It's that time of the year again folks, time for the annual Rotisserie Keeper League Draft Recap article. 12 teams, 6 keepers with no keeper penalties. Standard 10 category scoring and a 1250 Innings cap. 25 man rosters, so plenty of room to stash prospects and closer handcuffs. I asked each manager after the draft to answer 5 questions and here they are:
1) Did you have a specific strategy going into the draft?
2) Do you feel that you were able to execute that strategy? Why/Why not?
3) What do you feel was your best pick? Your worst?
4) What do you feel was the best pick overall? The worst?
5) Being a keeper league, how much of your draft was influenced by planning for 2013+? Do you use youth as just a tiebreaker or do you specifically try and hoard younger players?
It's always interesting to see what peoples' opinions are on how everything went and what surprised them. Personally I find that closers go extremely early in this league despite most of the managers being very experienced. I think that it has a lot to do with the larger than usual roster size, so managers know that most if not all of the handcuffs will be drafted. It's much harder than normal to find saves throughout the season so it makes sense to pay full price for someone who should hold the job all year. Here are the manager answers, in order of how they drafted:
Flushing Johns (kept Prince Fielder, Pablo Sandoval, Mike Moustakas, Mike Trout, Paul Goldschmidt, Dustin Ackley)
1) Did you have a specific strategy going into the draft?
My 2012 draft strategy actually started almost exactly a year ago. For the FJ's, 2011 was a last place finish DISASTER (Dunn, Josh Johnson, Pedro Alvarez, Juan Pierre as 4 of my 6 keepers... Kelly Johnson, Drew Stubbs and Nishioka as 3 of my first 5 picks). So once my team was completely eliminated (by the end of May) I made moves for young guys, building for the future. So my 2012 keepers include 2 solid keepers (Fielder, Baby Panda) and 4 stretches (Moose-Tacos, Goldschmidt, Ackley, Trout) with a goal of finishing in the top 6 this year.
My draft strategy was to load up on solid hitters early... then worry about some starting pitchers... and avoid getting sucked into the closer run. I want to finish in the top 1/2 this year so I wasn't really drafting for young unproven guys (I already have my share among my keepers). And I wanted to try to get guys that wouldn't all crush me in the BA category (like I had in 2011) - so that became a tie breaker for me, rather than age.
2) Do you feel that you were able to execute that strategy? Why/Why not?
I did end up punting on pitching for awhile, instead taking Jay Bruce, then stretching a bit for Miguel Montero and Dee Gordon. But at the turn I felt I had to stretch a bit. At that point, other than an OF or 2, my hitting lineup was filled in. But by my next time around all of the primo SP's were off the board. Still, I'm OK with Luebke as my Ace and Hanrahan as my closer. By this time (11 picks in) I felt like I at least had all of the stat categories covered to the point that I could be a bit competitive.
The rest of the draft was OK - not great but not terrible either. I would have liked a little more speed with my OF-3, but couldn't pass up Duda (I'm not counting on Trout until mid-year). My bench (Ramos - Goldy - Walker - Escobar - Moustakos - Soriano) is probably better than the starting lineup I had by mid-year 2011. Pitching is weak - but I knew that would be the case going in.
3) What do you feel was your best pick? Your worst?
My best value pick - hate to say this but Alphonso Soriano is raking this spring... or maybe Chapman if Cincy can decide on a role for him. Worst pick? Well, I stretched for a number of guys, early. But the biggest unknowns I have are my 4 young keepers.
My best value pick - hate to say this but Alphonso Soriano is raking this spring... or maybe Chapman if Cincy can decide on a role for him. Worst pick? Well, I stretched for a number of guys, early. But the biggest unknowns I have are my 4 young keepers.
4) What do you feel was the best pick overall? The worst?
[ed. Manager did not answer]
5) Being a keeper league, how much of your draft was influenced by planning for 2013+? Do you use youth as just a tiebreaker or do you specifically try and hoard younger players?
Overall, I think I have a pretty solid core, except for maybe SP's... or an extra Closer. I think with a little luck and some development from my young guys... and a couple of trades... I can be in the top 1/2 this season.
