Mauer

[CC's Desperados]

With 119 players staring at the message board after a frustrating day, I thought I'd put a baseball article I did in early January. There were probably less than 10 people who read this.



When I did this, I used the Fanball magazine draft as a reference for Joey Votto's value. By the time I finished the section on first baseman, I knew Votto's value was higher after doing two drafts. I didn't go back and update it with better information.



Here it is:



My first look in the Swap Zone will be where Joe Mauer value lies. Every player's value will be determined by the eye of the beholder. If you want to make good decision, you need to make fair evaluations. It's better to under project and be rewarded with upside than over project and get caught with your pants down. As I'm a Mauer supporter, I might think he can hit 30+ HR's with 100+ RBI, but when I'm building my team I have him down for 20+ HR's with 90+ RBI.



The first part of the comparison is with players at his position. The best options at catcher this year are Mauer, Martinez, and McCann. If I take Mauer in the first round, does he enough of an edge over Matinez in the second or McCann in the third? Each draft slot will present different opportunities. McCann might get drafted early third round so team at the back end of the draft you have no shot at him, but a team drafting from the middle of the draft might have a chance.



Here's last season for all three players:



Player AB AVG R HR RBI SB

Mauer 523 .365 94 28 96 4

Martinez 588 .308 88 23 108 1

McCann 488 .281 63 21 94 4



Mauer beat Martinez in four of five categories despite missing a month of the season. Both players have an advantage over McCann because they play in the American league. Mauer can DH and Martinez will get some at bats at 1B and an occasional game at DH. McCann loses some runs due to pinch runners late in games. All three players hit in favorable part of the lineup.



For the upcoming season, I'll use these numbers to help me decide if they are worth my consideration:



Player AB AVG R HR RBI SB

Mauer 525 .320 90 20 90 5

Martinez 550 .300 85 20 90 1

McCann 475 .280 60 20 85 3



All three players have similar HR and RBI projections. When the season is over, I would be surprised if their numbers are that close. A catcher with a plus batting average is a huge asset. Mauer is clearly the number one catcher going into 2010, but his edge over Martinez isn't a full round. If I draft Mauer in round one and player A in round 2, is that better than Player B in round 1 and Martinez in round 2? As the early drafting season develops, you will have a better idea of your options in both rounds. Fantasy baseball is never easy. It would be no brainer if all the catcher were going in the third round. The risk would be eliminated.



So back to Mauer in the first round, I think he has to get drafted after a player who has five tools. You then need to compare him with the best players at 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, and OF. Here are the players I think that will go before him for sure:



Albert Pujols (1B)

Hanley Ramirez (SS)

Alex Rodriguez (3B)

Chase Utley (2B)

Matt Kemp (OF)



I think all these players are the best at their position. Pujols and Rodriguez offer plus power with some steals. Matt Kemp looks like the next 30/30 player. After those players come off the board, these are the best players at all the hitting positions:



1B-Ryan Howard, Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder, and Mark Teixeira

2B-Ian Kinsler

3B-Evan Longoria

SS-Troy Tulowitzki, Jimmy Rollins

OF-Ryan Braun, Carl Crawford, Jacoby Ellsbury



This year five first baseman will go in the first round. Ryan Braun is a five tool player. Crawford and Ellsbury offer plus speed with some homeruns. Longoria will go in the first round along with Jimmy Rollins or Troy Tulowitzki.



This first question: should I draft Mauer or a top first baseman?



If you want to build a power base team, you will be able to pair Martinez with most of the choices at 1B. So it would make sense to pass on Mauer. Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez is probably better than Mauer and say Votto in the third round, but is Mauer, Kinsler, and Votto better than Cabrera, Martinez, and Cano? These types of comparison are endless and many you won't know the right answer until the season is over. The bigger question is: what are trying to accomplish with the start of your draft? Each piece of the puzzle could change the next. (Just for clarification-this information is geared toward deep 14 and 15 team non trading leagues) As the draft moves on, you will find different looking players. You need to position your team so you can take advantage of the best players available in the later rounds. If you identify a 2009 Kendry Morales type player late, you have the opportunity to push that position back.



