It cost me $31, but I got Lester

My final draft, in fellow blogger Chris Cwiks’ league, took place last Thursday, and it was a marathon to put it lightly. The draft nearly lasted five hours with no breaks.

In a draft that long you can’t have some crazyness or some questionable bids.

Here were the top moments.

1.By accident, and later fixed by Cwik, an owner bidded $111 on Joey Votto. He probably meant to bid 11, but put in an extra 1, and for about 30 picks, he was stuck with Votto at 111, before being allowed to select him at 40 bucks.

2. Justin Upton going for $50, the same value as Pujols and 3 dollars more than Hanley Ramirez

3. Troy Tulowitzki was the 5th most expensive player at $42. Ahead of him were: Upton and Pujols for $50, Hanley for $47 and Braun for $44.

4. Rafael Soriano went for $7 and Alfonso Soriano went for $5

5. Jason Heyward was the 2nd player nominated in the auction and went for $11. He was the second most expensive player to never play a MLB game to Stephen Strasburg at $14

My strategy was built on one of two premises

Scenario 1: Get Hanley Ramirez

Scenario 2: Get Troy Tulowitzki

Well, both of the plans failed, despite my bidding efforts, both players became too expensive, so I had to readdress my plan. Since players were going for so much early, I didn’t draft a player until the 31st nominated player with Jon Lester and I overpaid to get him at $31.

After Lester, I was running thin on infield and elite SP, so I needed to make some moves…

Here is my roster for the “Who Farted? Jorge FabreGAS”…

C-Chris Iannetta- I like his possibility of 20+HR and he projects to have an obp around .370

1B- Adam Dunn- Similar to Ianetta, I waited too long on 1B. 1B weren’t cheap in this draft and I got dunn at $21 and he went for $8 less than Justin Morneau

2B- Brandon Phillips- I was a bit hesitant on Kinsler, Cano was nominated too early for me to pay for him and Pedroia went for $6 more than Phillips

SS- Jose Reyes- I got Reyes for $17, an absolute bargain for my 3rd SS on the board with Hanley going for 47 and Tulo for 42.

3B- Mark Reynolds- I paid way too much, $31, for Reynolds. I wanted Zimmerman more, but he went for $37. In retrospect, Wright at $29 was the best bargain of all 3B, but I was so focused on Zimmerman, than I didn’t pay as much attention to Wright as I should have.

OF- Grady Sizemore- He cost me $27, and I thought I was going to have to enter the 30s to get him, but I’m very happy with this 5-tool player at this price

OF- Curtis Granderson- I thought Curtis was going to go for a bunch of money, but he didn’t, I got him at $19

OF- Carlos Gonzalez- I wanted Gonzalez and thought I could get him cheap, but I was wrong, I got in a bidding war and paid $14 for him

Util- Chris Coghlan- Coghlan had a great year last year and is off most people’s radar and he only cost me $5

SP- Jon Lester- I wanted a stud, and I paid for it, $31. That may be too much for Lester, but #1 SP’s were expensive, so I paid close to his value relative to the market

SP- Jake Peavy- I wanted Peavy, but with a few White Sox fans in the league, I figured I had to pay a ton, but I didn’t, he cost me $15

SP- Cole Hamels- I was willing to pay up to $20 for Hamels after having Lester and Peavy, and I paid 15, so mission accomplished

RP- Huston Street- I refused to pay for saves, so I get Street

RP- Matt Capps/Jon Rauch- see above

BN- Stephen Strasburg- I paid $14 to hold his rights. I understand he may not reach the majors until the ASB, but in a keeper league, his upside was too good to pass up.

BN- Ubaldo Jiminez- Jiminez throws a ton of grounders and K’s and he seemed like a no brainer #3 or 4 starter.

BN- Adrian Beltre- I like Beltre for a bounce back and got him super cheap

BN- Julio Borbon- I wanted someone as a source for steals, and Borbon went for $4, a benefit of being nominated late

BN-Nick Johnson- I needed a high OBP player on my roster, and Johnson fits that role nicely, even if he isn’t always healthy

BN- Alcides Escobar- I saved my money the best I could to get Escobar. With Reyes’ health concerns, I wanted a stud #2 SS, and I spent $5, my max bid to get him.

BN-Milton Bradley- See Nick Johnson

BN- Jeff Niemann- I’ve been on the Niemann bandwagon for a while and his spring has been great after a solid rookie season. Makes a great 5th starter

BN- Desmond Jennings- Before entering the minors draft, I didn’t think he would fall to me, so I just used my last roster spot on him, even if he doesn’t play this year

Minors:

Buster Posey-Position scarcity and power at the catcher position intrigue me

Dustin Ackley- I had a couple choices here, but he has some real power and could be the Ms future 2B, and that would be great if he plays there for Seattle

Kyle Drabek-Has a great arm and I needed a pitcher in the minors

Chris Carter- Best available prospect at the time

Julio Teheran- See Chris Carter

In conclusion: I don’t think it’s the best team in the league, but I should be good enough to compete.  I have some weaknesses at closer and batting average, so we will see how much that impacts my team during the season.

Can David Wright rebound?