Dirtdogs (kept Adrian Gonzalez, Justin Verlander, Ian Kinsler, Jered Weaver, Corey Hart, Andre Ethier)
1) Did you have a specific strategy going into the draft?
Yes.
2) Do you feel that you were able to execute that strategy? Why/Why not?
No, I was unable to attend.
5) Being a keeper league, how much of your draft was influenced by planning for 2013+? Do you use youth as just a tiebreaker or do you specifically try and hoard younger players?
I personally don’t spend as much time going after the younger players while other people are. My hope would be that I am able to grab a couple real solid veterans while people are going after the young guys, and maybe squeak into a championship
Guinypigs (kept Jacoby Ellsbury, Michael Bourn, Buster Posey, Eric Hosmer, Jonathan Papelbon, Jeremy Hellickson)
Overall, I think I have a pretty solid core, except for maybe SP's... or an extra Closer. I think with a little luck and some development from my young guys... and a couple of trades... I can be in the top 1/2 this season.
Dirtdogs (kept Adrian Gonzalez, Justin Verlander, Ian Kinsler, Jered Weaver, Corey Hart, Andre Ethier)
1) Did you have a specific strategy going into the draft?
Yes.
2) Do you feel that you were able to execute that strategy? Why/Why not?
No, I was unable to attend.
3) What do you feel was your best pick? Your worst?
Best pick: Matt Holliday
Worst pick: Chris Carpenter
Best pick: Matt Holliday
Worst pick: Chris Carpenter
4) What do you feel was the best pick overall? The worst?
I wish I could have seen the draft to let you know, but my guy right now would say Sean Marshall for the best pick, and to go with that Ryan Madson as the worst
I wish I could have seen the draft to let you know, but my guy right now would say Sean Marshall for the best pick, and to go with that Ryan Madson as the worst
5) Being a keeper league, how much of your draft was influenced by planning for 2013+? Do you use youth as just a tiebreaker or do you specifically try and hoard younger players?
I personally don’t spend as much time going after the younger players while other people are. My hope would be that I am able to grab a couple real solid veterans while people are going after the young guys, and maybe squeak into a championship
Guinypigs (kept Jacoby Ellsbury, Michael Bourn, Buster Posey, Eric Hosmer, Jonathan Papelbon, Jeremy Hellickson)
1) Did you have a specific strategy going into the draft?
2) Do you feel that you were able to execute that strategy? Why/Why not?
3) What do you feel was your best pick? Your worst?
4) What do you feel was the best pick overall? The worst?
5) Being a keeper league, how much of your draft was influenced by planning for 2013+? Do you use youth as just a tiebreaker or do you specifically try and hoard younger players?
Polish Sausage (kept Troy Tulowitzki, Joey Votto, Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, David Price, Matt Cain)
1) Did you have a specific strategy going into the draft?
With A-Rod in his late 30’s and Teixeira post-prime, I wanted to try and secure some keeper-potential players who could add value immediately.
2) Do you feel that you were able to execute that strategy? Why/Why not?
In that regard I failed because I generally waited about 1 round too long to select those types of players, hoping they would fall to my next pick. I ended up with SP quality earlier than I anticipated and a lot of questions in my OF, so I may have to be active in the trade market early this year.
3) What do you feel was your best pick? Your worst?
I’ll break them down in round groups – my player first, the league second. Usually this results in a number of trade offers with these players, right?
Rounds 7-10 best: Haren – wanted Bruce; this was a safe pick instead of taking Lester again
Rounds 7-10 worst: Ichiro – almost no power and how will he steal 40 bases in the 3 hole
Rounds 11-15 best: Putz – got a 2nd solid closer before the big run; took handcuff later also
Rounds 11-15 worst: Cespedes – big reach in trying to find a good young OF keeper
Rounds 16-20 best: Hill – if his AZ numbers from 11 carry over, I will be very pleased
Rounds 16-20 worst: Bauer – starting in AA, has to get to the show fast to be a 2013 keeper
Rounds 21-25 best: Craig – getting healthy quickly and should play every day in St. Louis
Rounds 21-25 worst: Bay – past his prime, counting on shorter fences is weak reasoning
5) Being a keeper league, how much of your draft was influenced by planning for 2013+? Do you use youth as just a tiebreaker or do you specifically try and hoard younger players?