Here's a look at first baseman options:



Player AB BA R HR RBI SB

Cabrera 600 .310 95 30 100 3

Howard 600 .265 100 40 120 2

Fielder 575 .290 95 35 110 2

Teixeira 600 .295 100 33 110 2

Votto 575 .285 90 25 90 5



The top four look similar. Howard has the edge in HR's and RBI, but he brings batting average risk. Cabrera could contribute in four categories, but the Tigers' lineup weakness might keep some counting stats down. Fielder and Teixeira look similar, but Teixeira is in a better situation and he probably has more batting average upside. I added Votto because I believe he will be available in the third round if you draft Mauer.



Here's a look at some of the pairings:



Players AB BA R HR RBI SB

Howard/Martinez 1150 .281 185 60 210 3

Teixeira/Martinez 1150 .297 185 53 200 3

Mauer/Votto 1100 .295 180 45 180 10



The Howard/Martinez combo looks close to the Mauer/Votto except for HR's and RBI. In these combo you ask yourself-what is the upside and the downside?



Howard has hit anywhere between .251 and .313 with his career average being .279. With his strikeouts, I think .265+ is safe number to project. You know you want to cover his batting average once you draft him. Last year I used Derek Jeter in the 6th round to do this. The last four years Howard has averaged 48+ homeruns a year. The 40+ homerun projection is a solid number. Martinez is a career .299 hitter. He's averaged 22 homeruns in his five healthy seasons. The Howard/Martinez combo looks like a very solid combo with an edge in HR's and RBI. The batting average is neutral. The downside would be if Howard hit .250. This combo would start below .280 after two picks. The biggest negative would be the lack of steals after two rounds. If you can identify the right combination of base stealers without giving up the homerun/RBI edge, this looks like a solid path to start the team.



I used .320+ as Mauer's baseline for batting average. He's a career .327 hitter, but he has two monster batting average seasons under his belt-.347 and .365. Last year was his breakthrough year for power, but will be repeat? His batting average, runs, and RBI numbers are pretty solid if healthy. You have to believe he will continue to build on last year as far as power. If he makes a step backwards and hits 15, he might still be an edge. But he isn't worth a first round pick. He needs to hit 20+ HR to be consider in the first round. If you think he could hit 30+, he should move closer to the middle of the first round. Mike Piazza was first round pick in his prime. He offered plus power with a solid batting average.



Here's a look at his peak years:



Year AB BA R HR RBI SB

1996 547 .336 87 36 105 0

1997 556 .362 104 40 124 5

1998 561 .328 88 32 111 1

1999 534 .303 100 40 124 2

2000 482 .324 90 38 113 4



As Mauer isn't the basher that Piazza was, he is one of the best hitters in the game and an elite talent. It is difficult to pencil him down for 30 HR's when you draft him. You expect some regression, but you know he has the talent to improve even more. If you were able to draft Mauer with Votto, Votto is another player who has some upside. Last year he missed a long stretch of games with a problem with dizziness. He played only 131 games last year and put up these stats:



Player AB BA R HR RBI SB

Votto 469 .322 82 25 84 4



Votto was a career .289 hitter in the minors. He has two solid years in the majors with similar numbers. He has upside in speed. He stole 17 and 24 in two minor league seasons. If both players match last year's homerun output, they would hit 55+ homeruns just by Votto getting more at bats.



The Votto/Mauer is interesting because both players have some upside. You even add a few steals. Are 10 steals worth 20 homeruns? If you draft Mauer and miss on Votto, are you ok with the next players available? Can Derrek Lee or Lance Berkman come close to match some of the late first round first baseman?



Let change gears to third base. Ivan Longoria or Joe Mauer? Here's the top options at 3B this year:



Player AB BA R HR RBI SB

Longoria 575 .280 95 30 100 7

Wright 600 .300 95 25 95 15

Zimmerman 575 .285 90 25 90 3

Reynolds 550 .240 85 30 95 15

Sandoval 550 .300 80 20 85 3



Third base looks like a tough position this year. Kevin Youkilis is in the mix, but he goes late second or early third? Is he worth moving up to the second round? To me, Longoria doesn't look like he should get drafted in front of David Wright unless you really believe Wright has really lost his power. With four solid years under his belt, I'm giving him a pass. Wright will beat Longoria in two categories and could very well match him in two others. The gap in homeruns is Longoria's only edge. Will he approach 40 HR's? Going into the season Alex Rodriguez, Evan Longoria, and Mark Reynolds look like the only players you could project to hit 30+ homeruns at 3B. I think Longoria gives you an edge at 3B, but the player who gets Wright in the second round might have the bigger edge if he bounces back. If I'm drafting at the back half of the draft, I'm looking for the five tool 3B in the second round. I would prefer Mauer/Wright than Longoria/Martinez.



