league, the well was pretty dry by now, but nobody had taken Jake Fox! Hitting like he has in spring training, he's bound to get playing time somewhere on the field... and even then, if he's not playing, he's not hurting my batting average. Fairly low-risk pick when you grab him at #345, at any rate.

After that, it was just a random search for anyone who seemed like they'd get at-bats or reliable innings, without doing too much damage. Bedard could be a ridiculous steal at 376, Jose Lopez will be eligible at CI and MI in a couple weeks, so that's a flexible piece at 412th overall. David Hernandez is good for holds, and could in fact get a shot at closing with Putz and Juan Gutierrez in the Arizona bullpen... but even more than that, he's got SP eligibility! That kind of find is so valuable, it means that I can start an extra reliever in the SP spot every day, as long as I don't have four starters all pitching. More innings, more stats.

Carlos Gomez seemed like a really good find with #453, but then Milwaukee went and traded for Nyjer Morgan. But that's alright, because Trumbo was somehow still on the board at 484. Wilton Lopez was another late find who could garner hold/save opportunities for the Astros, and Lindstrom might do the same in Colorado... neither one of them has the most reliable closer blocking the way. Once you hit the 500 mark though, you can really only hope for something good to come of your picks.


Anyways, if anyone made it all the way through that, I'd like to hear some feedback. Where are my weakest points, what were my questionable picks, etc. (Rep given, of course, even if you've got nothing but bad things to say about my team!)

((edit: I forgot to mention, one-year league, roto scoring))

[Gripnrip13]

Hey Alex,

It's clear that you did your homework heading into the draft. You found some great values (Peralta is a favorite of mine, and his eligibility at SS and 3B make him even more valuable).

It seems like you wanted to field a balanced team, and you accomplished that.

I am concerned about a Carlos Gomez-Nyjer Morgan split in the Brewers outfield. However, I expect Gomez to receive a slight edge in playing time.

I'm also concerned about Justin Smoak. Seattle's lineup is terrible, Safeco Field is a pitcher's park and Smoak has not developed the way some people have expected. That being said, in a deep league like this, I can see why you used a pick on him. He's still a young, high-upside option.

Best of luck to you this season!

Mike Schmidt
DobberBaseball Fantasy Writer

[GoldenSeals]

Think you did a great job. You have a really good core with some high upside guys, and not just talking about young guys. Bedard could be a real steal as could Fox if he can garner the playing time. Good thing he can play four positions. While your pitching may be your weakest point, still believe you can make this up with astute pickups on the wire if you needed to.

[stlb1ues]

Thanks for the helpful words, guys, rep gladly given.

Picking up guys off of free agency is pretty tough at the moment, the top guys available (sorted by % owned) are only 1-2% owned. Michael Saunders was the best I could find, in looking to fill the Gutierrez-sized hole from his looming time on the DL.

As far as my pitching, with the closers stretched across 18 teams, I won't need much more than two closersworth of saves, and I should get that between Axford and all the setup guys. I should be right near the top in holds, competitive for the top in ERA and WHIP, and I'm hoping to hover around league average in wins and Ks.