I am an owner who hasn’t paid enough attention to young keepers in the past. This year I attempted to make a more focused effort on young solid keepers without putting too much of 2012 at risk. This year my very young potential keepers were Bauer and Cespedes and I have mixed feelings on both players. Obviously I don’t mind taking older players like Ichiro, Valverde, and Soto to try and improve my overall team. However, in starting Year 4 in this league I have been pretty much caught in the middle between trying to content and trying to build for the future. 2012 may be a year I try a different approach.
Andy Lawrie (kept BJ Upton, Carl Crawford, Cole Hamels, Brett Lawrie, Ricky Romero, Jimmy Rollins)
1) Did you have a specific strategy going into the draft?
2) Do you feel that you were able to execute that strategy? Why/Why not?
3) What do you feel was your best pick? Your worst?
4) What do you feel was the best pick overall? The worst?
5) Being a keeper league, how much of your draft was influenced by planning for 2013+? Do you use youth as just a tiebreaker or do you specifically try and hoard younger players?
Emerson Tigers (kept Carlos Gonzalez, Adrian Beltre, Dustin Pedroia, Desmond Jennings, Josh Hamilton, Elvis Andrus)
1) Did you have a specific strategy going into the draft?
2) Do you feel that you were able to execute that strategy? Why/Why not?
3) What do you feel was your best pick? Your worst?
4) What do you feel was the best pick overall? The worst?
5) Being a keeper league, how much of your draft was influenced by planning for 2013+? Do you use youth as just a tiebreaker or do you specifically try and hoard younger players?
Bad News Bodie (kept Andrew Mccutchen, Justin Upton, Evan Longoria, Hanley Ramirez, Giancarlo Stanton, Madison Bumgarner)
1) Did you have a specific strategy going into the draft?
Yes and no. I knew I needed to bolster my pitching, given some of the teams that kept 2-3 SPs that were considered “Aces”. You can’t really compete in the pitching categories in this league without targeting a few high end starters. However, Lester and Haren didn’t make it to me in the 7th round, so I rolled the dice and went with the best offensive option for me. I got lucky and was able to draft Ian Kennedy and James Shields in the 8th and 9th rounds to help solidify my starting pitching needs. Other than that, I went a little crazy targeting closers. That always has some risk involved though, given how many closers lose their jobs or get hurt during the season. But if I get up in the saves category early, I will have the ability to make some trades to help my team in other spots later in the season. I’ll cover this in more detail below, but I also didn’t spend a lot of time looking for young upside players because I felt my keeper core would not be changing for the next few years.
2) Do you feel that you were able to execute that strategy? Why/Why not?
Yes and no…again. I got enough starting pitching to keep me in the middle of the pack for scoring, and possibly near the top if Kennedy, M-Bum and Shields pitch very well. But I wasn’t real thrilled with my 1B options. I was planning on getting Freeman in the middle rounds and then Dunn or Morales in the later rounds and hoping one of them panned out. But I waited too long on both of those guys and had to go with Belt, who has promise but not guaranteed playing time. Basically my eggs are all in the Freddie Freeman basket…like it or not.
3) What do you feel was your best pick? Your worst?
My best pick…nothing too exciting but I liked Jose Altuve in the 21st round, even though 2b is deep. I think he’s a nice sleeper pick. Only time will tell. I also liked getting Francisco Cordero as my last pick, in case Sergio Santos gets hurt or sucks it up, then I have his replacement ready to go.
My worst pick…Addison Reed in the 20th round. He’s a backup closer and I could’ve gone with Trumbo, Gamel or Moreland to add more insurance for my 1B position issue.
4) What do you feel was the best pick overall? The worst?
Best overall pick…I like Gabe’s pick of Liriano in the 18th round. We say it every year, but if he can stay healthy and put it all together, he could be a top 10 SP. I also liked Brendon’s pick of Danny Espinosa in the 22nd round. Getting a 20/20 player at 2b that late is nothing to sneeze at. Neither is his BA though :)
Worst overall…my Addison Reed pick!