When I'm doing these comparisons, I'm doing it player for player. It might not be the best way for team development. To build the team you want, you have to look at the whole draft and see where you can find players who will make an impact this season. You might be looking for a 15/15 middle infielder in the 17 round. I might be looking for a 10/20 outfielder in the same round. The key is positioning yourself to take advantage of the edge players in your game plan.



It looks like Jimmy Rollins and Troy Tulowitzki will be first round picks. Both players offer different skill sets. Rollins is a leadoff hitter with power and plus speed. Tulowitzki is a middle of the lineup power hitter with some speed. Whatever shortstop you choose will determine what you will be looking for with your next pick. Here's a look at the top SS options this year:



Player AB BA R HR RBI SB

Rollins 650 .275 110 15 75 35

Tulowitzki 550 .285 95 25 90 10

Reyes 650 .280 110 15 65 50

Jeter 600 .300 100 15 65 20

Ramirez 525 .280 75 15 75 15

Drew 550 .275 80 15 65 5



The wild card in the is equation is Reyes. In March we will have a lot more information on his health. If he looks healthy and stealing bases in spring training, he will move up in the draft. Reyes is the edge base stealer when healthy. Rollins should help in all categories except average. The .250 batting average last season is a concern, but he should bounce back. He will get a ton of at bats in a high scoring lineup. Tulowitzki looks to be the only SS that might hit 30 HR's after Hanley Ramirez. He played so poorly to start last year that he has a chance to improve his numbers across the board except for steals. It would be hard to project 20 again. A choice between Mauer and Tulowitzki is tough, but I believe the SS is the better pick here. He has a season with 20 steals in the books. He helps you in every category. When comparing 1B to 1B or 3B to 3B, you have a few players that will hit in a similar part of the batting order. After some of the top SS, you will start comparing leadoff hitters to players that will 6th or below in the lineup. Marcus Scutaro batted leadoff for Toronto most of last season. This year he will probably bat 9th for the Red Sox. How many at bats will he lose? He has no chance of matching his run total of last year and probably falls short across the board unless the Red Sox have an injury.



Ian Kinsler is the best option at second base. His batting average is pushing him into the second round. Maybe his quest for 30 HR's cost him some batting average points. When you look at his numbers, you see a low h % and the contact rate is about the same. To me, it looks like he popped up too many fly balls. If he gets his LD rate over 20 %, his batting average will move in the right direction. It is weird that he hit .332 against right handed pitching in 2008, but he hit .230 last year. Here's a look at the best options at second base.



Player AB BA R HR RBI SB

Kinsler 550 .275 100 25 80 25

Phillips 575 .275 80 20 80 20

Pedroia 625 .300 100 15 70 15

Roberts 600 .280 100 15 65 30

Zobrist 550 .280 85 20 80 10

Cano 600 .300 80 20 80 4

Hill 600 .275 80 20 80 5



The second base position looks deep early. Kinsler is an early second round pick. Pedroia, Roberts, and Phillips will be an early second to mid third round pick. If you are considering Kinsler, you will have a shot at Zobrist, Cano, or Hill late third or early fourth. So are any of those players close to Kinsler in value?



Potential wise Kinsler probably could reach the highest level. He might even be a 40/40 player someday. Phillip has the next best power/speed combo. After that each player has a slightly different skill set.



In the debate between Mauer and Kinsler, I think you are strengthening your team in different areas. Is a high average base more important than getting a head start in steals? Your answer lies in the players you identify later in the draft. The bottom line: Kinsler and Mauer are both edges at their positions. The drop off at catcher might be a lot more than at second base.



You have to remember when building a team, you are limited to the number of roster spots where you can get steals. By waiting and drafting Aaron Hill, you are giving up one of your opportunities to get steals. With plus base stealers, you can accomplish your goals with less players that steal bases.



