Academic

Taking part in a mostly auto-pick fantasy baseball draft

By Tung Yin

On a whim, I signed up last week for an ESPN public fantasy baseball league.  It was quite a strange experience, because only one other manager showed up for the live draft.  The other eight elected for auto-pick.

I had the #6 pick overall, and the other live manager had #10.  My picks and reasoning:

1. Robinson Cano (2b) - the first five picks were Pujols, Hanley Ramirez, Crawford, Longoria, and Braun.  I debated between Cano and Miguel Cabrera, but went with Cano because of positional scarcity and the potent Yankees lineup.

2. Ryan Zimmerman (3b) - I could have taken Felix Hernandez or Josh Hamilton instead.  I don't like to take pitchers before round 5 if possible, and I think Hamilton won't be as good this year as last year.

3. Joe Mauer (c) - This might have been a reach, but I liked him better than Jon Lester, Adam Dunn, or Dustin Pedroia, who were the next picks.

4. Jose Reyes (ss) - In the past, I've tended to neglect speed, or relied on some semi-fast players, hoping for an overall decent total of stolen bases.  Let's see if this results in something different.

5. Justin Verlander (sp) - I gave in one round earlier than I would've liked, but top starting pitchers were gone.  Verlander's been good for a number of years, and one of these years, he's going to put everything together.  Maybe.

6. Andre Ethier (of) - I needed some outfielders . . . .

7. Jered Weaver (sp) - He led the AL in Ks last year.  Hopefully it wasn't a fluke.

8. Paul Konerko (1b) - He's older of a player than I'd like, but first basemen seem to age somewhat better, and he's been pretty consistent.

9. Neftali Feliz (rp) - I think closers are vastly overrated, but it was time to pick one up.

10. Max Scherzer (sp) - I *really* like Scherzer.  Last year, he got off to a bad start, got sent down to Triple-A, and worked out some mechanical flaw.  When he returned, he was lights out.

11. Carlos Quentin (of) - Kind of a risky pick, but some potential reward there.

12. Gordon Beckham (mi) - I hope last year was a (bad) fluke.

13. Adam Jones (of) - Ditto.

14. JJ Putz (rp) - More saves please.

15. Jeremy Hellickson (sp) - I like gambling on young pitchers, and I think he could potentially be the best pitcher on the Rays.  It should be either him or Price.

16. Brandon Morrow (sp) - Cal grad, awesome K/9 ratio, and not a lot of innings on his arm last year.

17. Drew Storen (rp) - Relatively low risk closer.

18. Mitch Moreland (ci) - I needed another corner infielder, and the remaining names weren't that appealing.  Playing in Texas has got to count for something.

19. Carlos Beltran (of) - Another risk/reward pick.

20. Manny Ramirez (of) - Um, yeah, another risk/reward pick.  Well, he's pretty awesome when he plays . . . .

21. Leo Nunez (rp) - Closer.

22. Ryan Raburn (of) - He was more valuable last year when he qualified at second base, but he's got some pop.

23. Hong-Chih Kuo (rp) - Pretty awesome rate stats.  But I ended up cutting him after the draft to pick up Gio Gonzalez.

24. Peter Bourjos (of) - My hometown pick, and some cheap speed.  We'll see if he's worth playing.

25. Ryan Madson (rp) - Fill-in closer, might still keep him after Lidge returns.

Full post as published by The Yin Blog on March 21, 2011 (boomark / email).