Best overall pick…I like Gabe’s pick of Liriano in the 18th round. We say it every year, but if he can stay healthy and put it all together, he could be a top 10 SP. I also liked Brendon’s pick of Danny Espinosa in the 22nd round. Getting a 20/20 player at 2b that late is nothing to sneeze at. Neither is his BA though :)
Worst overall…my Addison Reed pick!
5) Being a keeper league, how much of your draft was influenced by planning for 2013+? Do you use youth as just a tiebreaker or do you specifically try and hoard younger players?
Most years, the fact that this is a keeper league does affect the way I draft. This year is a little different for me. I’m very content with my keepers right now. I also feel that I can compete this year. So I concentrated on getting fairly proven players that would compliment my keepers and round out my stats nicely. I didn’t target any younger players with the hopes of keeping them.
Most years, the fact that this is a keeper league does affect the way I draft. This year is a little different for me. I’m very content with my keepers right now. I also feel that I can compete this year. So I concentrated on getting fairly proven players that would compliment my keepers and round out my stats nicely. I didn’t target any younger players with the hopes of keeping them.
Sullys (kept Brandon Phillips, Miguel Pineda, Craig Kimbrel, Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper, Nelson Cruz)
1) Did you have a specific strategy going into the draft?
My strategy this year was similar to most of my drafts; rank players into positional tiers, look for consistent players in rounds 7-10; wait on closers until the later rounds. Grab potential closers near the end of the draft. With 25 rounds of drafting, it’s harder in this league to grab a RP “handcuff” off of waivers, so I wanted to take my best guess of possible save vultures now.
2) Do you feel that you were able to execute that strategy? Why/Why not?
Going into the draft, the pick I felt least confident in was my first pick in round 7. Victorino isn’t the greatest selection, but I thought with all the Phillies’ injuries, he will be asked to bat lower in the order, drive in more runs & perhaps hit 20+ HR’s. Aramis Ramirez & Berkman should be able to hit 25 HR each. Didn’t execute my “consistent player” strategy with Stubbs in round 9.
Stubbs was simply a “damn, why didn’t I grab him instead of Billingsley last year!” pick. It’s dumb to have that kind of attachment carry over from year to year, and with Stubbs perhaps batting 7th in the order, this pick may really hurt. However, I like the guy, so please, easy on the trade offers!
3) What do you feel was your best pick? Your worst?
It was tough to stick to my strategy of waiting on closers, but by doing so, I think I got a great power guy in David Ortiz in the 11th round. That part of the draft was crazy…from the 4th pick in round 10 (Beachy) through the 9th pick in round 11 (Betancourt), I was the only team not to draft a pitcher (mostly closers), taking Berkman in round 10 and Ortiz in round 11. Here’s my analysis, using Polish Sausage’s picks as a comparison:
Polish
Rd 10 Valverde
Rd 11 Putz
Rd 13 Cespedes
Rd 14 Delmon Young
Sully’s
Rd 10 Berkman
Rd 11 Ortiz
Rd 13 Farnsworth
Rd 14 Francisco
Polish took closers in the earlier rounds & position players later. I did the opposite. Who came out ahead? I think gap between the stats of Berkman/Ortiz vs.Cespedes/Young will be much wider than the stats between Farnsworth/Francisco and Valverde/Putz, so I felt good about holding off on the closer run.
My worst pick was grabbing Utley in Round 18. Brandon Belt was still available (among others) & was the way better choice.
4) What do you feel was the best pick overall? The worst?
I’ll rank these in groups, best & worst picks & my thoughts
Rounds 7-11
Best: Billy Butler (pick 12 round 9). He’s absolutely raking this spring, and I think a power
increase is coming.
Worst: Ryan Madson (3rd pick round 11) is the obvious, but I’ll include Dee Gordon (pick 1 round 9). Pretty high pick for a guy who is still unproven. However, I’ll cut Flushing Johns a little slack; picking 1st in a round makes you have to reach if you really want a guy. Would Gordon have still been there 22 picks later? Probably not.
Rounds 12-15
Best: Jemile Weeks (pick 3 round 15). Good this year; better in the future when the A’s move & decide to field a team that can actually drive him in.