Now the toughest comparison is outfielders because they come in so many different skill sets. The perfect skill set is a .300+ hitter that will score and drive in 100 plus runs and hit 30+ HR's and 30+ SB. If you can find a 40/40 player with a .300+ average, he's an A+ player. I don't see one outfielder with a perfect skill set this year. Matt Kemp has a chance, but he has to prove the batting average is for real. He has very good shot at being a 30/30 player this year. Ryan Braun is a close second. He has speed, but you can't pencil him in for anything over 20 SB going into the season.



Another skill set that is tough to come by is the elite base stealer with average and some power. The last couple of years Carl Crawford has fit the mold. This year he is joined by Jacoby Ellsbury. Both players should steal 50+ bases with double digit power. Both of these players could steal 65+ bases. When you are building your team, a plus base stealer can make drafting a balance team a lot easier. I think the best start to a team is middle infielder with average, power, and speed (Hanley Ramirez), a plus base stealer with some power (Carl Crawford), and one stud power bat (Albert Pujols). I know that you couldn't draft these players on your team, but you can try and substitute names. If you could package these three players together, your start to your team might look like this the last three years:





Player AB AVG R HR RBI SB

Crawford 584 .315 93 11 80 50

Ramirez 639 .332 125 29 81 51

Pujols 565 .327 99 32 103 2

07 Totals 1788 .326 317 72 264 103



Crawford 443 .273 69 8 57 25

Ramirez 589 .301 125 33 67 35

Pujols 524 .357 100 37 116 7

08 Totals 1556 .312 294 78 240 67



Crawford 606 .305 96 15 68 60

Ramirez 576 .342 101 24 106 27

Pujols 568 .327 124 47 135 16

09 Totals 1750 .325 321 86 308 103



Each season you have a solid batting average and solid start in all categories. In 2008 Carl Crawford broke down, but your team could have survived with his stats. A replacement outfielder would have given the 2008 team enough stats to give a team with this start a chance to win, but we know that a team wouldn't start with these players.



When you compare Mauer to the outfield inventory, I think comes down to draft style and team development philosophy. With my style I'm looking for an edge at a position, but I looking for a balance team in a league with an overall prize. In this year's draft Kemp and Braun will get drafted before Mauer. The next four outfielders getting drafted are Carl Crawford, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Grady Sizemore. Crawford and Ellsbury will go last first or early second. Matt Holiday's skill set is similar to Ryan Brauns. A healthy Grady Sizemore would have similar skills to Matt Kemp with more batting average risk. Here's three different groups of outfielder's projections with different skill sets:





Player AB AVG R HR RBI SB

Crawford 575 .300 100 15 75 50

Ellsbury 600 .285 100 11 65 55

BJ Upton 550 .270 90 15 75 40

McCutchen 575 .280 90 15 75 30

Victorino 575 .285 90 12 60 30

Suzuki 650 .320 100 10 50 25



Player AB AVG R HR RBI SB

Holliday 600 .300 100 25 100 15

Sizemore 600 .270 100 25 80 25

J Upton 550 .270 95 25 90 15

Granderson 575 .270 95 20 75 20

McLouth 550 .265 90 20 75 20

Werth 550 .265 90 30 90 20

Cruz 500 .265 85 25 80 15

Hunter 550 .280 85 20 85 15



Player AB AVG R HR RBI SB

Bourn 575 .270 90 5 40 50

Davis 550 .285 90 3 40 55

Morgan 500 .275 85 3 35 35

Fowler 550 .270 80 7 50 30

Borbon 500 .280 80 8 45 35

Pierre 575 .280 90 1 40 50



Each group of outfielders is different. The first group is plus base stealers with some power. The next group is 20+ homerun hitters with some speed. The last group is plus base stealers with very little power. It's pretty clear that Matt Holiday is the best all around outfielder on the board. He could beat every category projection I used. In the first group there are four player that are interesting-Carl Crawford, Jacoby Ellsbury, BJ Upton, Andrew McCutchen. Crawford and Ellsbury are unique outfielders. They have enough speed to steal 65 plus bases and double digit HR power. BJ Upton is a wild card. He probably offers the best power speed combo as he could be a 20/50 player some day. McCutchen is a player who is drawing a lot of interest in this year's draft. The last two drafts I did he went in the 5th round.



