Forum: base
Page 20265
Subject: RIBC 2014: Draft Rationales


  Posted by: Guru - [330592710] Fri, Mar 07, 2014, 21:55

This thread will contain all of the individual pick rationales for the 2014 RIBC draft. RIBC managers should supply those rationales in the Rationale Collection thread. You will not be able to post directly into this thread.

I expect that this thread will be updated daily.
 
1jeffg
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 6, 4:45 pm
1.01 Trout, Mike - LAA - OF
Pick #1 Having drawn the first choice, I grabbed #1. Why not take choose the best fantasy player overall to anchor my team? At least for round 1, I do not have to worry about you guys emptying my queue :) I had the turn a few years ago and am no longer intimidated by it, but knowing there will be 30 players off the board between picking may mean I play the 'best available' game more than reach for a target... but we'll see.

Trout is a five tool fantasy stud and is the consensus #1 in most rankings. He should again finish in the top 5 in OBP and top 10 in R, SLG, RBI, and a real plus - will steal about 30 bases. Durable. No downside. That being said, knowing that I had the #1 for the last week, I did give Miguel Cabrera serious consideration and Trout was by no means a slam dunk in my mind. Miggy is a fantasy super stud in 4 of our categories, plus with 3B eligibilty is at a much less deep position, and his playing first base this year should mean he is less likely to be knicked up. Still, I was surprised how adamant most of the people I discussed considering Miggy at 1.01 were against that option, this choice was NOT a no-brainer to me. This should be fun this season seeing Trout's stats roll in day to day.

 
2Meatwads
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 6, 4:59 pm
1.02 Cabrera, Miguel - DET - 3B
Triple Crown. Back to back MVP. The move over to 1B to theoretically lowers his injury risk. The multi-position flexibility. This pick was as easy as any pick I've ever made in my entire life. I selected the #2 spot to ensure I got Trout or Cabrera and the selection was essentially made for me. I did not even consider another player as an option. Even if Cabrera misses half the season or dies from alcohol poisoning, I would make this pick 100 out of 100 times.
 
3Wazaaap Guy
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 6, 5:53 pm
1.03 Goldschmidt, Paul - ARI - 1B
Had the 3rd pick of picks, so the tough decision really came then; take the 3rd slot and decide between Goldschmidt and Andrew McCutchen or take the 4th slot and pick whoever fell. Both are projected to put up a .400 OBP and .550 SLG with strong R and RBI and a handful of SB. In the end I looked at a few mock drafts and figured I was likely to land a good OF with my 2.14 or 3.03 pick (turns out I took an OF with both), so I opted for the 3 pick to take Goldy. Most sites project Goldy to put up similar numbers to last year, which would give me a great foundation to begin my team with.
 
4mailedfoot
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 6, 5:53 pm
1.04 McCutchen, Andrew - PIT - OF
Pick #4: Chose the 4th pick because it made my first round selection simple (happy to have either Goldschmidt or McCutchen). I don't think I have ever selected higher than about 8th before in any RIBC draft so this will also make for an interesting change.

McCutchen is a great foundation to start the offensive attack; five category contributor who is still in his prime and no real question marks.

 
5Seattle Zen
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 6, 5:53 pm
1.05 Votto, Joey - CIN - 1B
Once the top four players were off the board, as I suspected, it came down to Votto or Cargo. Votto is an on-base machine, so much so that the dinosaurs in the Cinci media actually complain about it. They were complaining that he doesn't knock in enough runs because he has the audacity to take ball four. Eddie Murray would have fouled off ball four so he could get a pitch he could drive...

Anyhow, there were grand juries seated in Southern Ohio to investigate the lack of Votto RBI's from last year. He had an OBP machine batting leadoff last year, but the complete opposite batting second. He will have a new leadoff hitter this season, someone who may be on second or third by the time the count is 1-1. I expect a bounce back to 190+ runs/rbi from Votto is Blotto in 2014 and a great OPS. He may be a second round pick in a 12 team 5X5, but this ain't Yahoo.

I think we would all be happy to see Carlos Gonzalez have a long, healthy and productive season, but he doesn't do that with frequency, so I will let someone else take that chance.

 
6mmikulka
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 6, 8:11 pm
1.06 Fielder, Prince - TEX - 1B
Health is very important for early draft picks in the RIBC format given the small bench and weak replacement level, and Fielder epitomizes good health more than any other player, missing only 1 total game in the past 5 years (and averaging over 160 games played over his career).

2013 was by all accounts a bad season for Fielder (though he still finished with 2nd/3rd round stats). I’m hoping that his messy divorce was a large portion of what affected his play, and (still in his 20s) that he will rebound close to the level of his previous 4 seasons, where he had an OBP over .400. Even if he stays at this year’s levels or only bounces back a little, he should be an elite R/RBI producer, giving him a very high floor.

The Tigers’ leadoff hitter last year was Austin Jackson, who had an OBP of .337. Torii Hunter batted 2nd, and had an OBP of .334. Those two combined to steal 12 total bases. When they did get on base, Miguel Cabrera was there to take many of the RBIs. While Cabrera had an amazing OBP, he only was in scoring position for Fielder 27 times. When Fielder reached base, he had the likes of Victor Martinez and Andy Dirks attempting to drive him home. Besides Martinez, none of the Tigers’ 5-9 hitters had over 55 RBI. Despite an OPS that was .097 below his career average, Fielder put up 188 R+RBI (tied with Cano for 11th best).

This year he has Shin-Soo Choo’s .389 career OBP leading off, and Elvis Andrus batting 2nd, likely to steal 30+ bases to add to Choo’s 20. When Fielder gets on base he’ll have Beltre and Rios driving him in. Barring injury, he should have well over 200 R+RBI, and as mentioned before, he has gone 8 full MLB seasons without ever reaching the DL. I hope I haven’t jinxed that.

 
7holt
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 6, 10:29 pm
1.07 Gonzalez, Carlos - COL - OF
Pick #7: Didn't have much choice at all. Just chose the highest of the remaining picks. All the slots on the ends were gone. The only positive thing about drafting in the middle is that you don't have to reach as much. Not much of an advantage really.

After Trout, Cabrera, Goldschmidt, and McCutchen there is a lot of variance in round 1 picks from draft to draft so I had no idea what to expect. I didn't want a pitcher in rd 1 so Kershaw was out. For me it really came down to Cano, Tulowitzki, and Gonzalez. I think I'd be happy with any of them, but Gonzalez contributes SB's and I think he has the highest ceiling as a hitter. He's had some injury issues in the past but that's a risk with any athlete (I drafted Tulowitzki 4th overall in 2012 and he ended up with 181 AB's). The only reason I could see to go with Cano was position scarcity but in Rd 1 I just don't care so I went with a 5 category offensive anchor in Gonzalez. Was definitely a difficult decision though. There were other guys to consider. Braun, Davis... A 1st rd crap shoot.

 
8evan
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 6, 11:05 pm
1.08 Cano, Robinson - SEA - 2B
I was hoping Votto would fall to 8 but he went higher than I thought. I’m happy with grabbing the best second baseman in baseball though. Although I think his numbers will drop a little in Seattle (there is enormous pressure with that contract) in the end he will still be better than any other 2B out there. I always look for safety with a first round pick and Cano doesn’t miss games. It’s always tough to fill out middle infield positions as the draft gets deeper so now I can focus on the other positions on my roster.
 
9JKaye
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 6, 11:25 pm
1.09 Braun, Ryan - MIL - OF
Not actually a hard call. I had a couple of players I would have taken had they fallen but when I ended up at 9, I figured this would be my guy. I think there is a very good chance he is a top 3-4 player in 2014, although that potential reward comes with obvious risk. I am willing to gamble that his talent was not all HGH-generated.
 
10bmd
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 7, 12:40 am
1.10 Tulowitzki, Troy - COL - SS
Pick #10: I wanted the end of the draft if I couldn't land a top 4 pick. Didn't take too much time to research the slot after I couldn't get the beginning or end. Bit me in the butt as my slot turned out to be a bad spot for my rankings in both round 1 and round 2.

Assumed that I would get one of Fielder, Votto, or Braun in this spot. No dice. Cano is the only player drafted ahead of me that I wouldn't have selected. Props to all drafters ahead of me. Tulo would be a consensus top 3 pick if he'd stay healthy the entire year. Unfortunately, the chances of that is almost nil. If he plays over 130 games he's a steal in this spot. Really wanted Bryce here but he's just a bit too reckless out there so there's no guarantee he'll play more games than Tulo.

 
11reeb
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 7, 1:10 am
1.11 Ellsbury, Jacoby - NYY - OF
When I chose the 11th pick I had my eye on Fielder,Cano,or Ellsbury being available to me. Jacoby was the only one left and I am not sure what I would have done if all 3 were gone.

I am really just looking for Ellsbury to be healthy in his first year in New York. If he is I know I have a great jump on the field in SB's and a good base in runs. Hoping the move to NY will give him the power numbers boost that many are predicting.

 
12kdl212
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 7, 1:20 am
1.12 Ramirez, Hanley - LAD - SS
I'm no fan of Hanley, nor do I believe in last year's remarkable numbers. Instead, I made this pick (once Tulo and Braun came off the board) because I moved to L.A. 18 months ago, and am trying to become a Dodgers fan. Having him on my only imaginary baseball team this year means I will cheer when he does well. If he stinks up the joint, it's over for me and the Dodgers.
 
13jdrenbarger
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 7, 9:06 am
1.13 Davis, Chris - BAL - 1B
Pick 13 - 11th in the order to choose drafting position, and had slots 7-10 and 12-13 available to me. Really wanted to be as close to the end of the round as I could be without giving up a shot at getting a cornerstone MI, and I figured Hanley Ramirez was a safe bet to still be available at 13.

Shows what I know - Hanley went off the board one pick prior and, since there's no way I'm drafting a pitcher in round 1, I'm left with a variety of choices that I ought to like a lot more than I do for my first round pick. Only seriously considered Davis (one year breakout wonder) and Edwin Encarnacion (two year wonder, and a staple on my roster in past years for about every year except his two good ones). Pretty quickly went with Davis, his regression during the last half of last year notwithstanding. If all goes well, I get what about everyone is projecting - a top 2 guy in SLG and RBI, well above average R, passable OBP ... and no SB to speak of. And he's 27, so he should just be entering his prime years.

 
14Guru
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 7, 10:26 am
1.14 Encarnacion, Edwin - TOR - 1B
Pick 14 –same as last year. My early picks last year didn’t work so well, due to injuries. But I still managed to scrap my way to 4th place.

I thought that I might get Fielder or Tulowitzki here. Seeing Kershaw still available was surprising, but I don’t like to go with a pitcher this early. I wanted a power hitter, and the leading options were Encarnacion, Bryce Harper, and Beltre. Harper was the sexy pick, but also seemed like the riskiest one. He bulked up during the offseason – will that increase his power, or screw up his swing? I thought Beltre’s numbers were a cut below Encarnacion (albeit at 3B), and Beltre is 34. Meanwhile, Encarnacion has put up very solid numbers for two years in a row, and at age 31, they seem like they should be sustainable. Too bad he’s no longer 3B-eligible. But you want to get power from a first baseman, and that’s what I should have. Off season wrist surgery doesn’t seem to be an issue – in his first three spring training games, his slash line is 357/400/714. I’m hoping that the “Ruthian” slugging number is a good omen.

 
15twilson
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 7, 1:11 pm
1.15 Kershaw, Clayton - LAD - SP
Draft Slot #15: I generally like drafting near, but not on, the turn. Given our non-Banzai format, the top draft slots will always be chosen first, so when you go 10th the end turn is what’s left. I chose #15 over #13 because I was successful from that slot last year in AAA. Hopefully my luck continues!

My second year in a row with a pitcher in the first round! I wasn’t expecting this for a variety of reasons, but here we are. The hitters I liked in the 1st round didn’t last to 15. Encarnacion was the last of the bunch that excited me. I looked at Harper, 3B, and MI, but nobody had the combination of production and health I was looking for on the offensive side of things. Thus, I’ll start with a guy who is projected to give me 200 innings of elite reliever-level performance.

 
16Jason
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 7, 1:11 pm
1.16 Beltre, Adrian - TEX - 3B
I choose the last position in the draft beacuse my special geographical situation, in the work and my personal life. In this situation I could pick two players at the same time, and avoid the too long waiting time for me (mainly I managed to it, sometimes no, I am sorry) The 16th position determinated my strategy in the first two round:looking around who are the best available players.

I was surprised to find Beltre and Harper at the end of the first round, so I didn’t need to think too much about my picking. Beltre is one of my favorite player, he produces very good percentages, and good at the other categories too, but not at stolen base. I hope his tightness not a real concern, and comes with me to run a good season. I would have built a young team so I made the first step with Harper to the right direction. Harper’ss last year wasn’t so strong then I expected but the main reason for this was an injury. As far as I remember he started not so well, but later brought why i like him. Good %-s, Home runs, some steals, I was satisfied with my fisrt choises.

 
17Jason
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 7, 1:19 pm
2.01 Harper, Bryce - WAS - OF
see above
 
18twilson
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 7, 4:30 pm
2.02 Choo, Shin-Soo - TEX - OF
After my pick of Kershaw in round one, I wasn’t sure what direction I would go in the 2nd. My guess is that Beltre would’ve been the pick had Jasonprof not taken him on the turn. I looked at a whole bunch of 3B, 2B, SS, and OF, but no player really stood out from the rest in a way that was wholly appealing. I came extremely close to selecting Yasiel Puig, as I love his skillset and production level thus far, but makeup concerns scared me away. Thus, I settled on my old reliable Shin-Soo Choo. I try to make the early rounds of RIBC about risk minimization, and Choo beat all the other contenders on that front. This will be the third time I’ve owned him in my five years of RIBC play. It’s also the highest price I’ve paid, sadly, so my usual profit margin is non-existent this time. Anyway, he wasn’t going to last until my next pick.
 
19Guru
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 7, 4:53 pm
2.03 Kipnis, Jason - CLE - 2B
I thought about David Wright or Adam Jones. But I decided to get my homer (Cleveland) pick out of the way now. Kipnis offer potential in all five hitting cats, and fills a middle infield spot to boot. The biggest concern seems to be that his second "half of 2013 tailed off from a torrid pace in the first half. His OPS dropped from .897 pre-All Star break to .714 after.

Well, lookie there… that Ruthian 714 again! That clinches it!"

 
20jdrenbarger
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 7, 5:35 pm
2.04 Wright, David - NYM - 3B
I shouldn't be playing the "hope he stays healthy" game in round 2, yet here I am doing it ... I firmly believe you can't win these leagues in the first half of the draft, but you can certainly take yourself out of the running by making reaches that don't pan out. Toyed briefly with taking a SP, but quickly returned to my list of hitters. Wright and Evan Longoria were pretty much at the top of the list, and I went with Wright because of what I believe will be somewhat better OBP and SB, albeit certainly at the expense of expected RBI. And Longoria's injury history is no better than Wright's ...
 
21kdl212
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 7, 5:46 pm
2.05 Stanton, Giancarlo - MIA - OF
This makes back-to-back picks of guys who had a .600 SLUG in one of the last two years. I really wanted David Wright, and probably should've drafted Evan Longoria, but I'm playing upside already. Sure, the lineup sucks, and the park suppresses his numbers. But he's projected for a top 10 OPS, and I didn't see another true slugger making it back to me in the third round.
 
22reeb
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 7, 5:46 pm
2.06 Pedroia, Dustin - BOS - 2B
With Pedroia I get a 5 cat producer at a valuable MI position. I love his elite OBP for an MI. Hoping his thumb injury is fully healed so some of the pop returns.
 
23bmd
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 7, 6:04 pm
2.07 Darvish, Yu - TEX - SP
I'm the last person that likes to take pitchers early. However, none of the hitters slipped. I wanted Stanton to make it to me but he didn't. The hitting alternatives were not that great. A lot of guys in the same tier, enough that 1 would make it back to me in the next round. Darvish is pretty special. He averaged 1.8+ more k/9 than the entire league. There were only 15 SPs that were within 3 k's of his k/9. That's so sick. He gives me a ton of leverage later in the draft for SP's. If he comes close to repeating last year I'll be very happy.
 
24JKaye
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 7, 7:09 pm
2.08 Longoria, Evan - TAM - 3B
I really like the look of a Braun/Longoria start. I always try to imagine if I were a keeper owner, which guys would I feel most comfortable seeing as returning players. Longoria fits the bill. His "buzz" factor has declined as he has settled into a very good, but not great fantasy player. He isn't worth a top 16 pick, but I like what he offers at #24 at a relatively thin position.
 
25evan
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 7, 7:12 pm
2.09 Freeman, Freddie - ATL - 1B
I’m happy with this pick here. With my early picks, I look for reliable non-risk hitters with a high OBP. I think I got that here WITH some upside. Freeman is only 24, bats in the heart of that lineup, and hits both rightys and leftys. He did run into some BABIP luck hitting .371, so there will probably be some average regression. Here’s to hoping the home run total will jump up a little more this season.
 
26holt
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 7, 8:47 pm
2.10 Jones, Adam - BAL - OF
I hate this pick. I can't believe I couldn't find a hitter that I wanted to draft in Rd 2. Anyway, I hate Jones' lifetime OBP of .322 but his contributions to R/RBI/SLG along with the potential for 15 SB made me pull the trigger (after much frustration). In standard league rankings I keep seeing him at 8 overall, which just blows my mind. In RIBC he would be a lot lower due to OBP. Anyway, if he keeps putting up 100 runs & rbi and keeps the SLG around .500 and SB over 10 then it's an alright pick.
 
27mmikulka
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 7, 9:01 pm
2.11 Puig, Yasiel - LAD - OF
Once Kershaw and Darvish were off the board, I was looking for another batter. I didn’t see anybody that stood out from the types who would be available 11 picks later, so I decided on Puig, who was my highest-rated batter regardless of position at this point. I had been considering Longoria too, but he was drafted before I had to make a decision. The insane hot streak that Puig began with probably inflated his stats a bit, but even if I cherry-pick the worst projections from each relevant category of Steamer/Oliver/ZiPs, that gives him a stat line of .353/.485 with 16 SB, 93 R, and 79 RBI.
 
28Seattle Zen
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 7, 9:01 pm
2.12 Bautista, Jose - TOR - OF
When I picked the #5 draft slot I was hoping to land Shin Soo Choo at 28, I think he will be a great five category contributor in Texas. I also would have selected Evan Longoria if he was available. I have him at a similar value as Joey Batts but third base has only a handful of decent options and he is one of the best. I have never had Bautista on a team. His health is not to be confused with Cal Ripken. The last four years he has displayed excellent power and a great walk percentage, so I will take my chances that he will be a great contributor in four categories. Had Bautista been taken, I probably would have gone with another Blue Jay injury risk, Jose Reyes.
 
29mailedfoot
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 7, 9:40 pm
2.13 Pujols, Albert - LAA - 1B
Wasn't really thrilled with my options here and decided to roll the dice with Albert. Initial reports having him looking healthy, so I am thinking (hoping?) there is a comeback season in the offing. If so, I could conceivably get 1st round production from a late 2nd round pick and fill one of my 1B-CI slots.

I had made up my mind to take Bautista but he was selected right in front of me.

 
30Wazaaap Guy
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 8, 12:58 am
2.14 Upton, Justin - ATL - OF
With this pick, I was just looking for the biggest bat I could find that still had upside. Preferred it to be an OF with 4 slots to fill. Upton fit the bill perfectly. One publication projects a .373 OBP and .494 SLG, which seems a bit optimistic. I expect something like a .360 OBP and .475 SLG with good R and RBI and a handful of SB. The only other player I really considered was Jay Bruce, who I got 5 picks later.
 
31Meatwads
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 8, 3:27 am
2.15 Carpenter, Matt - STL - 2B
I never expected to select Carpenter in the 2nd round before the draft started. Once I did the research on all of the players available I feel comfortable with this selection. He led the majors last season in runs, is close to a .400 obp guy, has a solid SLG% (especially for a 2nd baseman) and hits at the top of a very good lineup in St. Louis. I'm expecting some regression in runs this season but there is nothing to indicate a drop off in any other category. I love that he qualifies at 2nd & 3rd base (as well as CI & MI). In my own personal rankings, I do value him as the 4th best 2nd baseman behind Cano, Kipnis and Pedroia. The flexibility he gives me combined with Miguel Cabrera adds to his appeal for me. Not the sexiest pick in the world but I feel like I have a solid core to build around and keeps me flexible to essentially draft at any position still.
 
32jeffg
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 8, 3:27 am
2.16 Wainwright, Adam - STL - SP
For the round 2&3 turn I wanted a top-tier SP to anchor my staff if one was available, and probably would have taken two hitters with these picks if the top 5 or 6 SP were all not available. But when only 2 SP went off the board thru pick 31 (not uncommon looking at the other RIBC drafts and other public ADP), decided cherry pick one here. Everyone grabbing offense in the early rounds, and the top SP will not be around before I choose again. To me the choice was between Wainwright, Felix, Lee, and Scherzer. Probably can make an argument for any one of these, perhaps even for any of the ones left in the top 10 SP, which may be why in round 2 almost all decided to wait on SP for a rd 3 rebound or later. I went with Wainwright because in addit"ion to the ~200K, low 3 ERA and low 1.1x WHIP, he has the best chance to win 20 games (I would have made the same decision if we went QS since Wainwright's 26 was one behind the MLB leaders in QS for 2013)"
 
33jeffg
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 8, 3:27 am
3.01 Reyes, Jose - TOR - SS
When I set my queue for this spot before bed, I was hoping to see Matt Carpenter here, but Meatwads grabbed him at 2.15. Considered a few options when I set this queue if he was not available, including a second SP (Lee, Felix, or Scherzer) or David Ortiz, but ultimately decided on Jose Reyes over Ben Zobrist. I broke my policy of avoiding injury risks with early picks because Reyes is far and away the best shortstop left in the upper tiers of this very shallow position. A threat for 25 steals and 80 runs while not sapping the ratios like other shortstops. He is maybe one of a small handful of other SS left who could either slug .440 or get on base .350, but Jose (and Zobrist) are only ones left projected to do both. Took Reyes, like first rounder Trout, because of his ability to help all 5 categories relative to his position eligibility. Now to hope he can stay on the field enough to get 500+ ABs, or dare I dream play a full season like he did in 2012
 
34Meatwads
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 8, 4:01 am
3.02 Craig, Allen - STL - 1B
I'm hoping my flexibility is starting to make other managers uncomfortable at this point! As for Craig himself, I was not expecting to select him entering the draft but I am satisfied. He is solid in R, OBP and SLG% and an elite RBI guy. I will acknowledge the injury history and the fact he's never played more than 134 games in a season. That being said, he appears to be healthy this spring. He's batting cleanup for St. Louis and has the upside to be a top 5 RBI guy in baseball with some injury luck. His 1B/OF eligibility works nicely with my team thus far. It allows me to keep Cabrera at 3B most days, where I think his value is highest. He also gives me my first outfielder. I feel with my first 3 picks I have left myself in a great position to continue taking players at any position moving forward. The addition of Craig to Cabrera and Carpenter leaves me with about 300 runs and 300 RBI, as well as a highly competitive SLG% and OBP team so far. I think my team is shaping up nicely and I don't feel I've ruined my chances of competing yet, which is all I can really hope for early in the draft in such a competitive league.
 
35Wazaaap Guy
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 8, 11:02 am
3.03 Bruce, Jay - CIN - OF
I continued to look for the biggest bat with room to grow and thought Bruce fit well. Should SLG upwards of .480 with good R and RBI totals. OBP might only be around .330 but Goldy's near .400 OBP makes Bruce's more palatable out of an early pick. At 26, Bruce could still get better.
 
36mailedfoot
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 8, 11:44 am
3.04 Hernandez, Felix - SEA - SP
Again, I was unhappy with my choices here. Although now that I think of it, maybe I just have commitment issues...

Tried to find a hitter but couldn't settle on one I was comfortable with. Considered Segura, Ortiz, and Gonzalez pretty strongly along with a few outfielders but the more I thought about it the less sure I became with any of them.

Finally decided to go with Hernandez as I have never owned him before and he is about as sure as a starter can be. Still in his prime at 28, a solid #1 starter to anchor my staff.

 
37Seattle Zen
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 8, 12:17 pm
3.05 Ortiz, David - BOS - UTL
I am really struggling with sticking to my plan. I have spent a lot of time this winter working on a list of projections, creating a master value from these and a master list. Often I look at this list, point to a player and say, "I'm not buying that". At the top of my list after Bautista was Matt Carpenter and I really felt something was askew. Yes, everyone agrees, he will regress somewhat in 2014. No one saw 2013 coming, but his skills are real, he has a great OBP, his SLG is great for a second baseman because he was a line drive double machine last year. No, he doesn't steal bases.

I made a plan this year and I should not let irrational cold feet interfere, so I go to bed saying that I will go with Reyes, then Matt Carpenter. Well, I get neither. Now I must decide between Jay Bruce, David Ortiz or a catcher, Mauer or Santana. I'll say this about Bruce, the guy is consistent. But his OPS has never cracked 850, his OBP is a drag, not a bonus. I do not see a breakout here, and he gets taken anyway, so... David Ortiz is made for RIBC, his OPS is regularly in the top 10 and he is in a position to drive in over 100 runs every year. It's all about at bats for him, his last three years have shown that his skills have not diminished. He slides in drafts because people don't like his age or his DH eligibility.

Joe Mauer was my first ever RIBC draft pick, first round 2010. He disappointed. I then traded for him last season about 10 days before his concussion that ended his season. I've been a Twins fan since the 70s and I may be one of the only ones who disagreed with the team's decision to give him $183 million. I could go on and on, but even when healthy, his lack of home runs and piss poor lineup around him causes his runs/RBIs to really suffer. Last season with 508 plate appearances and a great 880 OPS, he only knocked in 47 runs and scored 62. I think he is still an injury risk who when healthy is a two category contributor.

I drafted Carlos Santana in RIBC in 2012 intrigued by his power outburst in his age 25 season. I watched as many games of him as I could and I marvel at his walk rate and command of the zone, but he is just not a top 50 hitter in my mind. I have reservations about the Tribe'

 
38mmikulka
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 8, 3:08 pm
3.06 Gomez, Carlos - MIL - OF
I agonized for quite some time setting a queue the night before: with 3 teams left to pick, I had Gomez, Strasburg, King Felix, and Zobrist. At some point during my research, all 4 players took turns as my top choice. The next morning I woke up to find that I had forgotten to set it to autodraft, and (with only King Felix taken) I still had 2 hours to choose. I eventually decided to stick with Gomez because I have Strasburg in another league. I wish I knew where Gomez will hit in the Brewers’ batting order, but it should be a potent lineup, and as long as he continues to get 35 SB with an ISO over .200, it doesn’t bother me much if his OBP ends up regressing 30 points. My favorite stat from the research I did: last year, Strasburg’s changeup had an ISO of .000. He threw it 455 times without allowing an extra base hit.
 
39holt
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 8, 3:15 pm
3.07 Strasburg, Stephen - WAS - SP
I considered going with a C in either Posey, SS in Desmond, or even a 3rd OF in Holliday. There were only 4 SP off the board though and Strasburg seemed like the best bang for the buck. Of the SP available (guys like Scherzer, Lee, Fernandez, Verlander) they all look solid but Strasburg seems like the best bet for a monster season to me.
 
40evan
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 8, 4:03 pm
3.08 Kinsler, Ian - DET - 2B
Is he suddenly the most hated man in baseball? A-Rod is out of the running since he’ll have his feet up on his ottoman in Miami this season. He has some nasty words to say about the Rangers but hopefully his Detroit brethren will embrace him. I think his numbers will certainly regress by leaving the friendly confines of Arlington, TX but he is still going to a fierce lineup. Kinsler will probably be hitting in between Austin Jackson and Miguel Cabrera which will provide good counting numbers across the board. I already had the best 2B on the board and now my MI slot is filled. Not the way I imagined the draft but I couldn’t pass him up at this point in the draft.
 
41JKaye
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 8, 4:46 pm
3.09 Holliday, Matt - STL - OF
Thrilled with Holliday at #41. I think in a OBP/SLG league, he is probably a top 32 guy. If he is the third banana for my offense, I feel like I am in great shape on offense. In past years, I have focused on positional scarcity, but have come to the realization that the real key to successful RIBC drafting is getting the best available, regardless of position. If a guy at a thinner position does end up on your team, great, but there are so many slots to fill, you are going to end up with some marginal players anyway. Might as well get stud stats while you can, even if it means 2 of the top 3 picks are OFers.
 
42bmd
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 8, 5:37 pm
3.10 Hosmer, Eric - KAN - 1B
Hosmer is a 5 tool guy which is pretty rare from a 1b. There's just not much difference in value between someone like him and Freddie Freemen. Hosmer is only going to be 25 this year so barring injury he should at least duplicate last year. I thought about a few outfielders but there were about 5 that I would be happy with so figured at least 1 one fall back to me.
 
43reeb
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 8, 5:37 pm
3.11 Scherzer, Max - DET - SP
Was hoping Stras or Felix would fall to me here but it was not meant to be. Scherzer was next on my list. I seem to always end up with Max on my team it's just earlier than usual this year. His low WHIP and ERA to go along with his ridiculous K's make this a good pick even he falls short of last years numbers.
 