Worst: Justin Morneau (pick 8 round 14). Concussions are a bitch to recover from. Andy Lawrie redeems himself with a great Kendrys Morales pick in round 15.
Rounds 16-20
Best: Adam Dunn (pick 3 round 16). He’s hitting better this spring (surely couldn’t hit worse than last year). Possible 30 HR power in these later rounds is rare. I like Brandon Belt in round 19 too.
Worst: Erik Bedard (pick 5 round 17). See last years’ comments regarding my loathing of Mr. Bedard.
Rounds 21-25
I find looking back at past drafts shows some pretty interesting picks in these last rounds.
There’s usually one guy from each team that provides some value (and sometime significant value) in these last rounds. To me, it highlights how important it is to not have the picks autodrafted. Not to hammer on Dirtdogs (I understand commitments can’t be avoided), but I can’t see any of his last 5 picks doing anything but becoming waiver fodder in the next few weeks. I think it puts him at a big disadvantage.
5) Being a keeper league, how much of your draft was influenced by planning for 2013+? Do you use youth as just a tiebreaker or do you specifically try and hoard younger players?
I played my youth card last year with choosing Bryce Harper in round 7. I continued the
movement toward younger guys by keeping Kimbrel, Pineda and Strasburg, and cutting loose Jeter & Ichiro. Hoarding younger players doesn’t hurt too much in this league, where the rosters are bigger than other leagues I play in, But to win the league, you really have to have the proven veterans and just a few very young players, in my opinion.
They call me MR. IBBS (kept Jose Reyes, Carlos Santana, Ryan Zimmerman, CC Sabathia, Zack Greinke, Hunter Pence)
1) Did you have a specific strategy going into the draft?
I did. I knew that 1B was pretty shallow so I wanted to make sure that I snagged either Youkilis, Morse or Konerko in the first or second round. With Santana and Reyes I have a lot of non-traditional value but am lacking in some raw numbers. I feel very strong about a rotation built around Sabathia and Greinke (whom I think will be a top-5 fantasy starter this season) so my draft like went something like: OF2/1B, OF2/1B, BAB (Best Available Bat), SP3, OF3, 2B, RP1, BAB, RP2, BAB and then just getting as many high-ceiling guys that have a chance to boost my Runs/RBI #s. I had some sleepers late as I'm sure everyone did but my main goal was filling up on raw stats and remembering that I had to "pay for saves" a bit this year. Another thing I wanted to emphasize was to start drafting elite strikeout MRP around Round 16. I've never tried that strategy but instead of reaching for fringe SP5 candidates I wanted to just load up on high K/9IP guys, regardless of whether they have a shot to close this season. This should help keep my ratios down and give me a buffer in case I need to start a waiver SP in the event of an injury. 1250 innings is such a small limit it really only allows you to start 5 SP and 5 RP and I'd rather start 4 SP and 6 RP, then spot start a SP5.
2) Do you feel that you were able to execute that strategy? Why/Why not?
I feel pretty good about it. I snagged Michael Young to pad my Run/RBI totals and hopefully balance out some of my AVG concerns with Santana. I'm not big on Young but he's certainly worth what was really a 7th Round pick and qualifying at 1B, 2B, and 3B he gave me a TON of freedom to pick the BAB in the later rounds. I was hoping for Zobrist here (2B and OF) but I didn't expect Young to be available so I was happy. I snagged Morse as well on the comeback so I could move Young to 2B, and then even got Cuddyer later on (the shift from Target to Coors is enormous, over a 25% swing in park effect for HR, plus the fact that he'll have actual hitters around him to drive in/drive him in) so I can swing Young around almost anywhere in my lineup. I got what I consider to be 2 elite closers in Betancourt and Holland and didn't feel like I was leaving a ton of talent on the board at other positions. Deciding to go with a set 5 man rotation also allowed me to get a LOT of stability and upside on my bench for my offense too. Between Hunter, Markakis, Joyce, Heisey and Davis I should be able to do no worse than 80-25-80-5-.280 for my OF3/Util slot, and I think there's upside for more. I was looking hard at Cozart and Altuve late but I have enough dual/tri-positional guys that I didn't need set backups and was able to take some wild shots with my last few picks.
