| 0 |
Subject: Gurupie 20 2008 Draft Recap
Posted by: Ref
- Donor [539581218] Sat, Mar 22, 2008, 00:26
This thread is for overall comments on the draft. You may use the questions below as a guide, or simply say what you want to say.
1. What was your plan/strategy entering the draft? Were you able to execute as you had planned?
2. What were your favorite picks? What picks would you like to do over?
3. Looking over all of the teams, which ones do you like the most (other than your own)?
4. What surprised you most about the draft?
5. If you could start the whole thing over, would you do anything differently?
Non-managers are also free to post comments or ask questions.
Draft Discussion
Supplemental Draft |
| 1 | blue hen
Leader
ID: 710321114
Sat, Mar 22, 2008, 01:31
|
Sounds familiar. Didn't I just answer these questions?
Anyway...
My strategy was simple. Get value. Value value value. Every pick I took had one goal in mind, and that was to maximize the value I'll be looking at next year. That means draft closers and potential closers, and get young hitters with talent. I think I did a decent job sticking to that, but I guess I wound up with more closer-types than I intended. Here are some picks I am especially happy about:
- Casey Kotchman. I expect him to get up to the next level this year and be a keeper for years to come. He's still very young, and it's a boon to have a player that young and that good.
- Jon Rauch. Handcuffing is important even when your team sucks. I am counting on some good stuff but Chad Cordero this year, but even if something happens, Rauch is the most likely guy to take over.
- Asdrubal Cabrera. One of my youngest players, he is set to take a big leap this year. He's going to solidify his place in an amazing lineup and still be in position to take another leap next year.
- Wandy Rodriguez. Did you know that Wandy had a better K/9 than Ian Snell last year? That's impressive. Just like Aaron Harang recently, Wandy is going to cement himself as a keeper through strikeouts.
Just barely missing this list are Mike Jacobs, Edwin Encarnacion, Nelson Cruz, Fernando Rodney, and Ryan Theriot. I have a solid core and several of these players HAVE to step up.
As for other teams, we know who has the biggest target. We made it worse during the draft by letting him get some valuable players, but he also helped himself by trading. He does have a couple weak spots but Twarpy is still the team to beat.
After that, I think I'm looking at StLCards. He has a pretty underrated team that could surprise some people. I will probably have to deal him one of my closers, but...
I also hate to admit it, but Species has a pretty good team. His hitting is awesome, and if Felix and Kazmir hit their ceilings, look out.
The other guy to watch is bmd. He had solid keepers, but REALLY helped himself the most during the draft. I like some of his picks - Luke Scott, Jack Cust, Boof Bonser. That's really a decent haul. He also somehow managed to get Barry Bonds, Mark Prior, and Chris Carpenter. Talk about upside.
I am glad to be in this competitive league and I hope you're happy to have me.
|
| 2 | Ref
Donor
ID: 539581218
Sat, Mar 22, 2008, 14:18
|
My plan was to get some hitting and mroe importantly get some backups. Injuries have devastated me and I wanted to get deeper as far as hitters went. Going in I wanted a HR hitting 3b, OF and a closer. Those were my first three picks--not in that order however.
I kind of winged it during the draft. But looking at Keepers and who was dropped, I figured the first four picks could be Hamilton, Wang, Francis and Cust. I was surprised to see Polanco go #1. I like Escobar, but was still surprised to see him go #2 with the others left. Then even though I thought Hamilton was probably the best left, I was still mildly surprised to see mbj take him when he still had NO SPs on his team since he didn't keep any. So that's how the draft started.
So when it became my turn to pick, I knew I had a bunch of picks late in the first and early in the 2nd and I had to make sure I picked who I wanted in the proper order so I wouldn't screw myself out of one. I thought that probably Blalock and Gregg were the two players who'd probably make it to me with how the draft started. I was wrong. They were gone. I had thougt that Wood and Marmol would be gone but with their roles up in the air, they were still available. I knew I had to take one as the two managers behind me both needed a RP and neither would get back to me. I know Wood has the inside track but Marmol is the better pitcher and Wood is more of an injury risk. So then I had to figure what else I had to get since I had two picks in a row. I decided to go with another old geyser in Ibanez because you know what you're going to get out of him. It's a safe and effective pick.