44kdl212
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 8, 7:04 pm
3.12 Rios, Alex - TEX - OF
This is the true story of how I accidentally picked Alex Rios. I'm spending all day Saturday at the park with my family. The first couple hours are just me and my 2 boys, and my wife will join us in the afternoon after a meeting. I do not own a smartphone, but when we leave in the morning, it's 6-7 picks before I'm up, and I plan to check in on the draft on my wife's phone when she meets up with us.

When she meets up with us, my pick is up. In fact, a couple of hours have already run on my pick. The trouble is my wife's phone has 2% battery left, and we're not going to get home for 2-3 hours. So I scramble to get to draftime ("where's the internet on this thing?!"), log on, and get the draft up. Alex Rios is sitting atop my queue, not because I have it in order, but because he's someone I want to remind myself to monitor. Flustered, and worried that the phone is going to die on me, I go to the confirmation pick page, where I pause. No, I think, this is silly. I want Posey or C. Santana. But which one?

The battery is at 1%.

My 7 year old son, who is really enthusiastic about this imaginary baseball league draft,and who is right next to me as this is all happening, asks who I picked. I tell him that I haven't decided yet, but the phone is almost out of power so I have to pick now before the phone turns off, and I don't know what to do. My 7 year old, always ready to be helpful, looks at the phone, and says "just press this button Dad."

And that is how I drafted Alex Rios.

 
45jdrenbarger
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 8, 7:04 pm
3.13 Zobrist, Ben - TAM - SS
Still a lot of SP that I like and only 6 picks between my first and second at the turn, so I go back to my hitters list … two CI (Donaldson and A. Gonzalez), of which I have two already … three C (Posey, Santana, and Mauer) with (or soon to have) multi-position eligibility, and Zobrist. I’m not in love with Zobrist in the third round by any means, but he’s eligible at both MI positions (and OF), he’s been very durable (540+ AB for the past three years), and he’s a passable 5-category contributor given the others I’m considering. For what it’s worth, Cliff Lee was second in the auto-pick queue I set with only one pick until mine.
 
46Guru
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 8, 7:55 pm
3.14 Desmond, Ian - WAS - SS
Interesting. When looking at options about 10 picks ago, I ignored Desmond, thinking that he’d surely be taken before now. I figured I'd go with a catcher.

There are actually several closely-rated catchers that I’d be happy with, notably Mauer, Posey, or Santana. The middle infield list looks much weaker at this point. So I’m taking Desmond now, who gives decent counting stats (including steals) and some power pop. His OBP is a little low (.330-ish), but at age 28, should be in his hittin"g prime. Catching can wait until after the turn."

 
47twilson
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 8, 9:11 pm
3.15 Posey, Buster - SFO - C
Once again, I don’t love the available options. I would’ve been content with Holliday or Zobrist here had they fallen. Despite not being excited about it, I was in the process of selling myself on Ian Desmond before Guru snatched him up. The ADP droppers are all catchers, pitchers, and speed-heavy shortstops. I already have one early pitcher, so another would be definite overkill. Catchers have a built-in injury risk at odds with my early draft philosophy, and the thought of drafting an SLG anchor after starting Kershaw/Choo is decidedly unappealing. Elsewhere on the diamond, the top outfielders don’t look special. I see some guys I like at 1B, but they may stick around for the 5/6 turn, not to mention my fourth pick.

Big picture-wise, I am concerned about my SLG and RBI categories at the moment. As great a player as Choo is, his strongest skills are probably the easier ones to find later in the draft. Focusing my attention on the droppers, Posey was the best match to my needs. I have some hesitations about wear and tear, especially given Brandon Belt’s emergence at 1B, but those worries aren’t any different from any other catcher. He’s got MVP upside and no current injury issues. Not excited about the pick, but I’m definitely content.

 
48Jason
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 8, 9:27 pm
3.16 Fernandez, Jose - MIA - SP
 
49Jason
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 8, 9:28 pm
4.01 Segura, Jean - MIL - SS
 
50twilson
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 9, 5:50 am
4.02 Donaldson, Josh - OAK - 3B
It is looking like slot 15 was a terrible place for me to be drafting. I’ve just been very unhappy with the options in front of me at each selection. Nothing seems like a value, and this pick is no different. The top player on my board is going at pick #80 in the other RIBC leagues, which suggests there is a 50/50 chance he’ll be around at 5.15. Given the way this draft is going, though, I bet my odds are worse than that.

The other top players are Cliff Lee and Craig Kimbrel. There’s almost no way I can justify a second SP, so Lee is completely out of the question. Kimbrel, on the other hand, would be possible to stomach, as I really like the top group of closers this year and can see myself grabbing one at the next turn if I don’t take him here.

Beyond the hurlers, I am most interested in some CI names. I’m sold on Jose Abreu’s talent but have some questions about his health and adjustment to the United States. Anthony Rizzo is another power bat I like, but pick 50 seems far too early. He is better suited for the 5/6 turn. One or both may be available for me then, at which point they would represent really nice value. On the other side of the diamond, Josh Donaldson and Ryan Zimmerman are the names. Donaldson will certainly regress from last season’s stat line, but how much? Zimmerman does his thing year after year, albeit with an injury history.

I ran a multitude of scenarios as to how the next three rounds would play out in an attempt to establish the best path forward. The results said to take Kimbrel. My heart said Abreu. And yet I took Donaldson. Why? All I can say is that I didn’t love how 3B played out in the future scenarios, liked his health profile, and just needed to get to sleep because it was 6 AM and I had been debating this choice in my head for over seven hours. Only time will tell, but at this point it doesn’t feel like I chose correctly. Especially since both Abreu and Rizzo went off the board before me in the 5th.

 
51Guru
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 9, 7:55 am
4.03 Santana, Carlos - CLE - C
Time for my catcher, as the only other position player I was considering was Josh Donaldson. Last year, Santana was the top rated catcher on the ESPN player rater for this format, ahead of Molina, Mauer, and Posey. He benefits from the extra playing time at 1B & DH vs the two NL catchers, and while Mauer is being moved to 1B this year, it remains to be seen whether that will keep him from injury outages.

When you can get a catcher who is at the top of your rankings irrespective of position, you should act. Santana was ranked #44 (ESPN player rater) among all hitters last year, and I just got him as the 44th hitter drafted. He’ll only be 28 this year, and while catchers can age more rapidly than other players, there’s no reason not t"o expect more of the same."

 
52jdrenbarger
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 9, 9:13 am
4.04 Mauer, Joe - MIN - C
Only A. Gonzalez and Mauer remain from the five left on my top hitters list after I drafted Zobrist in the third round (seven picks ago) ... causing me to think, at least, that I'm not completely out in left field in the way I've built my list (three catchers in my overall top 40 hitters? really?). I like what the move to 1B should mean for Mauer's AB total and durability, as he's coming back from a concussion, he's been an OBP machine for years, and it's hard for me to pass up what his expected OBP and AB total will mean when compared to every other catcher left on the board. I feel reasonably confident that Mauer + "somebody later" will be a better combination for my team than "anyone else available now" + "any catcher later."
 
53kdl212
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 9, 10:17 am
4.05 Verlander, Justin - DET - SP
Wanted to get one top 10 pitcher, and the choice here was Verlander or Bumgarner. While the off-season surgery had me shying away from Verlander, his overall awesomeness and slightly better shot at wins had me go with him.
 
54reeb
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 9, 10:37 am
4.06 Myers, Wil - TAM - OF
"After taking Ellsbury and Pedroia as my first 2 hitters I was looking for power with this pick. I would have taken Zobrist if he had dropped. Briefly considered Sale or Lee as a second SP but I like the value later on for that position.Myers is only" 23 and has as much potential as any young hitter in the game. If he can give me last years percentages over a full season this will be a great pick.

I think this was the last pick I made that the person I really wanted didn't get snatched up right in front of me.

 
55bmd
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 9, 11:27 am
4.07 Heyward, Jason - ATL - OF
How big a difference a year makes. 2013 was ugly for where he was drafted last year. He's only 24 so there's no reason to think his 2013 year was more indicative of his abilities than his 2012 year. Even if you split the difference between his 2012 and 2013 numbers you'd get 3rd round production. I'll sign up for that in the 4th round. Almost took Pence and his more stable numbers but decided the upside of Heyward was too good to pass up.
 
56JKaye
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 9, 11:45 am
4.08 Lee, Cliff - PHI - SP
I enjoy having one Ace to give my pitching stats that initial lift. Lee fits the bill perfectly. I even considered him in round 3, so thrilled he fell an additional round.
 
57evan
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 9, 11:49 am
4.09 Gonzalez, Adrian - LAD - 1B
Four picks in, (2) 2B and (2) 1B. Again, did not expect this but my CI slot is filled. Is Adrian a little underrated now? While not the force he once was, he is as reliable as they come at 1B. He fills in my “requirement” of having a high OBP (.342 in 2013) and gives me another middle of the lineup bat. I can lock in 22+ HRs and 100 RBI with him. I don’t have that ONE power guy like a Goldschmidt or Stanton; all my hitters so far should hit between 25-30 HRs so I should be okay. Through the 4th round, I have a decent start on RBI and runs with a glaring lack of speed. Oh yeah, I should probably look at pitching at some point.
 
58holt
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 9, 3:43 pm
4.10 Sale, Chris - CWS - SP
I hadn't planned taking 2 SP in the 1st 4 rds but most of the hitters worthy of a pick in this spot were OF's and I already had 2 of those. The best bargains at this point are still SP (with only 9 off the board in the first 57 picks). C Sale was too much for me to pass up. He has two solid seasons under his belt as a starter now, ERA, Whip, and K/9 pretty similar to Strasburg's. I had to pause and consider Bumgarner but I like Sale's ceiling a little more.
 
59mmikulka
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 9, 3:47 pm
4.11 Andrus, Elvis - TEX - SS
Andrus had been my highest-rated remaining player (even disregarding position scarcity) since the 3/4 turn. The only problem was that his value is mostly based on steals, and I had just drafted Carlos Gomez.

Okay, one other tiny problem: his SLG last year was .331, and his career SLG of .348 is almost as absurdly awful. He once slugged .301 during a season in which he had 674 at bats. His BABIP that year was 16 points higher than his SLG. What I’m implying is that Andrus isn’t likely to hit for power. At least those stats he put up in 2010 showed how much job security he has! (and they say defense doesn’t count in fantasy baseball…)

He should, however, get oodles of runs for a SS, he does fine enough in the remaining categories, and 30-40 steals is a very high percentage of a category for one player to contribute. With this pick, I’ve forced myself to slant a little toward power hitters for the rest of the draft, but I think they will be much easier to find in the late rounds than players who steal bases without completely decimating my counting stats.

 
60Seattle Zen
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 9, 3:58 pm
4.12 Bumgarner, Madison - SFO - SP
Wow, Mauer and Santana really drop. I'm starting to fear that we all think alike. I have yet to see what one could honestly say was a bad pick. With 10 picks to go and twilson out fighting crime for 12 straight hours, I had a list of 8 who I hoped for - Mauer, Pence, Lee, Sale, Bumgarner, Santana, Donaldson, Gordon. Yeah, at 37, I'm not interested in those catchers, at 60, sign me up. Pitching is really, really getting passed by this year. When my pick #60 is up, there have only been 11 pitchers taken. Looking at last year's PCL, the 11th pitcher was taken at #43, but looking at RIBC, the 11th was gone at #57 and number 12 was... Madison Bumgarner at #61. Hmmm... I would have taken Lee or Sale, but I see all three about the same. I have drafted Chris Sale the last two years in RIBC, love that Praying Mantis of a man. Bumgarner was the last man in a tier of 8 with a long drop off to the next level, I would have really been upset if both he and Sale vanished in front of me. I am taking my chances that Hunter Pence slips around the bend and back to me.
 
61mailedfoot
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 9, 4:59 pm
4.13 Gordon, Alex - KAN - OF
Made this pick at a truck stop in the middle of a 700 mile drive and basically just looked at a couple of outfielders. I ended up selecting Gordon; he should be solid in the hitting categories and kick in a handful of SB. I am hoping that he hits more in middle of the order instead of leadoff, which should result in more RBIs. In retrospect, kind of a conservative pick. If I had been at home in front of a computer, I might have gone a different direction but I think this should work out okay.
 
62Wazaaap Guy
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 9, 6:22 pm
4.14 Price, David - TAM - SP
Was pretty content with my hitting up to this point and so planned to go SP/RP with this and my 5.03 pick. Easier to choose pitchers as you generally just go best available instead of considering category balance. I thought waiting til 6.14/7.03 might be chancing it and I'd end up with risky closers. Turns out, Perkins and Robertson would have been fine there but I have no regrets with the hitters I got at 6/7 (Billy Hamilton, Pedro Alvarez). With 2 pickers behind me and neither likely to double up on closers, I figured I could wait til 5.03 and get one of Kimbrel, Chapman, or Jansen.

Didn't really consider any SP besides Price here. After he came back from injury last year he was back to his dominant self. I'm hoping for a low 3's ER"A, sub-1.15 WHIP, near 200 K, and a healthy W total."

 
63Meatwads
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 9, 8:23 pm
4.15 Cespedes, Yoenis - OAK - OF
Cespedes had a down year last season, which is very surprising to me considering it was his age 27 season. Is it possible to have a sophomore slump at that age? I do think he's due for a bounce back season near his 2012 production and since I didn't have a pure outfielder on my team, I figured he was a reasonable selection. Since we have to start 4 outfielders every day, I thought I needed to catch up a bit with the rest of the league at the position. A lot of elite players had come off the board in the outfield so I figure he has an much upside as anyone remaining. Batting in Oakland doesn't help but he's in the heart of the lineup, in his prime with some good players around him. I expect an increase in production across the board if he stays healthy.
 
64jeffg
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 9, 8:30 pm
4.16 Zimmerman, Ryan - WAS - 3B
When this turn came up, Zimmerman was on the top of my remaining hitter rankings. I did not want to wait too long to slot in one of my CI. I feel like there are still undrafted 3B who could potentially outperform Zim, but I feel like there is a certain reliability in his expectations and I really like middle of that Nats lineup, especially if he slots in the 2-spol. Another decent OBP guy, not a flashy pick, but I feel there is a low risk for an off year.
 
65jeffg
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 9, 8:31 pm
5.01 Werth, Jayson - WAS - OF
Thought about a few speedsters here. The last couple of years around here is where I had drafted low SLG high steals guys (Jennings went next) but with Trout and Reyes I feel like I have a good base. After grabbing Ryan Zimmerman with the preceding pick, I also briefly considered doubling up on CI here on the 4/5 turn and taking Rizzo, but instead doubled up on Nationals and grabbed Werth and went with a guy with some pop, plus Jayson's high OBP ranks him much higher in this format than he would slot in standard rankings, and as the projected cleanup hitter in a potent Nats lineup should have tons of RBI chances. I am concerned about his durability having missed big chunks of games in each of the last two seasons. (The last sentence could be cut and pasted a few times in my rationales so far. Uh oh).
 
66Meatwads
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 9, 10:06 pm
5.02 Jennings, Desmond - TAM - OF
I selected Jennings immediately following Cespedes to make sure I get my outfield closer to league average before it's too late. I didn't have any speed on my team at the time, so he fills a need for me on multiple levels. He is also entering the season at 27 years old and has shown small gains each season as a hitter. The drop off in SB from 2012 to last season is somewhat concerning to me but not enough for me to be scared off. I think he has an outside chance to be a 20/20 guy this season and he was always a good OBP guy in the minors so I expect that to increase now that he's entering his third full season. My only concern is that Joe Madden decides to bat him low in the order but if he hits and takes walks I fully expect him entrenched in the leadoff spot. I view him as a low-risk, high-reward guy. There aren't many players in baseball with his power/speed potential.
 
67Wazaaap Guy
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 9, 10:42 pm
5.03 Kimbrel, Craig - ATL - RP
Can't remember the last time I took the first closer off the board in any league. When was Eric Gagne good? That was probably the last time I did and that didn't work out too well as I recall. Not much thought here. Was actually a bit surprised the 1st and 2nd slots didn't take a closer as they'd have to wait a long time to get their first one... just what I was trying to avoid. I haven't seen any rankings where Kimbrel is not at the top (has anyone? proof or it didn't happen). I'm penciling in a sub-2.00 ERA, sub-1.00 WHIP, 40+ S and nearly 100 K.
 
68mailedfoot
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 9, 10:51 pm
5.04 Trumbo, Mark - ARI - OF
I think you have to take some chances on players who have some warts in their game but could be on the verge of busting out. That is basically my logic in taking Trumbo. He hasn't been great with OBP but he does have enormous power, is moving to a hitters park, and has been improving his plate discipline over the last 3 years. Hoping he can take another step forward and put up some big numbers. He is eligible at 1B and OF, so will come in handy when making out a lineup.
 
69Seattle Zen
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 9, 10:51 pm
5.05 Pence, Hunter - SFO - OF
He does slip around the turn and make it back. And again, there are some bats that I hoped to target in the 6th round that get taken before I get my pick in the 5th. I had a two man queue, Pence and Alex Gordon and Alex is picked right away. I figured Meatwads would take an outfielder and he takes two, two players I really like but thankfully not Hunter. I like that Hunter plays every day, he gets 700 plate appearances a year, a strong OPS and the runs and RBI that come with that. He was never much of a stolen baseman before, 22 steals was shocking last year. I bet he gets some amount in the teens this year and in 2014, that makes you a 5 category contributor, my first. Jayson Werth and Mark Trumbo will likely be great picks, I think Trumbo will lead the NL in HRs this year which should knock in plenty of runs, but what will his OBP be?
 
70mmikulka
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 9, 11:14 pm
5.06 Chapman, Aroldis - CIN - RP
There were a whole bunch of people I was hoping would fall to me here: Ryan Zimmerman was the first to go, and after Kimbrel went off the board, I was left to debate between Chapman, Greinke, and Jose Abreu. I decided that the high standards for 1B made drafting Abreu at this point too risky of a choice even with the potential upside.

I like that Greinke has a nice home stadium and a good team and that his FIP has been consistently solid, but he is in his 30s now, had his K/9 drop to 7.5, and I don’t trust him to be healthier or better than last year.

RP value is notoriously unstable, but it would take an awful lot for Chapman to lose his job as closer. His strikeout rate has been so absurd that it’s the equivalent of drafting a 2nd tier closer and then adding 1.4 K/9 to your next SP. If his stats are similar to his past 2 years, his ERA/WHIP will also have a similar effect (subtracting about 0.22/0.06 from the next SP). Also, I love saves. Savey save saves. There’s no easier way to gain your team 5-10 points from a few mid-round picks.

 
71holt
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 9, 11:55 pm
5.07 Abreu, Jose - CWS - 1B
My roster at this point is 2 SP and 2 OF. Closers are starting to go now but that will have to wait. I need an infielder of any kind and Abreu's upside looked the best to me. I highly doubt I could have drafted him in rd 6. Rd 5 seems high for a guy with no MLB experience, but a look at his Cuban stats compared to the Cuban stats of guys already in the big leagues is kind of mind blowing.

I found an article that lists the Cuban stats for comparable 3 year periods. Here are the numbers for Abreu, Cespedes, and Puig:

The stats are: BA, OBP, SLG, ISO, BB%, K%
Abreu .412 .562 .872 0.460 19 11
Cespedes .334 .421 .629 0.295 11 11
Puig .316 .412 .539 0.223 11 15

He has two Cuban teammates and is older than Cespedes and Puig, he's a patient hitter and hits to all fields with power. It's possible he is a 1st rd pick next year. Who knows? The 1B drafted after him were Rizzo, Napoli, and Adams, so I don't feel it was all that risky to take in Rd 5. Even if he doesn't hit like Miguel Cabrera, I think he at least puts up respectable Rd 5 numbers.

 
72evan
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 10, 12:03 am
5.08 Greinke, Zack - LAD - SP
72 picks in and I got my 13th ranked pitcher. I’m very happy to have Greinke anchor my staff as he will provide me a good number of strikeouts and a low WHIP (both requirements for a pick of a pitcher this early). Last year at Dodger Stadium, 2.11 ERA and 0.91 WHIP. Overall, in the past five seasons he has a 3.24 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and an average of 194 strikeouts/year. He is not the super fantasy ace but he is pretty darn close to it. I’m glad I was able to snatch him up in the 5th.
 
73JKaye
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 10, 10:33 am
5.09 Jansen, Kenley - LAD - RP
Have him as the 2nd best closer in fantasy, and it was clearly that time where the run was going to take hold. Jansen's stats are absolutely off the charts.
 
74bmd
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 10, 10:33 am
5.10 Rizzo, Anthony - CHC - 1B
Like Heyward, Rizzo's 2013 numbers were much worse than his 2012 numbers. He's practically the same age as Heyward so he's got the same upside potential. He put up 1.000+ OPS seasons in the high minors so there's no reason to think he can't put up .900+ OPS. This pick was set to Martin Prado up until the last moment. Still 2nd guessing it as Prado is super valuable with his eligibility. Besides Prado there were 2 other 2nd baseman that I was targeting so I was confident one of them would fall to me in the next round.
 
75reeb
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 10, 1:40 pm
5.11 Napoli, Mike - BOS - 1B
I had my heart set on Rizzo with this pick. Beastie snatched him right before me and I scrambled on where to go.

I do like Napoli a lot in this league. He has great percentages and should give me 80 runs and 90 rbi's.

Looking back I probably should have drafted Holland and waited a round or 2 to get Napoli.

 
76kdl212
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 10, 3:07 pm
5.12 Holland, Greg - KAN - RP
I decided this year that I'd roll the dice on a top-5 closer, though I remain convinced that drafting a closer early isn't a maximal strategy. But there seems to be more turnover than there used to be at the back end of bullpens, so I wasn't interested in getting my first closer in round 8 or 9 and have that person end up being (as my RIBC history has gone) guys who don't hold the job all year.

Holland's 12k/9 is an awesome ratio that gives me a little extra wiggle on the back end of my starting rotation.

 
77jdrenbarger
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 10, 3:07 pm
5.13 Sanchez, Anibal - DET - SP
I’ve drafted 2 CI, 1 MI and 1 C so far … really ought to start looking at OFs, but none stand out so much that I’m persuaded to take one now, rather than seven picks later … and I really ought to draft a pitcher of some sort before round 7. What I consider to be the top tier of both starters and closers are already gone, with Sanchez at the top of my list at this point. I’ve got very mixed emotions here – I’ve been sucked in by his potential and sometimes-stellar performance many times before, and I spent all of last year waiting for the seemingly inevitable blowups that, for the most part, he finally avoided. Last year’s numbers are hard to argue with, he compiled them in a park where hitters generally have a lot of success, and he pitches for a solid team … so he’s back on my roster again.
 
78Guru
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 10, 3:07 pm
5.14 Kemp, Matt - LAD - OF
I was originally planning to take a closer here. But then Kemp slid this far. No guts, no glory!

At pick #78, this seems like a suitable discount. In the other four RIBC leagues, he was taken as early as 4.04 and as late as 5.07, so at least I have the largest discount of the five of us Kemp owners.

Actually, I know that I have an “unfair” risk-reward tolerance in this league, since I have immunity from getting dropped back to AAA. Rank has its privileges! So it’s not as gutsy for me to take Kemp as it would be for anyone else.

I had no outfielders yet, and the upside potential of Kemp is obvious. Even if I get only 400 AB out of him, a combo of 400 Kemp AB plus 200 of some free agent OF might still offer pretty good composite value here. Then again, Kemp only had 263 AB last year.

Last year Kemp was the sixth overall pick in the RIBC draft. The manager that drafted him never even replied to my emails inviting him to AAA this year. Bad taste, perhaps? In an"y event, I promise I’ll be back next year."

 
79twilson
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 10, 5:21 pm
5.15 Prado, Martin - ARI - 2B
So of course Abreu and Rizzo were taken in the last eight picks before this one. Oh, and Kenley Jansen too for good measure. Back to the drawing board I go!

I was pretty sure I wanted an elite closer in this pair of picks. I decided I would be comfortable with either of two guys, so I waited until 6.02 to make my choice figuring that Jasonprof wouldn’t double up.

I have no interest in splurging on a starter, so let’s look at the position players. Names that caught my eye were Everth Cabrera, Starling Marte, Martin Prado, Brandon Belt, and Carlos Beltran. I’m very weak in SB and vulnerable in RBI and SLG. Belt is near the top of all my boards, but I’m again tempted to play the waiting game. Beltran is the only other guy on that list who might survive until pick #111. As tempting as it was to solve my steals problem with Cabrera, I was unwilling to take the major SLG/RBI hit. Marte just didn’t end up seeming like enough of a value, and I almost always want my outfield selections to stand out at the time of the pick. Beltran is a great 4-cat producer, but in the end I went for the health, stability and positional flexibility of Prado. He also has a bit of upside, as he was much improved after the All-Star break in his first year as a Diamondback. And that tri-eligibility will definitely come in handy.

 
80Jason
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 10, 5:21 pm
5.16 Adams, Matt - STL - 1B
 
81Jason
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 10, 5:21 pm
6.01 Marte, Starling - PIT - OF
 
82twilson
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 10, 5:28 pm
6.02 Rosenthal, Trevor - STL - RP
As I mentioned in my 5.15 rationale, I really wanted an elite closer this year, and the timing seemed right. The pick came down to Koji Uehara and Rosenthal. I have been an unabashed fan of Uehara’s for many years, and last year it paid off for me majorly in AAA. I fully expect him to put up an ERA around 2.00 and a WHIP well below 1.00. Rosenthal is a fantastic pitcher, but he’s unlikely to match those numbers. What he lacks in rate stats, however, he gains back in health risk. Uehara had a career-high workload in 2013 at the age of 39, and he’s never been viewed as the most durable of pitchers. Rosenthal is young and completely free of an injury history. I would have been very happy with either guy on my roster.
 
83Guru
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 10, 5:38 pm
6.03 Uehara, Koji - BOS - RP
I'd have taken Rosenthal if he had lasted. Now my top 2 closer candidates are Uehara and Nathan. Both are 39. Uehara is about 7 months younger, so I guess I’ll take him.

Living in New England, I’m aware of Uehara’s near rock-star status; last" year, he didn’t seem to be fazed by the limelight. His ERA, WHIP, and k/9 ratios were sick last year. It would be too much to hope for a repeat. I just want him to stay healthy."

 
84jdrenbarger
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 10, 6:16 pm
6.04 Hamilton, Josh - LAA - OF
Two more closers go off the board in the six picks between my two at the turn – six closers are now gone and 24 picks to be made before my next one … so I’ll certainly have a shot at one the next time around, and can take two if I think I need to. Back to the list of OF … Cuddyer, Beltran, D. Brown and Hamilton sit at the top of my list. I’m spooked some by Brown going into the season planning to continue treatments for at least some of the ailments that sidelined him last season, so I’m left with guys ranging in age from 32 to 36 and all with injury histories. If I was picking with my head, I’d likely go with Beltran … but this one’s with my gut (and my fingers crossed) … Hamilton’s the youngest of the three, I’m buying the spin that he’ll bounce back this year (second year in new park, back up to previous playing weight), and I think he’s got the highest upside of the three by a considerable margin. That said, I think he’s got the lowest downside as well.
 
85kdl212
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 10, 6:23 pm
6.05 Altuve, Jose - HOU - 2B
This was a game of chicken between myself and the rest of the league, and I lost. I wanted Brandon Belt, and still needed a first basemen. But I thought he might make it back to me, and felt better about the backup options at first base than the diminishing options at 2B.

So I decided I go with Altuve (for steals) or Aaron Hill (more pop). The availability in the middle late rounds of guys like Corey Hart and Carlos Quentin and Josh Willingham convinced me to go for the steals here.

 
86reeb
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 10, 7:29 pm
6.06 Bogaerts, Xander - BOS - SS
It was hard to tell where the rest of the league had Xander projected so even though this feels like a bit of a reach I'm very happy to land him here.

After watching last years post season contributions I am sold that he is ready to perform across a full season. Not having SS eligibility for the first 20 games is a bit of a drag but I expect him to be as high as the 3rd ranked guy by seasons end.

 
87bmd
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 10, 7:57 pm
6.07 Hill, Aaron - ARI - 2B
After Prado and Altuve were gone my choice was easy. Hill is a very solid 2b at a super thin position. He should be a positive in all 5 categories which is rare for a middle infielder that isn't stud caliber. He's another guy that had a monster 2012 but not so great 2013. The average of those 2 years is still very good and something I'd take.
 
88JKaye
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 10, 8:03 pm
6.08 Phillips, Brandon - CIN - 2B
He doesn't walk much, leaving him slightly less valuable in RIBC compared to standard roto. But he always hits right in the middle of the Cincy order and provides good counting stats. His speed is gone, but at pick 88, he serves the purpose of filling a scarce position.
 
89evan
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 10, 8:04 pm
6.09 Molina, Yadier - STL - C
I was looking at a number of other players to choose here, mainly Beltran, B. Hamilton, and Everth Cabrera. At the last minute, I switched to Molina. Why? He was my 3rd ranked catcher and as reliable as it gets at that position. I like that Molina plays a ton of games at catcher, which requires me not to reach for a solid backup later on. 60 runs, 70 RBI, a very high OBP with a little under 500 at-bats is what I know I’ll get. Throw in a handful of steals while you’re at it and Molina looks like a very solid fantasy catcher. Maybe I’ll start a little catcher run as well…
 
90holt
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 10, 8:41 pm
6.10 Nathan, Joe - DET - RP
You have to draft closers at some point. Figured I may as well do it when it's easy to pick one. Nathan is getting up there in years but had one of his best seasons last year (1.39 era 0.90 whip 43 sv). If there had been an infielder or catcher I felt strongly about I would have held off on saves for a while but I didn't think any of them stood out from the pack enough. If I didn't have 2 OF then Beltran would have been tempting.
 