It only took 535 plate appearances from Alex Rodriguez to make him the number one 3rd baseman in 2010. While A-Rod’s last two seasons have not been up to par, no one has been able to overtake the Yankee in the past few seasons. David Wright was the likely candidate to usurp Rodriguez, but a power outage in 2009 has Wright’s status in limbo. Evan Longoria, Ryan Zimmerman, and Mark Reynolds all had breakout seasons; but need to show consistency to overtake A-Rod next season. There are many players that have question marks coming into the 2010 fantasy season, but 3rd base offers some solid depth to those who wait.

Fantasy Baseball Shortstops 2010
Chris Cwik	Matt Montgomery
1. Alex Rodriguez	1. Alex Rodriguez
2. David Wright	2. David Wright
3. Evan Longoria	3. Evan Longoria
4. Ryan Zimmerman	4. Mark Reynolds
5. Kevin Youkilis	5. Kevin Youkilis
6. Mark Reynolds	6. Ryan Zimmerman
7. Pablo Sandoval	7. Pablo Sandoval
8. Chone Figgins	8. Chone Figgins
9. Aramis Ramirez	9. Aramis Ramirez
10. Gordon Beckham	10. Gordon Beckham
11. Michael Young	11. Adrian Beltre*
12. Adrian Beltre	12. Chipper Jones
13. Chipper Jones	13. Michael Young
14. Chase Headley*	14. Ian Stewart*
15. Casey Blake	15. Alex Gordon*
16. Mike Lowell	16. Casey Blake
17. Ian Stewart	17. Mark Derosa
18. Alex Gordon*	18. Chris Davis*
19. Kevin Kouzmanoff	19. Scott Rolen
20. Brandon Wood	20. Brandon Wood
* Denotes Sleepers

Monty’s Thoughts on Individual Players

Note- After Chone Figgins, I do not feel confident with any of these players as my starting 3B, and I’m not even that big on Figgins.

David Wright-Initially I had Wright as my #4 3B, but after looking at the numbers, it became clear, and he’s the 2nd, if not the best 3B. Wright’s lack of power last season, 10 HR, raises some concerns for this season. Dave Allen and RJ Anderson of Fangraphs wrote solid articles about expecting Wright to get his power back this season. Even if Wright doesn’t hit 30 HR, his SB totals, BA, RBI and runs scored will make him a very valuable. Wright is a first round talent going in the 2nd round because of HR total from last year. Not too many players can put up .300 BA, 20+HR, 20+SB, 100+ RBI and Runs scored. If he is sitting there in the 2nd round, don’t hesitate, if you take him, it will be the right choice.

Kevin Youkilis- Youkilis is a solid hitter in a great lineup. He has legit HR power, around 25 a season, with a great BA. Youkilis gets on base, thus he will score runs, and he hits a good amount of doubles, which should keep his RBI totals high. Youk isn’t the sexiest option when you talk about 3B options, but he gives you consistent numbers, and since there is a drop-off at 8, in my opinion, I would be perfectly fine with him as my 3B.

Adrian Beltre-Beltre’s trade to Boston is great for the Red Sox and fantasy owners. Beltre enters a great lineup and a much better ballpark to hit in. Fangraph’s writer Dave Budreika has Beltre hitting 30 HRs! I don’t think Beltre will be healthy enough to hit 30 HR, but I think he could hit around .280 with some power. He could be a great 2nd 3B for you. I don’t feel confident putting him as my #1 3B, but in an ideal season for Beltre, he could put up #1 3B numbers. If he is sitting there in the middle rounds, I’d recommend taking him. Finally, he may steal you 10+ bases for you, and every little number counts.

Chris’ Thoughts On Individual Players

Pablo Sandoval- Sandoval is a guy that continues to grow on me each time I do a mock draft. After watching Sandoval, and looking at his stats, it’s easy to see why he’s a fan favorite. Since this is a fantasy article, let’s focus on the fact that Sandoval is the only bat on the Giants worth starting this season. While Sandoval isn’t the most patient hitter, he makes a lot of contact and should continue to hit .300+ each season. Sandoval will only be 23 this season, which means there is room for growth in his power numbers. What’s not to like?

Chase Headley- Headley should have a solid breakout year, but temper your expectations when drafting him. He will receive playing time, has power, and had a great 2nd half in 2009. Unfortunately, his 10 SB in 2009 stick out as an aberration. If he continues to run in 2010, this is a guy that can put up a line with 15HRs and 10SBs in a single season. There is certainly value in those numbers. Don’t reach for Headley, but he’s a solid fill in guy and he offers more promise than Casey Blake, Mike Lowell, and Scott Rolen.

Alex Gordon- Year after year, players like Alex Gordon make my list of sleepers. Gordon, a former top prospect, was on the radar of just about every fantasy player a few seasons ago. Due to some injuries, and the fact that he didn’t immediately fulfill the hype, Gordon looks like a steal in 2010. Before his hip injury, Gordon looked like a player with 20-20 potential. He’s a year older, and is healthy heading into 2010. Take a flier on him late, if he is healthy enough for 600+ plate appearances, he’s a huge steal.

Who is overrated/underrated? Let us know about it in the comments.