Just as I figured, two RPs went next including Wood. So now I'm up again at 2.02 and have 2.06. Was all set to go 3B here, but PD, Guru or Pete do not need a 3B (though Pete does need a 2b and Wiggs is 2b elig.). Pete really needs a SP and there is no way he won't go that way. So with that in mind, I was shocked to see that Wangand Francis were still available. I looked at Lowe but passed. I compared the two and I love Francis' K rate and he really did well for me last year, but with my higher ERA and WHIP projections I took Wang. My Ks are decent aready too. Sure enough, it was perfect. Pete told me later that he wsa in fact getting Wang with his next pick. Francis would have been fine though.
So I looked at 3b again, but Wiggington just kept popping out at me. He loves hitting in Houston too so I got him. I have taken a LOT of flack for this pick. Have had several of the, hey nice draft, except for the Wiggs pick! I'm just hoping he turns out anywhere close to how good my last pick to draw so much criticism (Hanley Ramirez)! The only bad thing was that I didn't know Kouz was available. I thought Cards had kept him. Having Chase Headley, that might have been a better situtation for me--though Hou is much better park to hit in than Petco. That's what I get for winging it!
I had hoped to get Soto in the late 3rd. Figured tat since I had so many picks that I could even take a C higher than most would. OF course Tosh takes him at 2.10. Pretty surprised by that. I like the guy a lot, but that was even a reach for me. When Soto was gone and I already had another OF in Guillen, I figured heck with it, I'm not getting a C for awhile. I liked Napoli but he's splitting time because his defense is so bad so I took a flier on Neshak. He will really help bring down my WHIP/ERA and could even be the closer by mid-year if Nathan is dealt. But what allowed me to potentially reach on this pick is the fact that I had so many early picks. Time will tell if this is a good pick or not, but even if I could have done better, he still should help.
I then passed again on a C and got Lugo. I think he's underated and has beefed up to work on his HR stroke again. Obviously has wheels and plays for a nice team in the Red Sox. He will prob bat at the bottom of the order, but that's ok. Ultimately it's a backup for Hanley. If he goes down I would also need a source for steals as I am not planning on drafting any steals the rest of the way. I did finally get a C at 5.18. I actually like Hernandez, Molina and Towles the best. Ramon had an injury-riddled year adn Molina is batting clean-up but if Ramon bounces back there is no question he's the better pick. Molina's obp is horrid too. I took Ramon and was even able to get Molina really late as a back-up. I am pretty shocked he fell so far, but can really help me as a 2nd C.
Some others I got who could be a steal:
Rowand in the 5th, E. Santana in the 6th, Delcarmen if he gets some vulture saves in the 8th and even Cavez in the 9th.
Overall I feel my draft was solid but not sure where my team is in the scheme of things just yet. Still feel vulnerable in some areas.
I don't nec. think Twarpy's draft was that great, but those trades he made in-draft were devastating to those who had hoped to compete this year. Kudos to him for outmanaging the rest of us.
Species has the hitting to make some noise. So does mbj--but his SP is short and it's very difficult to make up for that.
In fact there are several managers who I felt made some very very good picks. Some I couldn't believe they were still available.
The biggest surprise to me was the fact that so many RPs went so early and often. I mean WTF?!?!?! I don't get that at all. There were some RPs I was looking at late only to find they had been taken in the 4th round!!! Those are the guys who are usually thrown back when a hot FA shows up, but drafting them so high is a pretty expensive drop. I think that could be a huge mistake, but time will tell.
The length of the draft is also a little discouraging. Only had two managers time out, but a lack of our normal queues were to blame I'm guessing. Really glad we started when we did.
Another surprise was some of the Keepers. I felt there were better players thrown back then kept by some people and would have really been worth it to trade a high pick to land them. The reluctance to do that could be very costly.
All in all, I don't know what else I'd have done differently at this point. I'm sure it will be more obvious in the coming weeks though.
|
| 3 | Guru
ID: 330592710
Sat, Mar 22, 2008, 15:56
|
I'm sure that my team will be uncompetitive this season, so my plan was to build a roster that would benefit from a year of seasoning while trying to make some noise in a few categories, just to give my team some potential to be a category spoiler.
Josh Hamilton would have been my first choice, but he was already taken. Since I had my infield already set, I wanted an outfielder, and decided on Duncan, with Cust a close second. I figured that Duncan's multi-position eligibility might be worth something.
My second rounder was Adam LaRoche, who could turn out to be a keeper for next year. I had him ranked as the best available hitter at the time (as I recall). I actually had him on this team several years back. And it also gives me the LaRoche tandem.