So when you are on the clock, is a Mauer/BJ Upton combo better than Crawford/Kinsler or even Holiday/Ellsbury? These combos are tricky. Generally speaking Holiday is going in the early second round. Crawford and Ellsbury are late first or early second picks. BJ Upton is going late second or early third. He might be the difference maker for a Pujols team this year if he makes it that far.



Based on where players are getting drafted, the only three outfielders you can consider over Mauer would be Ellsbury, Crawford, and Holiday. There is good chance a Mauer team could end up with Holiday if someone wanted to go that route. Like I said before, it comes down to draft style. Sometimes that isn't a wrong answer in these questions, but there might be an easier road to find the right player to build you team. This is where studying drafts and player movement will help you. If you can see the draft unfold, you will see where you can find the complementary pieces are to build your team.



After going through all the offensive position, I think Joe Mauer should get drafted after these players:



1-Albert Pujols

2-Hanley Ramirez

3-Alex Rodriguez

4-Matt Kemp

5-Chase Utley

6-Braun Braun

7-Mark Teixeira

8-Troy Tulowitzki

9-Evan Longoria

10-Ryan Howard



The toughest decision is between Mauer and a top first baseman. Martinez will be there in the second round if you take a first baseman, but do you want to start your team with no speed? This year I think there are solid speed options in the early rounds. If you draft Teixeira/Martinez, you will have the opportunity to work on speed with your next couple of picks. The situation you want to avoid is drafting a power base team and then adding a Michael Bourn type player to ruin the power edge you developed early in the draft.



When it comes to pick 11, your first round selection should be decided by who you think your next pick should be. Sometimes you have to draft players in reverse order. If your plan revolves around Jacoby Ellsbury in the second round, it might make more sense to draft him in the first round and avoid the risk of losing him. If you did this, you know there are only two elite speed players with power, but you are ok with the edge players left in the top of the second round.



In the end, I believe Mauer is enough of an edge to be a first round pick. His value will lie in the drafting philosophy you chose before draft day. I would not take him over a top first baseman mid first round, but I might do so late first round. The options are better early second if you take Mauer than mid second unless you move a player forward. As the drafting season develops, you will have a better idea where the key players are settling in the draft. When March rolls around, you can make your final decisions on game plan and fine tune your draft strategy once you have your draft slot.



[ April 05, 2010, 11:51 PM: Message edited by: CC's Desperados ]

[Latham]

Ivan? Very nice article Shawn!



[ April 06, 2010, 12:04 AM: Message edited by: Latham ]

[jim.s]

I was delighted to see Mauer availble to me at #13 in Diamond and for $28 in the Ultimate auction. I have the value of his raw stats as about $30 plus I think poition scarcity for C is worth another $10 making him about equal to Kemp in value (in a Super I took Kemp at #6, passing on Mauer). We'll see how it turns out

[CC's Desperados]

Originally posted by jim.s:

I was delighted to see Mauer availble to me at #13 in Diamond and for $28 in the Ultimate auction. I have the value of his raw stats as about $30 plus I think poition scarcity for C is worth another $10 making him about equal to Kemp in value (in a Super I took Kemp at #6, passing on Mauer). We'll see how it turns out He works perfect for the angle you are playing.

[TRAIN]

That was a great article with well thought out analysis, Shawn. It is easy to see why your opinions are so respectd and why you always in the running for the big prizes. Since you wrote this in January, who were your first three picks from which draft position in some of your big money entries this year? It would be also interesting to have you post the one team you drafted that you felt the best about after drafting and feel has a good chance to possibly win it all.



I had the 5th pick in an Online Double Play draft and chose Ryan Howard, Victor Martinez, and Derek Jeter as my first three picks. Martinez and Jeter to fill two scarce positions and to make up for some of Howard's avg. weakness. I know I am short on speed, pitching, and shaky in saves. Hopefully, those categories will be shored up in FAAB. Here is the rest of my team:



