Just as Knox posted his results from our recent FanHouse draft, I'll throw mine on here, too, for your critiques. Mr. Bardeen laid out the league format here. Year 101 is my team name, as you can see from the title to this piece, and it has a little something to do with my favorite baby bears. Somehow, I ended up with the top pick in the draft. I haven't had this happen to me in years. Honestly, I can't remember the last time I picked first in fantasy baseball or football. Well, I'd been preaching -- since A-Rod fell injured -- what to do with the top choice. I had to put my money where my mouth was.
1 (1) David Wright, 3B -- Without A-Rod around, the next best third baseman is either Aramis Ramirez, Evan Longoria or Kevin Youkilis. You know what those three have in common? They don't hold a candle to Wright. Huge gap from tier-one to tier-two at 3B, and that was my deciding factor. Plus, I predicted him to win the NL MVP this season. I'll just jump fully on his bandwagon.
2 (24) Dustin Pedroia, 2B -- With Ian Kinsler and Chase Utley already long gone, Pedrioa was an easy choice as the lone remaining tier-one second basemen.
3 (25) Carlos Lee, OF -- There aren't many players around who are money-in-the-bank consistent, but Lee is one of the few. Since 2003, he's been good for at least 28 home runs and 99 RBI every season -- and that was with only playing 115 games last season.
4 (48) Aramis Ramirez, CI -- The value here to establish a power-hitting stud at my CI spot overruled any thoughts that I shouldn't take another 3B just yet. I just grabbed 30 homers and 120 RBI without hurting my batting average.
5 (49) Dan Haren, P -- I wanted to grab one ace in the first five rounds, and there isn't much reason Haren should still be on the board at pick 49.
6 (72) Hunter Pence, OF -- I'm looking for a big breakout season from Pence this year -- but I already told you that.
7 (73) Adam Dunn, 1B -- First base is pretty shallow, actually, once you get past the elite guys. Fortunately, Yahoo! allows you to play Adam Dunn at 1B. I'll take 40 jacks from my first baseman in the 7th round any day.
8 (96) J.J. Hardy, SS -- Yeah, I'm stocking up on power. That's kind of my style. Passing on a shortstop with 30-homer potential at pick 96, however, is not.
9 (97) Yovani Gallardo, P -- I believe Gallardo will become a fantasy ace eventually, and this season could be the one where it happens.
10 (120) Johnny Damon, OF -- I've said it before, but it bears repeating. Damon is very underrated in fantasy circles. At this point in the draft, he's a great five category guy. Last year he went .303 with 17 jacks, 71 RBI, 95 runs and 29 stolen bases.
11 (121) Carlos Zambrano, P -- Contrary to a belief held by many, Big Z is not a strikeout pitcher anymore. He will get you wins -- at least 13 in every season since 2003 -- without hurting you in ERA or WHIP, though.
12 (144) Carlos Marmol, P -- Yeah, I know he's not the Cubs closer anymore. I also know he's going to strike out more guys than Chien-Ming Wang, all the while keeping his ERA in the low 2.00s and WHIP hovering around 1.15. He'll also vulture me about 7 saves and 5 wins. Plus, he's my favorite player! Remember, fantasy players should still be fans. We aren't robots.
13 (145) Pablo Sandoval, C -- I love that Yahoo! lets me take him at catcher, especially in a two-catcher league. In light of this fact, I believe this pick was a relative coup.
14 (168) Delmon Young, OF -- My fourth outfielder has a chance at .300-20-20. Not too shabby. Plus, at least you can't accuse me of not sticking to my guns.
15 (169) Chad Qualls, P -- With these next two picks, I showed how you can get 60 saves in the mid-teens rounds. You can take Francisco Rodriguez in the 4th round. I'll wait on guys like this.
16 (192) Matt Capps, P -- In addition to the value mentioned above, Capps has unGodly control. He's only walked 33 guys in 217 1/3 career innings. When WHIP is one of the five categories, Capps provides a large boost.
17 (193) Billy Butler, UT -- As I said in the Royals preview, I believe Butler is more primed for a breakout campaign than more-touted teammate Alex Gordon. I can play him at 1B and move Dunn to the outfield if I want, so he does add flexibility.
18 (216) Kaz Matsui, MI -- In waiting this long to fill the MI spot, all I can really ask for is steals without killing my average. Matsui offers both, plus he has the potential to score a ton of runs in front of Houston's big boppers.
19 (217) Adam Lind, OF -- More evidence I put my money where my mouth is, as I hyped Lind as the breakout player on the Blue Jays. He offers good average and power capability from my fifth outfielder.
20 (240) Chris Carpenter, P -- I can't say I'm confident he stays healthy an entire season, but at pick 240 can you really blame me for rolling the dice? We're talking about a former elite-echelon pitcher who should still be in his prime.
21 (241) Yadier Molina, C -- All you can ask out of your second catcher is to not kill your batting average. Molina hit over .300 last year.
22 (264) Hideki Matsui, Bench -- I just figured I needed another Matsui on my roster. It felt right. (Seriously, I have a potential 100 RBI guy on my bench)
23 (265) Matt Lindstrom, P -- Here are some very cheap saves. He fell this far likely because of his spring injury, but he's supposed to be ready for Opening Day. Even if that is pushed back a week, what does that cost me? Two saves? Three?
24 (288) Wandy Rodriguez, P -- He made significant strides the past two seasons. Now his ERA is getting into the mid-3.00s, the strikeouts are getting close to one per inning, and he had a winning record for the first time in his career last year.
25 (289) Travis Hafner, Bench -- Like most of you readers, I think he's done as a productive power hitter. Still, just three seasons ago he hit 42 homers, drove home 117 and hit .308 -- in only 129 games. He's still only 31 years-old, and he isn't incredibly out of shape. With a no-risk pick like this, why not?
26 (312) Scott Downs, Bench -- He had a 1.78 ERA and 1.15 WHIP last season, and Cito Gaston has recently indicated he'll use Downs in closing situations unless B.J. Ryan cleans up his act. For Mr. Irrelevant of our draft -- this was the last pick -- I could have done much worse.
Final Note: The fact that 12 of my 26 players are from the NL Central is mind-boggling to me. In no way was this a plan. I don't pay attention to things like that. I just take the players I want.