When Species offered Jeff Clement during the next round, I decided that this fit my needs. I had kept Pudge Rodriguez as my weakest keeper, but he is obviously not my catcher of the cuture. Hopefully, Clement will not get enough AB in the majors this year, and can be carried into next season as a prospect. Then we'll see whether he develops up to potential.
So my next pick was my 4th rounder, Zumaya. Not expecting anything from him until summer, but if he recovers from his surgery, he could be the Detroit closer of the future. He could also be trade bait for the second half of the season if he turns out to be the Detroit closer of the present.
It was actually less stressful to draft a team knowing that I would finish in the lower half of the standings, and that I was primarily trying to lay in players with potential, either as keepers, or at least as mid-season trade bait for picks or prospects.
We'll see how it works out.
|
| 4 | Twarpy
Leader
ID: 386242821
Sat, Mar 22, 2008, 17:00
|
My plan was to evaluate how the draft was going after a few rounds and run some projections about where I needed to be in order to be in the top echelon. Without several of my first picks, and Ref loading up on First and Second rounder’s by getting rid of his extra keepers I felt that he was in excellent position to get up there in roto points. I was going to need an OF, and I always love to get closers early, I don’t like trading in July and August for closers (It has backfired in the past in my famous Octavio Dotel for Haren and Bonderman trade, where Dotel only saved 3 games before having season ending surgery) but I still feel the risk was warranted. After securing these guys I loved getting Napoli and his OBP, I even tried trading up with GoatLocker to get him at 3.01, but I had to leave early that day and we couldn’t finish a deal. After grabbing Nappy I just filled my OF, and MI spots and drafted some protection for some of my positions as well as trying to find some breakout material.
As Guru said it’s a lot easier to make picks when you are in a rebuilding process, and don’t necessarily need to worry about balancing all your categories to try and be competitive in each category, that being said in terms of picks I liked there were quite a few after the 5th round.
6.07 Gio Gonzalez – Baseball America loves this guy, and hes a starter for the A’s who generally have a fairly good understanding of good young SP’s, with all the prospective players before this guy going I really liked the value that Toral got with this pick.
6.18 Ervin Santana – I felt that a lot of rebuilders went with too many under 24 year olds and under, while I don’t expect Ervin to be a top SP, it’s not out of the question to be in the realm of a top 25 guy, and again a lot of value here.
7.08 Edinson Volquez – I told ref as soon as allhair made this pick that I liked it a lot, hes since been named a starter and will be an interesting guy to watch.
7.11 Aubrey Huff – Aubrey reminds me a little of Austin Kearns in that every year hes one of those guys you know has the ability to finally destroy a season, even though hes older his multi position ability I really like.
8.13 Daniel Cabrera – In case anyone hasn’t figured it out I'm a fan of fireballers and if Danny could ever figure out his control he could be lethal, and I still think he has a chance of hitting as do any of the countless backup closers that have gone.
Other picks I liked later were Velez, Franklin Morales, Chris Snyder, Alexei Ramirez, and Dana Eveland.
There are many teams I like this year including Species, Ref, Roguenine, Peter N, bmd, and bj21 that I think can compete at a high level, every team seems to have two categories that it is going to suck in (mine will be HR and RBI) and it will be interesting to see the battles that will go on each category between the top teams.
The obvious surprise was the massive shift in strategy towards potential closers with the rebuilding teams, just three years ago you could get a solid MR in the later rounds, now they’re going in the first couple of rounds. I can’t say if I was in rebuilding mode I wouldn’t be doing the same thing and think it’s a solid strategy, but I also think a lot of value was missed with a few of those picks, it will be interesting to see how everyone runs their pitching this year.
I wouldn’t change much about what I would do, I had a model which I changed slightly through the draft, but in the end I think I will field a fairly competitive team, I may regret going for a Kubel and Napoli who I think could breakout, over some of the more grizzled veterans who you know what you are getting.
|
| 5 | GoatLocker
Leader
ID: 060151121
Sat, Mar 22, 2008, 17:15
|
1. What was your plan/strategy entering the draft? Were you able to execute as you had planned?
Was really looking at filling holes and trying to get younger.
Pitching just really blew up on me last year, so was trying real hard to stay away from that this time.
With my keepers and knowing I was bringing up the two prospects in Justin Upton and Daric Barton, it really left me with a fairly good map of where I needed to head.
Was really torn with the first pick, but my gut told me if I didn't take Yunel Escobar, that he would not get back to me.
Thought long and hard about taking Josh Hamilton, but already had 4 OF.
2. What were your favorite picks? What picks would you like to do over?
My favorite pick was Chris Ray with my last pick.