91mmikulka
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 10, 8:47 pm
6.11 Beltran, Carlos - NYY - OF
I never thought Billy Hamilton would hang around long enough to be my top player remaining… but apparently RIBC drafters have good discipline: 90 picks in, there he was. As exciting as Hamilton’s upside is, I already had loads of SB potential, and my only reason to draft him would have been as midseason trade bait.

Beltran was next up in my rankings, and his game fits what my lineup needed: power, counting stats, and a solid OBP. He’s old enough to cause me a little bit of worry, but moving from Busch to Yankee Stadium should help balance out some of his potential decline.

 
92Seattle Zen
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 10, 8:58 pm
6.12 Seager, Kyle - SEA - 3B
Finally, some surprising picks emerge. The first pick that I feel was a stretch was Matt Adams. With so many excellent bats still on the board, it seems a little early to take a chance on a young guy who could loose his job. Jason makes up for it with a steal in Starling Marte, I predict a great year from him. I don't like the Xander Bogaerts selection for the same reasons as Adams, and I also think that he may not even be that great of a hitter, even if he sticks in the starting lineup.

I only have a first baseman, so I am a little concerned that I may end up with a set of toothpicks in my infield. I am watching with amazement as Yadier Molina slides down the board. He goes really late, I would have gladly taken him. I took Aaron Hill last year in the fourth round. When he was in the lineup, he was great. His bat in AZ is powerful, will he stay healthy? Kind of glad I didn't get the chance to choose between him and Kyle. I have two third basemen on my list who are quite a bit above the rest, Seager and Headley. I am doubting the projections on Chase. I have a feeling that 2012 was an outlier, that even if he was healthy, he is a sub 760 OPS with a little speed, and he doesn't appear to be healthy. He, Sandoval, and Aramis Ramirez are all made of glass. Kyle Seager is dependable, improving, and batting in the middle of a better Mariner's lineup. Here is to hoping for some global warming to send up Washingtonians a wicked hot summer and give Kyle a little lift and distance to his swing. Holy Cow, Chase slips 50 slots! I guess I'm not alone in my doubts.

 
93mailedfoot
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 10, 8:59 pm
6.13 Gyorko, Jedd - SDG - 2B
Similar to Trumbo, Gyorko has OBP issues but he is a potential 25 HR guy at 2B and there aren't many of those. I need to start filling my MI slots, so am willing to take a chance with him. Had my eye on Hill but he was gone by this time.
 
94Wazaaap Guy
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 10, 9:32 pm
6.14 Hamilton, Billy - CIN - OF
Really did not plan to take Hamilton here, but I've never shied away from prospects. I saw that he went a lot earlier in some of the other drafts. I'm drinking the Kool-Aid; I think Billy will steal 70+ and maybe 80+. It'll probably come with a .300 OBP (if that) and .300 SLG but my first 3 hitters are pretty good with the percentages and I planned to address the percentages further with the future picks.
 
95Meatwads
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 10, 9:56 pm
6.15 Tanaka, Masahiro - NYY - SP
He is my first starting pitcher selected. Not quite the safe ace type that I would like to build my staff around but I do believe he is more than just hype. I expect him to have something in the neighborhood of a 3.25 era with a 1.2 whip and about 180 strikeouts and a good win total. Certainly not uber-elite but someone I expect to remain on my staff throughout the season. There's also an outside chance he really is as good as some people think, in which case I feel I could have one of the better starters in baseball. He is far from safe due to the lack of experience in the majors but when you're considered the second best pitcher to ever come over from Japan, I think we're talking about a #2 starter with ace upside.
 
96jeffg
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 10, 10:11 pm
6.16 Shields, James - KAN - SP
A solid starter who should hover around 200 Ks and have an ERA in the low 3s. Shields has 30 or more starts in each of his 7 full seasons in the majors and playing for a team that should play around .500 should rack up 12-15 wins. Looked at Belt, maybe should have grabbed him, but decided to go pitching. Of course I second guessed myself 5 minutes after I picked when Seattle Zen IM'd me about passing up on Belt. While I was looking at players for this turn, for some reason every time I looked at a Royal, a certain pop song got stuck in my head, maybe I'll blame that for subliminally leading me away from Belt and towards Big Game James. Actually, really glad I took a solid SP2 here and since Shields is a Royal, we can call him King Bee, and maybe I'll rule, I'll rule, I'll rule, I'll rule in fantasy.
 
97jeffg
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 10, 10:11 pm
7.01 Perkins, Glen - MIN - RP
I am never going to win a race to the free agent pool when closer news hits, and with the top closers getting pulled off the board, wanted to grab one before the higher risk job-on-the-line ones are all that remain. Even though Perkins is recovering from late season knee surgery, and is on a team that is not going to win many games, he is good for 35-40 and I grabbed Perk over Romo or DRob due to his better K rate and the fact he has a track record.
 
98Meatwads
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 10, 10:14 pm
7.02 Cabrera, Everth - SDG - SS
I was very happy to select Cabrera in the 7th round. He plays a premium position, leads off for his team, is in his prime and of course is as speedy as they come. I read something about only Rajai Davis and Mike Trout stealing more bases than him in the last couple seasons and that's with him missing time for his PED suspension. I obviously have no concerns about his speed falling off at this stage in his career. I fully expect him to be one of the top 5 base stealers in the majors this season with a chance of cracking 50 if he's there all season. Obviously his SLG% is horrible and his counting stats aren't great because the Padres are bad but I think I picked very good hitters early on to compensate for his weaknesses. I believe he instantly makes me a threat to finish near the top of the league in steals this year and turns a weakness into a strength with one click of my mouse.
 
99Wazaaap Guy
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 10, 11:30 pm
7.03 Alvarez, Pedro - PIT - 3B
Started compensating for Hamilton's terrible percentages a bit here. Pedro's calling card is usually his massive 40+ HR upside power, which doesn't really play in this league, but I still liked what he brought to the table under the RIBC parameters. Looking for 70+ R, 100+ RBI, and near .485 SLG. Still have to address OBP a bit tho with 2 sub .320 guys now.
 
100mailedfoot
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 10, 11:31 pm
7.04 Belt, Brandon - SFO - 1B
Thinking this has to be the year Belt breaks out; slashed .326/.390/.525 in the 2nd half last year. He should help balance the OBP deficiencies some of my other hitters have and possibly kick in 5-10 SB at a CI slot.
 
101Seattle Zen
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 11, 12:39 am
7.05 Zimmermann, Jordan - WAS - SP
After getting my second infielder, I can't help but notice that everyone is avoiding the fleet elephant in the room. Billy Hamilton is not the type of player you draft when you make a point of playing it safe. But this is pick 101, we are in the triple digits! If he gets 75 steals, he will singlehandedly balance my team. I place him at the top of my queue but he is gone at 94. This pick is either going to make airallnight look like a genius or foolish and I guess I should be grateful that I was prohibited from being placed in that position. It's at this point that I immediately fall in love with Brandon Belt. I had not really investigated how excellent his slash numbers were last year and I just now read about how he changed his stance in the second half and had a 900+ OPS thereafter. That night I read two pieces on him that I take as omens, I now MUST have this guy as my CR. Funny how much you can get invested in a guy in just under an hour. One pick to go and BAM! I'm furious and I don't know what to do. Thankfully it's late and I can stay up to recover and do some research. There are no bats that really jump out at me but I also didn't plan on taking another arm this round. I could take a RP, I like David Robertson, but I feel it's too early. So narrow my decision to JZim, Matt Cain and Gio Gonzalez. Three years ago I drafted JZim in some league and started singing this old commercial jingle from the 80's, from Gorton fish sticks, but with this twist, "Trust the Jordan Zimmermann". So I look at Matt Cain's year last year, when the FIP gods exacted their revenge. Not trusting him. "Trust the Jordan Zimmermann". Gio is likely to rebound in the win department and he strikes out more than Jordan, but I hate his WHIP. I feel JZim is the safest of the two, a solid three category man but I know that his Ks are just average and really unlikely to improve. "Trust the Jordan Zimmermann". Go Nats.
 
102mmikulka
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 11, 12:44 am
7.06 Sandoval, Pablo - SFO - 3B
A group of infielders had been on my radar since I started looking into my 6th round pick. There were a pair of 2B who stood out to me here, but neither fit my team well. I’d also been eyeing David Robertson, but didn’t like that the Yankees hadn’t officially committed to using him as their closer.

This pick eventually came down to Aramis Ramirez and Sandoval. Aramis seemed likely (but not guaranteed) to put up an OPS in the .800s and strong counting numbers, with his health being the biggest risk. I had just taken Beltran, though, and I didn’t like the idea of drafting consecutive players over age 35.

Not only is Sandoval in a CONTRACT YEAR, but he is apparently in THE BEST SHAPE OF HIS LIFE (for the 3rd time). I may be falling into that trap, but he put up huge numbers in the other years he slimmed down, so hopefully in his case there’s actually something to it.

 
103holt
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 11, 4:14 am
7.07 Robertson, David - NYY - RP
My only hitters at this point are 2 OF and a 1B. Again, I really wanted to draft a MI, C, or CI here. Narrowed my focus to a handful of them, and found them all to be undraftable in the 7th round. There were still very high quality RP & SP available, and I'm pretty sure that a couple months down the road a good closer will be worth more in trade value than a tier 4/5 infielder. Robertson is pretty low mileage and has good era/whip/K numbers.

From an SI.com article: "Robertson has been the American League’s most valuable reliever in terms of Baseball-Reference.com’s version of Wins Above Replacement over the 2011-13 timeframe; his 8.1 WAR trails only Craig Kimbrel’s 9.0. His other marks during that span aren’t too shabby either; among those with at least 150 innings, his 1.91 ERA trails only Kimbrel and Koji Uehara, while his 12.0 strikeouts per nine ranks sixth."

As far as hitters go - I think there is clearly less steroid/hgh use no and still trying to adjust my stat expectations. Gone are the days when every player on your squad had an OPS over .800. I suggest going back and reading some of our old timey rationales from years ago.

Looking at some MLB stats - last season the MLB OPS was .714 (in 2000 the league OPS had peaked at .782). Last years league BA was .253, the lowest league BA since 1972.

Year - BA - OBP - SLG
2013 .253 .318 .396
2000 .270 .345 .437

Year - ERA - WHIP - K/9
2013 3.87 1.30 7.6
2000 4.77 1.47 6.5

 
104evan
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 11, 7:41 am
7.08 Gonzalez, Gio - WAS - SP
Immediately regretted my pick; wish I went with Starlin Castro who I think will bounce back and fill my SS slot. Oh well, I’ll try to convince myself that Gio was a good pick. He was the 15th pitcher on my board and even though his WHIP is a little higher than I would have liked, he’ll have around 200 strikeouts. I hate predicting wins, but he does pitch for a pretty good ballclub so to have him reach 16-20 wins is not out of the question. Through the top 104 players chosen, I have (2) of my top 15 ranked SPs. I should be happy with that and I think I will be.
 
105JKaye
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 11, 9:00 am
7.09 Teixeira, Mark - NYY - 1B
My gut tells me he is due for a bounce back year, despite what the stats may say. Older players retaining their power is not unheardof, and I could easily see Teix mashing his way to another 30/100 season. If he does, I am set up very well on offense considering he fell outside the top 100.
 
106bmd
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 11, 9:00 am
7.10 McCann, Brian - NYY - C
I hate taking catchers this early but McCann slipped far enough where I bit. Moving to the AL will give him a lot more PAs. 75+ runs and 75+ RBIs from the catcher position is huge and something every projection system has him attaining. If I knew everyone was going to grossly overvalue closers I would've taken a closer here.
 
107reeb
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 11, 9:00 am
7.11 Papelbon, Jonathan - PHI - RP
I had McCann queued up here but once again Beastie beat me to it. I figured if I did not want to completely punt saves that I needed a reliever here. Hoping for a bounce back campaign for Paps. I do not think he is done as some "experts" are saying. Hoping for 30+ saves and a whip,era, and K/9 closer to his career averages.
 
108kdl212
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 11, 10:24 am
7.12 Moss, Brandon - OAK - 1B
This was a reach, but I had made the big mistake of letting first base get away from me. Moss sits against lefties, but still should get 500 at-bats with decent ratios. The eligibility flexibility is a plus.

Would've preferred Seager or Sandoval here, but they didn't make it.

 
109jdrenbarger
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 11, 10:24 am
7.13 Castro, Starlin - CHC - SS
Only four closers taken since my last pick, with a total of 10 now off the board … I’m taking one, but not two, with my two picks at the turn and will use the second pick to do so. I like the depth of SP better than I like the depth at any other position, and can’t conclude anything by looking at my picks to date other than, well, we’re slooooooow … so I’d really like to pick up another SB contributor here. After some filtering of my list by SB projections, I’m left with a collection of OFs and a smattering of INFs – almost all of which I can’t yet name here - *sigh* - and eliminating the SB filter doesn’t improve matters much at all. MIs have been the bane of my roto history for a long time … shifted course last year, went with Cano and H. Ramirez in the first two rounds of AA, and basically rode those guys to my ticket here, so I’m strongly inclined to go with a MI at this point. Castro’s the clear standout of the group I’m left looking at, although that’s based much more on upside potential than anything else. If all goes well, he remains extremely durable and returns to his 2012 form, rather than continues the slide he started last year. And since he’s just 23, I convince myself that’s a very reasonable possibility.
 
110Guru
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 11, 10:34 am
7.14 Romo, Sergio - SFO - RP
Spent a lot of time going back & forth on various hitters, either at 3B or OF. Couldn’t make up my mind, so I took my second closer instead.

Romo is someone who I used to draft several years ago as a middle reliever, due to good ratios (and closer-in-waiting status). Now he seems locked into the role. With Uehara and Romo as my bullpen foundation, my pitching ratios should be off to a very solid start. Of course, with any reliever, all it takes is one or two bad innings to blow up those" numbers."

 
111twilson
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 11, 12:30 pm
7.15 Cain, Matt - SFO - SP
I am not having success with the guys I’m hoping will drop. Not that I was expecting any player in particular to make it back to me, but I can usually count on at least one guy falling through the cracks. As challenging as AAA is, the big league is always its own beast. It doesn’t help that my taste in players overlaps with Guru to a significant extent.

At least I’m able to find a number of players I like at the top of the ADP heap this time. Cuddyer, Austin Jackson, Billy Butler, Shane Victorino, Chase Utley, Matt Cain, and Homer Bailey all hold some appeal. I see some potential value later in the draft at 2B/MI, so I think I’ll skip Utley and his gimpy knees here despite his stellar production per AB. Butler is the biggest ADP dropper of the group, but I think the power drop last year includes a decent amount of declining talent, and his DH-only status is a significant roster limitation in a league where flexibility is priceless. I’ll talk about the outfielders in my 8.02 rationale.

I thought Matt Cain somewhat represented the end of a tier in starting pitching. Some of my projection systems have him as the clear value play here, whereas others don’t even have him in their top 10 at the position. After doing some research, I sided with the value claims. Though the underlying indicators aren’t wholly positive, I think that 1H 2013 will be a distinct aberration in his timeline. If so, I will be getting a very nice ERA and WHIP to go along with a respectable strikeout total. Homer Bailey was intriguing also, as his 2013 breakout was driven by skill improvement rather than good fortune, and his strikeout totals will certainly best those of Cain. I just preferred Cain's fantastic track record. Had I not taken Ca"in, Butler would’ve been my second choice."

 
112Jason
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 11, 2:13 pm
7.16 Murphy, Daniel - NYM - 2B
 
113Jason
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 11, 2:13 pm
8.01 Grilli, Jason - PIT - RP
 
114twilson
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 11, 2:13 pm
8.02 Cuddyer, Michael - COL - OF
I looked at three outfielders on this turn, two of which are perennial members of my team and the other who is always under consideration yet I have never actually drafted. I owned both Cuddyer and Victorino last year and was quite happy with their performances, particularly Cuddyer. I know he has no shot of coming anywhere near his .382 BABIP from a year ago, but I still think that he will be a strong performer in four categories while not being a total zero in stolen bases. Austin Jackson almost always rates as a value on my cheatsheets, but his heavy emphasis on runs scored is a poor fit for my squad. Victorino’s statline has shifted dramatically from year to year of late, but he always finds a way to generate good fantasy value. Still, he’s getting up in age a bit at this point and is coming off thumb surgery, so I’m going to stay away here and go with the Rockie. I actually preferred Cuddyer to Cain, but thought him more likely to survive the turn.
 
115Guru
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 11, 2:13 pm
8.03 Ramirez, Aramis - MIL - 3B
I wasn’t enthralled with any of the outfielders at this point, although I still have just one, so that’s a situation that bears watching. I’m also without a 3B, and with Ramirez, I’ve now solved half of that problem. If he can stay healthy, then I’ve actually solved the whole problem,... but only time will tell.

At this point, I thought that a healthy Ramirez would easily outproduce any of the available third basemen. But I’ll need to pick up a backup, just in case. If/when healthy, he’s got .360/.500 potential – assuming that last year’s .4460 slugging was injury-related, and not a sign of aging. He did slug .450 once before in an injury plagued 2010, but followed that up with years of .510 and .540. At 35, he should still have so"mething left in the tank, right?"

 
116jdrenbarger
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 11, 2:13 pm
8.04 Reed, Addison - ARI - RP
Having already committed to taking a closer this round, I merely need to put together a queue and set it to auto. Romo is a clear #1, I settle on Grilli at #2, and then go back and forth on Reed, Johnson, Soriano, Balfour and Janssen before finally settling on Reed at #3 - very good to excellent stuff, past success in the role, and he's still young (and presumably not the injury risk most of the others are). Better yet would be an iron-clad guarantee that he'll in fact be the closer, but I think it's more than reasonable to assume that Arizona wouldn't have paid the price they did for a set-up man.

With Romo and Grilli going before the draft comes back to me, I'll get a chance to find out if I was right ... and I somewhat regret not taking Romo in the previous round.

 
117kdl212
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 11, 2:33 pm
8.05 Bailey, Homer - CIN - SP
If there had been a better hitter available, I would've gone hitter, but nobody except Billy Butler was all that appealing. I then considered a second closer, but there were so many on the board that looked more or less the same that I deferred.

There were tons of starting pitcher options here, and I liked Bailey's progression. He's gotten better every year, and I'm hoping he keeps that up. A repeat of next year will be just fine.

 
118reeb
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 11, 2:33 pm
8.06 Brown, Domonic - PHI - OF
I had Brown last year and he performed great for me before he hit the DL mid season. I expect his OBP to slightly improve and his SLG to fall off a bit but I still think he provides good value with some upside in the 8th round.
 
119bmd
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 11, 3:02 pm
8.07 Jackson, Austin - DET - OF
Same old broken record. AJax with a fantastic 2012 and a so so 2013. He's probably not going to lead off but moving down to the 5th or 6th slot should boost his RBIs. His underlying stats such as batted ball distance suggest he was unlucky last year and should rebound this year. Almost went closer here but there were like 8 of them that all looked relatively similar. I thought 1 of them would slip to me next round.
 
120JKaye
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 11, 3:19 pm
8.08 Lucroy, Jonathan - MIL - C
Hard to know when to pull the trigger at C, but Lucroy is among the best options and this doesn't feel like a bad spot -- 120-- for him. I think he is a nice contributor and will give me solid counting stats from a scarce position.
 
121evan
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 11, 3:21 pm
8.09 Martin, Leonys - TEX - OF
Phew… I needed speed and an OF. Frankly, I waited too long to draft a speedster and I probably reached here. Martin’s projections are for about 30 steals which is more than the (5) hitters I drafted previously would accumulate COMBINED. I couldn’t wait another round. I don’t know what to expect from him, but it seems he is entrenched as the starting CF there. He’ll probably bat near the top of the lineup or at the bottom. OBP hurts but my other hitters will offset that. Needed those steals…
 
122holt
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 11, 3:54 pm
8.10 Rosario, Wilin - COL - C
I really hate drafting catchers. I had a couple of them targeted that I could get in later rounds and who would probably get the job done, but the problem is that if I don't properly predict when they will go then I'm in trouble. So I just decided to close my eyes and pull the trigger. Rosario. The guy who never walks. The good side is that his R/RBI production is pretty excellent, and his home/away splits are almost identical. His OBP (.315'ish) is a drag but his SLG pushes .500. Anyway, at least I don't have to think about catchers now.
 
123mmikulka
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 11, 4:02 pm
8.11 Frieri, Ernesto - LAA - RP
A main goal of this draft was to make sure to have at least 2.5 solid closers (preferably 3). Leading into my 8th/9th round picks, I knew I would have to take at least 1 closer for that to happen, considering how quickly they were going.

I briefly considered Casey Janssen, but Frieri has been a favorite of mine for the past 2 years, even though he was removed from his job twice last year (and still racked up 37 saves). He also seemed the most likely mid-tier closer to move up to “elite” status.

He had a high BABIP last year, and has had a high HR/FB rate the past two years: almost triple what it was the two years before that, so I’m hoping there will be some correction with his ERA. Even if not, though, he should get a substantial amount of save opportunities, and a K/9 in the 10-12 range.

 
124Seattle Zen
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 11, 4:02 pm
8.12 Johnson, Jim - OAK - RP
The Closer Run is off and running and I must thank my lucky stars that I am in a sweet position. The 7th and 8th rounds are again all great picks. This is the toughest league I've ever been a part of, no one is thrown off by the OBP/SLG. I realize that I should be able to get two closers with my next two picks. I see David Robertson go by, but the Run really starts the pick before mine. I ranked Johnson as the 8th closer and he is the 15th off the board, though I view the middle ten closers all about the same. Oakland gave him some good money, he has been solid the past two years, Oakland is a great pitchers park and they have won the AL West the past two years, I'm happy.
 
125mailedfoot
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 11, 5:15 pm
8.13 Street, Huston - SDG - RP
Not thrilled to be drafting closers in the 8th round but if I am going to compete in saves it's now or never. Street's not an overpowering pitcher but he seems secure in the closer's role at this point. Just looking for saves.
 
126Wazaaap Guy
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 11, 8:39 pm
8.14 Butler, Billy - KAN - UTL
I like Butler in general but thought he really fell here as I saw him go over 2 rounds earlier in the other leagues (I frequently check the other drafts to help gauge my valuations here). Not ideal to fill the Util slot so early but I thought I couldn't pass up on Billy here as his OBP could really help make up for Billy's and Pedro's. Butler was .374 last year and about the same should be expected this year. Most sites project a higher SLG for him this year as well; his .412 last year was nearly .100 off his 2012 mark of .510. While that might be ambitious I like him to put up at least a .450 SLG, with around 70 R and 100 RBI.
 
127Meatwads
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 11, 9:27 pm
8.15 Soriano, Rafael - WAS - RP
Like most managers in this league, I am not pleased with having to select a closer this early in the draft. I feel my hand was forced with selecting a closer here because I'm going to to need two to be competitive in a roto league of this size. Since I have such a long wait after my two picks, it's now or never. I do have my concerns about Soriano's drop in strikeout rate and velocity. All that being said, Soriano has between 42-45 saves in each of the last 3 seasons he's been a closer and I think he will have plenty of save chances this year if he holds on to the job.
 
128jeffg
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 11, 9:29 pm
8.16 Lawrie, Brett - TOR - 3B
So many needs. Still no 1B, 2B and C on the roster, but after reviewing what I could grab there now versus waiting nothing grabbed me. A pair of third baseman did. Lawrie and Headley. At 24 Lawrie has yet to live up to his hype as a potential 20/20 guy and I am not making any claims he will this year, or ever. But he does have a good combo of steals and production for a mid round CI selection even though he may not be the best OBP guy. Maybe we see more out of him what we did post 2013 all star break. FWIW, I've seen a few 'web experts' (if you write a blog, I guess that makes you an "expert") call Lawrie a sleeper candidate, so going with the possible upside.
 
129jeffg
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 11, 9:29 pm
9.01 Cishek, Steve - MIA - RP
Nothing much to see here, move along. Filling my RP2 to take my team base to 70ish saves, hopefully land in the top quartile in our leaue in steals, and call it a day. Normally when there are 4 or 5 players you deem interchangable, you can move on to another position and come back next round. But the closer run is afoot and we are 30 picks from my next selection. I prefered Cishek over the other candidates because of the ratios. Not on a great team but he'll get his chances, after all, the Marlins do play 38 games against the Phillies and Mets in 2014.
 
130Meatwads
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 11, 9:35 pm
9.02 Feliz, Neftali - TEX - RP
This is the definition of a high-risk/high-reward selection. As I said during my Rafael Soriano selection, I believe I need two closers to compete in saves in this league and he's my second closer. All reports I read said he had an excellent winter league and I think Ron Washington would like him to win the job. It's always good to have the manager on your side. It's been a few years since Feliz has been healthy but he was an elite closer a couple years ago and is still only 25 years old. So far I consider this my riskiest pick and it has the potential to backfire but it also has a chance to be a very nice pick. I guess time will tell.
 
131Wazaaap Guy
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 11, 10:57 pm
9.03 Henderson, Jim - MIL - RP
This pick was closer all the way. No one really stood out to me so it was more about mitigating risk. Parnell and Janssen were battling injuries, Balfour had just reported a dead arm, and Jones hadn't definitively been anointed the closer, so I was really looking at Henderson, Rodney, and Axford. I thought Henderson was the safest as Rodney, while just recently signed, is 37 and Axford has a future closer candidate behind him. Hoping Jim sticks in the role long enough to pile up 20+ saves.
 
132mailedfoot
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 11, 11:49 pm
9.04 Parnell, Bobby - NYM - RP
I debated whether to grab another closer or find a value pick at some other position and finally settled on Parnell. He has the closer role for the Mets to start the season and has pitched well the last few years. He is coming off an injury but early indications are he is good to go. This pick is to keep me relevant in saves.
 
133Seattle Zen
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 11, 11:49 pm
9.05 Balfour, Grant - TAM - RP
I think he has the funniest name for a pitcher in baseball. After Johnson the last two closers I really wanted were Henderson and Balfour. I like Balfour because Tampa closers really rack up saves, Madden is predictable. Balfour had a nice double digit K/9 last year, great ERA and WHIP. I think he is solid.

I think Janssen has a great arm, but everyone has been speaking of the likelihood of him getting traded away sometime this summer after Toronto is out of the race. This has happened to me a few times, I read about the likelihood of a midseason trade, I ignore it, keeping my fingers crossed and then... there he goes, I should have listened. After Henderson gets taken, I am in an all too familiar situation. I sit with a one man queue at 8:30pm Pacific waiting for mailedfoot to make a pick. And this time I'm nearly certain that he will be taking a reliever, too. I do NOT want to get skunked again. I try to envision what I will do if Balfour is taken, what other reliever would I be interested in? Do I have to take one? Last season I passed on a second reliever and it worked out fine, I got over 50 saves off the waiver wire. I cannot count on that again and I am playing it safe this year, drafting two closers is on page one of the playing it safe playbook. I actually like Fernando Rodney's outlook in Seattle. Last season I made a similar choice between drafting the Seattle closer, Kaiser Wilhelmsen, and a batter, and I choose Miguel Montero... at least Wilhelmsen had 24 saves before losing his job. Montero SHOULD have lost his job. Don't make me make this choice! Hurray, I didn't have to.

This just in, Brandon Belt was sick to his stomach because I didn't get to draft him.

 
134mmikulka
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 12, 12:34 am
9.06 Janssen, Casey - TOR - RP
This one was a really challenging pick because there were 3 players who jumped out at me: Janssen, Nick Swisher, and Chase Utley. All of them were well above my 2nd choice at their position, and Swisher/Utley were the type of batters that fit my team’s current needs perfectly.

Utley was the easiest for me to eliminate, primarily because of his age and likelihood to miss a lot of starts. Also, as a Mets fan, I hate the Phillies.

Swisher is probably going to significantly outperform his draft position, has dual eligibility, and is one of the few remaining players with serious R/RBI potential. There’s also almost no chance he’ll make it back around to my next pick. With 5 picks before me, I was praying nobody would take him.

Then 5 consecutive RP went off the board, and suddenly there were 8 closing roles remaining. With over 20 picks before my 10th round selection, it was now or never. A look at my composite ADP showed Janssen (followed by a bunch of closers who had already been drafted), then 5 consecutive closers with their team in parentheses; either because they were a crappy old veteran who switched teams in the offseason or because they were a pitcher I wasn’t familiar with prior to this year. Yikes.

Janssen has been very solid the last 3 years: K rate in the upper 8s, ERA in the mid 2s, and WHIP hovering around 1. My biggest worry is that midway through the year the Blue Jays might give up on their season and trade Janssen to a team that already has an entrenched closer.

Most importantly, though, as mentioned in my Aroldis pick: I love saves. Going from 2 closers to 3 will immediately put me in the top 3 in saves instead of the middle of the pack: a 5+ point swing from 1 player. It also means I don’t have to waste a pick and roster spot on some mediocre “next in line” reliever. As much as I wanted Swisher, taking Janssen was the clear choice mathematically.

 
135holt
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 12, 12:56 am
9.07 Utley, Chase - PHI - 2B
My first MI of the draft. It's not possible to get an MI at this point who doesn't have at least one weak spot. Utley's weaknesses are primarily his age and injury history. I'll just take my chances. He has a shot at going .348/.475 again (last season's numbers) along with 70'ish R & RBI and 8 SB, which is a higher ceiling than most, if not all, of the other MI options staring back at me.