3) What do you feel was your best pick? Your worst?
I don't think I made a terrible pick anywhere; I stuck really close to my round targets for the most part. If I had second thoughts about one pick it might be Greg Holland in the 12th Round. I think he's great and looks to be in line for the KC closer's role but there were guys with a bit more job security available at that spot and I probably shouldn't have taken that risk. Sean Marshall went 3 picks later and I might have taken him instead. I also feel like I ended up with a lot of the same player with Swisher, Hunter, Heisey, Markakis and Davis which isn't ideal, but I like them where they went Round-wise and they keep my stat floor very high. I also regret not taking some more SBs for my bench. I went into the draft knowing that I could afford to ignore steals to an extent because I had Jose Reyes but another 25+ steal guy would have let me shoot for the full 12 points in that category instead of just shooting for 8-9. If Reyes misses any time I might not even get that many, which would be a shame.
4) What do you feel was the best pick overall? The worst?
Well "worst" is easy because Ryan Madsen and Chris Carpenter were drafted. Madsen's done for the year and Carp is out indefinitely with a bulging disc in his neck. If you exclude those "not paying attention" picks I really didn't like Justin Morneau going in the 14th. There were a lot of other 1B fliers available and Morneau has really struggled in ST. Even if he's 100% healthy he might platoon to protect him and that team only has Carlos Lee as a potential replacement. I think that he probably could have been had in the 20th Round or later. There were a lot of picks that I liked: Ramos in the 25th, Cozart and Altuve in the 21st, Neil Walker in the 19th, Dunn and Boesch in the 16th...there were a lot of managers willing to take risks on veterans trying to mount comebacks. Matthew Berry would be so proud.
5) Being a keeper league, how much of your draft was influenced by planning for 2013+? Do you use youth as just a tiebreaker or do you specifically try and hoard younger players?
I'm pretty happy with my 6 keepers from last season so I wasn't really targeting youth in specific. Actually I've noticed that managers really tend to over-plan for the future in this league at the expense of their chances for the current year. I managed to finish 4th last season and I would have ranked my team 10th or 11th in terms of talent. There's always a lot of value to be had by taking veterans when everyone else is keeping prospects. That being said, I still scoured the Yahoo system looking to see if they'd mistakenly added in any top prospects. That paid off when Anthony Rendon showed up. If he gets called up I'll have to seriously consider keeping him. Then again he's a dead roster spot until a call-up so he might be my first drop when I want someone else.
Tuscaloosa Dumplings (kept Matt Kemp, Cliff Lee, Starlin Castro, Ryan Braun, Brian McCann, Yovani Gallardo)
1) Did you have a specific strategy going into the draft?
Going into this years draft, my main strategy was to calculate the what the average winning stat for each category was over the past few years. For example, I took the highest home run total from the past few years, then averaged them out to see an estimated winning total for 2012 would be. Then I subtracted the projected numbers from my keepers to see what my strengths and weaknesses were. In doing so I noticed power could be an issue along with runs, while stolen bases were not a problem at all. So in the draft itself I targeted power guys often over speedsters.
2) Do you feel that you were able to execute that strategy? Why/Why not?
I felt I was able to exercise my draft strategy, but not as well as I had hoped. By targeting guys like Adam Dunn and Ryan Howard later on in the draft I have the potential to have plenty of power when adding them to my Matt Kemp/Ryan "I'm innocent, I'm innocent!" Braun combo. Though I would have been much happier if I had a more concrete power hitter on my team, instead of two guys with major question marks... only time will tell if it will work.
1) Did you have a specific strategy going into the draft?
Going into this years draft, my main strategy was to calculate the what the average winning stat for each category was over the past few years. For example, I took the highest home run total from the past few years, then averaged them out to see an estimated winning total for 2012 would be. Then I subtracted the projected numbers from my keepers to see what my strengths and weaknesses were. In doing so I noticed power could be an issue along with runs, while stolen bases were not a problem at all. So in the draft itself I targeted power guys often over speedsters.
2) Do you feel that you were able to execute that strategy? Why/Why not?