Kept looking every round to try to figure out when I wanted to pick him back up, and was kind of surprised that I was able to wait as long as I did.
Only pick I might think about doing over would be the Randy Wolf pick. Not a real fan, but let's see if PETCO might not help him out.
3. Looking over all of the teams, which ones do you like the most (other than your own)?
Twarpy, Species, Stl Cards, and I think Yokel's team could surprise a little.
4. What surprised you most about the draft?
Maybe the number of in draft trades.
Otherwise, I find it hard to be surprised by this draft.
Very rarely do people do what you think they are going to do.
5. If you could start the whole thing over, would you do anything differently?
I doubt it.
I really feel I accomplished what I was trying to do.
Big key will be if my pre draft trades work out or not.
|
| 6 | Peter N.
ID: 352352216
Sat, Mar 22, 2008, 20:21
|
1. What was your plan/strategy entering the draft? Were you able to execute as you had planned?
Going into the draft, I wanted to address two needs. Those two needs were SBs and to build on my pitching staff. With Cabrera and Morneau leading the way, I felt comfortable in the other 4 hitting cats.
With my first round pick, I wanted to try and get back one of Soria, Percival or Wilson. After dealing Soria to blue hen, that left with me with Percival or Wilson. I ended up getting Percival so it worked out.
For my second round pick, my eyes turned to a starting pitcher. The Wangsta was my first choice, but ref took him so I settled for Lowe. It's a contract year for him so I'm expecting solid numbers. It's amazing how good players become when money is on the line.
Now that I had addressed both closer and starting pitcher, I wanted to grab a burner in the 3rd round. I ended up going with Kaz. It might have been a bit early for him, but I didn't have a 4th round pick(traded to bh) and I didn't see him being available at 5.15.
For rounds 5-8, I alternated filling needs for steals and starting pitchers. Aybar is a nice burner and a sleeper pick of mine. He's also having a nice spring training. Guthrie and Bannister are not studs by any means, but they shouldn't hurt me. Dejesus was drafted as insurance for Maybin. I'd have no problems going with him on a daily basis.
Ayala and Marte were drafted because they had good ratios. I hope I don't have to rely on Glavine too much, but he should be a nice spot-starter.
2. What were your favorite picks? What picks would you like to do over?
Favorite picks:
Troy Percival(1.15)
David Dejesus(7.15)
Do Over:
Jason Kendall(13.15
3. Looking over all of the teams, which ones do you like the most (other than your own)?
This is a no brainer. Twarpy has the team to beat. His team name is appropriate though. If Albert should go down with the elbow problem, his team will become very beatable. Other teams I like are Species, Ref, and R9. BMD's team has alot of potential and will be interesting to watch as well.
4. What surprised you most about the draft?
This is my 6th year in the league. I've come to expect the unexpected so no real surprises.
5. If you could start the whole thing over, would you do anything differently?
I locked into Kendall in the 13th round. It wasn't until bmd picked Molina that I realized he was even available. LOL, hopefully that doesn't ruin my season. ;-)
|
| 8 | R9
Leader
ID: 02624472
Sun, Mar 23, 2008, 14:38
|
1. What was your plan/strategy entering the draft? Were you able to execute as you had planned?
Going into the draft I knew I needed a few more SB's, a fair amount of HR's, and SP's SP'S SP's. Its going to be a wierd year, not having Santana leading my staff. I debated strongly wether to get SP's right out of the gate, or fill my hitting needs first. With most teams going hitting it made sense to aim there first, before all the good options were gone. Especially since I saw many SP's who would go later that I liked. My staff is going to be a matchup-fest all year, and I saw many SP's who will be servicable in that regard.
I know he's old, but Sheffield has the ability to be a solid HR/SB/OBP threat. I don't have any SB players who are a detriment to my other categories, which will make for another wierd year... I have never had a G20 team compete in SB's. That was definitely a main goal of my Santana trade though.
After my round 1 pick, I had a dilemma with my two 2nd round picks. The hitters weren't hugely desirable for my team, and most of the remaining SP's were as mediocre as the guys available later would be. So I decided to gamble on a couple of young arms, who could be potential keepers if they pan out. I'm not interested in going with 5 SP keepers like Twarpy, but I would like a couple big arms. Between Billingsley, Parra, Slowey and McGee, I'm hopeful I can have a two big SP arms next year.
Other then that, Nick Johnson and Huff should fill my hitting needs well, and then I have a bunch of SP arms I can use during good matchups. No idea how that'll work, and I can see me trading for some SP's later in the year.