10 closers fell off the board since my previous pick. I already had two closers so went ahead with the task of rostering a MI. Mmikula took Janssen right before my pick. I may have gone with him he had still been there. Glad to have Utley though. At 35, I think he still has something left in the tank. I'll take the old man discount in Rd 9. Last season I drafted him in the 8th rd and it turned out fairly well.

Another thing - Mat Latos, Gerrit Cole, and Michael Wacha were still available and that weighed heavily on my mind. Maybe I should have taken one of them. They were promptly machine gunned down before my 10th rd pick. I hate the idea of drafting letting so many other teams get quality starters like this in the 9th/10th. Ah well - it happened.

 
136evan
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 12, 7:41 am
9.08 Aoki, Norichika - KAN - OF
That was one heck of a closer run. Nine closers were taken since my last pick and I had four of them in my queue, all were gone. There are other closers available (not many) but I couldn’t justify taking any of them because of their poor job security. I went with Aoki who I drafted last season at pick 8.15. I was very happy with the production of an underrated player. He’ll give me only high single digits in home runs, but will give me good runs, stolen bases (which I really need) and a high OBP. Plus I could have used another OF. Did you know in 2013, he had the major’s lowest strikeout rate (5.9 percent) and second-lowest miss rate on swings (8.1 percent)? That bodes well for some continued success with little downside.
 
137JKaye
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 12, 10:40 am
9.09 Rodney, Fernando - SEA - RP
I know saves can always be had during the year, but I hate going into April with only one definite saves source. Rodney is among the lower tiered options but he has been actually somewhat decent. I don't expect him to be lights out but I think he can hold the job -- at least long enough for me to find additional saves on the wire.
 
138bmd
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 12, 10:40 am
9.10 Cobb, Alex - TAM - SP
Well I guess at this point I'm punting saves. Still shocked by how many (c)losers are being taken. Cobb is a top 20 guy that brings stability. Definitely thought about a few other arms at this point. Wacha was very tempting but I have him in G20 and figured I'd hedge a little. Miller and Cole both were on my list as well.
 
139reeb
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 12, 10:40 am
9.11 Lowrie, Jed - OAK - SS
I had Rodney at the top of my queue but he went 2 picks earlier. I needed a SS with Bogaerts not being eligible for the first 20 games. Lowrie has good power numbers from the MI spots and assuming decent health will be a solid performer from the MI spot.
 
140kdl212
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 12, 11:16 am
9.12 Axford, John - CLE - RP
All the starting pitchers I considered in the previous round were still here 24 picks later, which made me regret going with Bailey in Round 8. But none of the hitters that were selected in the same span made me regret my choice. Instead, it was the silly run on closers that had me wishing I had gone RP in 8 and then SP in 9. That way, I may have ended up with Bailey anyway, and someone a bit more comforting that Axford.

Still, Axford seemed to right the ship late last season, and hopefully he continues his his strike-out ways while holding the closer job all year.

 
141jdrenbarger
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 12, 11:30 am
9.13 Jones, Nate - CWS - RP
Wow - 12 more closers go in the 24 picks before it comes back to me and I'm truly disappointed I don't have a chance to take John Axford ... *sigh*. No question I need to get my second closer here and pickings are very slim, particularly since I'm not buying into Tommy Hunter much at all. Ugh ... we're not halfway through the draft and I seem to have lost any sight of whatever plan I entered the draft with.

Of the two, Jones is a pretty easy choice for me ... mostly because I've already taken a ride on the Veras roller coaster and don't want to do so again. At best, though, he's still just an odds-on favorite for the job, albeit with great stuff. Nothing like making two choices in the first nine rounds that can flop due to something other than an injury before the first pitch of the season is thrown. My confidence could use a boost right now :)

 
142Guru
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 12, 11:46 am
9.14 Wacha, Michael - STL - SP
Cue Fozzie Bear: “Wacha, wacha, wacha…”

I had targeted round 9 for my first SP, and am somewhat amazed at the quality arms still available. Last year, 31 starting pitchers had been drafted by this time. So far this year, only 21 have gone. It seems like many in this draft are taking a similar approach. Meanwhile, 10 of the last 15 picks have been closers. Glad I got two early.

The biggest negative with Wacha is the lack of a significant track record. But in addition to solid results in late 2013, he pitches in the NL, his home games are in a good pitcher’s park, he should get ample run support, and his team has a habit of developing good pitching. In the other four RIBC drafts, he was never picked later than 8.04. Fran"kly, I never expected him to be here at this point. Here’s hoping he can continue where he left off."

 
143twilson
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 12, 1:58 pm
9.15 Crisp, Coco - OAK - OF
The massive run on closers in the last 20 picks ensures that I will not be looking in that direction again for quite a while. I was feeling less comfortable with my offensive situation anyway, so I don’t mind. Perusing the available names, it seems that now would be a good time to add some SBs without killing my power stats. Victorino is still on the board after considering him last round. Other names are Coco Crisp, Adam Eaton, and Nick Swisher. I also wish I had known Chase Headley would be available here; that would’ve changed my 4.02 strategy immensely. But I have bigger needs than CI right now. Swisher doesn’t offer speed, but his 1B/OF dual eligibility makes up for it, especially given my lack of a first baseman at the moment.

Eaton looks like he’ll be around one or even two turns later, so he’s out of the discussion for now. I do want at least some steals, so Swisher gets pushed to the 10th round debate. That leaves Victorino and Crisp. My projections are split between the two, so that’s no help. Crisp won’t maintain his HR surge from a year ago, but having some of them turn back into doubles and triples hurts a lot less in this format. Victorino had his own power surge late last year that was paired with a change in plate approach. You never know what you’re going to get with him. Strangely enough, this came down to injury risk and I took the guy who hasn’t broken 600 plate appearances since 2005. Victorino had offseason thumb surgery, which never bodes well for hitting baseballs. Crisp is once again healthy (for now) after a hamstring strain limited him on the basepaths last year. Thus, the former New Jersey Cardinal is my pick.

 
144Jason
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 12, 2:05 pm
9.16 Perez, Salvador - KAN - C
 
145Jason
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 12, 2:06 pm
10.01 Miller, Shelby - STL - SP
 
146twilson
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 12, 3:29 pm
10.02 Miller, Brad - SEA - SS
The same names from my 9.15 rationale were still in the discussion here, along with one new name: Brad Miller. Miller has been sitting at the top of each of my projections for a few picks now, and I don’t think it likely that he will make it to 11.15. Reading the news reports, it doesn’t seem certain that Miller will win the job over Nick Franklin; even if he does, it might not take much of a slump for the manager to make a switch.

Victorino’s thumb makes me uncomfortable enough that I don’t want to double up on steals guys here, making the decision one between Miller and Swisher. Both fill a position of need while having solid statistical projections. Both have an outside chance of being available at my next pick. Swisher is the safer pick given his playing time certainty, but I decided that I like Miller’s profile enough to make him the guy. I really don’t see another spot in the draft where I’m going to want to draft a shortstop, so I had better jump on it while I can.

 
147Guru
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 12, 3:29 pm
10.03 Latos, Mat - CIN - SP
Given the number of quality starting pitchers, I almost decided to wait for my SP2. But I think the value of SP’s at this time is better than at any other position, and with 26 picks going off the board until my next opportunity, I decided not to risk a run on starting pitching.

Latos gives me what Wacha does not – a 4-year track record. And he’s been very dependable over that span, never starting less than 30 games, never posting an ERA above 3.50, and never posting a WHIP more than .04 from his career average of 1.17. He’s struck out no less than 185 and no more than 189. It’s probably the most ridiculously invariant 4-year history that I’ve ever seen.

So why is he still available in round 10? I suppose his offseason elbow s"urgery (bone chips removed) and then meniscus repair in the knee have turned on the caution signal. All indications are that he should be starting games by mid-April, although there is always that chance that things don’t develop as planned. "

 
148jdrenbarger
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 12, 3:29 pm
10.04 Cole, Gerrit - PIT - SP
Having a single OF and little team speed is really starting to weigh on me, and I give serious consideration to Shane Victorino for this pick. With Wacha and Miller going in the six picks before I put together a two-man queue for this round, though, I elect to grab my second SP. I'm not going out on a limb and hoping for either Hamels or Minor to make it back as quickly as is expected, so I pretty quickly settle on Latos and Cole ... and Guru grabs my #1 guy, leaving me with Cole. I actually like the value of this pick in the 10th round a lot ... will no doubt be some more growing pains due to his youth, but I like my two SP at this point quite a bit, although I'd have preferred to have only drafted three, rather than four, pitchers in the first ten rounds.
 
149kdl212
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 12, 3:34 pm
10.05 Headley, Chase - SDG - 3B
He's hurt, but it doesn't seem major. All I want is something between 2013 and 2012. Was attracted by the OBP potential, and 10 steals would be gravy.
 
150reeb
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 12, 4:01 pm
10.06 Cashner, Andrew - SDG - SP
I have had Cashner on my teams the last 2 years and I wanted him again this year. He was awesome the second half of last year and it looks like he has continued that trend into spring training this year. If he can get his K/9 back to where it was as a reliever I think it is possible he takes a Scherzer type leap this year. Like everyone else it seems health will be the key.
 
151bmd
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 12, 4:01 pm
10.07 Salazar, Danny - CLE - SP
Mmm, that k rate. He's a bit of a wildcard. Has a super high ceiling but could crash and burn as well. Since I had Yu and Cobb, both who I consider very stable, I decided to roll the dice a little and take a guy that could finish as a top 10 pitcher. Briefly thought about taking Tommy Hunter but his peripherals leave a lot of to be considered and it's unlikely he finishes the year as their closer.
 
152JKaye
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 12, 4:54 pm
10.08 Victorino, Shane - BOS - OF
I need speed, and Victorino had 21 SB last year. Hopefully he stays at it on the basepaths. He is a decent enough 3rd outfielder for this league especially at pick 152.
 
153evan
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 12, 4:58 pm
10.09 Fister, Doug - WAS - SP
I'm lacking at a few positions but who isn't at this point in the draft. I decided to go with Fister. There are a number of pitchers with higher upside that are available, also with better strikeout rates. I chose Fister because he'll help bring my WHIP down after grabbing Gio Gonzalez earlier. Since 2009, he has the majors fourth-best walk rate and walks per nine ratio (he's a Cliff Lee w/o the strikeouts). He's a solid pitcher who should do real well in the NL East. Kind of a boring unsexy pick but I like the stability.
 
154holt
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 12, 6:16 pm
10.10 Gardner, Brett - NYY - OF
I felt I was getting a little weak at SB and OBP. Figured I would start addressing that while there were still players available who were capable of doing it. Hoping for 25-30 SB, .345, .400, 85, 50 RBI. The only other time I've drafted Gardner was 2012 when he missed the whole season. This dude owes me.

A lot of good picks fell since my Rd 9 pick. Wacha, Latos, G Cole at SP. B Miller at SS. Had any of those players been available I probably would have held off on Gardner. It's shameful that Guru was allowed to completely ignore SP's and then still nab Wacha at 9.14 and Latos at 10.03. Shameful. I wish I had drafted another SP instead of Rosario or Utley in Rds 8/9. There needs to be repercussions for not drafting any SP for the 1st 8 rds. Shameful!

 
155mmikulka
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 12, 6:26 pm
10.11 Swisher, Nick - CLE - 1B
Oh my god he made it back around how is this possible thank you.

While Swisher went in the 9th round in one AAA and AA, he also lasted to the 12th in the other AAA and AA, so getting him here apparently wasn’t as unlikely as I had thought. I was awful at predicting how the rest of the 9th/10th rounds were going to shape up: not only did Swisher slip through, but there was still a spare closer or two left on the board. Two teams continued to punt saves entirely, which is an unfathomable strategy to me in a 16 team league.

Swisher has a long history of being a consistent 4 category producer: he has 9 consecutive years with over 20 homers, 8 consecutive years of at least 588 at bats, and his spectacular career walk rate of 13.2% is better than Shin-Soo Choo’s and Mike Trout’s (in fact, Bautista is the only OF-eligible player with a higher walk rate).

Last year was a rough one for Swisher, but he still managed an OPS of .762 despite a nagging shoulder injury and his worst BABIP since 2009. With that injury healed, I expect a bit of a rebound toward his previous 4 years, in which his lowest OPS was .823.

 
156Seattle Zen
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 12, 6:26 pm
10.12 Iwakuma, Hisashi - SEA - SP
There are so many players I like who will be drafted in the 150-200 range. When I am plotting my strategy, I have about nine or ten players who I tell myself, "no, he'll be available later" when I'm considering who to take in the seventh, eighth and ninth rounds. But we only get four picks from the 150-200 range, so I better choose wisely.

I do not have a MI yet but I'm not concerned, I figured it may play out this way. I have some MIs in mind, one second baseman and three SS I would be happy with. Looking at the teams behind me around the turn, I figure it is unlikely that they would take all four with the nine picks between 156 and 165. I'm watching the beginnings of a remarkable SP run. Four teams take their second SP and two teams take their third as the round comes down to me. I already have four arms, do I want to be the first team to take a fifth?

When my fifth arm is my favorite player in all of baseball, yes, I do. There are a few reasons why one of the best pitchers in fantasy baseball has slipped so far. First, even the most studied fantasy manager seems to overlook that Hisashi was basically tied with Cliff Lee and Darvish as the fourth best arm in roto last year. Has anyone here ever read an interview of Iwakuma? Ever seen him interviewed on TV? Even M's fans have to say "no". He is really unknown. He's not as tall and handsome like Yu Darvish (but he is 6'3"), the baseball media doesn't know what to make of him. This ties into reason two: Japanese and Korean players are slightly underrated, I would say that Yu is an exception, he seems to have captured our imagination.

Would a pitcher with a series of 2.66 ERA/1.01 WHIP and 180+K seasons be ignored like Hisashi? No, he would probably be taken in the second round. But Hisashi came from Japan, so this was his first full season as a starter. Perhaps people feel this was a fluke, but the man is turning 33, he is a seasoned vet, this is what he does, we don't follow the Japanese leagues, so we don't know him.

Third, he is "hurt" and will not start the season on time. Without this news, I'm certain he would have been drafted earlier. However, his injury is to a finger, not his elbow or shoulder. The M's are letting the injury hea

 
157mailedfoot
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 12, 7:24 pm
10.13 Teheran, Julio - ATL - SP
I still have a lot of needs at this point (3B, MI, SP), and after looking things over, decide on Teheran. He is a bit of a risky play for a #2 starter, but had a strong 2nd half last year and is set to be a mainstay in the Braves rotation. I like that he is an NL pitcher, still young, with upside. Was hoping maybe Brad Miller or Cole would fall to me.
 
158Wazaaap Guy
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 12, 9:44 pm
10.14 Hunter, Tommy - BAL - RP
Was hoping Hunter would fall to me here. One of the last few clear closer/maybe closer guys out there with Jose Veras and Chad Qualls (who I don't believe was in the lead for the job at the time). Don't really care what kind of numbers Hunter might put up as long as he gets Saves. He was actually pretty good in the role last year and is only 27 so still has upside.
 
159Meatwads
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 12, 10:08 pm
10.15 Weaver, Jered - LAA - SP
I was quite surprised to see Weaver fall this far in the draft. I know he's not striking out as many batters as he has in the past but his ERA and WHIP are still excellent, he should have a good win total if he stays healthy and I expect he'll have a nice season. It wasn't that long ago that we was considered an ace by most fantasy managers and I think the rumors of his demise are highly exaggerated. I would have liked to select a hitter but I really didn't see anyone available that got my heart pumping so I decided Weaver was a nice pick with some upside. I am hoping he could really help stabilize my pitching this season and look like a nice value pick after all is said and done.
 
160jeffg
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 12, 10:08 pm
10.16 Samardzija, Jeff - CHC - SP
There were a couple of SP I felt were safe picks ratio wise. After Iwakuma was selected, Jered Weaver was the last one in that class in my opinion (except for a few with lingering or potential injury issues like Minor, low risk but I have enough risk with hitter health) and I was not sure Weav would make it to me, especially with most of the teams in my half of the draft still looking for an SP1 or SP2, but then it got close, and then SWOOP, 1 pick away and Meatwads pulled the trigger. Everyone else left to me has some down side, be it ratios or K rate. So my plan B for now is take a K machine. Jeff as a starter has an over 1 K/IP, albeit at the expense of giving up a few too many runs and baserunners. His splits are much better away from the Friendly Confines, and much better at night, so if the trade rumors are true about the Cubs wanting to deal him, that may help. Most of the talk is another NL team, although if he lands in the AL East, that will not help.
 
161jeffg
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 12, 10:08 pm
11.01 Fowler, Dexter - HOU - OF
MI, 1B, and C will wait. No one I let go that will have me kicking myself. Dexter has wheels and a good eye at the plate. I hope those walks and singles will translate to runs, steals and OBP, and hope the rest of my roster can absorb the SLG and RBI hit. However he is now playing for Houston where he does not have the teammates to drive him in at the same rate as say, any of the other 29 MLB teams starting lineups (and a few MLB benches). The positive is the 'stros will need him to help make things happen and likely give him the green light.
 
162Meatwads
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 12, 10:21 pm
11.02 Moore, Matt - TAM - SP
With so many viable pitching options available, I was interested in offense again with this pick. Unfortunately nobody stood out as a must have guy here so I went with another starter to buy myself some time to draft more offense in the upcoming rounds. Obviously Moore has some flaws in his game, most notably his pension to nibble too much, which results in a high walk rate and inflated WHIP. I also think he's one of the most difficult pitchers to square up and his potential is still through the roof. At 24 years old, he still has plenty of time to get it figured out and if he does, I think he could be contending for strikeout crowns and Cy Young awards in his prime. I really think Tampa Bay does a nice job with developing pitching in their system and with David Price as a mentor, I think Matt Moore could begin to show why he was so highly touted coming out of the minor leagues.
 
163Wazaaap Guy
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 12, 10:29 pm
11.03 Gray, Sonny - OAK - SP
Only had 1 SP (Price) at this point so was looking SP the whole way here. There were a few more obvious candidates here like Hamels and Minor but recent injury news had just broken about both so I opted to go with everyone's favorite breakout guy this year instead. In hindsight, probably should have played it safe and gone with Minor but I have him in 2 big keeper leagues and I like diversifying my fantasy portfolio... though I ended up with Gray on even more teams than I have Minor. Most expert" sites play it conservatively with their predictions for this guy (around 13 W, 3.75 ERA, 1.28 ERA, 155 K). I'm obviously looking for a bit more than that with my SP2."
 
164mailedfoot
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 12, 10:29 pm
11.04 Arenado, Nolan - COL - 3B
As I look out on the fantasy horizon, 3B is not too appealing. I decide to take Arenado, who is entering his 2nd season and was a bit of a disappointment last year. He projects to have a little more power than he displayed last year, plays half his games at Coors, and was a fairly highly regarded prospect, so, with what I see at 3B, felt I should grab him now.
 
165Seattle Zen
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 12, 10:59 pm
11.05 Villar, Jonathan - HOU - SS
I need a MI and I need steals, bad! It's as simple as this, Villar is projected to have the most steals of any of the remaining middle infielders. He has a big downside, he is unproven and does not get on base with frequency. He's batting in the bottom half of the order. But... he reminds me of Jean Segura, the seventeenth or so ranked SS last year. Yeah, he probably won't pop 11 HRs and have a 850 OPS at the All Star break, but I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up with a 700 OPS with 40 steals. If he starts strong, he'll keep the job all year and the Stros will be behind in so many games that he will need to steal bases to get into scoring position.

This may be a round or two too early, but I got nervous seeing that damn Blue Hen taking him at 137 in PCL. There are still five teams without a SS and almost every team still needs a MI.

I was hoping that Dexter Fowler would drop into the 200's, but JeffG snagged him, nice pick. Jkaye snatched up Mike Minor at a great discount. Like Iwakuma, a little preseason injury scared everyone away, but I have yet to know anyone who uses his urethra to throw a ball. I bet jkaye will be pointing to that pick as one of his best at year end.

 
166mmikulka
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 12, 11:00 pm
11.06 Hamels, Cole - PHI - SP
I suppose I eventually need to draft a starting pitcher at some point... Obviously the shoulder setback is a major concern, otherwise Hamels would have been taken a long long time ago. That said, the AAA leagues drafted him at 108 and 137, and both of those picks were made multiple days after his “tired arm” was made public. This morning, he threw a bullpen session and it supposedly went great, though obviously he’s not out of the woods yet.

If I can get typical Cole Hamels minus 3-5 starts in the 11th round, that will be tremendous value for pick 166. And if his arm falls off overnight...

 
167holt
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 12, 11:45 pm
11.07 Veras, Jose - CHC - RP
I didn't see anyone left who was guaranteed a closer job to start the season. Veras was the last one. I had him last season and he helped me out til he got traded. Maybe it happens again this season? I thought I might take Profar here but I started thinking that once the season starts any old closer would be worth more (in terms of trade value) than any of the mediocre batch of infielders still available.

Hopefully Veras keeps pitching like he did last season and not like he did for most of his earlier career.

 
168evan
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 12, 11:45 pm
11.08 Machado, Manny - BAL - 3B
If he wasn’t hurt, he would have been gone a long time ago (I was debating taking him 4 rounds ago!). Even with surgery to repair the medial patellofemoral ligament back in October, he may still start on opening day. We should be finding out that answer by next week. He is still only 21 and already has had success over the course of a baseball season. I consider this my first “risky” pick of the draft but at the 11th round and his potential value, I don’t think I’m risking much. He also did this…
 
169JKaye
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 13, 11:28 am
11.09 Minor, Mike - ATL - SP
He may miss start of year but doesn't sound like he'll be out past mid-April. If he does heal quickly, this is a steal this late.
 
170bmd
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 13, 11:28 am
11.10 Profar, Jurickson - TEX - 2B
Another guy I wasn't necessarily targeting before the draft but felt he had slipped far enough where he was worth the gamble. Projections don't necessarily look that great for him but he's so young that he could easily blossom into a top 2nd talent. He provides some steals that I desperately need and shores up my MI. Had Ryu queued and up ready to pick but made the audible at the last second.
 
171reeb
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 13, 12:11 pm
11.11 Lester, Jon - BOS - SP
I'm hoping Lester can build on his bounce back 2013. At the least I should get 200 innings with above average wins and punchouts to go along with average whip and era. It can't hurt that he is in a contract year.
 
172kdl212
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 13, 12:13 pm
11.12 Carter, Chris - HOU - 1B
In an OBP league, he's not such a killer. More than one imaginary baseball writer has him breaking out for 40 home runs and 90 rbi. If so, that would be awesome out of this slot. It seems possible, given his horrendous hitting at home last year in a park that should be favorable to right-handed power.

As with Headley, I'd really just want a repeat of last year here. If he has some growth, and decreases the strikeouts and raises the OBP, I'm happy. If, instead, he starts striking out before he even gets in the batter's box, this pick is going to look ugly.

 
173jdrenbarger
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 13, 12:33 pm
11.13 Yelich, Christian - MIA - OF
My lack of team speed is really starting to stand out, as is the fact that I still only have one OF (Zobrist will always be slotted at MI). Many of the usual suspects (e.g., Michael Bourn) remain (and still remain as I post this) on the board, with Yelich having already slipped far past where I had him slotted on my list of hitters ... albeit on a pretty optimistic set of projections that not nearly everyone shares. Best case, he settles in after his debut last year and begins to grow into the five-category contributor most believe he eventually become ... worst case is that, at barely 22 and on a poor team, he adjusts poorly as pitchers see him more frequently and he posts relatively poor counting stats. I'm not quite ready to take the massive ratio hits the other SB candidates promise and there is, by almost all accounts, a pretty high upside here ... so he's my guy.
 
174Guru
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 13, 12:42 pm
11.14 Ryu, Hyun-Jin - LAD - SP
This has been un unusual RIBC draft for me, as there really hasn’t yet been a time when I’ve cursed the drafters just ahead of me for stealing my targeted players. Every time my queue has been tapped, there was always at least one other comparable option for me to draft. And I’ll probably rue saying that in about 1-2 days.

Ryu has almost all of the attributes that I want in a starter: age 27, pitches in the NL in a good pitcher’s park, solid ratios (3.00/1.20 in 2013), reasonable K-ratio (7.2 in 2013, but I’ve seen one projection as high as 8.0 for 2014). Not overpowering, but over 50% ground balls. Improving control in the 2nd half of 2013. Once again, the only thing missing is a multi-year track record in the majors.

He seems like the perfect fit for my SP3. In these middle rounds of the draft, I tend to take one hitter and one pitcher in each turn, and I thought I’d nab Ryu now while he’s still available – even though it is a bit odd for me to draft SPs in three consec"utive rounds. Ryu was in my queue leading up to my 9th round pick, when I was targeting my 1st starting pitcher. He’s the only one from that list to remain. "

 
175twilson
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 13, 4:21 pm
11.15 Lind, Adam - TOR - 1B
Guru strikes again! Ryu was an excellent value at 11.14. I would’ve taken him despite the two SPs already on my roster.

Moving on, I looked at the Corbin/Cueto/Cingrani next tier, but found them wanting. Too much risk for my liking. Though I didn’t expect to consider him pre-draft, Andrelton Simmons has been dropping to where I have interest. However, the available 2B outclass him enough to offset the allure of a second viable SS, a luxury I’m not sure I’ve ever had in RIBC. I will be taking a 2B at this turn, but there are enough names I like that I will wait until 12.02 to make that pick.

Third base is a black hole at the moment, so it’s time for a fourth outfielder or first baseman. As expected, Eaton is still an option. However, a little digging makes me less confident in his playing time than I expected to be. His profile continues to interest me, but I would like it a lot more at the 13/14 turn, which is a very real possibility. It was only two years ago that Michael Bourn was going in the 3rd round, but I just don’t see the steals returning to previous levels. Khris Davis had outstanding power in a limited sample size last year. How much of it can he hold on to? I could still use SLG and RBIs, but I’m not sold enough to take him here.

That leaves first base. Justin Morneau is the biggest ADP dropper, with Adam Lind the other option. The shift from Target Field to Coors Field is about as big an advantage as exists in the majors, so Morneau should have his best year since the concussion. With that said, nothing in his numbers makes me think a skill rebound of any kind is in the offing. Adam Lind had quite a comeback in 2014 after three years of below average performance. Regression is almost guaran"teed, but he does seem more comfortable with his physical condition than he had been pre-2013. Weighing the pros and cons, I decided on Lind."

 
176Jason
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 13, 4:41 pm
11.16 Corbin, Patrick - ARI - SP
 
177Jason
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 13, 4:42 pm
12.01 Farquhar, Danny - SEA - RP
 
178twilson
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 13, 5:18 pm
12.02 Kendrick, Howie - LAA - 2B
Jasonprof declined to take a second baseman on the turn, so had my pick of the current tier. Four names stick out, two each of up-and-comers and veterans. The youths are Anthony Rendon and Brian Dozier. Rendon is the hyped name, but I’m not terribly excited by his counting contributions, especially in the steals department. In my mind, Dozier has a much better chance of being a fantasy contributor this year. He was absolutely awful in 2012 and early 2013 before turning into a top 10 2B in the second half. I’m almost certain he will outperform the projections I use this year, but the question is if it will be by enough to outvalue the more stable veteran options. Those guys, Howie Kendrick and Neil Walker, have been steadily valuable over the past few years. I view them both similarly, but Kendrick’s stat distribution is a much better fit for my team. It was a difficult decision choosing between Dozier and Kendrick, but I went with the more reliable name. As with Coco Crisp at 9.15, I expect Kendrick’s SB total to rebound to historical levels now that he is healthy.
 
179Guru
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 13, 5:18 pm
12.03 Cabrera, Asdrubal - CLE - SS
I still don’t like the value of any of the outfielders at this point. Pretty soon, my team will need nothing but outfielders. I don’t know what to make of that.

So instead, I’m going to fill my third MI slot. Based on the other drafts, Andrelton Simmons is the highest ranked guy. But as I looked at him closely, I guess I just don’t get it. Apparently, you have to buy into a growth story. So I decided to go with more of known commodity. He’s only 28, so this should be his peak period. M"aybe he won’t get back to his 2011 prowess when he swiped 17 bases and slugged .460. But if he can stay healthy, there is some history to suggest that it’s possible."

 
180jdrenbarger
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 13, 5:53 pm
12.04 Martinez, Victor - DET - UTL
Pretty easy pick for me, his DH-only eligibility and the many deficiencies of my team notwithstanding. Still a great contact hitter, he'll be batting cleanup in a solid offensive lineup (right behind M. Cabrera) and seems - even at 35 - to be completely over the injury that caused him to miss all of the 2012 season ... there's not a hitter remaining that interests me nearly as much and I'm not taking a chance that he'll make it through 24 more picks. Best case, he picks up 1B eligibility at some point during the season.
 
181kdl212
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 13, 6:18 pm
12.05 Cingrani, Tony - CIN - SP
Last year, I experienced the joy and benefits of high strike-out starters. Cingrani won't throw 200 innings, but I'd be over-joyed with 175 strikeouts in 150 innings, and then I'll stream pitchers against whichever team is fielding a AAA lineup in September to make up the innings from this slot.

I tend to shy away from young pitching, but I couldn't pass up the potential strike-outs here.

 
182reeb
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 13, 6:18 pm
12.06 Hawkins, LaTroy - COL - RP
Supposedly Hawkins is the closer in Colorado to start the season but he has Rex Brothers pushing him for the job and most feel he will take over at some point. My plan was to take Brothers in round 13 but he went 3 picks before my turn. Hopefully Latroy does well to start so the Rockies have no reason to make the switch.
 
