Fantasy Baseball: Mock Draft Analysis (Rds 1-10)
I was recently asked to participate in an experts' mock draft this evening, sponsored by FantasyInsiderOnline.com. Not only was this my first major draft of the year, it was certainly my first expert draft of my career. I want to quickly thank FIO.com for organizing this and inviting me, and everyone that participated. It was a wonderfully competitive draft, and I'm interested to see how this turns out, even though we're not playing it out.
The Participants and Draft Order:
Round One
I'm as eager to hear about Nando's draft theory as you are, and I'll link to it once he posts (edit: Nando explains himself). He said in-draft that he came prepared with a specific plan, and if Felix Hernandez is at the top of that list, we'll see how that goes. Ryan Howard really dropped, and FB.com got an absolute steal. Best Pick: Ryan Howard Worst Pick: Felix Hernandez My Pick: Carl Crawford - My goal going into this draft was to strongly compete in Runs, Stolen Bases and Batting Average. Crawford gives me all of those, and the chance to steal HRs occassionally.
Round Two
I really debated taking Travis Hafner, but he just didn't fit my plan. Plus, Miggy is consistently ranked higher, including on my board. His superior batting is going to consistently win me AVG each week. No big surprises here. Best Pick: Vladimir Guerrero Worst Pick: Manny Ramirez My Pick: Miguel Cabrera
Round Three
And let the shortstop race begin! Half of the starting shortstops are gone by the end of this round, and that's mind-boggling. It's a 10 team league - SSs do not need to move this quickly. FB.com wins the day again with an incredibly big upside pick. Best Pick: Andruw Jones Worst Pick: Hanley Ramirez My Pick:Jason Bay
Round Four
He slid, and he slid and he slid. So I took Carpenter, and he was followed up by 7 more pitchers within the next 15 picks. People start fleshing out their particular draft strategies, as a few reaches are being made. Bobby Abreu is taken, while Coco Crisp and Eric Byrnes await their turn 9 rounds later, and Delmon and Damon 5 rounds later. Best Pick: Chris Carpenter Worst Pick: Bill Hall - Nando could have had Utley and Felix in Rds 1 and 4, instead of Felix and Bill Hall.
Round Five
I wanted Furcal - but Geoff at Mock Draft Central stole him (just like he ended up stealing about 8 of my picks - great draft, Geoff). However, Young's higher AVG should make up for his lack of SBs. Peavy and Webb here are bargains, even though Inside Baseball accidentally hit "draft" on Peavy. Best Pick: Brandon Webb Worst Pick: Aramis Ramirez - great player, maybe a round too early. My Pick: Michael Young
Round Six
4 closers - and I think they're all justified. Ray may have been a better pick than Victor, catchers really dropped in this draft. However, I don't have closers regarded that highly in H2H leagues (20 IP min.), so Victor won out. I have Sheets higher than Smoltz, but both are ranked around here. Best Pick: Ben Sheets Worst Pick: Nick Swisher - no offense to Nando, but Swisher could be had much later. It's certainly going to drive traffic to his site in the near future! My Pick: Victor Martinez
Round Seven
Cano and Roberts are on a small 2nd tier at 2B, and both lasted quite a while. I've advocated to wait even longer, but this is not a bad time to grab these guys. Now was the time for a reliever, but Kazmir is mocking me right after my Cordero pick. Best Pick: Hideki Matsui Worst Pick:Chad Cordero My Pick: Chad
Round Eight
The 10th SS off the board is Troy Glaus. He may not be eligible in every league, but damn that's a sexy pick. Interesting picks here - Draft Dynamix has forsaken AVG with his Dunn pick, but going back to look at his previous rounds, and he looks to have been in the perfect position to take him. Best Pick: Ryan Zimmerman Worst Pick: Rickie Weeks My Picks: Jeremy Bonderman
Round Nine
What an interesting round. 3 'toolsy' players in Rios, Damon and Young, 5 great pitchers with a lot to prove in 2007, along with Helton and Ordonez who may be on the decline, but can put up Round 5 numbers. Best Pick: Todd Helton Worst Pick: Todd Helton (see what I did there?) My Pick: Delmon Young - the kid has everything I need for this team - SBs, a great average, and some power
Round Ten
My Bonderman pick doesn't look as great as there are so many quality SPs left on the board. However, Jered Weaver in Rd. 10 is a fantastic bargain. But with all these choices, I think Verlander's huge increase in IPs last year is going to hurt that pick. Best Pick: Gary Sheffield Worst Pick: Justin Verlander My Pick: Jered Weaver
The Participants and Draft Order:
1 – Joe Ribando of Insider Baseball (www.insiderbaseball.com)
2 – Ted Kasten of Draft Dynamix (www.draftdynamix.com)
3 – Geoff Stein of Mock Draft Central (www.mockdraftcentral.com)
4 – Brad Stewart of MLB Front Office (www.mlbfo.blogspot.com)
5 – Tim Miller of Fantasy Insider Online (www.fantasyinsideronline.com)
6 – Me!