2. What were your favorite picks? What picks would you like to do over?
There were alot of solid MR picks in round 6. Fuentes, Okajima, Shields, Heilman... If I had known they would all be going that soon, my 5th round SP pick of Duchscherer would've been different! I knew Guru would take a couple with his picks, as he always does mid-draft, I just didn't know the other managers would be doing that as well this round.
I like Nick Johnson in the 4th, and Huff in the 7th. I didn't think I'd get bats with decent potential that late for 1B/3B. Pedro Feliz in the 11th... I don't know if I can call it a favorite pick, but with him moving from SF to Phi, maybe I can hope for a 25-30 HR 3B that late? That would be favorite-worthy. :)
3. Looking over all of the teams, which ones do you like the most (other than your own)?
Looks like 6 or 7 teams should have a shot at the top. Depending on how Twarpy does, we'll either have a great battle at the top, full of trading and counter-trading, or we'll have last year redux. ;)
4. What surprised you most about the draft?
Not much. A few guys slipped, but that always happens, and the RP run didn't surprise me at all. Our 1st and 2nd year, I feel like I was the only one taking MR's in G20, but the cat has been out of the bag on that one in every league at rotoguru for a while now. Maybe an influence of RIBC?
5. If you could start the whole thing over, would you do anything differently?
Probably just taking an MR over Duschsherer in round 5, but not a big deal. I like how my draft went, and I think have a shot to compete if a few things fall my way. More importantly, my offseason goal of ending up with a young keeper group was obtained. Everything else is in the hands of luck.
|
| 9 | Tosh
Leader
ID: 057721710
Mon, Mar 24, 2008, 01:56
|
After finishing 8th then 12th the past two years, it seems to me like it is time to start re-tooling for the future. I won’t be as strong as the Twarpies and Species of the world, and it’s just not that exciting to finish middle of the pack. So this year’s focus was going young, but still being competitive enough that I can influence the final standings. But first was figuring out my keepers, and I only had seven guys I was happy with.
The plan started by trading Ichiro to Twarpy. He’s still one of the top OFers, and a good source of speed (and my favorite player), but I was not able to resist adding possible HOFer Delmon Young to my squad. Roy Halladay will be solid for several more years, and Orlando Hudson gave me a 9th keeper at a scarce position.
I begin the draft with one of the top starting rotations in the league with Bedard, Lackey, and Halladay. I’ve got SPs Andrew Miller, Adam Miller, and Rick Porcello as prospects, so my focus will definitely be hitting going into the draft. And looking at my keepers, I see I need to start planning for the future. Paul Konerko, Orlando Hudson, Rafael Furcal, Ken Griffey, Carlos Lee, and Roy Halladay are over the age of 30.
1.10 ~ Josh Fields – The guy I most wanted this draft. Thanks to picks 1.01-1.09 for letting my future 3B keeper fall to me.
2.09 ~ Jeff Francis – Ref pimped him pretty good, and he’s entering his prime age. Two days later, John Lackey gets hurt, so this pick turns out to be fortuitous.
2.10 ~ Geovany Soto – I have my starting rotation (no closers however) and all positions covered except catcher and DH/Utility. Soto is an exciting young guy that totally fits into my draft plan. So despite Ref thinking I reached, I’m happy.
3.09 ~ Felipe Lopez – Will serve as backup to my 2B/SS combo of Hudson/Furcal, is one of my only sources of SBs, and a possible replacement as 2009 keeper.
5.09 ~ Jose Bautista – My 3B in case Fields starts the season at AAA.
Possible closers ~ Heath Bell (4.09), Scot Shields (6.09), Tom Gordon (7.09), Al Reyes (8.09).
Drafting Backups ~ Lyle Overbay (9.09), Marcus Thames (13.09)
Drafting kids ~ Franklin Morales (10.09), Franklin Gutierrez (11.09), Joe Saunders (12.09)
So there it is. My 2008 draft. Here are my 2009 keepers
1B – Paul Konerko
3B – Josh Fields
SS – Rafael Furcal
OF – Carlos Lee, Delmon Young
SP – Eric Bedard, John Lackey, Roy Halladay
Bubble – Geovany Soto (C), Andrew Miller (SP), Jeff Francis (SP), Felipe Lopez (2B/SS)
So I guess, looking at it post-draft, I only added one - two keepers for next season. But I got a bit younger, and feel I can be a pest in several categories. So I definitely consider it a success. Game on.