183bmd
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 13, 6:18 pm
12.07 Frazier, Todd - CIN - 3B
I really needed a 3b and the rest of the options out there either sucked or had big question marks. Frazier seemed by far the safest pick and someone that regardless should give me some decent counting stats. Definitely not thrilled with this pick but kinda put myself in this position by passing on 3 3b I almost pulled the trigger on earlier in the draft, Longoria, Sandoval, and Arenado.
 
184JKaye
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 13, 7:47 pm
12.08 Ramirez, Alexei - CWS - SS
Ramirez's OBP/SLG are abhorrent, but he stole 30 bases last year and is still a better counting stats option than what will be left soon at this position.
 
185evan
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 13, 8:47 pm
12.09 Hardy, J.J. - BAL - SS
I had Hardy as my #10 shortstop, and I’m glad to have gotten him here. I admit, it came down to Simmons or Hardy here, but I knew I had to grab one because the next group of owners have not filled in that slot yet. Hardy gives me great power from the SS position but will really hurt my in stolen bases. Hopefully he continues his good health and succeeds in a very strong Baltimore offense.
 
186holt
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 13, 9:20 pm
12.10 Cueto, Johnny - CIN - SP
There were a handful of pretty decent SP's available and no hitters that I felt I just had to have right then. Cueto has posted an ERA below 3 for 3 straight seasons now, and I look for a whip in the 1.10 range & hopefully 15 wins. K/9 probably only around 7 but that won't hurt too much. Looks healthy and ready to go. His injury last season was a strained lat (not an elbow or shoulder thing).
 
187mmikulka
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 13, 9:29 pm
12.11 Walker, Neil - PIT - 2B
Ouch. This is bound to happen at some point in every draft: I had my eye on Cueto since before the draft even started, and he was my clear top choice for this pick from the second I took Hamels with my last one… and then he was cruelly snatched up the pick before me. I had been planning to go Cueto here and then 2B (ideally Walker) in the 13th, so I figured I’d just swap the order. While I still badly need starting pitching, nobody stood out to me, and several people in slots 1-5 still needed 2B, so I figured I’d better get mine now.

Walker is really boring from a fantasy standpoint: the last 3 years his OBP has been .334 -.342, his SLG has been .408 -.426, and he’s averaged 67 R and 68 RBI. He won’t steal double-digit bases. If I want a MI with minimal risk in the late 12th round, though, that’s about as good as I can ask for, and reliability is what I’d rather have, considering the kind of stats that the replacement-level 2B will put up.

 
188Seattle Zen
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 13, 9:29 pm
12.12 Simmons, Andrelton - ATL - SS
Fist pumping time. As I stated in round 10, I had four MI in mind and figured that at least one of them would be around the 9 pick turn for round 11. I went with Villar because I really needed steals. I actually rank Simmons a better value, but was willing to let him go. The three other MI's I had in mind were Simmons, Dozier and Jimmy Rollins, in that order. As I awaited the eleven teams picking twice before it came back to me, I realized that three of them do not have a SS and ten of them have no MI. I started reading some stories posted that day naming Simmons a "sleeper" or a great hidden value, discussing how muscular and large he has become. I didn't realize he had 50 extra base hits last season, three less than Dustin Pedroia in fewer plate appearances. He has lock solid job security, so he is my Villar insurance policy. He was ranked as my 8th best SS, Villar 9th, and therefore an excellent MI. Was very happy to see you guys go with Asdrubal, Alexi and JJ instead. Downside was the fact that I think there is a huge drop off in value at 2B after Dozier and he was the next pick.
 
189mailedfoot
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 13, 9:29 pm
12.13 Dozier, Brian - MIN - 2B
Thinking that I need to address MI, I take Dozier who showed some promise last year with double digit homers and steals. I would like to see a better OBP but most of the MI left have the same issue and his minor league numbers suggest he could improve here. He figures to hit near the top of the lineup so I am thinking he is relatively safe and has some upside.
 
190Wazaaap Guy
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 14, 12:08 am
12.14 Moustakas, Mike - KAN - 3B
I planned to take a C here with either the 12 or 13 picks. I liked Ramos, Wieters, and Castro, so I thought I'd wait til 13 to see if the decision had been made or made easier for me. I turned my attention to a position I hadn't filled and looked for a power bat with upside; Moustakas fit the bill well in that regard. He's having a good preseason, was a much ballyhooed prospect, and can slot in at CI for me. Like with Gray, most projections on this guy are on the conservative side but I expect some upside from those predictions.
 
191Meatwads
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 14, 6:47 am
12.15 Granderson, Curtis - NYM - OF
After selecting two closers and two starters with my last 4 picks, I feel it's time to get back to adding to my offense. Granderson was injured the majority of last season which certainly has affected his draft position this season. We all know how valuable Granderson was between 2007-2012 and I'm hoping he bounces back this season. He's always shown a nice speed/power combo when healthy. Although I do expect his homers to drop because of the move out of the Bronx, I still think he has the potential to be a nice pick this late. Another high-risk/high-reward player, which isn't ideal but the league is tough, I have to get what I can and hope for the best.
 
192jeffg
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 14, 6:47 am
12.16 Morneau, Justin - COL - 1B
I don't have a 1B yet, still a few left, but I knew things were getting desparate when I momentarily freaked when Twilson a round earlier took my top of the remaining board 1B I had pegged, Adam Lind. Yes you read that right, I cursed out someone 'stealing' Adam Lind from me. Adam Lind for godsakes! Anyway, there are still some other options for my first bagger out there and Morneau is an aging star with upside, albeit like Lind another one who may sit against left handers. He is healty enough to start the season batting 5th for the Rockies and hoping the mile high air will add a little pop in his production.
 
193jeffg
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 14, 6:47 am
13.01 Rendon, Anthony - WAS - 2B
A few more second baseman went off the board leading up to my pick here (Profar, Kendrick, Walker, Dozier), but I do like Rendon a little better than those guys. A natural third baseman who is the likely winner in the spring position battle for Nationals second baseman. Assuming he gets the gig, he should provide a little less damage in the ratios than the afformentioned second baseman, comparable production in the counting numbers, and at worst only a handful less steals.
 
194Meatwads
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 14, 6:48 am
13.02 Wieters, Matt - BAL - C
I have never been super high on Weiters and as the years go by its looking less and less like hell live up the elite prospect status he had coming up. I wanted to get some more offense with this pick and since catcher seems to be thinning out a bit, I decided to take a position of need. A few positives about Wieters in the fact hes played more and more games each season of his career, hes a switch-hitter batting in a hitters ball park and hes just entering his prime. Some times it takes an elite prospect time to figure things out. I dont expect him to be a monster this season but I can pencil him in for certain numbers and feel safe with him being around when I need him. There is room for improvement and I think he can do it. Finally, I do think this tier of catchers will start coming off the board before I pick again. This selection also gives me a player at each position on offense and allows me to be flexible with future picks.
 
195Wazaaap Guy
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 14, 7:36 am
13.03 Ramos, Wilson - WAS - C
Meatwads helped me a bit by taking Wieters, leaving me with 2 choices. Ultimately went with Ramos because I saw him ranked slightly higher on sites but I think both have good upside and will put up similar numbers.
 
196mailedfoot
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 14, 7:36 am
13.04 Liriano, Francisco - PIT - SP
Selected Liriano as a 3rd starter. He had a great comeback last year (26th ranked pitcher in RIBC), so am hoping he can do it again. Felt like he represented one of the players with the most value left on the board, and addressed one of my needs.
 
197Seattle Zen
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 14, 7:36 am
13.05 Bourn, Michael - CLE - OF
I feel an outfielder run coming. Five of the next eleven teams have two outfielders and Guru has 1/2 in Matt Kemp. I have two and the top player in terms of value right now, by far, is Michael Bourne. I addressed part of my speed deficiency with Villar, my plan was to have one stolen base machine in my outfield and Bourne certainly fits the bill. Last year was a disappointment and is the reason why he has slipped down here to 200. It was the first season he failed to get 600 plate appearances since 2008. It was the first year he didn't have a 340+ OPB since then, too. He is the leadoff hitter in a good lineup, he will steal more bases this year, I expect to see all his numbers rise, I don't see 60 steals again, but I would say that there is a decent chance of 40. I go to sleep with a two OF queue and wake in the middle of the night to check my little device... fist pumping time again.
 
198mmikulka
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 14, 10:57 am
13.06 Dickey, R.A. - TOR - SP
Well, it’s been 2 days and Cole Hamels’ arm hasn’t fallen off, but I still really should take another SP. Dickey is likely to be able to put up 200+ innings even at age 39, and should be able to get an above average amount of wins because he can pitch later into games. This pick is obviously a vote of confidence in his knuckleball being fast again. He started the season hurt, and the knuckler was slow for the first few months last year. Most of the speed returned by the All-Star Break, and after that he was 3.56/1.17 with 8 K/9. Reports from this spring training say it’s already better than it was at any point last year.

One good thing about Dickey is that there should be a clear and obvious correlation between his knuckleball speed and his results, so at the very least I’ll know not to start him if he loses it again. The bad news is that I still need a bunch of other pitchers before I can think about benching him for an extended period of time.

 
199holt
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 14, 10:57 am
13.07 Aybar, Erick - LAA - SS
I had Aybar last season and he stunk it up with a slash of .271/.301/.382 (OPS down 57 points from 2012). Even though I still needed a SS he really wasn't on my radar. Then I stumbled on to an odd spring stat. By and large spring stats are worthless and not interesting, but this one was a head scratcher. In 21 AB's, Aybar has 7 walks. This is a dude who had 23 walks in 550 AB last season. So I google it and find an article that explains that Aybar is expected to be the Angels leadoff hitter and that he is making a concerted effort to drastically improve his OBP. The only other SS's on my radar at this point were Rollins and Peralta. I tried to talk myself into either one of them and couldn't do it. I'm a Cards fan and hope for the best from Peralta but I'm afraid he'll be the '09, '10, '12 version and not the performance enhanced version of '11 & '13. I thought Rollins might be the guy, but he's 35 and coming off a terrible season. I couldn't be hopeful for much outside of 15-20 SB. Had to go with the younger Aybar (who I think can put up 15-20 SB this season along with a nice R total).

Calhoun, Eaton, K Davis, and N Cruz had all strongly been on my radar for a while (and went off the board before my rd 14 pick) but I really needed to get my starting SS taken care of.

 
200evan
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 14, 11:03 am
13.08 Brothers, Rex - COL - RP
There was a lot of pressure here because this was the 200th pick of the draft, a landmark pick if there ever was one. I went with the legendary, all-time great… Rex Brothers?

Yeah, yeah I know but I put myself in a pretty big pickle (Sandlot reference) by waiting on relievers. But you know what, I’ve hit in years past when I’ve done this. Last year I grabbed Frieri in the 12th. I’m hedging my bets that talent will win out here; I’m not sure that 41-year-old LaTroy Hawkins can hold this job with such a poor strikeout ratio. And with reebbertxx2001 a couple of slots away, he may grab Brothers and be assured to have the Colorado closer. I couldn’t let that happen. This is a pretty big risk here, but it had to be done. I’m confident though because last season he converted 18 of 19 save chances. If Brothers doesn’t close this will be a tough draft spot to waste but at least he should give me high strikeouts and a good ERA for a reliever.

 
201JKaye
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 14, 1:00 pm
13.09 Kuroda, Hiroki - NYY - SP
A fairly safe choice, he continually churns out good seasons even as he gets older and older as players tend to do.
 
202bmd
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 14, 1:03 pm
13.10 Calhoun, Kole - LAA - OF
A bit of a risky pick since Calhoun isn't a proven commodity. He came up last year and delivered great numbers. He should be given the first shot at leading off with some big bats hitting behind. If he can hold down the job he could easily top 100 runs with 15 SBs and decent OBP and SLG numbers.
 
203reeb
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 14, 2:09 pm
13.11 Middlebrooks, Will - BOS - 3B
Middlebrooks breakout season was supposed to be last year but he hit quite a few bumps in the road. A year later with a little more seasoning in the minors I am hoping he is ready to reach his potential. his OBP will be a drag in this league even if he does breakout but his counting stats and SLG could be a big plus this late if he performs to my expectations.

Hopefully the Red Sox do not sign a certain undrafted Boras client.

 
204kdl212
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 14, 2:09 pm
13.12 Eaton, Adam - CWS - OF
I was feeling light on runs and OBP at this point, and was looking for another 25 steals. If he doesn't get hurt, Eaton should provide me with all three of those. He was everybody's sleeper last year, and I'm drafting here on that same optimism.
 
205jdrenbarger
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 14, 2:14 pm
13.13 Rollins, Jimmy - PHI - SS
With over 200 players now drafted, there are pretty large warts on everyone remaining. My most pressing needs at this point are pitching and team speed, with quite a few reasonable options available in both areas. The top of my hitters list is dominated by OF and CI, with the mini-run on MI during the long wait until the draft came back to me convincing me pretty quickly that a third MI with this pick made a lot of sense. Of those remaining, Rollins stood out - his pretty serious regression last year notwithstanding - as a decent SB (and R) contributor. Best case is that he stays healthy and his benching for three games during spring training motivates him - rather than sends him into a funk that he never shakes.
 
206Guru
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 14, 2:38 pm
13.14 Cruz, Nelson - TEX - OF
Finally, a second outfielder! I assume that Cruz is still available because no one knows whether he can produce while not on PEDs. He’s also 33 – not too old to produce, but not on the upslope either. In any event, I’m short of outfielders, and he looks like the best bet to provide some power among available hitters who should be playing everyday. He’s certainly started out spring training on a mission, with a 1088 OPS through his first 7 games (22 PA). And at pick 13.14, I’m getting him later than any of the other RIBC drafts.
 
207twilson
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 14, 4:08 pm
13.15 Venable, Will - SDG - OF
Perusing the player lists, there is absolutely no one who stands out to me, but there is a wide spread of acceptable options. On the offensive side, outfielders flood the top of my charts. I kind of like David Freese but think he will be around in the 15th. Pitchingwise, I see little reason to take a reliever. Benoit was the only one I considered, as I like both his situation and talent level, but there are enough other guys I like also that he would be a bit of a luxury. Thus, I think it makes sense to go OF/SP with this pair of picks. I ended up having more of a preference amongst the outfielders, so that was my 13.15 choice.

Eaton left the board a handful of picks prior to this one, so he is out of the discussion. I’m not sure I would’ve picked him anyway, but it would have been nice to have the option. Khris Davis was not, so I investigated him thoroughly. Ultimately, his awful spring training made me skeptical that he would live up to this draft slot. Will Venable and Angel Pagan were two names that wouldn’t hurt my rate cats while providing elusive SBs. I glanced at Alfonso Soriano, Carl Crawford, and Corey Hart, but wasn’t all that interested. Venable was the choice because Pagan has been dealing with a tight back. Pl"us, he’s a guy I’ve always liked and considered undervalued. I don’t think he is undervalued again this year, but it’s not like I’m passing up some other great option to take him."

 
208Jason
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 14, 4:08 pm
13.16 Tillman, Chris - BAL - 0
 
209Jason
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 14, 4:08 pm
14.01 Soriano, Alfonso - NYY - 0
 
210twilson
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 14, 5:12 pm
14.02 Lynn, Lance - STL - SP
I worked up a lengthy list of starting pitching options for this pick, beginning with ADP and using projections and news reports to gradually eliminate names. The final three players on my list were Lance Lynn, Dan Haren, and Marco Estrada. Estrada is a perennial favorite of mine. With the exception of some home run issues, he always pitches well when healthy, with last season’s stretch run being a particularly fine effort. Unfortunately, he’s never exceeded 150 IP in his professional career, and that seems unlikely to change. I let the health issues, and the chance he’ll be there at 15.15, steer me in a different direction.

Haren is the favorite pitcher of my various projection systems, but my personal analysis makes me a bit more skeptical though still intrigued. Lynn strikes out nearly a batter an inning, but his significant platoon split limits his upside. I chose Lynn due to his durability and the potential for me to bench him against lefty-heavy lineups.

 
211Guru
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 14, 5:12 pm
14.03 Pagan, Angel - SFO - OF
A few picks ago, I said that I planned to take a hitter and a pitcher at each turn. I ended up taking Cruz and Pagan on this turn. So I lied.

When I looked at the starting pitchers still available, it seems like there were still quite a few that I’d be happy with as my SP4. So I decided to work on my hitting again.

Pagan provides some steals without totally sacrificing power. Last year was injury-riddled, but over the prior three years he averaged over 600 plate appearances, so downtime hasn’t been a chronic problem. His career slugging average is .423 – not bad for a guy who should get north of 20 SB. At least, not bad for someone in round 14. In last year’s RIBC drafts, he was taken in the 10th round on average. This year, I’m getting him later than three of the other drafts. So at least I feel like I’m not overpaying.

My short list for this pair of picks included Soriano, Venable, and Middleton – in no particular order. I wasn’t targeting any of them in particul"ar, so I’m content with the two I got."

 
212jdrenbarger
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 14, 7:02 pm
14.04 Gattis, Evan - ATL - OF
Hard for me to pass up a projected cleanup hitter at this point in the draft, regardless of who he plays for – particularly one with multi-position eligibility (C/OF) who addresses one pretty pressing positional need and will allow me to wait on picking up a third CI (Mauer will pick up 1B eligibility early in the season, and I can slot Gattis at C / move Mauer to CI). Gattis doesn’t run at all and I’ll take an OBP hit from him – great power, though, and not many of those guys left. And I’m not buying the projections showing him hovering around 400 AB due to a plan to only play him at C 110 or so games – I have to think they’ll find a way to keep his bat in the lineup most days, as they did during last year’s second half.
 
213kdl212
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 14, 7:02 pm
14.05 Castro, Jason - HOU - C
It was at this point in the draft that I realized my team was doomed. By the 14th round, I had rostered the #2, #3 and #4 hitter on the Houston Astros, the team that was near the bottom of the league in runs scored last year. Not only that, I'm drafting a catcher before the 20th round, which is also silly.

Let's hope the dreamers are right and that his power spike last year was for real.

 
214reeb
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 15, 8:44 am
14.06 Buchholz, Clay - BOS - SP
Clay was the best pitcher in baseball before getting injured last year. I'm not expecting him to meet those lofty numbers but I do not see as big a dropoff as many of the "experts" are predicting. Honestly just looking for a mostly healthy season and if that happens I think I will like this pick.
 
215bmd
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 14, 11:03 pm
14.07 Soria, Joakim - TEX - RP
My first RP!!! Sadly it's for a guy that isn't a closer but he's apparently still in competition for the role. Even if he only wins the job 1/3 of the time he's worth the risk. Closing in Texas would mean a plethora of chances. Even if he loses the job he should provide decent enough ERA/WHIP to hold his spot on the roster. I also wouldn't be surprised if he was the "closer" on days after Feliz pitches.
 
216JKaye
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 14, 11:13 pm
14.08 Dunn, Adam - CWS - UTL
Had a better year than I thought last year. Even as a .220 hitter, his walks make his obp palatable here. A slg around 450 is great this late and if he somehow hits .260 again, his value really skyrockets.
 
217evan
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 14, 11:14 pm
14.09 Davis, Khris - MIL - OF
Where else do you get a 1B who led the MLB in home runs last year in the 14th round?! Man you guys are suckers! Wait… what did you say? This isn’t that Chris Davis. Oh….

Milwaukee traded away Aoki (also on my squad) to clear a spot for Davis. Seems like he has an awful lot of power and will get me a handful of stolen bases. Not a bad OBP projection either (.333) for an OF this late. I don’t know too much about the guy, read about him on a lot of lists.

 
218holt
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 14, 11:37 pm
14.10 Crawford, Carl - LAD - OF
Went SS the previous round, but there was a batch of OF's that interested me. Calhoun, Eaton, K Davis, and N Cruz, C Crawford, and C Quentin being the primary ones. Crawford and Quentin were still around. I think both offer a lot of upside if they can just stay on the field. I end up going with Crawford for the steals. FWIW, Crawford has said he wants 40 steals this season (it's not going to happen, but at least it's on his mind). Crawford pretty much has a green light. Last season he had 9 steals in the first two months of the season, then a hamstring issue pretty much derailed his aggression on the basepaths til very late in the season. I consider him to be an injury risk, but not nearly as much of a risk as C Quentin. Crawford's '12 season was lost due to Tommy John surgery. And the hamstring thing in '13 really can happen to any player at any time.

Projections generally have him around .315/.415 with 15 sb, but projections can be shallow. They're helpful but in many cases they don't seem to be developed with much thought or research. Baseball projections remind me of County Assessor opinions of home values. Come up with a formula, throw in some data, press a button, bam - home values for the whole county. I think there's" a reasonable chance to see .330/430 with 25 steals. One thing that bugs me though - Crawford will see a fair amount of rest days, and plays for a west coast team. I hope I'm able to get a feel for when he is starting or not."

 
219mmikulka
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 14, 11:46 pm
14.11 Montero, Miguel - ARI - C
I had been planning to take a catcher with this pick, as 3 teams in draft slots 1-5 are also without one, and they would each have a pair of chances to take one before my 15th round pick. Unfortunately two teams earlier in this round had the same idea, and my top choice (Jason Castro) was taken.

I was left to decide between Yan Gomes and Miguel Montero. I had Gomes down the stretch in one league last year and he was fantastic. Even then, though, he didn’t walk: his BABIP and OBP were virtually identical, and his BABIP won’t be in the .340s this year. If Gomes had a little more of a sample size to work with, I might have been willing to take a chance, but he had barely 300 PA this year, and slightly over 100 in 2012 (in which he put up a .641 OPS).

Montero’s 2013 was awful in pretty much every way. If he plays that way again this season, he’ll be worse than replacement level, and I’ll have to drop him and choose from the scrap heap. I wish I could say that I have full confidence that last year was an aberration, but if I could, I doubt I would have been able to get him in the late 14th round.

What gives me hope is that he had been one of the most consistent options around until this disaster. If he does manage to return close to his prior form, it will be fantastic value: his previous 2 years came with RBI totals of 88 and 86, and from 2009-2012 he averaged .357/.455.

 
220Seattle Zen
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 14, 11:46 pm
14.12 LaRoche, Adam - WAS - 1B
There have multiple times this draft that I have felt that we are all just watching Guru school us. Nelson Cruz in the bottom half of this draft, and Angel Pagan, too? Damn.

I need a catcher, a second baseman, a corner infielder and an outfielder. Don't like any of the 2b right now. Jason Castro tops my queue, but then he gets snagged.

I'm liking Adam Laroche and Josh Willingham. Don't know why Laroche is not getting the love. He has a sweet walk rate, 12% last year. I took him in a late round in 2012 because he was the cleanup hitter on a high scoring offense and he delivered. He is now batting fifth and they are still a first class offense. I could see an OPS from 780 to 800 with 160+ R/RBI. This guy was drafted after Justin Smoak in the AAA Yahoo league?!?!?! I don't get it?

 
221mailedfoot
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 15, 12:10 am
14.13 Masterson, Justin - CLE - SP
This pick was similar to the Liriano pick in that I felt Masterson would solidify my starting rotation with a guy who was ranked 28th (pitchers) in RIBC last year and figures to generate at least 175-180 K this year. If he can keep his WHIP under control, I think he represents great value here.
 
222Wazaaap Guy
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 15, 1:07 am
14.14 Peralta, Jhonny - STL - SS
Was looking to fill MI slots with this and the 15 pick since I didn't have any MI yet. Peralta really stood out to me based on his power from the SS position. While he may no longer be a 20 HR hitter, he should offer decent counting stats hitting in the STL lineup, and last year he put up a .358 OBP and .457 SLG. A year older and off the juice, it might be hard for him to replicate those numbers, but should still offer above average SLG and a decent OBP for a SS.
 
223Meatwads
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 15, 6:13 am
14.15 Hart, Corey - SEA - 1B
Another slugger coming off a season-long layoff. I'm shooting for a strong showing from a former 30 homer guy but I realize the risk involved with someone missing so much time. I like that he's currently projected to hit cleanup behind Cano so he cou"ld have a lot of RBI chances in an improving Seattle lineup. The 1B/OF flexibility also gives him some added value. When healthy in the past he pass been a valuable player and he's still not too old."
 
224jeffg
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 15, 6:55 am
14.16 Haren, Dan - LAD - SP
Set my MI and C queues of 3 names each after my last pair, but they got picked off for the last two rounds. Looked at the ones left, consider them interchangeable, so I'll wait. Had a few SP as an alternative and as my tie breaker always seems to be "WHIP, chose Haren. Maybe a slight reach. Sure his ERA could approach 4, but he does not walk too many and the move back to the NL West, a contending team, and a pitchers ballpark could hopefully reverse the trend following a few subpar seasons."
 
225jeffg
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 15, 6:55 am
15.01 Quentin, Carlos - SDG - OF
Knowing I still have the bottom of the pile MI and C to get, I grabbed someone whose OBP, SLG and RBI could kind of even those out with .350/.460 being the median projections which he well exceeded each of the past two seasons. For that to work, I'd need Carlos to stay on the field, he has only been healthy for 80 games each of the last two seasons. He's had nearly 50 RBI each of those years and that would translate well to a full year. Again a big IF.
 
226Meatwads
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 15, 7:43 am
15.02 Sabathia, CC - NYY - SP
Taking a gamble on a bounce back from the former Cy Young award winner. Until last year (which started with a shoulder surgery) he has been as consistent as they come. There is some worry he may be declining after racking up so many innings in his career but I've liked the way he looks in spring and I think he's smart enough to reinvent himself if he has lost his mid-90's velocity for good. Combine that with the Yankees revamped lineup and I think he can give me solid numbers across the board, unless he is done.
 
227Wazaaap Guy
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 15, 9:05 am
15.03 Gordon, Dee - LAD - SS
I think I was a bit fortuitous picking around this time as Dee Gordon Starting 2B talk was only then getting a lot of traction (though he didn't start Game 1 and then started Game 2 this year so who knows how this will play out going forward. This late in the draft I generally look for potential big power, big speed, young pitchers, or saves. Gordon has 40-50 SB upside if he plays a good chunk of the season, so I opted to go with him and fill my MI or 2B slot. This is also a semi hedge against Billy Hamilton in case he doesn't pan out and I am in need of SB.
 
228mailedfoot
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 15, 9:55 am
15.04 Jeter, Derek - NYY - SS
Elected to go with Jeter at SS. Hoping he can stay healthy; if so, I think he could play well in this format, as he has demonstrated strong OBP skills throughout his career. Since this is his last go round, he will want to go out on a high note.
 
229Seattle Zen
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 15, 9:55 am
15.05 Estrada, Marco - MIL - SP
I have been targeting Marco Estrada since January. I just really like guys with elite K/BB ratios, high strikeouts and low WHIPs generally lead to low ERA and wins.

But I also need slugging and I like Josh Willingham. When the guy is healthy, oh, no, not that phrase, he has a great OPS because he has power and a huge walk rate. Last year he was "injury plagued" and unlike most years, when he was on the field, he still looked injury plagued. What scares me about him is the high likelihood the Twins trade him before the deadline, outfield is one area the Twins have a lot of young options. Hey, I could also be writing this very paragraph about Carlos Quentin. These late teen round picks are very important, in the past I think I took too many chances around this time, looking around, there are still plenty of solid, healthy contributors, so I am not going to chance loosing Estrada.

I'm off to Seattle for a draft and a good omen appears - on the ferry across the Sound I run into Todd McCoullogh, seven footer affectionately known as Banner Click on these boards a baker's dozen years ago. I end up with Jordan Zimmerman and Hisashi, again. I also will be cheering for Danny Salazar, Michael Wacha, Tony Cingrani, Brett Lawrie, Starling Marte, Jay Bruce and Coco Crisp, my daughter's favorite player.

 
230mmikulka
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 15, 10:06 am
15.06 Benoit, Joaquin - SDG - RP
Why am I taking Benoit when I already have 3 relievers and only 2 starters?

The average of Benoit’s last four years has been 64.2 IP, 2.50/0.98, 10.2 K/9.

If you take a lousy starter with 120 IP, 4.25/1.35, 6 K/9 and add a reliever with 60 IP, 2.75/1.00, 9 K/9, you get a nice starter with 180 IP, 3.75/1.23, 7.7 K/9, which is roughly what I’d be hoping a starter would become at this point in the draft.

Adding to this is the fact that relievers produce wins at higher rates than starters, that Benoit’s a flyball pitcher moving to Petco, and that he’s the setup man (at worst – some are saying he could share the closer role from the outset) to Huston Street, the most reliably-injured closer in baseball, and whose K rate declined mightily last year.

It’s a good thing I decided I preferred Benoit the night before, because otherwise I would have been furious when Seattle Zen drafted Marco Estrada the pick before me.

 
231holt
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 15, 1:39 pm
15.07 Freese, David - LAA - 3B
Somewhere around 8 am I was up and trying to set a queue of third-basemen but ended up falling asleep while doing it. I wake up at 12:30 and find I had run 3 1/2 hours off the clock so I very hastily made the pick of D Freese. Right after I submitted the pick I realized that I was debating Freese and Castellanos when I fell asleep. I hope I didn't make a huge error there.