7 – Matt Hinzpeter of Fantasy Insider Online (www.fantasyinsideronline.com)
8 – Jason Pitts of Fantasy Baseball Mafia (www.fantasybaseballmafia.com)
9 – Nando Di Fino of Talented Mr. Roto/ESPN Fantasy Sports (www.talentedmrroto.com)
10 – Paul Greco of Fantasy Baseball Guy (www.fantasybaseballguy.com)
The results can be found here.
Round One
I'm as eager to hear about Nando's draft theory as you are, and I'll link to it once he posts (edit: Nando explains himself). He said in-draft that he came prepared with a specific plan, and if Felix Hernandez is at the top of that list, we'll see how that goes. Ryan Howard really dropped, and FB.com got an absolute steal. Best Pick: Ryan Howard Worst Pick: Felix Hernandez My Pick: Carl Crawford - My goal going into this draft was to strongly compete in Runs, Stolen Bases and Batting Average. Crawford gives me all of those, and the chance to steal HRs occassionally.
Round Two
I really debated taking Travis Hafner, but he just didn't fit my plan. Plus, Miggy is consistently ranked higher, including on my board. His superior batting is going to consistently win me AVG each week. No big surprises here. Best Pick: Vladimir Guerrero Worst Pick: Manny Ramirez My Pick: Miguel Cabrera
Round Three
And let the shortstop race begin! Half of the starting shortstops are gone by the end of this round, and that's mind-boggling. It's a 10 team league - SSs do not need to move this quickly. FB.com wins the day again with an incredibly big upside pick. Best Pick: Andruw Jones Worst Pick: Hanley Ramirez My Pick:
Round Four
He slid, and he slid and he slid. So I took Carpenter, and he was followed up by 7 more pitchers within the next 15 picks. People start fleshing out their particular draft strategies, as a few reaches are being made. Bobby Abreu is taken, while Coco Crisp and Eric Byrnes await their turn 9 rounds later, and Delmon and Damon 5 rounds later. Best Pick: Chris Carpenter Worst Pick: Bill Hall - Nando could have had Utley and Felix in Rds 1 and 4, instead of Felix and Bill Hall.
Round Five
I wanted Furcal - but Geoff at Mock Draft Central stole him (just like he ended up stealing about 8 of my picks - great draft, Geoff). However, Young's higher AVG should make up for his lack of SBs. Peavy and Webb here are bargains, even though Inside Baseball accidentally hit "draft" on Peavy. Best Pick: Brandon Webb Worst Pick: Aramis Ramirez - great player, maybe a round too early. My Pick: Michael Young
Round Six
4 closers - and I think they're all justified. Ray may have been a better pick than Victor, catchers really dropped in this draft. However, I don't have closers regarded that highly in H2H leagues (20 IP min.), so Victor won out. I have Sheets higher than Smoltz, but both are ranked around here. Best Pick: Ben Sheets Worst Pick: Nick Swisher - no offense to Nando, but Swisher could be had much later. It's certainly going to drive traffic to his site in the near future! My Pick: Victor Martinez
Round Seven
Cano and Roberts are on a small 2nd tier at 2B, and both lasted quite a while. I've advocated to wait even longer, but this is not a bad time to grab these guys. Now was the time for a reliever, but Kazmir is mocking me right after my Cordero pick. Best Pick: Hideki Matsui Worst Pick:
Round Eight
The 10th SS off the board is Troy Glaus. He may not be eligible in every league, but damn that's a sexy pick. Interesting picks here - Draft Dynamix has forsaken AVG with his Dunn pick, but going back to look at his previous rounds, and he looks to have been in the perfect position to take him. Best Pick: Ryan Zimmerman Worst Pick: Rickie Weeks My Picks: Jeremy Bonderman
Round Nine
What an interesting round. 3 'toolsy' players in Rios, Damon and Young, 5 great pitchers with a lot to prove in 2007, along with Helton and Ordonez who may be on the decline, but can put up Round 5 numbers. Best Pick: Todd Helton Worst Pick: Todd Helton (see what I did there?) My Pick: Delmon Young - the kid has everything I need for this team - SBs, a great average, and some power
Round Ten
My Bonderman pick doesn't look as great as there are so many quality SPs left on the board. However, Jered Weaver in Rd. 10 is a fantastic bargain. But with all these choices, I think Verlander's huge increase in IPs last year is going to hurt that pick. Best Pick: Gary Sheffield Worst Pick: Justin Verlander My Pick: Jered Weaver
posted by NoPepperGames at
12:07 AM
1 Comments:
interesting read
By
Anonymous, at 1:29 AM, March 15, 2007
Post a Comment
<< Home