|
| 10 | Great One
ID: 1122611
Mon, Mar 24, 2008, 12:43
|
1. What was your plan/strategy entering the draft? Were you able to execute as you had planned?
I was looking to add young players with upside, hoping to unearth a hidden gem or two that may emerge as a keeper. Also to trade where I could to get some extra picks in 2009. I actually have whole list of guidelines for rebuilding I written down which I follow as well... but you'd need to email me to discuss those ideas! :)
2. What were your favorite picks? What picks would you like to do over? Favorite pick was probably getting Elijah Dukes late who I think has some serious potential and will get a shot right out of the gate. Nationals have a new stadium too leaving me less worried about HR production from their lineup. Thats assuming he can keep his act together and not have any domestic disputes or run-ins with the law!
I also like Pelfrey at the very end of the draft as he may get a shot and is only battling El Duque to pitch there. I'm gonna guess somebody had this guy as a prospect years ago and it didn't pan out... well he is still only 24 years old, so maybe he'll come back around.
I wish I could do Wily Mo pick over cause I just threw him on my que in a hurry to throw some extra names in my que before I left. With his injury it looks like I could have waited a few more rounds. I still like him though just should have waited a bit. I believe he is still only 25 years old which is amazing.
3. Looking over all of the teams, which ones do you like the most (other than your own)?
Unlike the majority, I'm actually not a HUGE fan of Twarpy's for some of the reasons outlined elsewhere... there are some hitting and injury questions. Certainly the pitching is rock solid though. Species squad I like, but he's got the opposite with some more injury prone pitchers. I can't really see the rest of the other rosters to comment thanks to being at work which is gonna be a major disadvantage for me. I'd like to discuss some things with the commishes about ways around this... And this whole freezing 30 minutes before the first game is REALLY not gonna help things when there are day games especially. If anyone can confirm that iPhone would allow me to set lineups and add/drop... shoot me an email.
4. What surprised you most about the draft? I could see the RP early being surprising... I definitely planned to add a few later, and that didn't work out.
5. If you could start the whole thing over, would you do anything differently? Not really, I am still rebuilding and looking to make my first major run a year from now. I've continued to get younger and younger with more and more upside... will be able to get through some growing pains this season of two of my biggest young bats (Longoria/Gordon) and I think my team could surprise some and my goal for this season is crack the top 10.
Last season, my auxillary goal was to put all my resources into acquiring Sizemore who was my #1 target for this league. Just ask blackjack how much I bothered him til I finally came up with enough to get it done. SP and a good young SS are two of my focuses for this season and those discussions can begin with Jason Bay who is on the trading block in an effort to fill one of those holes. Email me anytime with trade offers... always looking to discuss.
|
| 11 | beastiemiked
ID: 402141714
Mon, Mar 24, 2008, 16:09
|
1. What was your plan/strategy entering the draft? Were you able to execute as you had planned?
My plan was to get young guys early in the draft that could possibly be keepers for next year. With Hudson, Hoffman, and Thome there's a good shot I'll be keeping a few different guys next year. I knew I needed to fill an outfield slot with my 1st pick. Hamilton was my #1 guy but Cust was close behind. If they both were gone I would've been completely lost who to pick. Probably would've gone with Bondy.
What were your favorite picks? What picks would you like to do over?
Really like Cust and Lilly in the 1st round. Cust puts up sick OBP numbers and Lilly should be a really solid contributor in wins and k's. If somebody told me predraft I'd get these 2 in the 1st round I would've been shocked.
Freel at 8.16 was good value for a guy that can steal bases and play a few different positions. Bonds at 10.16 could be the steal of the draft if he signs with someone by June which I'm almost sure he will.
3. Looking over all of the teams, which ones do you like the most (other than your own)?
I think it's going to be wide open this year. Every team has holes even Twarpy's.
4. What surprised you most about the draft?
That Bonds, Prior, and Carpenter slipped as far as they did. A rebuilding team should've definitely grabbed Prior and Carpenter as they definitely have potential to become stud keepers though really risky. Bonds is another risky pick but has so much more upside this season than some of the other injury riddled over the hill outfielders that were taken before him.
People drafting 2 catchers or drafting one when they already have a keeper. The position is a throwaway position unless you have one of the few studs. Trying to guess which catcher out of the rest is going to have a breakout season is next to impossible.
5. If you could start the whole thing over, would you do anything differently?
Probably would've taken Castillo of Iguchi if I had a do over. I do think it's close though as Castillo is a much higher injury risk. However, if Stewart somehow stays in the majors and becomes 2nd base eligible it really doesn't matter.