I felt I was able to exercise my draft strategy, but not as well as I had hoped. By targeting guys like Adam Dunn and Ryan Howard later on in the draft I have the potential to have plenty of power when adding them to my Matt Kemp/Ryan "I'm innocent, I'm innocent!" Braun combo. Though I would have been much happier if I had a more concrete power hitter on my team, instead of two guys with major question marks... only time will tell if it will work.
3) What do you feel was your best pick? Your worst?
When looking back at my draft I feel my best pick was Adam Dunn in round 16 pick #183 just because of his pure potential. One year removed from hitting 40 homers 5 seasons in a row (well 38 in '09 & '10), even if he only slightly returns to his old self he'll be a positive pick at 183. Jesus Montero could also be one of my best because of his youth and potential. I was very surprised that he was still available in round 13 when it was time for my pick.
The worst pick of my draft has to be Kenley Jansen in round 12 pick 135. Time was running down on my pick and I mini panicked and picked Jansen even though he's not the closer for the Dodgers (yet!). He's still a solid relief pitcher to have on your roster, but not that early at all, hopefully he'll take over the job soon! Some could say my pick of Ryan Howard in round 11 pick 130 was a bad pick, but from all reports he'll most likely be back in mid to late May, and if he returns to form I have a top 50 player at pick 130, I'll take that.
4) What do you feel was the best pick overall? The worst?
Now for the rest of the teams in the draft, there weren't as many shocking picks this year as there had been in the past. It seems there aren't as many big time minor leaguers coming up this year that aren't already rostered, that might be the cause. There were several solid picks by every team this year, so much so that no one pick stands out to me as the "best" pick of the draft. There were several good ones, but no great pick. It looks like this season could be one of the most competitive ever for this league.
While there weren't any "best" picks in my opinion, there were a few not so good ones. Other than my Kenley Jansen pick, I thought Jayson Werth going in round 10 pick 109 was far too early. He did have a bad year last year, and he's likely to rebound, but there were still several solid OF choices available which were comparable like: Alex Gordon, Carlos Beltran, Delmon Young, Brennan Boesch, Melky Cabrera, Kendrys Morales, Nick Markakis. Jayson Werth may very well out preform these players, but they came much cheaper (other than Gordon) have just as much potential to preform equally, if not better. But, I know I'm almost always completely wrong about these when I look back at the end of the season.
5) Being a keeper league, how much of your draft was influenced by planning for 2013+? Do you use youth as just a tiebreaker or do you specifically try and hoard younger players?
Youth is always an issue in a keeper league, but if you have a solid foundation of keepers then youth shouldn't be of too much concern in the draft, especially early. When looking between two players, unsure of which one to pick, youth can definitely be used as a tiebreaker. It looks as if for the first time since I've been part of it, this league as a whole has realized that veterans are valuable too. It's nice having the next surprise young talent on your team, but by banking on youngers all the time your team will never win.
Regulators (kept Miguel Cabrera, Albert Pujols, Clayton Kershaw, David Wright, Felix Hernandez, Dan Uggla)
1) Did you have a specific strategy going into the draft?
My strategy was to stay sober, load up on offense and Doritos and try to get some starting pitching bargains in between. I wanted 3 closers as well.
2) Do you feel that you were able to execute that strategy? Why/Why not?
Not really. I went too heavy on outfielders (perhaps, overcome with fear over last year's failures - Choo, D. Young, Rasmus, Tabata, Fowler). I only got 2 closers. I missed out on some real SP bargains in the mid rounds and also missed on taking
some best available player chances later because I was still busy filling needs at certain positions. As a side note, I have some OF to trade on my bench, try me.
3) What do you feel was your best pick? Your worst?
I was happy with my early picks. Specifically, I was happy with Mat Latos in the 10th round. My worst pick was definitely Peter Bourjos in the 13th. I was already set on OF and there were still tons of Bourjos-type players kicking around. I do like Bourjos this year but I had his ADP wrong in my rankings. I had him listed around the 12-13th round when in reality he is going in the 15th on average. Never let ADP dominate your decision making. Also, never let Carew dominate you in the sack. He will never respect you again.
4) What do you feel was the best pick overall? The worst?
