HERE WE GO A-DRAFTING

Here comes another fantasy draft evaluation. We here at PA are new to fantasy baseball despite our love for all facets of the game and I would love to hear what our readers feel about this draft. Another thing I'd like some feedback on is war room preparation. How do our readers set themselves up for the draft? I lay out PECOTA projections by position around me and enrolled the help of a lovely and on-task assistant who I shall now take the time to thank profusely. She held a master list generated by the Player Forecast Manager over at Baseball Prospectus to keep track of who was being taken. How did everyone else use their assistants?

THE DRAFT

I had the last pick in a 12 team league giving me two picks in a row and 22 picks off until the end.

The categories are: R, HR, RBI, SB, AVG, W, ERA, SV, K, WHIP

I was a little surprised to see Manny taken 3rd overall, but not as surprised as when my picks arrived.

1. (12 and 13) David Wright and Carl Crawford

Wright fell into my lap and was an easy pick, he provides everything. Ditto for Crawford. I had a lot of choices, including every pitcher other than Santana and a bunch of outfield/1B boppers. It was between Oswalt, Pedro, RJ, Beltran and Crawford here, but Crawford helps out in every category with the possibility for 50 SB or a .330 AVG. Not an easy choice, but I can't say I regret my decision.


2. (36 and 37) Ben Sheets and Adam Dunn

Seven SP were picked in the 2nd and 3rd rounds and I had to jump at the chance to get Sheets, who PECOTA loves. Had Jose Reyes made it this far, I would have picked him. He went at 34 and I went for Dunn. I could have taken the more polished Berkman or the near-perfect Ryan Howard, but Dunn's upside is 50+ HR and he offered some flexibility if my outfield ended up weak.


3. (60 and 61) Joe Mauer and Joe Nathan

Victor Martinez had gone earlier in the round and I probably felt some pressure to snap up Mauer. Nathan was the last premier closer (other than Gagne) left and I was thrilled that I didn't have to deal with F-Rod or Lidge. BJ Ryan almost made it to me, but I can't complain about Nathan and his clean bill of health. Props to my cousin for getting Ryan Howard with the 63rd pick, I was tempted, but I needed to fill these two spots seeing as I still didn't have a SS or a 2B yet.


4. (84 and 85) Coco Crisp and Brad Wilkerson

I was set to take Brett Myers and Marcus Giles here, but they were taken at 81 and 83. Scrambling a bit, I picked up two outfielders who a lot of people have pegged for big years. Two more guys who can contribute in every category. Almost immediately afterward, I was relieved that Myers and Giles were out of my reach. The guy that drafted Jose Reyes was interested in Crisp, a trade I will have to pursue.


5. (108 and 109) Javier Vazquez and JD Drew

If these two guys reach their potential, I will be in excellent shape. I expect good things from Vazquez this year and I was confident enough that I could find a good back up SP later on to take a gamble. He probably could have survived to my next pick, but my assistant was adamant. JD Drew gives me a ton of upside balanced with an excellent chance of injury. However, between Dunn, Wilkerson and remaining pool of OF and 1B, I felt this was a risk I could take.


6. (132 and 133) Mike Gonzalez and Rickie Weeks

I couldn't hold back on my sleeper picks any longer and sprang for both at once. Gonzalez's budding talent should give him enough saves despite playing in PIT. He's got two solid years under his belt and a killer K rate. Weeks is more of a known commodity, but was definitely the best 2B around, PECOTA sees him at 20hr/20sb.


7. (156 and 157) Carlos Guillen and Jeremy Bonderman

A major run on shortstops left me with few options to fill my last empty starting spot. That said, Guillen offers some decent numbers, assuming his injury doesn't slow him down permanently. He's hit .318 and .320 the last two seasons and will finally be part of a decent team. I like this pick more and more and we haven't even gotten to Bonderman. With a number of mediocre SP still around, I considered this a major coup. Bonderman will put it together someday and if that happens at any point in 2006, he can take Vazquez's place right away.


8. (180 and 181) Curtis Granderson and Josh Willingham

Granderson offers 20/20 potential and has been a popular pick among fantasy experts this year. Willingham has some pop and nice upside for a backup catcher who may not end up catching too many games for Florida.


9. (204 and 205) Scot Shields and Placido Polanco

With all the other established closers gone, I went for the best reliever around. Again, being new to fantasy, I'm not sure if this was a smart pick or not. My reasoning was that if KRod goes down, I will suddenly have a strong closer backing up the two I have already. Polanco gives me some depth if Weeks struggles and hopefully he will play some games at 3B so he can back up Wright over there.


10. (228 and 229) Jeff Weaver and David DeJesus

As a Yankee fan, I will always despise Weaver for his role in the 2003 WS and the 2004 ALCS (by being traded for Kevin Brown). Yes, I am fully aware than Joe Torre chose to use Weaver in extra innings of a WS game before he had exhausted all his other options, including throwing Don Zimmer or me out there and yes, I know that big Stein had been coveting Brown since 1997, but I am incapable of assigning blame to these pillars of the community and that just leaves Weaver. Anyway, he is back on track and I can sub him in when he is facing a team without any leftys. DeJesus is another fantasy sleeper and this far down the line, I'm happy to join the crowd.


11. (252) Jason Michaels

With the last pick in the draft, I went with Michaels who will be starting in Cleveland. I had four starting pitchers already and he was the best available hitter since Wily Mo was taken at 248.


I feel I have a good combination of well-rounded players and guys with big upsides. What do you think?