Other than that I'm really happy with my draft. With Carp, Prior, and Bonds I'm going to be a little handcuffed on FA pickups, especially if Cueto and/or Stewart starts the year in the majors.
|
| 12 | StLCards
Dude
ID: 31010716
Mon, Mar 24, 2008, 17:09
|
1. What was your plan/strategy entering the draft? Were you able to execute as you had planned?
I entered the draft primarily needing saves and steals. I wanted to get either Rafael Betancourt or Tony Pena as I thought they both had good potential to become closers and would be worth holding as keepers. I also did not want to use my first round draft choice on a middle reliever that might become a closer, nor did I want to take an older closer or injury prone guy like Percival or Wood. I did consider Gregg with my first pick, but Bonderman had too much upside to pass him up. I didn't have a second round pick this year so I wasn't sure what I would do in round 3, although I was hoping to take Mark Reynolds as a possible keeper 3B, depending on how he did this year. Darkside took care of picking Reynolds and Betancourt was long gone so I went with Pena as planned. From there I just looked around when it was my turn to pick trying to fill in the holes or take guys that could possibly breakout, as opposed to old grizzled veterans. I did this primarily as my team has enough holes that it would be hard to match the top 5 or 6 without a lot of luck, all good, so I decided to keep trying to build as opposed to get older players that didn't have much chance to help in years to come. So with my next pick I threw that out the window and took Rolen. Can't play the year without a 3B and Rolen could have a good year as Toronto usually scores a lot of runs. Of course, Rolen is already hurt. From there I picked up a young player, Delwyn Young to be exact, and a gamble with John Patterson off injury (later cut by Washington), a couple young burners on the bases in Owens and Velez with a catcher tucked inbetween. I finished the draft off taking some MRs not expecting much from them and also picked up Mike Hampton. So all in all my draft was pretty speculative. If a couple of these guys pan out they could be very good. If none pan out then it will be a long season. My core group of keepers was nice, but a lot of young guys equals uncertainty as well.
2. What were your favorite picks? What picks would you like to do over?
I won't know my favorite pick(s) until after I see how they do. Velez has huge wheels, but his defense means he might not ever play. I'm happiest with my pick of Pena but he is no sure thing either. My least favorite pick is not getting Reynolds and having to take Rolen instead.
3. Looking over all of the teams, which ones do you like the most (other than your own)?
Really haven't looked too closely, but obviously I like Twarpy's team now that he made those trades post keepers.
4. What surprised you most about the draft?
Twarpy's ability to make those trades during the draft were surprising to me. Filled in some holes without sacraficing much since he can simply trade away his excesses again next year unless those guys bomb which could happen. Ref having 6 picks in the first 3 rounds also surprised me. I also thought the draft went about like normal and didn't think it was as slow as others seemed to think. Maybe that is because I wasn't monitoring as closely as I have in the past.
5. If you could start the whole thing over, would you do anything differently?
If I could go way back I wouldn't have traded my 2nd round pick trying to make a top 10 finish last year. Not like I ever expected to keep Accardo so I really don't know what I was thinking when I made that trade.
|
| 13 | darkside
ID: 181035120
Thu, Mar 27, 2008, 15:06
|
Obviously I am rebuilding...still. After a full season I think I had a much better handle on the draft this year than last, but I was still taken off guard at times. My goal was to get young guys who may have had a good season last year (like K. Johnson) or guys who have been hyped. Such a strategy is a double edged sword; you have no chance of finding the next Albert Pujols w/o taking such a risk, but more often than not the player doesn't pan out.
Seeing this years keepers confirmed to me that you really don't have a shot at winning if you don't have some serious stud keepers. In my keepers this year I had, at most, two (Myers and Rios), but both have question marks. Most everyone else I kept have good potential, but haven't proven themselves yet. I figure it'll take me at least this season and probably all of next before I can even think about making a run at the crown. I need to have a few of the guys I kept/drafted to pan out this year and next so that I have 6-7 good young pitchers/hitters.
I kept Fausto, Buchholz and Lester and Myers and had Hughes as a prospect, so I decided I'd focus solely on hitting in the early rounds. I'd traded Ref for Loney, so I was set at 1B, kept Salty (who was sent down which is why I grabbed Suzuki), Hardy, Rios and Cabrera. So, I wanted to focus on 2B and 3B which prompted me to grab Johnson w/ my first pick and Mark Reynolds w/ my second. Reynolds isn't guaranteed a starting gig all year, but he had good pop last year and to say I'm lacking in HR is an understatement. He's still young and I grabbed Tracy later on anyway (who's only 27), but the potential is there for both. I'd hoped Blalock would make it to me, but knew that was a long shot.