Last year I drafted Freese in the 6th rd and it did not turn out well.
2012: .372 .467 70R 79RBI
2013: .340 .381 53R 60RBI

His HR dropped from 20 to 9, average dropped to .262 after being over .290 from '09-'12. His plate discipline, contact %'s, pitch type %'s were pretty similar to previous seasons so no explanation there. His HR/FB % dropped from 20% to 10.5%. His GB/FB remained one of the league's highest at 2.30 (2.27 in '11, 1.98 in '12). His BABIP dropped to .320 after ranging from .352 to .376 in previous seasons.

His fielding was much worse. In 2012 he made plays on 75.4% of balls in his zone. In 2013 that number fell to 65.8%. His UZR/150 went from 2.2 to -22.7, so basically his defense cost the Cardinals 20 more runs in '13 than in '12.

Trying to make sense out of it. Freese had a pre-season injury on March 4 2013, falling" into the stands & landing on his tailbone. He missed most of spring training and came off the DL April 8.

April .163/.255/.204
May .299/.365/.429
June .319/.390/.479
Then he slumps again in July/Aug, pulling out of it in Sept/Oct:

July .224/.305/.282
Aug .265/.326/.386
Sep/Oct .257/.360/.432

He also had poor Augusts in 2011 & 2012.

I guess my conclusion is that 2013 was a combination of lingering injury issues and bad luck. 2012 was probably a career year with some good luck on a few home run balls. 2011 is probably a decent indication of what to expect, factoring in that he's 3 years older and in a new league. I'll take a stab and guess .345 OBP & .425 SLG, a little bit higher than Zeile consensus of .335/.412. Either way, probably acceptable numbers for this late in the draft. They have Castellanos at .324 .402. Hope I drafted the right player.

 
232evan
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 15, 1:39 pm
15.08 Qualls, Chad - HOU - RP
The final “starting closer” available. Since I don’t have anyone who can close, I figured it was a good time to nab him. He may hold the job for only a couple of weeks but I had to grab him.
 
233JKaye
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 15, 4:54 pm
15.09 Upton, B.J. - ATL - OF
Pretty much a lottery ticket. I have no idea if he can return to his effective power/speed combo that plays well in this league even if his obp is low. But he has done it before, so I suppose the chance he does it again is worth the gamble here. But needs a contingency plan obviously.
 
234bmd
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 15, 4:54 pm
15.10 Clippard, Tyler - WAS - RP
Clippard is one of the few guys before the draft that I really wanted. He's probably the best non closer RP due to his win potential, ERA, WHIP, and Ks. There's the bonus value that Soriano just isn't the same Soriano from a few years ago. If I had to bet I'd say there's a 70% chance he loses his job this year. That would be huge for Clippard who should have the leg up on Storen as the new closer.
 
235reeb
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 15, 4:54 pm
15.11 Saltalamacchia, Jarrod - MIA - C
In hindsight I probably could have picked a similar catcher much later in the draft but I'm fairly happy to have Salty on my team. He has pretty good power numbers for a catcher and should catch most of the Marlin games. Hopefully the move to the NL and a bad ballpark don't affect his numbers too much.
 
236kdl212
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 15, 5:50 pm
15.12 Willingham, Josh - MIN - OF
This is yet another player where I'm looking for production that splits the difference between 2012 and 2013. The best outcome here is a high OBP with decent slugging totals and RBIs. He's likely far past his prime, but I was still feeling like my team's OBP was going to be ugly, and was looking in these rounds to address that.
 
237jdrenbarger
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 15, 7:13 pm
15.13 Revere, Ben - PHI - OF
ESPN Fantasy Projection: When someone says "I can always draft speed later," what they're really saying is, "I can always draft Ben Revere later."

I still only have two SP … but only five went off the board in the 24 picks since my last one, Estrada’s the only one of those that really interested me, and I’ll have another shot at one after six more pics. Revere is a SB difference-maker, with a passable OBP and an expectation that he’ll score a decent number of runs as long as he stays atop the order. Not ideal that I only have four P after 15 picks, and it's starting to look like I’ll be streaming starters off of the waiver wire a lot during the season – so I might as well fill in my hitting lineup with team regulars, ideally with some multi-positional eligibility in order to best maximize team AB during the season.

 
238Guru
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 15, 7:13 pm
15.14 Wheeler, Zack - NYM - SP
Time for another young arm. Wheeler came up to the Mets in June, and finished his first ML season with a 3.42 ERA in 100 IP, striking out 84. Curiously, his results on the road were much better than in the friendly confines of pitcher-friendly Citi Field, but that is probably just a small sample size aberration. This year, he figures to be in the Mets rotation, hopefully picking up where Matt Harvey left off. As my SP4, though, I don’t need him to be brilliant - just decent.

In the other f"our RIBC drafts, he was an average late-13th round pick, and never taken later than 14.07, so I feel like I’ve gotten him quite cheaply at 15.14. Had he been taken prior to this, my backup choice was C.J. Wilson. "

 
239twilson
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 15, 7:20 pm
15.15 Castellanos, Nick - DET - 3B
I made my 15th and 16th picks while out and about, which limited my research abilities. I did an hour or two before leaving the house and put together some queues, though nothing was set in stone. I would’ve taken Freese or Estrada here had they not been taken earlier in the round.

After my pick at 14.02, my dad texted me and asked what I thought about Castellanos. Previously unaware of him as a player, I did a little reading and liked enough of what I saw to put him on the list. His stellar spring and strong surrounding lineup offer me as much hope as I’m going to find at third base the rest of the way. I don’t entirely remember who else I was considering other than some outfielders that I correctly guessed would be available later o"n in the draft."

 
240Jason
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 15, 7:20 pm
15.16 Cain, Lorenzo - KAN - OF
 
241Jason
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 15, 7:20 pm
16.01 Crain, Jesse - HOU - RP
 
242twilson
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 15, 8:38 pm
16.02 Garza, Matt - MIL - SP
This is possibly my least favorite pick of my draft. It is less significant of a bad pick compared to the early rounds, but Garza is not the type of player I like to draft at the bottom end of my rotation. I should be going for lottery tickets, and Garza just doesn’t quite fit that bill anymore. Too much risk for not enough potential reward. With that said, he does have a chance to add value to my roster. The awful spring, which I didn’t know about due to my limited research for this pick, doesn’t help matters.
 
243Guru
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 15, 9:15 pm
16.03 Reddick, Josh - OAK - OF
I’ve been looking at Reddick for several rounds, but never felt ready to pull the trigger. Now is the time. He fits the mold of my outfield corps, coming back from some outage in 2013 - injuries/surgeries/suspensions (Kemp, Pagan, Cruz). He’s reportedly back at 100% with extra muscle, and should provide modest power and speed. OBP may be the weakest link, but I think I have a good foundation there, assuming that enough of my walking wounded can stay on the field this year.

Regardless, thi"s is an outfield corps that begs for some backup support, so although my starting OF slots are nominally filled, I’m not done. "

 
244jdrenbarger
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 15, 9:15 pm
16.04 Wong, Kolten - STL - 2B
Thought long and hard at this point about picking up my third SP here, with Archer, Wood and Wheeler all on my radar. Wong covers me at 2B, however (and also affords me the opportunity to slot Zobrist at OF if I so choose), and his playing time (left-handed platoon, at least) will be a lot more predictable, I think, for making daily roster decisions than will be Kelly Johnson’s (and a lot more productive, I think, than Omar Infante’s). There’s some upside here, at this point in the draft, for both SB and R, and he’s flashing a little power this spring (well, for a MI available at this point in the draft). I can always take my third SP next round ...
 
245kdl212
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 15, 9:18 pm
16.05 Johnson, Chris - ATL - 3B
He got real lucky last year, but there's no reason he can't provide a 330/440 line, and I need a 3B if Headley can't start the year. There didn't seem to be much else out there except Matt Dominguez, but then I'd have 4 Astro hitters, and I just couldn't do that.
 
246reeb
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 15, 9:18 pm
16.06 Putz, J.J. - ARI - RP
I am short on saves so taking a shot in the dark that JJ picks up a few as second fiddle to Reed. If injury strikes he should have first crack at the job. If not he should give me decent ratios for a non close.
 
247bmd
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 15, 9:30 pm
16.07 Wilson, C.J. - LAA - SP
On the contrary to Clippard, Wilson is someone I was not targeting. This late though it was just too hard to pass up his mid 3 ERA with decent k's and win potential. Wilson is valuable because of his consistency. He seems to stay healthy which in this league is very valuable given our limited bench.
 
248JKaye
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 16, 9:13 am
16.08 Davis, Rajai - DET - UTL
Only a part timer but the speed demon had 45 SB in 360 pa last year. That is more or less the logic for the pick.
 
249evan
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 16, 9:17 am
16.09 Archer, Chris - TAM - SP
The next great Tampa pitcher? He did pretty fantastic last season in limited duty and although I don’t expect him to match those numbers, he probably won’t fall far off. He looks dominant in many innings and then explodes with one terrible inning. Isn’t that the case with most young pitchers though? We’ll see how it goes.
 
250holt
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 16, 10:36 am
16.10 Howard, Ryan - PHI - 1B
Definitely wasn't expecting to draft Howard. I don't think I've ever drafted him on any team. Still needed a CI (and I will continue to look for options there). I'm not convinced Howard will have some kind of bounce-back season (would be nice of course) but if he can stay off the DL he should provide more production than most or all of the other CI still available. He stunk last year and still managed .319/.465.

I considered Kelly Johnson here due to his MI eligibility but figured I'd try to get similar value a little later in the draft. I like Howard's rbi and SLG potential. I also read that he is working on his approach, going to all fields rather than pulling everything. I'm not predicting 40 HR but at least he's making an effort.

 
251mmikulka
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 16, 10:47 am
16.11 Wood, Alex - ATL - SP
Wood pitched great last year after being called up mid-season: every projection I’ve looked at gives him an ERA under 4, and most are closer to 3 than 4. Despite his rosy outlook, Wood hadn’t been ranked or drafted as highly as the other breakout rookies because the Braves have so much good pitching, and he had to fight with Brandon Beachy for the 5th starter position, likely beginning the season in AAA.

Now Beachy and Kris Medlen are having a Tommy John party at Dr. James Andrews’ house, though, and Wood is suddenly locked in as the 4th starter on a good team in the same division as the Phillies, Mets, and Marlins. I’m hoping for something in line with the projections (3.45/1.26, 8 K/9), and there doesn’t seem to be much downside except for his ridiculous delivery potentially leading to an injury.

 
252Seattle Zen
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 16, 10:47 am
16.12 Johnson, Kelly - NYY - 2B
On my queue for this round is Willingham, Kelly Johnson, Torii Hunter, and Rajai Davis. Of the remaining second basemen, I like Johnson the most, by far, because I think he has the greatest chance of contributing in SLG and R/RBI. He should start the season batting 7th, but injuries will probably move him up to sixth at some point. The short right field wall gives him a good chance at 20 HR and all the RBI that go along with that. The more I think about him and the fact that he will spell the other infielders and therefore get plenty of plate appearances, the more I am sold that he will be a pick I will point to in October and say, "that was good". Omar Infante was another option that doesn't excite me, negative slugging, atrocious walk rate and he seems to be hurt. I'm glad to finally get that second baseman noose off from around my neck.
 
253mailedfoot
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 16, 11:42 am
16.13 Hunter, Torii - DET - OF
I'm getting a little spoooked at this point in the draft, as some players I've had my eye on are getting picked earlier than what I imagined. Needing more OF depth, I settle on Hunter, who has pretty consistently generated at least .800 OPS throughout his career. I have to think hitting close to Cabrera, he can do it again and should kick in a nice R/RBI total. He's getting up there age wise, but of the OF left on the board, he is one of the highest ranked.
 
254Wazaaap Guy
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 16, 12:18 pm
16.14 Baez, Javier - CHC - SS
Baez is not only one of the top prospects in the Minors, but he's also one of the most likely top prospects to debut at some point this year. At the time, Baez was still in camp and there was increasing talk that he might move to 2B and start the year with the big club. That didn't happen, but this pick was more a stash until Baez does inevitably come up and start mashing. Not much sense in projecting numbers with prospects but I always draft a few late, often reaching for them which I'm perfectly prepared to do. The payoffs could be huge and the alternate choices don't offer much more than what I can get 2, 3, 4 rounds from now in my opinion.
 
255Meatwads
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 16, 2:14 pm
16.15 Smoak, Justin - SEA - 1B
Taking a gamble here on a failed prospect to finally break out a little. I saw some signs last season in the second half that Smoak may still have another level. Entering the season in his prime with a better lineup around him, I'm predicting the swi"tch-hitter to have his finest season to date. I'm prepared to accept that he may be a complete bust but I drafted him to be a backup for me and anything beyond that is gravy."
 
256jeffg
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 16, 2:14 pm
16.16 Gomes, Yan - CLE - C
Meatwads and I are looking at the same players, or at least I am looking at the same ones he is. I had Hart in my sights for 15.01 (taken 14.15), and Smoak and Uggla in my short list this time (Smoak 16.15, Uggla I let go and was taken 17.02). With that said and Smoak gone, had a C queued up as a alternative, and at this point I think Gomes is the best of the rest. As the tribe backup last year Gomes saw 86 games and had great numbers, now he is the every day catcher. Sure one should conclude that last year was overachieving perhaps, but they were consistent with his recent years in the minors. All I expect is something consistent with the 14th backstop taken in this league, but of the remaining few, perhaps he has the best potential to out perform.
 
257jeffg
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 16, 2:14 pm
17.01 Ackley, Dustin - SEA - 2B
Unfortunately this not THAT Mariner second baseman. Dustin is displaced this year to CF with the Cano signing and Ackley is probably who Robbie was looking at when he saw the M's outfield and publicly declared that the team needs another bat. Still, for a 17th rounder with the remaining MI that were left, I cannot expect many super choices at this level (also looked at Uggla). He could see time as the leadoff hitter which would put the few good M's bats behind him, and maybe contribute to his run rate.
 
258Meatwads
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 16, 2:23 pm
17.02 Uggla, Dan - ATL - 2B
The theme continues with another slugger coming off one of the worst seasons of any regular last season. I really wanted to fill my MI spot with this pick and Uggla has showed some flashes in the spring that last year may be an outlier in his career. Any time you have a player this late in a draft with a premium position that has a consistent track record of power and is still in his prime, I think the reward outweighs the risk. If he bounces back he could be one of my best picks. If not, then I'll do better in AAA next year! Haha
 
259Wazaaap Guy
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 16, 2:33 pm
17.03 Bradley, Archie - ARI - SP
Similar to Baez, Bradley is one of the top prospects in the game and due to the Patrick Corbin injury, is also close to making his MLB debut. Again, this isn't a pick where I look at the projections and see how it would fit in with my team. Instead, it's a pure upside speculation pick.
 
260mailedfoot
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 16, 2:44 pm
17.04 Brantley, Michael - CLE - OF
I almost took Brantley on my previous pick, so when he was still available, snapped him up here. Solid hitter who figures to hit in the top half of the lineup, is good for at least 15 steals, and just coming into his prime. Makes for a nice 4th-5th outfielder.
 
261Seattle Zen
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 16, 3:13 pm
17.05 Byrd, Marlon - PHI - OF
And there goes Torii. This sounds strange to me, maybe because it was the only time Joe Morgan was ever right, but I remember back when Joe Mauer signed his $183 billion dollar contract, Morgan saying, "hey, I thought you guys said back when Torii asked for 1/4 of that, 'we're a small market team, we don't have that kind of money (for African-Americans)'" The phrase in parentheses was added by Reggie Jackson. Seriously, Torii was good for over 21 WAR in Anaheim his five years there. The Twins should have never let him go. The epitome of consistent production. Nice pick, mailedfoot.

Watching Dustin Ackley and Dan Uggla come off the board makes me so glad I landed KJ last round. I plan on drafting the first woman fantasy baseball player for my catcher in the 23rd round, so I think I will take an outfielder here. I decide on Michael Brantley, he's 26, has two good years in a row, he's batting fifth in a good lineup, not a great walk rate, but he does average double digit steals. Mailedfoot is not satisfied taking just my first outfielder choice, he's got to do it twice, damn! My second choice is Marlon Byrd and after some reflection, he better suits this team. His 2012 was a disaster, but last year was a career best OPS and 88 rbi gem. If you hit .290, I can live with your low walk rate. He has moved to an excellent hitters park, which is great because he had a ridiculous 962 OPS on the road last year. He's batting fifth in Philly and I don't think his job is in trouble. He's got a decent pedigree and 36 isn't too old, younger than Torii, right... :)

 
262mmikulka
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 16, 3:52 pm
17.06 Ethier, Andre - LAD - OF
It was time to address my CI position, and I had two choices: the obvious option was to take a 1B/3B, but none stood out to me. Instead, I decided to tentatively pencil Nick Swisher in at CI and draft another OF.

Ethier’s career OPS is .833. Last year wasn’t as good, but .783 is still darn useful. The biggest problem is obviously his lack of guaranteed playing time, as the Dodgers are in the awkward position of having 4 high quality OF. However, Kemp has been injury-prone, and the other OF also have the potential to miss time for various reasons (this pick also doubles as Puig insurance).

There will be likely be enough injuries to ensure Ethier has decent playing time. If not, there’s also a chance somebody gets traded. However," the downside isn’t nearly as problematic as people seem to think: if Ethier does get benched for a substantial amount of games, it will likely be against lefties, and his playing time should result in higher quality stats.

Let’s imagine that "the Dodgers platoon him, only starting him against righties: If you take just his at bats against righties last year, his OPS was .854. His OPS vs. righties in the 5 years before that was .945/.878/.950/.960/.953. Wow. I’ll take 450 PA of that and 150 of replacement level, please.

 
263holt
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 16, 3:58 pm
17.07 Santana, Ervin - ATL - SP
I thought about Rasmus and Infante here but the list of SP I was interested in was getting too short so I decided to grab my SP4. Santana has a 3.24 ERA and 1.14 whip last season. He's not the most consistent pitcher from year to year but with the move to the Braves I figured he was worth taking a chance on.
 
264evan
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 16, 4:05 pm
17.08 Garcia, Avisail - CWS - OF
He could be hitting #2 in the White Sox lineup in between Eaton and Abreu and could bring me a 15/15 season with solid run potential. His low .300’s OBP is a problem, but hopefully all the guys I drafted earlier can counterbalance that. Plus I needed another OF body. Like Khris Davis I drafted earlier, I don’t know much about him but he has good buzz.
 
265JKaye
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 16, 5:19 pm
17.09 Drew, Stephen - FA - SS
I thought the Iglesias injury in Detroit might have given him an opening to find a roster and playing time. But might have out-thought myself on this one, as his signing apparently means costing a team a draft pick.
 
266bmd
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 16, 5:31 pm
17.10 Santos, Sergio - TOR - RP
Like I said earlier, I didn't plan on not drafting any closers but since I didn't, I needed to load up on the high tier middle relievers. As of now Jannsen hasn't thrown in a spring training game due to shoulder issues. He says he's healthy and will be ready by opening day but that's not a given. Even if he's ready he won't be 100% and Santos could be given the ball to close if Jannsen isn't on full rest. Santos is a guy that was an elite closer a few years ago. His k rate is very nice and he should be decent in ERA and WHIP.
 
267reeb
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 16, 5:31 pm
17.11 Lackey, John - BOS - SP
Another guy I am hoping can build on his bounceback season. Not expecting any sort of elite ratios but with some luck will have a high win total while not killing me in the other cats.
 
268kdl212
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 16, 5:44 pm
17.12 Infante, Omar - KAN - 2B
Needed to fill my middle-infield slot, and was disappointed that Dustin Ackley wasn't around to be my choice. There were more intriguing possibilities, but Omar seemed safer. Nothing really to see here - no upside, but hopefully he can score 75 runs out of the #2 slot in the KC lineup. If I'm silly lucky, he goes basestealing crazy like he did in 2012, but that seems like an outlier.
 
269jdrenbarger
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 16, 6:21 pm
17.13 Dominguez, Matt - HOU - 3B
I REALLY need to pick up a SP during these two picks at the turn, if not two SP … but I’m also having flashbacks to past years in which I’ve been forced to play a variety of guys who have no business being on a major league roster due to injuries to my starters. I’m already essentially covered at every position except 3B, where David Wright is of course somewhat of a poster child for time lost to injuries. Not much left to pick from at this point and I only seriously consider two; elect to go with Dominguez because his job is secure and there’s at least a little hope for some offensive upside. Best case is that he rarely leaves my bench, and I won’t argue with those that believe making such a pick with eight more rounds to go is a little early. And since the three guys drafting behind me all have four SP at this point, I see little risk that all of the three SP I've targeted at this point are taken before the draft comes back to me.
 
270Guru
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 16, 6:40 pm
17.14 Kluber, Corey - CLE - SP
This draft has unfolded a bit differently than my typical drafts in years past. As usual, I waited until round 9 to take my first starter. But because so many other teams were also holding off on starting pitching, I’ve continued to find such compelling value through the middle rounds that I’m already drafting my SP5 in round 17, taking 5 SPs in a span of 9 rounds.

There is a method in my madness, however. I often try to load up on a stable of high quality middle relievers to control my pitching ratios, since my starting pitching is less than star quality. But this year, I have so many health concerns on the hitting side (Kemp & Aramis Ramirez in particular) that I think I’m going to need more of my limited bench slots than usual to warehouse spare hitters. So I want to aim for starting pitching that won’t need as much relief support. At least, that’s the plan as things stand now.

Kluber is another unproven but potential breakout candidate that has shown growth over his first several years. Last season’s 3.85 ERA &1.26 WHIP seem to be supported by skills analysis. Admittedly, I probably view him through rose colored glasses since he pitches for my favorite team.

If Kluber has not been available, I'd have prob"ably taken A.J. Burnett, who may be the more predictable option, although it's hard to get jazzed about a 37 year old pitcher throwing in a hitters park for a team that ranked near the bottom of the league in scoring last year."

 
271twilson
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 16, 7:53 pm
17.15 Melancon, Mark - PIT - RP
It’s time to finally take a second reliever. Sadly, it looks like I will be hurting for saves this year. In this league, I’m never Mr. Waiver Wire, so unless I get lucky I may need to trade for a closer eventually. I was surprised to see Melancon still available. I don’t feel I have a particularly high valuation of him, but here we are. Grilli was great last year, but he’s 37 and has only one year as the incumbent. Melancon’s track record isn’t perfect, but he was among the best relievers in baseball last year. I think he is likelier than any other reliever still undrafted to put up an elite performance in 2014. Cody Allen and Darren O’Day were the other two names I considered. Allen isn’t as good a pitcher as Melancon, but he’s backing up a much shakier closer in John Axford. I feel he has the best situation of the remaining talented relievers. O’Day has a better track record than either Melancon or Allen, but he was passed over for Tommy Hunter despite an equal or better performance. That indicates a lack of managerial confidence to some degree. Plus, he’ll probably still be around next turn. Melancon’s superior upside is what made him the pick.
 
272Jason
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 16, 7:53 pm
17.16 Wood, Travis - CHC - SP
 
273Jason
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 16, 7:53 pm
18.01 Gregorius, Didi - ARI - SS
 
274twilson
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 16, 8:07 pm
18.02 Ruggiano, Justin - CHC - OF
This pick seemed like a good time to fill my utility slot. I already have 4 starting pitchers and took a reliever at 17.15. I am unenthused by any of the remaining middle infielders, and the corner guys don’t look that much better. Kendrys Morales has the most potential to be a strong contributor, but it is very unclear if he will be signed anytime soon. We’re now at the point of the draft where I can see him being taken before my next pick, and I would like to have him, but I need to evaluate all my options to see if I have a stronger preference elsewhere.

Beyond the infield, Alejandro De Aza is the biggest dropper. I like his game and owned him for his breakout season in 2012 (one of my few strong picks that year). Yet I don’t see enough playing time for him in the crowded White Sox outfield to justify adding him. Melky Cabrera and Nick Markakis are atop the projection sheets, but I have my doubts about both of them also. Justin Ruggiano offers comparable OBP/SLG projections and throws some steals into the mix, but his PA total lags the others. However, I think he has a real chance to play more than in any prior season now that he has moved over to the Cubs, which would boost his projection above the others. I’ve been eyeing him for a couple rounds, and I think now is the time to pull the trigger. I want him more than Morales.

 
275Guru
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 16, 8:59 pm
18.03 Rasmus, Colby - TOR - OF
I struggled with this pick. I wanted a hitter, either at CR or OF. I really didn’t like any of the corner options, so the choice came down to outfielders. Based on the other drafts, the guy who has slid he farthest is De Aza, but he could be headed for a platoon situation, and I really wanted an everyday player. I considered a few guys who could get me some steals, including Span and Eric Young. But I finally settled on Rasmus, who offers some power and decent counting stats. His OBP isn’t grea"t and he won’t steal bases, but at this stage all players have some deficiencies.

I’m not thrilled with this pick, but after going back and forth and back and forth, I finally lost patience pulled the trigger."

 
276jdrenbarger
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 16, 8:59 pm
18.04 Gallardo, Yovani - MIL - SP
No rocket science here at all … I’m drafting a SP, ideally one with some K potential. Top three on my list at this point are Gallardo, Lincecum and Burnett and I pretty clearly prefer Gallardo due to what I think (well, hope) will be less volatility in his week-to-week performance. I’m hopeful that his first half+ last year was an aberration, rather than a sign of things to come … and his late season performance after coming back at least provides some hope of that being the case. For what it’s worth, Lincecum and Burnett are both gone four picks after mine …
 
277kdl212
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 16, 9:13 pm
18.05 Lincecum, Tim - SFO - SP
This was down to Lincecum and Josh Johnson. Johnson offered upside, but likely injury. Lincecum seemed more likely to poison me by staying healthy instead of getting hurt. But even in his diminished state, he gets strikeouts and pitchers in a friendly park. The problem seems to be the smaller gap between fastball and change-up. The solution seems easy enough - slow the change slower. There's no doubt that he's a good pitcher, and I'm hoping he's one that can finally adjust to the reality of a different repertoire.

I was not enthusiastic about this pick at all, and would do it over again now that the draft is done. Middle-of-the-road starters are not worth draft picks.

 
278reeb
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 16, 9:13 pm
18.06 Allen, Cody - CLE - RP
i am banking on the elite K's and the fact that John Axford is just not that good. It feels like I am drafting to many non closing RP's but I think one of them is going to hit and Allen is as good as any.
 
279bmd
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 16, 10:32 pm
18.07 Span, Denard - WAS - OF
Not a huge fan of this pick. Really wanted Ruggiano since Steamer projections love him. Was a little surprised he didn't make it to me. Decided to go with Span because he's going to play everyday and give me some steals. My next couple picks are going to be hail mary's so I needed to draft a guy that was for sure going to contribute. Really wanted Dickerson but his playing time is very questionable right now.
 
280JKaye
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 16, 10:55 pm
18.08 Burnett, A J - PHI - SP
Burnett is a high K guy in the NL who has had some good success the last two seasons. His Yankee days are firmly in the rear view mirror and it seems like he can be an effective pitcher again in 2014.
 
281evan
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 16, 10:55 pm
18.09 Reynolds, Mark - MIL - 3B
Eligible for 1B/3B, I’m drafting him mainly as a backup when Machado comes back (hopefully he’ll start the season). Mark Reynolds SHOULD have the starting job for the year in Milwaukee and although he’ll hit .222, he should mash between 25+ HRs if he gets a full season’s worth of at bats. His low average may eventually take him out of the lineup in a platoon split, but his good defense may help his case.
 
282holt
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 16, 11:26 pm
18.10 Dickerson, Corey - COL - OF
Big fan of Dickerson's. I rostered him last season when got called up and got pretty good production from him (.326 obp .494 slg against right handed pitching). I don't care if he's in a platoon situation (although in the minors his OPS vs L & R was equal). He's only 24 and has his whole career in front of him. I didn't want to risk skipping him another round as he was the best hitter available as far as I was concerned.

Dickerson's career minor league numbers are .321/.379/.601 and he plays in Colorado. He also has potential to steal around 10 bases. Pretty shocked at his draft positions in other RIBC leagues. By round 14 or so I was already having to consider drafting him.

Might have taken Peavy or Smyly if Dickerson hadn't been available.

 
283mmikulka
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 16, 11:52 pm
18.11 Johnson, Josh - SDG - SP
I had been planning to draft either Tyson Ross or Dan Straily here, hoping to get Johnson in a round or two. As I watched Corey Dickerson (one of my top OF at this point) go off the board while he was still undrafted in 2 leagues (and taken at 281/362 in the others), I figured I should make sure to get my highest upside guy before somebody else swoops in. So far, people in this draft have done a great job of ignoring ADP and picking the best players.

From the Blue Jays’ perspective, and from a fantasy perspective, Johnson’s 2013 was a disaster, but there seems to be evidence that a lot of terrible luck was involved. While Johnson had a 6.20 ERA, his xFIP of 3.58 was indistinguishable from his career average of 3.57. Injuries are the biggest indicator of future injuries, and it’s possible some of his difficulties stemmed from a slightly slower fastball velocity, but I think it was likely bad luck (evident in his .356 BABIP and ridiculous 18.5% HR/FB rate) that contributed most to his awful year.

Johnson moves from the AL East and one of the most homer-friendly stadiums to spacious Petco Park. In addition, he’ll get to face pitchers and weaker lineups. He’s not likely to rack up wins, obviously there’s risk involved, and given his injury history I’d be surprised to see him put up more than 150 IP. That said, I wouldn’t be the slightest bit surprised to see him finish this year 3.50/1.25 with a K/9 rate over 8.