Round 1: Ryan Howard

Round 2: Victor Martinez

Round 3: Derek Jeter

Round 4: Kendry Morales

Round 5: Aaron Hill

Round 6: Shin-Soo Choo

Round 7: Michael Young

Round 8: Chad Billingsley

Round 9: Matt Garza

Round 10: Jason Heyward

Round 11: Francisco Liriano

Round 12: Ryan Ludwick

Round 13: Stephen Strasburg

Round 14: Gavin Floyd

Round 15: Johnny Cueto

Round 16: Carlos Gomez

Round 17: Kelly Shoppach

Round 18: Ian Desmond

Round 19: Chris Perez

Round 20: Matt Lindstrom

Round 21: Franklin Morales

Round 22: Troy Glaus

Round 23: Sean Rodriguez

Round 24: Scott Podsednik

Round 25: Justin Masterson

Round 26: Clint Barmes

Round 27: Mike Cameron

Round 28: Andruw Jones

Round 29: Drew Storen

Round 30: Carl Pavano

[Navel Lint]

Originally posted by CC's Desperados:





After going through all the offensive position, I think Joe Mauer should get drafted after these players:



1-Albert Pujols

2-Hanley Ramirez

3-Alex Rodriguez

4-Matt Kemp

5-Chase Utley

6-Braun Braun

7-Mark Teixeira

8-Troy Tulowitzki

9-Evan Longoria

10-Ryan Howard



This is an interesting article. I wish I would have read it when you first wrote it.



I had the 11th pick in the draft. Nine of the ten players you listed above were taken by the first 10 owners, the difference being that Mig Cabrera was selected in the 8 hole instead of Tulowitzki.

Prior to the draft I had scripted-out a couple of plans that I thought I had a reasonable chance at obtaining. The plans that I liked best started with Cabrera or Joe Mauer. When Miggy went at 8 I just had to hope that 9 and 10 wouldn’t take Mauer, they didn’t.



Without restricting myself, my goals for the first 10 rounds were fill up the infield, get the rest.



My scripts looked like this;



Mauer – Ellsbury – Pitcher – Zobrist – Pitcher – M Young

Mauer – Rollins – Cano – Pitcher - Figgins - Pitcher

Mauer – Pitcher - Ichiro - Power - Infield - M Young



So when Mauer got to me, I took him. In the next nine picks; Tulowitzki, one of your listed 10, Ellsbury, Rollins, and Kinsler went off the board. I decided to stick with the script. Take a pitcher, but which? I had the choice because none had been taken.



I went Halladay. For two years I have been questioning Lincecum in my mind and for two years he has won the CY Award. I don’t want to say that it’s a flip of the coin between the two, but I just ‘felt’ better taking Halladay.



When Rd 3 gets to me Ichiro is still there as planned and I take him.



Rd 4 has me looking for power. A couple of the big boppers I like are gone, so I take A Hill to fill the infield and hope for 25+



Rd 5 & Rd 6 I stay on plan and take Alexei Ramirez and Michael Young.



Will it work out? I’ll get back to you in 6 months.



[ April 06, 2010, 10:30 AM: Message edited by: Navel Lint ]

[Big Fish]

Great analysis. I had the 13th pick in a Super and had to make the decision of Mauer or Cabrera. I took Mauer and paired him up with Matt Holiday over Justin Upton. In fact, I was quite pleased to then get Pedroia late 3rd and Jeter early 4th. Everything was setting up nicely until I made a pitching run with the next 3 picks Beckett, Hamels, Billingsly.



Great article.

[CC's Desperados]

Originally posted by luck and skill:

That was a great article with well thought out analysis, Shawn. It is easy to see why your opinions are so respectd and why you always in the running for the big prizes. Since you wrote this in January, who were your first three picks from which draft position in some of your big money entries this year? It would be also interesting to have you post the one team you drafted that you felt the best about after drafting and feel has a good chance to possibly win it all.



I posted the my two main event teams in the Diamond thread.



It's too early to predict if I have a real contender for the overall title. Hopefully I have enough of the key pieces to make it work. The players tsill need live up to my expectations.



I drafted a 12 teamer from the one hole. Here's the first 5:



Pujols

Sandoval

J. Upton

BJ Upton

McClutchen



After five rounds all my offensive categories were in good shape.

[CC's Desperados]

Originally posted by Navel Lint:

quote:Originally posted by CC's Desperados:





After going through all the offensive position, I think Joe Mauer should get drafted after these players:



1-Albert Pujols

2-Hanley Ramirez

3-Alex Rodriguez

4-Matt Kemp

5-Chase Utley

6-Braun Braun

7-Mark Teixeira

8-Troy Tulowitzki

9-Evan Longoria

10-Ryan Howard



This is an interesting article. I wish I would have read it when you first wrote it.