I probably shouldn't have taken Teahen w/ my 3rd pick, but I'd wanted to keep him and, for some reason, I keep thinking he's going to repeat his 2nd half of 2006 performance. Now that he's got a starting gig I really like the Gomez pick at the end of the 3rd round. Young, incredibly fast and starting. Good combination.
Because I wasn't sure if Gomez would start I wanted another OF and took Quentin even though his playing time is in question. Same goes for Ethier.
I was really surprised that Pena and especially Zumaya went as early as they did as I'd targeted them and had expected to draft them, even if it meant paying more than I should. But, I was beat to the punch and that really hurts since I carried both all year last year and they're both 'closers of the future'. So, closer is obviously a problem for me which is why I took Morrow and Bazardo, but I don't expect anything from either of them.
I took Olsen and Loewen simply because they're young and have potential. I hopeful that 2 or 3 of Myers, Fausto, Buchholz, Lester, Hughes, Olsen and Loewen, will turn in stud performances this year and give me a good pitching base next year.
I had no idea Jorge Cantu was only 26, so when I needed another bench bat I grabbed him. He's hitting well in the spring and has the 3B job locked up for now.
So, the guiding premise of my draft was draft young guys with upside who will be starting so I can have an opportunity to evaluate them. Maybe I took guys who were too young (I think Tracy, at 27, was my oldest draftee), but I don't think so.
As for other teams who look good...everyone has been covered by the other posters. I know one thing for sure...it ain't mine.
Good luck to all!
|
| 14 | Species
Dude
ID: 07724916
Fri, Mar 28, 2008, 21:18
|
1. What was your plan/strategy entering the draft? Were you able to execute as you had planned?
For years I have directed my strategy towards centering my keepers at premium positions, allowing me to take scraps during the supplemental draft. Entering the draft (especially after trading for S. Drew after keeps were announced) all I needed on offense were 2 OF's and a DH - by far the easiest positions to fill. I did that very well getting JD Drew, Cuddyer and F. Thomas. Each will be reasonably high OBP and 85/85 (ish) run/rbi guys.
I had 2 high K SP's and 2 established closers in tow as well, so pitching wise I wanted to be careful with what SP's I chose, and hoped to fill in with great ratio, high K/9 Rp's like I did last year. BUZZZZZZZ! Everyone else did the same thing and I was scrambling for RP value later. So I'd give myself a B- on execution.
2. What were your favorite picks? What picks would you like to do over?
Favorites: Cuddyer 3.12 (underrated), Mike Cameron 6.03 (great value once you throw out the 25 game suspension), Alexei Ramirez 11.19
Do-overs: Buehrle 4.02 (although I like him to have a sub-4.00 ERA season), 8.19 Justin Speier (MR reach when other guys I wanted were there, particularly DeRosa and his multi-position eligibility)
3. Looking over all of the teams, which ones do you like the most (other than your own)?
I'll be really interested to see how Twarpy's over abundance of SP's comes back to bite him in the ass. To me, with SP's so risky, that's an awful lot of firepower to put into one area of your team. This limited him to several old, injury prone players to fill in, and combined with Pujols' elbow issue, it could be a recipe for disaster. Of course, all it takes is one young ace dangled in front of the league to get him a major bat anyway.
Besides him, I think Ref is loaded and leveraged his extras into a treasure trove of picks, which he used to fill out his roster before Twarpy ever made a pick. Pete is really strong, but for his sake I hope KRod was dogging it in the 2 Spring Training games I saw him in, because he got hit a LOT! I also thought I'd have an offense that was the envy of everyone, until I looked at mbj's. Winning the #3 pick in the lottery and landing Hamilton?!? Somebody was looking out for him. True his SP situation is far from envious, but a lot can happen pitching-wise, and he has so many horses on offense he'll be a threat.
4. What surprised you most about the draft?
Without a doubt it was the VERY early picks of middle relievers.
5. If you could start the whole thing over, would you do anything differently?
Not really. I think I made some good trades (Upton, Drew) to solidify my lineup. I really need Felix to be the stud ace we all can see him becoming, and Kazmir to be healthy and learn that he doesn't have to strike everyone out, let his defense help him and not walk so many guys.
|
|
|
|
Post a reply to this message: (But first, how about checking out this sponsor?)
|
|