 
284Seattle Zen
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 16, 11:52 pm
18.12 Lohse, Kyle - MIL - SP
Some excellent players come of the board. Guru, again, takes two solid selections and feeds his Indians bias with Kluber. If a infected tick gets around the clubhouse and the entire Cleveland team contracts chronic Lyme's disease, he's in serious trouble (that may be the only way the rest of us have a chance). Usually the comment about Steven Drew is that he is an injury risk, this year, though, at least he is not going to get hurt playing baseball. There are some risky, betting on upside picks here, Didi, Dickerson, Avisail. Risky, betting on rebounds, Yovani, Tiny Tim. I think AJ Burnett is a great pick at #280 and I also like Ruggiano.

I cannot explain why Lohse is not more popular. Obviously he does not get many strikeouts, but for three straight years he has had outstanding ERA and WHIP and wins games. There is value in that skill set. Welcome aboard.

 
285mailedfoot
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 17, 7:17 am
18.13 Porcello, Rick - DET - SP
Porcello has been trending in the right direction (improving K and GB rates) for a few years now and is still only 25. Tiger defense figures to be better so I am hoping this is the year he blossoms into a bonafide fantasy starter.
 
286Wazaaap Guy
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 17, 10:44 am
18.14 Springer, George - HOU - OF
I regret making this pick now. Springer might not/probably won't be up for a while so I'm looking at a dead spot. I have little patience in Fantasy Baseball so I will inevitably end up dropping him soon after the year starts. I still needed SP so I s"hould have gone for an arm. Yordano Ventura would have been a good choice as he would satisfy my pitching need and my interest in young players/prosepcts."
 
287Meatwads
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 17, 11:41 am
18.15 Young, Eric - NYM - OF
This pick was pretty simple. I wanted to add one of the better speed guys available and Young showed last year he could a top tier stolen base threat if given the playing time. I'm slightly concerned he may lose some playing time at some point but when I made the pick I projected him as the leadoff man for the Mets, at least against right-handed pitching. I think a safe estimate would be about 25-30 steals this year with upside up to 40. A player this late in a draft that can swing multiple points for my team in a category is surely a worthwhile gamble.
 
288jeffg
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 17, 11:41 am
18.16 Peavy, Jake - BOS - SP
On the plus side, he should win in the double digits, plus help the K rate with a 7.5+ K/9 and should keep the WHIP around 1.2, but I now have three SPs (Smardzija, Haren, and now Peavy) who could blow up my ERA. I'll start out the year with this rotation, but always be looking on the free agent market for the hot hand if Peav falters. Did also consider Smyly and Straily and a couple others at this spot.
 
289jeffg
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 17, 11:41 am
19.01 Arcia, Oswaldo - MIN - OF
My team is tracking well with steals and on base, so I grabbed a hitter who should help on the run production and SLG side. Arcia's mid season call up resulted in a very decent rookie year, in an otherwise forgettable year for Minnesota. He has a live bat but does strike out quite but, and was a bit low on the walks in his first year the bigs. He tore up every level of minor league ball in the Twins organization with OPS in the .900+ range, and is ready to take on a full time role in the Twin Cities. Even with a projected K rate of 25%-30%, most of the expectations are on the .430-.440 range for SLG and with regular PT should get in the area 70 RBI and around 60 runs.
 
290Meatwads
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 17, 11:52 am
19.02 Ventura, Yordano - KAN - SP
The hype machine is in full affect for this unproven rookie. When I selected him he still hadn't locked up a rotation spot but I've liked him for a couple years and owned him in my AL-only keeper league in the minors. I think the height issue is overblown and anyone who can throw 100 mph fairly regularly has a special place in my heart. When you throw that hard, you don't always need to be pitching like Greg Maddux to be effective. I'm keeping my expectations in check but deep down I'm hoping he becomes one of those young pitchers (Matt Harvey, Jose Fernandez, etc.) that is really good right away and carries significant value.
 
291Wazaaap Guy
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 17, 1:06 pm
19.03 Smyly, Drew - DET - SP
Rebounded from a bad pick with what I thought/think is a good one. Smyly is on many breakout lists this year as he enters the Detroit rotation with the departure of Doug Fister. Not only will he be pitching for a great team, but he's also a very tale"nted young SP. Most projections seem to have him around 1.27 WHIP and 3.75 ERA, which would be fine for a 19th rounder. Given his talent and upside, I wouldn't be surprised to see him better those numbers with a healthy amount of W and K."
 
292mailedfoot
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 17, 1:46 pm
19.04 Owings, Chris - ARI - SS
It was posted on line this morning that Owings looks to have the inside track for DBacks SS position, so elected to grab him here. He has some gaudy minor league numbers and slashed .291/.361/.382 in 60 AB for the DBacks late last season, so I figured he is worth a flyer to start the season, especially since I'm not 100% confident about Jeter's health.
 
293Seattle Zen
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 17, 1:46 pm
19.05 Kazmir, Scott - OAK - SP
Damn, I was a Kazmir fan back when he was a prospect for the Mets. Remember the howls of disenchantment when they traded him to the Devil Rays? I'm hoping for him to return to his 2012 form... wait, he didn't pitch in 2012. I meant 2011... wait, he pitched 1 and two third innings in 2011 for a 27.00 ERA. No, I meant his 15 loss, 6.00 ERA 2010 season...

Something has changed in Scott, he ended the 2013 season strong for the Indians, the A's picked him up this season and Billy Beane knows a thing or two about free agent signings. What I like about Scott is that he has regained his ridiculous k/9 average of his younger years yet has managed to lower his walk rate. His move to Oakland is a great one for him, they have a much better defense and his fly balls are much less likely to fly over the fence. Combine his innings with Kyle Lohse's innings and you have two above average starters contributing in all four categories.

I was hoping to pick up Jordy Mercer in a few rounds, he looks like a nice upside gamble with both MI position eligibility. Nice pick.

 
294mmikulka
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 17, 1:57 pm
19.06 Morales, Kendrys - SEA - 1B
Kendrys is still without a home, but he‘s so much better than the other batters remaining that it’s worth the risk. I knew that if I wanted him, I had to take him here, as 3-5 teams still had needs at CI between my next picks. If he doesn’t sign until June, it’s not a terrible loss, as I already have Swisher to play CI if necessary. I also got him relatively cheap compared to the AAA and AA prices.

I am hope-guessing that he will be signed around opening day. He clearly wants to play, even if Boras would be content to let him wait as long as it takes. The Mariners are the most likely choice since they already have experience with him, are looking for another bat, have a mess at 1B/DH, and wouldn’t have to give up a 1st round pick.

However, there are other teams that are hoping to contend this year and where Kendrys would be a huge improvement (Pirates? Rays?). The Brewers’ 1B situation is currently a platoon of Mark Reynolds and (yet to be drafted player who has a lifetime OBP of .300). Hey Milwaukee, I found you a better option!!

 
295holt
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 17, 2:27 pm
19.07 Mercer, Jordy - PIT - SS
Owings and Peavy were taken from a short queue I had going. Mercer is from my neck of the woods (NW Oklahoma). He had a .336 OBP and .435 SLG last season in 333 AB. I had him rostered for a while last season and he came in handy. Clearly no one expects a repeat of his OPS or he wouldn't still be available. He's shown some ability inn the minors (19 HR in 2011, and .333/.404/.448 in 109 PA last year). I don't have any big expectations. .320/400 with 5 SB seems reasonable but he's 27 and there's some chance he outperforms the projections. Hopefully he hits from the start and I don't have to cut him. It's the 19th round and I need a MI with hint of potential. I really wanted Owings but it was not to be.

Little known facts about Mercer. He played for Oklahoma State and was the team's shortstop and closer. He ended up setting the team record for saves. He also hit .500 with 38 RBI for Taloga High School, leading the Panthers to a Class B state championship and also a state runner-up!

 
296evan
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 17, 2:36 pm
19.08 Franklin, Nick - SEA - 2B
Here’s hoping that Franklin gets traded before the season starts as the rumors have been (Tigers, Orioles, Rays or Yankees could use another infielder, wink wink). He probably won’t get playing time with my very own Robinson Cano taking over at second. I didn’t take him as a backup and I’m banking that he’ll be wearing a new uniform soon. If he goes somewhere else and starts at SS, I’ll eventually get dual-position eligibility. I’m probably being too hopeful…
 
297JKaye
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 17, 3:06 pm
19.09 De Aza, Alejandro - CWS - OF
I actually might like De Aza more than my previous two of picks, Upton and Davis. I like having some depth on offense and De Aza should be a perfectly serviceable player if the two other players don't deliver or if I don't need as many SB.
 
298bmd
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 17, 3:07 pm
19.10 Kennedy, Ian - SDG - SP
Another "contributor". He's never going to light the world on fire but he's proven he can be a solid fantasy player in the past. Moving to SDG for a full season should help his numbers. If anything, he'll be a great spot starter for my team.
 
299reeb
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 17, 3:07 pm
19.11 Alonso, Yonder - SDG - 1B
It feels like I draft this guy every year only to be disappointed. At this point in the draft I feel I'm dangerously short on extra hitters and wanted someone with at least a bit of upside. Alonso has limited power but in this league his above average obp. could be of some help if he can finally stay healthy.
 
300kdl212
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 17, 3:27 pm
19.12 Ross, Tyson - SDG - SP
Unsatisfied that I had gotten much out of my last pick (Lincecum), I stayed with NL West pitching. Ross has a nasty slider, and promises high strikeouts with his park protecting his ERA/WHiP. He likely won't throw 200 innings, but I'm more concerned with quality than quantity. There are always spot starters to match up against weak lineups during the year.
 
301jdrenbarger
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 17, 3:34 pm
19.13 Jimenez, Ubaldo - BAL - SP
12 hitters and five pitchers on my roster at this point, so I'm again only looking at pitchers and, with only three starters, I'm not inclined at this point to start speculating on relievers to shore up my two "I hope they'll get the job" closers. Ivan Nova and Dillon Gee would have been safer picks (well, to the extent any pick after 300 players have gone off the board is "safe") and I briefly considered stashing Taijuan Walker away at this point, but I draft Jimenez principally on his proven K potential and his solid - if not spectacular - performance during the last couple of months of last year. I'm well on my way to trailing the league in both pitching ratio categories at this point and this pick won't help that, however.
 
302Guru
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 17, 3:35 pm
19.14 Grossman, Robbie - HOU - OF
Kemp may or may not be ready at the beginning of April, Pagan is experiencing back stiffness, and my other outfielders would not be aptly described as iron men. So even though I tentatively have 5 OFs already, I want another to increase the chances of keeping my four OF and one UT slot as fully engaged as possible.

Grossman is someone that I’ve been eyeing for a few rounds in this draft. He hasn’t attracted much interest in the QL drafts, but he seems to be the leading candidate to start in LF for Houston, and he’s been mashing it in spring training, posting s .414/.441/.586 slash line in 12 games (32 PA). RotoWire’s projection for him is rather optimistic compared to what I’m seeing elsewhere (580 PA, 84 R, 46 RBI, 17 SB, .359/406), "that sort of potential gets me interested in round 19. "

 
303twilson
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 17, 4:40 pm
19.15 O'Day, Darren - BAL - RP
here were some interesting names that left the board in the gap between my eighteenth and nineteenth picks. Highlights were Morales, Allen, and some of the starters. I can definitely see some contributors to the various squads in RIBC coming out of this portion of the draft.

I’m still really hurting at both 1B and relievers. I’m comfortable letting others have first choice of the remaining SP pool, so that’s out. I’m not excited by any of the middle infield names either, not that corner and outfield are much better. As a result, I chose to add depth at my weakest roster spots. I described my interest in O’Day in my 17.15 rationale. He is a frequent glue guy on the Milchian Magicians. O’Day can pretty much be penciled in for a very goo"d ERA and WHIP with respectable strikeout numbers, and I can easily imagine a scenario in which Tommy Hunter loses the Orioles closing job."

 
304Jason
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 7:47 am
19.16 Doolittle, Sean - OAK - RP
 
305Jason
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 7:48 am
20.01 Delabar, Steve - TOR - RP
 
306twilson
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 17, 9:00 pm
20.02 Moreland, Mitch - TEX - 1B
Through 19 rounds, my only 1B-eligible players are a platoon guy and a catcher. Not exactly a recipe for success. In the absence of other standout options, throwing another name into the mix seemed like the right way to go.

By ADP, Loney was the top candidate, but I just don’t have interest in him. I don’t see much potential growth, and his floor isn’t high enough to make up for it. Ike Davis was one of my first base targets last year; thank goodness I landed Rizzo in AAA instead. Davis has more upside than the other names on the table, but with his injury and the lack of guaranteed playing time, the risk is a bit too high for my taste. Logan Morrison is another guy with some past successes, but he has injury and playing time concerns of his own.

I went with Mitch Moreland. He had something of a down year last year, but much of that can be attributed to a low BABIP. His OBP is below average, but my team can handle a bit of a hit there if the power and RBI numbers are worth it. Moreland should be in the lineup most days despite a platoon split of his own, so hopefully I can match him with Lind to get a solid contribution from 1B. If both players have favorable matchups, Moreland will occupy my CI slot.

 
307Guru
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 17, 9:00 pm
20.03 Avila, Alex - DET - C
Still need a starter at CR, and for many rounds, I’ve been unable to find someone that I feel is good value. Meanwhile, I’ve been eyeing Avila, who I could slot in at catcher and move Santana to first (or even third, if he should ever gain eligibility there.)

I picked up Avila as a F/A in another league last summer, and he contributed a post-All Star slash line of .303/.375/.500 in 44 games. His spring training OBP is currently .424 – even higher than his slugging pct. 2011 revisited? Probably not, but the upside for a round 20 selection was irresistible. I might have taken him two rounds ago, but most teams don’t double up on catchers in this league, and I thought he might slide to round 20. He did!

The biggest issue may be playing time. I’ll probably still need to find a part-time CR-eligible player so that I can shift Santana back to catch when Avila is taking a day off. Hopefully I’ll be able to develop a sense of Avila’s scheduling. At least he plays on a team in the eastern time zone, so I should usually be able to figure that out before it’s too late to react.

 
308jdrenbarger
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 17, 9:00 pm
20.04 Straily, Dan - OAK - SP
Nova, Gee and Walker are all still available, but Straily's at the top of my list at this point, his uneven ML performance to date notwithstanding. Pitcher's park, major league ERA under 4, a K+/inning pitcher essentially throughout his minor league career, and only 25 years old - a great value, I think at this point and the type of potential that I've got to bank on to hopefully keep me in the middle of the pack in the pitching categories. He went at least two full rounds earlier in three of th"e other four RIBC leagues ... and almost two and half rounds later in the other."
 
309kdl212
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 17, 9:01 pm
20.05 Cabrera, Melky - TOR - OF
I was very pleased with this pick, and won't be surprised if Melky outperforms my previous 2 outfield selections of Willingham (15th) and Eaton (13th). If I'm lucky, he hits second in the lineup, and gives me a bunch of runs walking home after Bautista and Encarnacion hit home runs. He's been raking in spring training, which is a piece of information. Something like his 2011 season (340/470 with 20 stolen bases and 100 runs) would be berserker. I'll be happy in the 20th round with 330/430, 80 runs and a dozen stolen bases. I'm confident he can do that.
 
310reeb
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 17, 9:01 pm
20.06 Scutaro, Marco - SFO - SS
I was looking at Scutaro as a nice late round MI filler but it looks like he might start the year on the DL. Drafting a 38 year old hoping he is healthy has its drawbacks. If he manages to come back in a reasonable amount of time he could be a usefull stat stuffer at a weak position if not he will be cut soon.
 
311bmd
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 17, 9:05 pm
20.07 Taveras, Oscar - STL - OF
Shot in the dark here. He's going to start the year in the minors but could be an early call up if someone gets hurt. Last year I drafted Puig around this time and dropped and picked him up 4-5 times before his eventual callup in June. Hopefully, Taveras will get called up sooner because if not he could be a casualty as well if my team gets hit with injuries. Almost went with Carlos Martinez but just didn't have the confidence they were going to name him the 5th starter.
 
312JKaye
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 17, 9:59 pm
20.08 Martinez, Carlos - STL - SP
"I really like this kids upside, but thought some other owners might feel the same. My team is pretty settled by this point so felt I could reach and hope he lands the fifth starter gig."
 
313evan
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 17, 10:01 pm
20.09 Nova, Ivan - NYY - SP
Looking for starters to fill out my roster. He is very streaky but has fantastic breaking pitches that give him great potential. In the final 15 games of last season, he had 11 quality starts and a 2.59 ERA. Here’s to hoping that he can continue that trend! I’ve seen projections that have him between 142-173 strikeouts. If he is past 150, I’ll be satisfied.
 
314holt
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 17, 10:19 pm
20.10 Nava, Daniel - BOS - OF
I'm a little concerned about my team OBP (early picks of A Jones and W Rosario set that in motion). It's something that will be a work in progress throughout the season. Nava is an On-base Machine (.369 in the majors, .403 in the minors).

Nava is available here in the 20th round. I had been toying with drafting him for a few rounds. Apparently no one sees last year's performance being repeated (.303/.385/.445) but I figure he'll come close enough. He won't steal any bases but the run production should be decent. If he happens to pick up 1B eligibility that will be helpful.

Bonus Nava Factoid:
Taking the advice of Red Sox radio broadcaster Joe Castiglione, who before the game told him to swing as hard as he could on the first pitch because "that's the only first pitch in the majors you'll ever see," Nava did swing at the first pitch he saw and hit a grand slam off Phillies pitcher Joe Blanton into the Red Sox bullpen.
 
315mmikulka
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 17, 10:19 pm
20.11 Gee, Dillon - NYM - SP
If you’re out of good pitchers, find a decent one with a big stadium!! I figured that taking Kendrys last round meant I wouldn’t get either Tyson Ross or Dan Straily, and unfortunately I was right: I ended up with the poor man’s version of them, Dillon Gee.

He has been a mediocre fantasy pitcher so far in his career, but has shown extended periods of brilliance the last 2 seasons. After the All-Star Break, Gee was on fire, putting up a 2.74/1.08 statline. His season total was 3.62/1.28, and I’d be fine with that this year.

Gee has averaged 3.20/1.23 at Citi Field, so if I’m careful with his starts, he should be very useful. Unfortunately he isn’t likely to get many wins, as my Mets are awful. At least the Marlins and Phillies are in the same division. Gee will probably have a K/9 under 7, but hopefully my relievers can balance that out.

 
316Seattle Zen
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 17, 10:19 pm
20.12 Siegrist, Kevin - STL - RP
I can't believe that I am still getting skunked right before my pick this last in the draft. I am looking at all batters for a bench contributor when I start closely inspecting Daniel Nava. I didn't realize what an OBP monster he was last year. He will bat second in the Boston lineup, occasionally appearing at the leadoff spot. He doesn't steal bases, but at this late in the draft, I am surprised he's available. I would have taken him over the last five or six outfielders taken. I like the skills De Aza has displayed but it is unclear how many at bats he will get in Chicago this season or if he will be traded.

So I set my queue with Nava at the top and a few MRs afterwards. I placed Siegrist at the top because last year no one could hit him. He has a unworldly K rate. There are two types of MRs rosterable in this league: those with great ERA/WHIP & K/9 or those who are next in line for saves. Sometimes MRs are both and I believe Siegrist is one of those. Last season when the Cardinals closer went down Rosenthal was given the ball and he was awful so they went with player 2. I'm hoping for the same this year and if not, he is still rosterable.

Later that evening I come to the computer expecting to click on OF when asked which position to assign to Nava and when I see Siegrist I was floored. Really? I'm tired of doing a Shattner "KHAN" every other day.

 
317mailedfoot
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 17, 10:42 pm
20.13 Gregerson, Luke - OAK - RP
Set up man for the A's, should be good on the ratios and K/9. I would expect him to be next in line for saves if Johnson has trouble.
 
318Wazaaap Guy
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 17, 10:46 pm
20.14 Joyce, Matt - TAM - OF
Another bad pick. Taijuan Walker should have been my pick here but I didn't have my cheatsheet and so did not notice that he was available. Instead, I knew that I needed another OF and figured Joyce, while not a sexy pick, would offer respectable counting stats and decent percentages. Not much upside here though.
 
319Meatwads
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 12:26 am
20.15 Walker, Taijuan - SEA - SP
I was looking for some more high upside pitching and decided I couldn't let Walker fall any further. He's likely starting the season on the DL but besides that, I am thrilled to get him this late. He pitches in a pitchers park, is considered by some to be the best pitching prospect in all of baseball and I think he'll give me 160-175 innings of useful stats. Of course there is always risk involved with picking an unproven player but he showed flashes during his late season call-up last season. At this stage in the draft I always like to shoot for the moon and if it doesn't work I can easily justify replacing the guy with someone who emerges. A low-risk/high-reward pick in my opinion.
 
320jeffg
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 12:26 am
20.16 Schierholtz, Nate - CHC - OF
Starting to draft bench and off day hitting fill- ins. Still don't have a CI backup that I want to pull the trigger on while guys like Schierholtz are still on the board on top of my 'best available' list. I did think about drafting two MR at the turn, but we all have our favs and there are enough options out there that should be later round options. Went with Nate for the same reason I've picked up a few previous hitters, I am more solid on OBP and SB and figured he'd help the counting and SLG.""
 
321jeffg
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 12:27 am
21.01 Walden, Jordan - ATL - RP
Have two closers but no MR yet on my team and everyone else is picking off the good K/IP and WHIP ones the last few rounds. Thought about handcuffing either one of my closers here but who knows who the Marlins or Twins have in mind if their closer goes down and frankly none of their pen guys have anything worthy in my opinion to offer in this format. At least that makes Cishek and Perkins relatively safe. Walden has a K/9 in the 10s and a sexy WHIP and mid-3 ERA. These should all remain solid with a steady dose of 7th and 8th inning NL East hitters. Like everyone else grabbing a MR who is going to help the composite numbers
 
322Meatwads
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 12:34 am
21.02 Escobar, Alcides - KAN - SS
This was simply a pick of need. I felt I need a little more depth in the MI and he seemed like the safest guy remaining who I can count on to have a job. Last season he was atrocious so I really didn't like the pick overall but the league had been aggressive taking lots of MI and I had to settle for him. On the bright side, he is entering his prime, shows considerable stolen base potential when he does reach base and used to be a top prospect. There is still hope for the guy but I'm not counting on much.
 
323Wazaaap Guy
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 12:34 am
21.03 Johnson, Erik - CWS - SP
Was kicking myself for passing on Walker and so started looking for another young SP that offered some upside. Johnson is on a lot of top prospect lists, but he's generally in the 70-100 range and not usually considered to be a top prospect. Oddly though, he has a rotation spot seemingly lined up for him unlike most of the other prospects ahead of him on those lists. He pitched well last year and I'm just looking for some solid numbers out of my number 5 starter.
 
324mailedfoot
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 12:34 am
21.04 Paxton, James - SEA - SP
Taking a flyer on Paxton who looks like will be one of the M's starters. He exhibited some nice stats late last year at the ML level (7.88 K/9, 59% GB rate, 3.26 FIP ), is still a young guy with a upside, and should pitch in a lot of pitcher's parks being in the AL west.
 
325Seattle Zen
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 12:47 am
21.05 Ludwick, Ryan - CIN - OF
Now I am kicking myself for not setting my queue properly after losing Nava. I like Siegrist, but I thought I was getting a bench bat last round and now have to bit my nails for nine picks. I had a plan to target a steals only backup MI this season and the ideal candidate for that role is Pablo's nephew Alcides Escobar. Damn it, he's taken. Well, I prefer someone with both MI position eligibility, I already have two SS. I take Siegrist aside and tell him, "it's on you, now, to produce. We took you instead of Escobar, don't let us down." He was too busy Tweeting from his iPhone to pay attention.

Who now? Looking at what is left, two familiar names appear - Ludwick and Nick Markakis. I drafted both of them last season and both were quite disappointing. Well, Ludwick did lead my squad last year with a 1.000 OBP as he appeared in one game and walked twice. He also separated his shoulder in that game. He is back this season and slotted to bat clean up. Markakis did not have a bad shoulder to blame. He made 700 plate appearances last season and scored 89 runs, but slugged only .356. He "bulked up" over the winter, supposedly. I imagine that Chris Davis will knock him in quite frequently again, but I will take my chances with Ludwi"ck one last time. Go Reds!"

 
326mmikulka
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 1:07 am
21.06 Rutledge, Josh - COL - 2B
At this point, it looks like Rutledge is behind in the 2B battle to a guy who just batted .311/.361 despite a BABIP in the .330s. Of course, Colorado’s new manager played a decade at shortstop with a career SLG of .326, so I’m not too optimistic that Rutledge gets the job, at least initially.

However, Rutledge is a 24 year old who was taken over 150 picks earlier in last year’s draft: his upside blows any remaining MI out of the water, and he should at least get scattered playing time until he can reclaim the 2B job or until Tulo’s next injury.

In 605 career plate appearances, Rutledge has an OPS of .702 with 82R, 56RBI, and 19 SB. Also, his BABIP so far has been 26 points lower than his profile expects it to be. Please give him another chance, Walt Weiss!!

 
327holt
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 1:32 am
21.07 LeMahieu, DJ - COL - 2B
My 4th Rockies hitter. I was sitting on Utley, Aybar, & Mercer at MI. LeMahieu was probably the last MI I'd have bothered drafting. He hasn't shown much power yet but does make good contact and stole 18 bases in about 400 AB last year. His career home split is .311/.348/.420 so I might be able to get some use from him.

LeMahieu will beat Rutledge for the 2B job because he's a better fielder and Walt Weiss is the manager. Surprisingly, he is 6'4" 205 lb. Found something in an old scouting report predicting eventual power.
Tim Wilken, the Cubs Director of Amateur and Professional Scouting:

“He runs average, plays the game well and is going to have some power down the road, but it’s going to be a few years. It’s going to be three to four years in my mind before you see that he has that kind of pop.”

“He handled the bat really good in the Cape Cod League (last) summer. He hits the ball really well to the other side of the field. When you know you’ve got a guy that can hit the ball the other way that well … the hitting instructors will tell you that nine times out of 10, this guy will have a chance to pull the ball with authority as he gets older and stronger.”

I'm not predicting a power surge, but the guy is 6'4". He's not your run of the mill middle infield weakling. He plays in Colorado and maybe we'll start to see some of that power developing this year. I can hope.

Bonus LeMahieu Factoid

LeMahieu played shortstop/pitcher for the Brother Rice High School Warriors. In his senior year, as a leadoff hitter he hit .574 with eight home runs, 16 doubles, seven triples, 70 runs, 32 RBI and 39 stolen bases. In 92 at-bats as a senior, LeMahieu struck out twice. In 2009, LeMahieu led LSU to a National Championship.
 
328evan
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 7:40 am
21.08 Parra, Gerardo - ARI - OF
I expect Parra to be my 5th outfielder. I’ll start him against righties (who he hit .297 off of) but lefties… .198 with zero HRs. He plays gold glove defense so I can’t see Arizona platooning him too much. I’m hoping for a good source of runs with a balance of HRs and SBs. At least he won’t kill me in OBP.
 
329JKaye
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 7:44 am
21.09 Weeks, Rickie - MIL - 2B
MI has been an issue for me. I hesitated on pulling the trigger on certain guys in earlier rounds to fill a different need and then fired away on a guy without a team. I surveyed the landscape and settled on Weeks. One of the classic "if healthy" guys, I was actually intrigued by the type of stat line he could offer as a MI in this league.
 
330bmd
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 7:48 am
21.10 Dyson, Jarrod - KAN - OF
When I looked at all the other drafts nobody drafted Dyson. WTF? Instead of letting him slip another round or two I decided to play it safe and pick him here. I know he's the 4th outfielder but given regular at bats he's a shoe in for 40+ steals. Even if the KC outfield manages to stay healthy he should still see 2-3 starts a week.
 
331reeb
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 7:48 am
21.11 Tazawa, Junichi - BOS - RP
Backup to Koji if he has an injury. Should be useful even if his save chances are minimal.
 
332kdl212
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 10:33 am
21.12 Davis, Ike - NYM - 1B
This is the perfect round 21 pick - I don't think there was anyone else on the board who could hit 30 home runs and drive in 85. That he's CI eligible and not OF was a bonus. Sure, he's hurt, and he's been pretty awful the last 2 years. But maybe he's isn't all that bad. He's 27, and doesn't have valley fever. The upside here is just what I like to chase in these last few rounds.
 
333jdrenbarger
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 10:33 am
21.13 Pineda, Michael - NYY - SP
Wasn't committed to another pitcher with this pick, but the news of Anibal Sanchez having some shoulder soreness - along with Pineda's strong spring and my "homer" (Yankee) roster requirement - steered me pretty quickly to this pick. Huge upside for Ks and both ratios, and I think wouldn't be going nearly this late if we'd started drafting a week later ... now he just needs to officially be named as the fifth starter, prove that he's completely recovered from shoulder surgery, and resemble at least in some way the guy the Yankees thought they were getting after his 2011 rookie (and All-Star) season.
 
334Guru
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 10:33 am
21.14 Loney, James - TAM - 1B
Even after bagging Avila at C to allow Santana to move to my corner slot, I still wanted a backup cornerman, since Avila will not be an everyday player. Arguably, a 3B would have been a better fit, since I still lack a backup for Aramis Ramirez. But I still don’t see a 3B candidate I want.

So my short list came down to Loney and Ike Davis. As I was waiting for this pick, I decided that Loney was my first choice based on a higher sense of reliability, but the kdl212 solidified the decision for me.