I had the 11th pick in the draft. Nine of the ten players you listed above were taken by the first 10 owners, the difference being that Mig Cabrera was selected in the 8 hole instead of Tulowitzki.

Prior to the draft I had scripted-out a couple of plans that I thought I had a reasonable chance at obtaining. The plans that I liked best started with Cabrera or Joe Mauer. When Miggy went at 8 I just had to hope that 9 and 10 wouldn’t take Mauer, they didn’t.



Without restricting myself, my goals for the first 10 rounds were fill up the infield, get the rest.



My scripts looked like this;



Mauer – Ellsbury – Pitcher – Zobrist – Pitcher – M Young

Mauer – Rollins – Cano – Pitcher - Figgins - Pitcher

Mauer – Pitcher - Ichiro - Power - Infield - M Young



So when Mauer got to me, I took him. In the next nine picks; Tulowitzki, one of your listed 10, Ellsbury, Rollins, and Kinsler went off the board. I decided to stick with the script. Take a pitcher, but which? I had the choice because none had been taken.



I went Halladay. For two years I have been questioning Lincecum in my mind and for two years he has won the CY Award. I don’t want to say that it’s a flip of the coin between the two, but I just ‘felt’ better taking Halladay.



When Rd 3 gets to me Ichiro is still there as planned and I take him.



Rd 4 has me looking for power. A couple of the big boppers I like are gone, so I take A Hill to fill the infield and hope for 25+



Rd 5 & Rd 6 I stay on plan and take Alexei Ramirez and Michael Young.



Will it work out? I’ll get back to you in 6 months. [/QUOTE]I'm still not a big fan of Ichiro in round three. He's been over priced for years. He needs double digit homeruns and 35+ steals. The lack of RBI is a real killer unless he has plus steals.



I took Mauer at pick 6 twice in 12 teamers and pick 8 in a 14 teamer. In the 12 team events, I was hoping Tulo made it back to me. I knew it probably wouldn't happen. I needed to be picking a couple of picks later for that to happen.



I also think Michael Young is a tough pair with Ichiro if he hits less than 20 homeruns. Your average will be solid, but you might be chasing it for power unless you added some low average power guys later.

[Navel Lint]

Originally posted by CC's Desperados:

quote:Originally posted by Navel Lint:

quote:Originally posted by CC's Desperados:





After going through all the offensive position, I think Joe Mauer should get drafted after these players:



1-Albert Pujols

2-Hanley Ramirez

3-Alex Rodriguez

4-Matt Kemp

5-Chase Utley

6-Braun Braun

7-Mark Teixeira

8-Troy Tulowitzki

9-Evan Longoria

10-Ryan Howard



This is an interesting article. I wish I would have read it when you first wrote it.



I had the 11th pick in the draft. Nine of the ten players you listed above were taken by the first 10 owners, the difference being that Mig Cabrera was selected in the 8 hole instead of Tulowitzki.

Prior to the draft I had scripted-out a couple of plans that I thought I had a reasonable chance at obtaining. The plans that I liked best started with Cabrera or Joe Mauer. When Miggy went at 8 I just had to hope that 9 and 10 wouldn’t take Mauer, they didn’t.



Without restricting myself, my goals for the first 10 rounds were fill up the infield, get the rest.



My scripts looked like this;



Mauer – Ellsbury – Pitcher – Zobrist – Pitcher – M Young

Mauer – Rollins – Cano – Pitcher - Figgins - Pitcher

Mauer – Pitcher - Ichiro - Power - Infield - M Young



So when Mauer got to me, I took him. In the next nine picks; Tulowitzki, one of your listed 10, Ellsbury, Rollins, and Kinsler went off the board. I decided to stick with the script. Take a pitcher, but which? I had the choice because none had been taken.



I went Halladay. For two years I have been questioning Lincecum in my mind and for two years he has won the CY Award. I don’t want to say that it’s a flip of the coin between the two, but I just ‘felt’ better taking Halladay.



When Rd 3 gets to me Ichiro is still there as planned and I take him.



Rd 4 has me looking for power. A couple of the big boppers I like are gone, so I take A Hill to fill the infield and hope for 25+



Rd 5 & Rd 6 I stay on plan and take Alexei Ramirez and Michael Young.