So many to choose from, I will make a list because I can't choose one:
7th: Jay Bruce
9th: Billy Butler
12th: Jordan Zimmermann
13th: Ubaldo Jimenez
14th: Anibal Sanchez
16th: Chris Sale
17th: Logan Morrison
18th: Francisco Liriano
20th: Mat Gamel, Mark Trumbo
22nd: Ted Lilly, Juan Nicasio
23rd: Alejandro De Aza
24th: Anthony Rizzo (maybe not so much for this year but still a solid pick in a keeper)
All the worst picks in the draft were in the 25th round. You guys really suck.
5) Being a keeper league, how much of your draft was influenced by planning for 2013+? Do you use youth as just a tiebreaker or do you specifically try and hoard younger players?
I specifically hoard Jason Heyward and Matt Wieters and Case/Ingersoll tractors. They are tied up in my basement right now with Ving Rhames and Bruce Willis.
I specifically hoard Jason Heyward and Matt Wieters and Case/Ingersoll tractors. They are tied up in my basement right now with Ving Rhames and Bruce Willis.
The Schwartz (kept Jose Bautista, Robinson Cano, Roy Halladay, Curtis Granderson, Tim Lincecum, Matt Moore)
1) Did you have a specific strategy going into the draft?
My strategy was to focus on consistent offensive players early. Because 3 of my keepers were pitchers I felt like I needed to devote 3 of my first 4 picks to offense. I was looking for guys that could contribute in all categories. I planned on not adding another starter until the middle rounds.
2) Do you feel that you were able to execute that strategy? Why/Why not?
I won't know if my strategy worked until the end of the season. The first round caught me off--guard. I expected Victorino or Zobrist to fall to me for one of my picks at the end of the round. I was very happy to get Napoli back, I thought he would be taken within the first 4 picks. I struggled with the decision to keep Moore or Napoli this offseason so it was nice to get him back and not have to second guess my keeper decision all year. My second pick left me with guys I wasn't crazy about drafting in the 8th round. I was considering Choo or Adam Jones. I thought Jones would fall another round so I decided to use the pick on a top closer, Rivera. Maybe not the best decision but I just wasn't excited about anyone at that point, and when in doubt I tend to draft relievers. Jones nearly made it back to me, Brendon got him just before I picked in the ninth. I also considered Youk/Konerko/Morse but I was concerned with the injury risk. I decided to wait a round and draft Butler, who seemed like a safe pick. After that I alternated offense and relief pitching until I drafted my first starter in round 15, McCarthy.
3) What do you feel was your best pick? Your worst?
My best pick was clearly the giant booger I coaxed out while waiting for the comeback after round 10. Looking back, I may have made some minor changes, like keeping a box of tissues next to my computer. I'm missing a solid outfielder.
4) What do you feel was the best pick overall? The worst?
Nothing really jumps out at me. Guinypigs taking Buchholz in the 20th was a good pick. Trav taking Konerko in 9 was a good value. Savage did a good job rounding out his staff. Given where the young players usually go, Polish got Cespedes at a good time. I liked Brendon's early picks of Wieters and Jones. As far as the most inspired draft strategy I'd have to say Dirtdogs.
5) Being a keeper league, how much of your draft was influenced by planning for 2013+? Do you use youth as just a tiebreaker or do you specifically try and hoard younger players?
The last few years I have concentrated on adding solid veterans, without worrying about youth too much. I like to try to take a chance on a young player or two each year, while keeping most of my roster full of proven talent. This year I'm taking that chance on Moore. For the most part, when deciding between similar players, youth and upside potential are a tiebreaker. I try not to worry about next season while drafting.
So there you have it; for once it seems as though most managers were targeting stats instead of potential talent and took most of their chances on bounce-back seasons from veterans. Here are my preliminary team rankings based on current starting rosters:
Regulators
Emerson Tigers
The Schwartz
They call me MR IBBs
Sullys
Bad News Bodie
Polish Sausages
Guinypigs
Tuscaloosa Dumplings
Dirtdogs
Flushing Johns
Andy Lawrie
These are based on assigning scores of 1-12 to each team's starting offense and to each team's bullpen/rotation, then sorting by composite score. It's quick and dirty but that's my favorite kind of ranking.