If I have to depend on Loney for a lot of ABs, then I’m probably in trouble. On the other hand, he should be playing most days, and that means he should usually be available as a fill-in at corner or utility. No speed, no power, bu"t OK at getting on base and should at least keep my runs and rbi climbing upward when other hitters are out."

 
335twilson
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 12:22 pm
21.15 Markakis, Nick - BAL - OF
Markakis just keeps hanging around at the top of my sheet. At this point, I might as well take him. He played really well in 2012, putting up a triple slash of .298/.363/.471. Last year was extremely disappointing, but he was playing hurt the whole t"ime. If he can get healthy, he has the potential to be a very nice fourth outfielder. If I really thought he was going to do it, I would’ve taken him multiple rounds ago. But at 21.15, the price is finally right."
 
336Jason
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 1:55 pm
21.16 Guerrero, Alex - LAD - 2B
 
337Jason
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 2:06 pm
22.01 Cozart, Zack - CIN - SS
 
338twilson
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 2:48 pm
22.02 Hutchison, Drew - TOR - SP
Hutchison, like Castellanos, is a name I had never heard before this draft began. In his case, it is for good reasons. After 60 IP with the Blue Jays in 2012, he tore his UCL and needed Tommy John surgery. Fast forward to the present and he’s striking out almost one of two batters in spring training. His career minor league numbers have been very strong, so a breakout is not out of the question. Anyway, he’s the type of guy I like to take this late in RIBC drafts. Maybe he can be my Shelby Mille"r of 2014. A man can dream!

Michael Saunders was my primary consideration on the offensive side, with an honorable mention to Logan Morrison. Playing time uncertainty was the downfall for both in my mind."

 
339Guru
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 2:48 pm
22.03 Francisco, Juan - MIL - 3B
He’s undrafted in any of the qualifying leagues, but he provides singular value to my team and he’s been hitting quite well in spring training. While I may have been able to get him in round 25, I decided that the RP alternatives were not so dominant that I wanted to risk someone else picking up Francisco. You never know if/when some announcement night hit the wire that prompts a pickup.

Why is he not being drafted? I assume much of it is because he’s likely to be in a time share at 1B with Mark Reynolds and/or Lyle Overbay. But he’s also 3B-eligible, and 75% of his spring training starts have been at 3B. My guess is that even if he is in a time-share, whenever Ramirez takes a day off (or gets injured), Francisco should be in the l"ineup.

Of course, Francisco might slump and then I get to forage for another backup 3B. But at least I can turn the page on this issue for the rest of this draft."

 
340jdrenbarger
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 2:48 pm
22.04 Jones, Garrett - MIA - OF
Not many sluggers left at this point in the draft and I'm grateful that he's still around - and I'm apparently about the only one (undrafted in three of the other leagues as I write this and a 24th round pick in the other). I think SLG is my team's most serious hitting deficiency at this point and that's what I hope Jones helps with - albeit with no speed, horrible OBP, and disastrous splits against lefties. Best case is that I never need to move him out of a bench slot, but his OF/1B eligibility and an expectation that he'll be in the lineup almost every day gives me added flexibility to maximize positional games played over the season.
 
341kdl212
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 3:10 pm
22.05 Ramirez, Erasmo - SEA - SP
Throughout this draft, I kept seeing Mariners go a tad early, and decided we should rename the league the HAMPSTER League (Hope About Mariner PerformanceS Exceeding Realisticexpectations). Seager, Miller, Ackley, Hart, Smoak all got jumped on sooner than I expected (well, all but Miller). Hell, even Nick Franklin, who doesn't have a starting job and is likely to be in AAA and isn't a top flight prospect, got drafted already.

But I've been a Mariner fan since 1983. In little league, me and my friends all had Mark Langston hair sticking out the back of our ballcaps. Harold Reynolds signed a baseball for me in the Kingdome in 1985. I shaved my head for a Jay Buhner day. I wept, actually wept, when Ken Phelps (a former Mariner!) hit a home run to break up a Brian Holman perfect game with 2 outs in the 9th. I saw Gorman Thomas hit a foul ball so far and so hard in the Kingdome that I'm convinced it dented the concrete. And through all the losing, I cheered them all.

All I wanted was at least one Mariner on my team. But I kept putting it off, and guys like Taijuan and Paxton kept getting snatched.

So even though Erasmo wasn't drafted in either AAA league, I wasn't going to put it off any longer. If he follows through o"n the former upside, awesome. If not, then it's because Mariners."

 
342reeb
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 3:10 pm
22.06 Sizemore, Grady - BOS - OF
Grady is on the comeback trail. Who knows if he keeps it up but in the 22nd round I figure why the hell not. Could be a steal or waiver wire fodder.

I did debate taking Bradley here but I was able to get him late so no worries :)

 
343bmd
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 3:23 pm
22.07 Pinto, Josmil - MIN - C
Ugh, this pick makes me want to kick myself for taking McCann so early. Catcher is DEEP this year and getting Pinto here proves that. Dude can hit and when he takes over full time catcher duties from Suzuki he'll be a top 10 catcher bat. If anyone is" interested in McCann he's on the block :)"
 
344JKaye
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 4:26 pm
22.08 Herrera, Kelvin - KAN - RP
"Just needed one of those classic middle reliever arms that every team needs to fill innings efficiently."
 
345evan
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 4:45 pm
22.09 Pollock, A.J. - ARI - OF
Need stolen bases still. Yahoo says “a 10- homer, 25-steal campaign” is very possible. Matthew Berry says, “Should get a decent amount of playing time thanks to his defense, and Cody Ross ain't the healthiest cat around, ya dig? Speed and a little pop.” I don’t know who he is and I’m going by what “experts” are saying here. After looking at his projections on other sites, I'm surprised he is still available. I should have taken him over my last pick Parra (also an Arizona outfielder).
 
346holt
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 5:03 pm
22.10 Asche, Cody - PHI - 3B
Need another 3B option after Freese. Asche (pronounced ASH-ee) put up respectable numbers in the minors (.360/.480'ish) but went .235/.302/.389 in the bigs last year. Projections generally have him around .310/.410 with 5-10 SB. Not many other 3B options so I drafted Asche hoping that he rises above the projections. If he stinks, I have no problem cutting 22nd rounders. I kind of kicked the tires on L Morrison and J Quintana but I really needed the extra option at Thirdbase.

Bonus Cody Asche Factoid

Asche is a fan of football, and is an ardent supporter of the Nebraska Cornhuskers; he routinely drives six hours to attend their home football games. He also "appreciates the speed and violence of hockey"; conversely, he does not like basketball.

 
347mmikulka
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 5:14 pm
22.11 Saunders, Michael - SEA - OF
I had 5 OF-eligible players, but one of them was Nick Swisher, who may very well have to start for me at CI. There were a few other options (I also looked into adding another corner infielder), but Saunders seemed to be the best choice. He’s likely to be limited to around 500 plate appearances, and will have a relatively low OBP unless he’s lucky or breaks out, but he has both power and speed (narrowly missing a 20/20 season in 2012), and his R/RBI per game should be very good, particularly if the Mariners’ offense improves a little this year.

Though I took Carlos Gomez and Elvis Andrus early on, I’ve all but ignored SB after that. Saunders should be good for 15 steals, and that was what separated him from my other options (such as Michael Morse).

 
348Seattle Zen
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 5:14 pm
22.12 Strop, Pedro - CHC - RP
As I mentioned before, there are two types of MR I seek and I believe Strop is both the next in line behind a mediocre closer and has a great chance of providing value even if not closing. His numbers improved considerably when he joined the Cubs. If he stinks coming out of the gate, I'll cut his ass fast.

I'm getting crispy around the edges, thankfully hitting The Wall at the tail end of this marathon. I like just about every pick in the 21st and 22nd round. Good time to take chances. I see a couple of teams grabbing a second catcher, so I had better grab the man I will ask to don the tools of ignorance.

 
349mailedfoot
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 5:14 pm
22.13 Kintzler, Brandon - MIL - RP
Like my earlier pick of Gregerson, Kintzler is the set up man for the Brewers. He doesn't possess elite K numbers but does keep the ball in the park and on the ground so is good on the ratios. I would expect him to close if Henderson falters.
 
350Wazaaap Guy
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 5:14 pm
22.14 Milone, Tommy - OAK - SP
Continued adding middling arms to my rotation after neglecting to draft them early on. Sensing that my SP staff will be on the weaker side barring some good adds. Milone is certainly no solution to that problem but he has pitched well in the past, is" still pitching in Oakland, and is now in the starting rotation thanks to the A's injuries. At the very least, I can use him in his home starts."
 
351Meatwads
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 6:06 pm
22.15 Miley, Wade - ARI - SP
Not many obvious good starting pitchers remaining and I figured Miley had as good a shot as any remaining to sustain value throughout the season. At this point in the draft I don't expect these players to remain on my roster so there is really nothing special about this pick. If he has his best season of his career then he'll stick around, if not, then I'll find someone on the free agents to stream or replace him.
 
352jeffg
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 6:06 pm
22.16 Morrison, Logan - SEA - 1B
I'm not 100% sure where LoMo is going to be slotted in Lloyd McClendon's lineup or what his role is going to be in a crowded group of 1B/OF/DH on the roster, but they'll figure out a way to give him at bats, especially in games vs right-handers and when Logan starts enough games in the OF, he'll also provide me positional options coming off my bench.
 
353jeffg
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 6:06 pm
23.01 Peralta, Joel - TAM - RP
I like Peralta's ratio help potential and K rate, and it was a coin toss between him and a handful of others.
 
354Meatwads
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 6:13 pm
23.02 Martin, Russell - PIT - C
This pick was made simply to have a backup at the catcher position. I don't expect Martin to have significant value but he should have a job. I thought about a couple other catchers in this spot but decided to go with Martin mostly because he's having a good spring. I don't usually give much weight to spring results so I expect Martin to end up back on the waiver-wire or be a serviceable backup on days when Wieters isn't available.
 
355Wazaaap Guy
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 6:58 pm
23.03 Schoop, Jonathan - BAL - 2B
"Still needed a 2B here and so I went looking for anyone that could contribute. Schoop is still young and has had a hot spring that may have earned him the starting 2B job. I figured the upside was worth a gamble this late."
 
356mailedfoot
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 7:09 pm
23.04 Semien, Marcus - CWS - 3B
Semien has posted some nice minor league stats (good power and speed along with OBP skills), and with Beckham hurt and Davidson not doing much this spring, I am thinking he may get a chance to play some to start the season. He provides me with a backup 3B-CI and if he can stick in the lineup, would probably get 2B eligibility. In a perfect world, he will turn into a super utility guy.
 
357Seattle Zen
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 7:09 pm
23.05 Jaso, John - OAK - C
I'm going with Jaso because he is a great OPB contributor, is on the most profitable side of the platoon and should see quite a few at bats at DH. Word is when he is in the lineup he will bat second, that should get him extra PAs and runs. I believe if the draft was done the day before real Opening Day and the A's announced he is the #2 batter and will see plenty of DH days, he would be drafted higher. Of course, the A's also have two other catchers and Jaso may not get those PAs after all. We'l"l see."
 
358mmikulka
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 7:35 pm
23.06 Escobar, Yunel - TAM - SS
Since Rutledge isn’t guaranteed much playing time, I still needed another MI. I had considered taking Yasmani Grandal here, but I didn’t identify anybody who was likely to draft a catcher before my next pick, and Grandal wasn't likely to be the next one taken anyway. Besides, the consequences of missing out on the 2 remaining MI I find acceptable would have been disastrous.

These remaining MI were Scooter Gennett and Yunel Escobar: Gennett actually had good stats last year, but a sky-high BABIP was likely the cause, and he probably will have to split time with Rickie Weeks. Escobar has a secure job, and he plays SS, which would give me a backup in case of an Andrus injury.

Escobar looks like he’ll be bad, but not soul-crushingly terrible, so there’s that. 4 of his 7 seasons have actually been very good, but the last one of those was in 2011, so it seems like they may be permanently in the past.

An intriguing fact that probably means nothing but was enough to help me bite the bullet: Last year Escobar’s batted ball distance rose by 21.3 feet, the 2nd most in the MLB!!

 
359holt
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 8:09 pm
23.07 Almonte, Abraham - SEA - OF
Almonte seems to be getting most of the centerfield starts and leadoff duties in spring training. From what I gather, no one on the Mariner roster is close to him defensively in CF. If you see him on the tube he kind of looks like Kirby Puckett out there. Last year in the minors he had quite a season .300/.394/.482 with 26 steals (67 walks in 440 AB). He's a switch-hitter and makes pretty good contact.

Almonte came to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic. The Yankees signed him as a 16-year-old but he started drinking shortly after his father died of a stomach ailment the next year in 2007. There's an interesting
article I found that tells a little of his story here.

“I think he is going to be a major league everyday center fielder and a guy who can possibly go to multiple All-Star Games,” said Rainiers manager John Stearns. “That’s how high I am on him, and I don’t like to get too high on a kid. But with a guy like Almonte, the sky is the limit.”
 
360evan
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 8:11 pm
23.08 Hughes, Phil - MIN - SP
As a Yankee fan, I’ve seen this many times before. Javier Vazquez, Carl Pavano, Ian Kennedy, and AJ Burnett are recent examples; pitchers who have left the Yankees to find immediate success somewhere else. The drafting of Hughes follows that logic. He is a fly ball pitcher which made him a nightmare at Yankee Stadium (71 of his 101 home runs allowed the last five seasons were here) and now he moves to the big park in Minnesota. As the #2 pitcher in their rotation, he’ll provide a good k/rate and should have some sneaky success. This is a gut call, but I would NOT be surprised if at the end of the year, he ends up with around 15 wins and the lowest ERA/WHIP of his career. The New York pressure is off and after watching this once “can’t miss prospect” over the years, I sincerely think he’ll have the chance to breathe.
 
361JKaye
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 8:33 pm
23.09 Wilson, Brian - LAD - RP
He used to be good? We are at the point of the draft where it's luck and a prayer. Doubt he is on my team in May but shall see if that hunch is correct.
 
362bmd
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 10:06 pm
23.10 Medica, Tommy - SDG - UTL
Another hail mary. Medica doesn't really have a spot right now. I'm hoping he hits his way into the lineup. He seems like he has the potential to put up .350/450 line if given the opportunity. At this point anybody that has the potential for that is worth drafting.
 
363reeb
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 10:06 pm
23.11 Doubront, Felix - BOS - SP
I love this pick this late. He showed signs of breaking out in the 2nd half last year and I'm hoping he can build on it this year.

Now if I can trade for Peavy my Red Sox starting rotation will be intact.

 
364kdl212
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 10:12 pm
23.12 Bourjos, Peter - STL - OF
I was planning to pick a high strikeout relief guy here, as I like to do with my end picks, but for some reason I searched for Bourjos, who wasn't in my queue, and he came up as undrafted. Perfect! I still feel low on runs and stolen bases, and he (like Melky) might hit second in a high-scoring lineup.

This leaves me with more OF than I intended to collect, but it's another perfect late round pick.

 
365jdrenbarger
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 10:12 pm
23.13 Morse, Michael - SFO - OF
Still don't have enough pitchers to fill out my starting slots, but I just can't pass up Morse here - gives me a 7th OF eligible player, which should allow me to do a far better job of maximizing games played at the position than I usually do, and he - should I need to regularly use him - can help at R, RBI and SLG as a projected everyday player if he resembles his 2010-2012 version. Debated going with Bourjos and ended up slotting Morse 1/Bourjos 2 in my queue - with Bourjos going off the board with the pick previous to mine.
 
366Guru
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 10:35 pm
23.14 McGee, Jake - TAM - RP
Throwing darts at a list of middle relievers with high K/IP and hoping for good ratios and a few vultured wins
 
367twilson
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 11:34 pm
23.15 Morton, Charlie - PIT - SP
The 64 innings I got from Morton over the last month or two of 2013 was one of the unsung contributions to my AAA PCL championship. He led the league in GB% while still managing to a K/9 rate of 6.6. His biggest negative is a significant platoon split. I can certainly see a scenario in which Morton resides for the entire season on my roster, which is all I can ask for a 23rd round pick.
 
368Jason
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 18, 11:44 pm
23.16 Gennett, Scooter - MIL - 2B
 
369Jason
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 19, 12:03 am
24.01 Chisenhall, Lonnie - CLE - 3B
 
370twilson
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 19, 12:03 am
24.02 Eovaldi, Nathan - MIA - SP
He throws the ball really hard. Strikeouts have eluded him in past seasons, but he’s had a good spring in that department. This is a pick hoping that success continues into the regular season. I’m not particularly hopeful, it’ll be easy to make a judgment after a couple starts. If it doesn’t work out, I can move on relatively quickly. I also thought about adding a setup man here.
 
371Guru
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 19, 12:03 am
24.03 Rondon, Bruce - DET - RP
Again throwing darts at a list of middle relievers with high K/IP and hoping for good ratios and a few vultured wins. Threw over 100 pitches at 100-mph plus last year. Could be second in line for saves as well, if Nathan should show his age.

One more dart still left in the bag for pick 25. Dartboard has seven names on it, so I shoudl be able to hit one.

 
372jdrenbarger
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 19, 12:15 am
24.04 Quintana, Jose - CWS - SP
The good, particularly in the 24th round of this draft - 2013 stat line of 200 IP / 164 K / 3.51 ERA / 1.22 WHIP

The bad, from Rotoworld.com yesterday - "White Sox left-hander Jose Quintana allowed a whopping nine runs on seven hits and two walks without getting a single out in his Cactus League start Tuesday afternoon against the A’s. Had it been a regular-season outing, it would have been the worst stat line in Major League Baseball history. And that’s not hyperbole. That’s fact."

I'm sure glad spring training stats don't mean anything ... well, at least I hope they don't ...

 
373kdl212
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 19, 12:26 am
24.05 Ramos, A.J. - MIA - RP
Time for some relief guys who gets strikeouts and might get saves. Not sure a Marlin reliever is the best place to look here, but Ramos put up decent numbers last year, and maybe the Fish trade Cishek. Ramos is unlikely to survive April on my roster, as he looks like the first guy to drop should a need for an acquisition arise.
 
374reeb
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 19, 12:26 am
24.06 Bradley Jr., Jackie - BOS - OF
If Sizemore does not pan out I have his replacement waiting in the wings. Either way I will have a starting center fielder on a good offensive team.
 
375bmd
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 19, 9:15 am
24.07 Marisnick, Jake - MIA - OF
Dart board here. Praying he wins the job instead of the other guy.
 
376JKaye
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 19, 9:22 am
24.08 Nolasco, Ricky - MIN - SP
Not a ton of upside but has always been a strong sabermetric pitcher who never yielded expected results. I like the ballpark fit for a fly all pitcher. Ironically, AFTER I made the pick I started liking it more. This guy had 13 wins, 3.7 era, 1.21 wh"ip and 7.5 k/9 last year. He was also named opening day starter for whatever that's worth. Honestly the profile is overqualified for round 24 so I like what I found here."
 
377evan
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 19, 9:23 am
24.09 Kelley, Shawn - NYY - RP
The only reliever on the Yankees drafted so far not named Robertson. This is a speculative pickup that he’ll move into the closer’s role if Robertson gets hurt or falters. Robertson pitches lights-out when he has a day of rest and has been traditionally unreliable pitching on back-to-back days. Kelley had 71 strikeouts in 53.1 innings last season so he should help me in that regard if he doesn’t get a chance to close. The other closer opportunity would be Matt Thornton but he is having a bad preseason and seems to have the role as the “lefty” reliever. By not drafting closers early, I’m left with taking fliers on setup men.
 
378holt
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 19, 10:37 am
24.10 Griffin, A.J. - OAK - SP
I was trying to decide Griffin or Grandal here. I wanted both but figured a SP was more important than a backup C, so I took Griffin and hoped Grandal would make the turn. Of course, Grandal went the very next pick.

I've always liked Griffin as a 5th starter. He has flexor tendinitis and is shut down another 2 1/2 weeks or so. That's ok though. If not for the tendinitis he would have been gone 7 rounds earlier. Of the remaining SP I think his Whip/K combo was by far the best. If he can cut down on the gopher balls he can perform like a top 25 pitcher (career MLB 1.13 whip 7.5 K/9; minors 1.02 whip 8.7 K/9). Just hope he gets into action soon.

 
379mmikulka
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 19, 10:48 am
24.11 Grandal, Yasmani - SDG - 0
Yasmani had a lot of hype surrounding his debut in 2012, but last year he got hit with a PED suspension and then tore his ACL, so he’s flying under the radar now. He’s certainly unproven, but his minor league track record suggests he’ll be a very patient hitter with a high OBP. He has matched that expectation at the MLB level so far, with a .380 OBP (driven by an insane 14.7 walk rate [I know, small sample size]) in his first 334 at bats.

Grandal also is expected to have a decent amount of power. Most projections have his ISO around .140, which would be fine. It was thought that he would start the season on the DL, but he healed much faster than expected, and played in his first spring training game almost a week ago.

 
380Seattle Zen
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 19, 10:48 am
24.12 Furcal, Rafael - MIA - 2B
He is supposedly the Marlins leadoff hitter. Hopefully MIA stands for Miami and not... Old man, missed all of 2013, was replacement level in StL in 2012, doesn't steal bases any more. Will be Miami's second baseman and hopefully will be healthy enough to play in the first 10 games. I'm just hoping for a MI gap filler who will score a few runs, not asking for much. Get hurt and I will feed your carcass to the pigs. Yes, I'm running out of pithy rationales.
 
381mailedfoot
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 19, 11:09 am
24.13 Skaggs, Tyler - LAA - SP
Another young starter with quite a bit of upside, Skaggs has flashed some increased velocity this spring and, as a result, has gotten a little love from some of the prognosticators. I still need a catcher but not seeing anyone who sticks out, decided to go with Skaggs instead.
 
382Wazaaap Guy
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 19, 11:42 am
24.14 Polanco, Gregory - PIT - OF
Just going for the Home Run ball at this point. The Pirates are allegedly shopping Tabata, probably meaning they are already looking to get Polanco into their lineup sooner rather than later. He's a top 10 prospect on many lists, so I figured it was worth holding onto him at the end of my roster rather than some other scrub that isn't a top 10 prospect.
 
383Meatwads
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 19, 4:16 pm
24.15 Lake, Junior - CHC - OF
I made this selection for a few reasons. First, he appears to have an every day job. Second because I wanted to get some more offensive depth. Finally, he's slated to hit 5th in the lineup, albeit on probably the worst offense in baseball. Still, if I can get a middle of the order hitter this late in the draft it's worth a stab. I don't expect him to survive the season on my roster but I'm always open to being pleasantly surprised.
 
384jeffg
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 19, 3:48 pm
24.16 Hernandez, David - ARI - RP
Thought about taking an SP6 here, but I'll go the free agent route if I want another starter and monitor early performance. Also considered a MI for backup but think extra games played with folks this low would harm my composites more than help. So what the heck, I went with another MR with a good K/9 instead, and Hernandez's is over 10. Now to hope my K/9 does not turn into a dog.
 
385jeffg
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 19, 3:48 pm
25.01 Van Slyke, David - LAD - OF
A little out of the box thinking here with the Dodger backup corner outfielder, as Van Slyke was not drafted in the other four RIBCs, nor should he have been. But, the Dodgers play three games this season before 27 teams even play one. For two of them, their regular LF Carl Crawford is not even making the trip to Australia while on paternity leave. Scott should see a start down under, perhaps two. So why not sneak in a few plate appearances for my team to kick start the season and maybe accrue a counting stat or two if I am lucky, and since I always fall short of the OF games played max, it is not like this is going to cost me a Mike Trout game in late September.
 
386Meatwads
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 19, 4:15 pm
25.02 Plouffe, Trevor - MIN - 3B
My final round pick was selected to add another hitter into the fold. Nothing too special about Plouffe but maybe he surprises me and has a season similar to 2012 when he hit 24 homers with a .455 SLG%. I didn't love the hitters remaining in the draft and I just took a stab on someone who appears to have a job. I would be borderline shocked if he survives the season on my roster but that's to be expected in such a deep league.
 
387Wazaaap Guy
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 19, 4:40 pm
25.03 Gausman, Kevin - BAL - RP
Similar to the Polanco pick, I figured I'd rather have a guy with monster upside on my roster than one without. Gausman's role is still undefined, but he probably won't start or close, so he may not hold much value til much later in the year. He likely won't still be on my team at that point. Will likely drop him for a hot SP or to stream SP early in the year.
 
388mailedfoot
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 19, 4:40 pm
25.04 Mesoraco, Devin - CIN - C
Not much to distinguish the catchers who are left in my mind; took Mesoraco since he figures to get the bulk of the playing time, plays half his games in a hitters park, at 26 should be coming into his prime, and has put up some good power numbers in the minors.
 
389Seattle Zen
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 19, 4:40 pm
25.05 Norris, Derek - OAK - C
Derrick Norris doesn't wear a mask to protect his face from the baseball, he wears a mask to protect the baseball from his face kicking its ass. Derrick Norris hits lefties like Mr. T does fools - again and again with great success. Don't call Derrick Norris a thief, he ran to second base while you were throwing the ball because that's HIS base, damnit, watchagonnadoboutit? His tears cure cancer, too bad he never cries.

I could go on and on, this is fun again.

 
390mmikulka
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 19, 5:01 pm
25.06 De La Rosa, Jorge - COL - SP
This roster spot will likely rotate between players on a day-to-day basis. Most of the time it will be occupied by a spot starter, a fill-in batter, or a reliever. De La Rosa is decent and pitches on opening day at Miami, so I’m beginning with him.

If I wasn’t able to get De La Rosa, my backup plan was to make Eric Sogard an honorary pick. In what has become an unfortunate theme recently, Nerd Power finished in 2nd place.

 
391holt
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 19, 5:51 pm
25.07 Franco, Maikel - PHI - 3B
Pretty much anyone still out there will be available as a FA soon enough so I didn't bother with this pick too much. Franco is a highly ranked prospect and seems likely headed for AAA to start the season. His first MLB action will be to either replace Asche or fill in for R Howard. Since I have both Asche & Howard on my roster I figured I better roster him for at least a few days. Technically he's still in a position battle with Asche as they haven't named their starter yet. Anyway, he probably won't be on my roster long.
 
392evan
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 19, 6:01 pm
25.08 Cook, Ryan - OAK - RP
Speculative closer grab, nothing more and nothing less. I seem to draft him every season and he puts up solid numbers for a reliever. I’m not confident in Jim Johnson even though they threw a lot of money at him.
 
393JKaye
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 19, 7:26 pm
25.09 Fields, Josh - HOU - RP
Nearly took him in round 23 and 24 so was happy to see him atop my queue to use for the final round. A potential contributor in a tough category to fill. Who knows if he gets a chance to close or how well he might do, but this is as good a final pick as one can hope for. Really completed what was for me a terrific draft and I hope to see my team contending in the top 3-4 teams.
 
394bmd
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 19, 9:23 pm
25.10 Ozuna, Marcell - MIA - OF
He was the "other guy" in my previous post. He's been terrible this spring but has potential. Didn't realize I was a little short on pitching so will probably be dropping at least 1 outfielder, possibly 2.
 
395reeb
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 19, 9:23 pm
25.11 Stubbs, Drew - COL - OF
Just taking a flyer at this point. Stubbs is average at best in almost every category and it looks like he will be platooning. If he pans out I get some real cheap SB's. Most likely he will be cut soon.
 
396kdl212
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 19, 9:54 pm
25.12 Bell, Heath - TAM - RP
I don't believe in Heath Bell, but I believe in TB. If they can turn 2011 Fernando Rodney (4.5 ERA and 8 walks per 9 innings) into 2012 Fernando Rodney (one of the greatest seasons in relief pitching history ), then maybe they can do the same for Heath Bell. And since Grant Balfour has a hidden injury and is already complaining of a dead arm in Spring training, this seems like a fair 25th round gamble on finding 20 saves.
 
397jdrenbarger
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 19, 9:54 pm
25.13 Lindstrom, Matt - CWS - RP
I was looking to buy a lottery ticket for saves here and had Josh Fields at the top of my queue ... and jkaye picked him up four picks prior to mine. Lindstrom was second in my queue - Nate Jones still hasn't been named as the Sox closer and Lindstrom is simply a handcuff pick for me at this point. I'd feel better about it if Lindstrom was the clear #2 choice ... but then he'd no doubt not have been available here.
 
398Guru
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 19, 9:54 pm
25.14 Bastardo, Antonio - PHI - RP
My third RP dart of my last three rounds. Amazingly, after taking Jake McGee in round 23, I set up a queue of RPs for the remainder of the draft and the top two names were Rondon and Bastardo, who both survived. It seemed like most teams were taking spare hitters in the last couple of rounds and leaving RPs alone.

With these last three middle relievers, I now have five RPs in total, only two of which are closers (Uehara and Romo). I'm satisfied with the lot.

 
399twilson
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 19, 10:29 pm
25.15 Mejia, Jenrry - NYM - SP
I know I’ve taken starters with my previous three picks, but why stop when I’m still finding names that interest me? Mejia doesn’t sound likely to begin the season in the Mets rotation, but there’s enough of a chance that I figured I would take a flyer on him. If he gets sent to the minors, he’ll be an easy drop. If not, he could be a very nice source of quality innings. Mejia was excellent in a tiny 27 inning sample last year, putting up a 2.46 xFIP.
 
400Jason
      ID: 330592710
     Mar 20, 1:31 am
25.16 Guzman, Jesus - HOU - OF