Will it work out? I’ll get back to you in 6 months. [/QUOTE]I'm still not a big fan of Ichiro in round three. He's been over priced for years. He needs double digit homeruns and 35+ steals. The lack of RBI is a real killer unless he has plus steals.



I took Mauer at pick 6 twice in 12 teamers and pick 8 in a 14 teamer. In the 12 team events, I was hoping Tulo made it back to me. I knew it probably wouldn't happen. I needed to be picking a couple of picks later for that to happen.



I also think Michael Young is a tough pair with Ichiro if he hits less than 20 homeruns. Your average will be solid, but you might be chasing it for power unless you added some low average power guys later. [/QUOTE]I did.

In the subsequent rounds I picked up;



Rd 9 – Cuddyer

Rd 12 – Konerko

Rd 14 – Swisher

Rd 15 – Willingham

As well as Shoppach, JD Drew & Ankiel in the later rounds

[MadCow Sez]

Mahalo Shawn. For curiosity, I tested a Mauer/VMart combo 1:10-2:6 in a satellite to see what I liked and didn't like about nailing down the C position early. I like what I ended with but I gave up quite a bit in SBs so the approach is tainted for comparison with an ME team.



All in all, I appreciated sharing thoughts with you over beer at the Venetian with the CDM gang. Got me thinking a few other combos from the 14 slot that I hadn't considered (although I did go back to my original plan at the bell).

[CC's Desperados]

Originally posted by MadCow Sez:

Mahalo Shawn. For curiosity, I tested a Mauer/VMart combo 1:10-2:6 in a satellite to see what I liked and didn't like about nailing down the C position early. I like what I ended with but I gave up quite a bit in SBs so the approach is tainted for comparison with an ME team.



All in all, I appreciated sharing thoughts with you over beer at the Venetian with the CDM gang. Got me thinking a few other combos from the 14 slot that I hadn't considered (although I did go back to my original plan at the bell). I did do one Double Play with Mauer, Ellsbury, and Martinez. I can't remember how the team came out, but it was an interesting team.



[ April 06, 2010, 09:22 PM: Message edited by: CC's Desperados ]

[Dub]

zero home homeruns

[CC's Desperados]

Originally posted by Dub:

zero home homeruns That's the way to light a fire under his a$$!

[Dub]

Originally posted by CC's Desperados:

quote:Originally posted by Dub:

zero home homeruns That's the way to light a fire under his a$$! [/QUOTE]

[CC's Desperados]

Originally posted by Dub:

quote:Originally posted by CC's Desperados:

quote:Originally posted by Dub:

zero home homeruns That's the way to light a fire under his a$$! [/QUOTE] [/QUOTE]He's on Fireeeeea!

[Dub]

Originally posted by CC's Desperados:

quote:Originally posted by Dub:

quote:Originally posted by CC's Desperados:

quote:Originally posted by Dub:

zero home homeruns That's the way to light a fire under his a$$! [/QUOTE] [/QUOTE]He's on Fireeeeea! [/QUOTE]It got scary there when Scotty Pods tied him for the season. The total is still zero at home.



5 for 5 and 7 rbis could be the start of something beautiful.

[DOUGHBOYS]

Well played, Mauer.

[Navel Lint]

I heard some talk on the radio this morning about Mauer’s 5 for 5, 7 rbi night being a rare feat, and therefore a better night than Garza’s no-hitter.



Indeed, there have been 176 no-hitters since 1920 and only 44 5 for 5, 7+ rbi games.



But the rbi’s are a function of your teammates. There have been 1147 5 for 5 games since 1920. So, not very rare. It’s just that Mauer had people on base when he did it.



The no-hitter definitely makes Garza the player of the night.

[DOUGHBOYS]

Getting a 5-3-5-7 box score from Mauer is great.

But a 4-4-4-4 line from a guy without a minor league home run is special. And in the same game.

A salute to Valencia as well.

[Dub]

Originally posted by DOUGHBOYS:

Getting a 5-3-5-7 box score from Mauer is great.

But a 4-4-4-4 line from a guy without a minor league home run is special. And in the same game.

A salute to Valencia as well. Btw- Beside owning Mauer- I also had Greinke in this game