June 2 $125 Second Chance League Draft Order

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Fri Jun 03, 2011 3:18 am

I'm writing an Associated Press column on this now and it's interesting to note that 13 of the 15 consensus first round picks from March were picked in the first round last night. I guess the more things change the more they stay the same. Only Jose Bautista and Matt Kemp emerged new into the first round, replacing David Wright and Hanley Ramirez.

FIRST ROUND

1. Adrian Gonzalez

2. Jose Bautista

3. Albert Pujols

4. Ryan Braun

5. Matt Kemp

6. Miguel Cabrera

7. Joey Votto

8. Troy Tulowitzki

9. Carlos Gonzalez

10. Robinson Cano

11. Josh Hamilton

12. Evan Longoria

13. Mark Teixeira

14. Carl Crawford

15. Alex Rodriguez

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Fri Jun 03, 2011 3:53 am

We'll put this story on the AP newswire today and hopefully it will get picked up by a few sports sites and papers:

By Greg Ambrosius

Associated Press

If you were to start a fantasy baseball league today using statistics for only the last four months of the season, who would you want for the stretch run? Who would you trust to dominate the most during the latter part of this season?

Well, those questions were answered this week in a Second Chance League involving some of our top players from the National Fantasy Baseball Championship. The stats from April and May don’t matter at all in this league. All those owners care about is who will produce the best statistics from June until October.

And honestly, the results are a bit shocking. Some of the top players from Draft Day in late March are nowhere to be found in early June. Hanley Ramirez, who was the consensus No. 2 pick in March dropped to 44th in this Second Chance League thanks to a bad start and a bad back. David Wright, who also has a bad back and is currently on the DL, had a March Average Draft Position (ADP) of 12, but went 35th here and even that seemed a bit risky. Matt Holliday is another veteran who is struggling with injuries and he dropped to 47th after going 18th in March.

But while some players dropped a lot in value, others rose even more. Jose Bautista, the leading MVP candidate in the AL, was picked second overall in the Second Chance League after having an ADP of 31 in March. Adrian Gonzalez was the first pick in this draft, up 10 spots from his March ADP (11). Interestingly, 13 of the 15 first round picks in the Second Chance Leagues were consensus first round picks in March. I guess the more things change the more they stay the same. The only two newcomers to the first round were Bautista and Matt Kemp, who went fifth overall.

Here’s a look at the first round of this NFBC Second Chance League:

1. Adrian Gonzalez

2. Jose Bautista

3. Albert Pujols

4. Ryan Braun

5. Matt Kemp

6. Miguel Cabrera

7. Joey Votto

8. Troy Tulowitzki

9. Carlos Gonzalez

10. Robinson Cano

11. Josh Hamilton

12. Evan Longoria

13. Mark Teixeira

14. Carl Crawford

15. Alex Rodriguez

The second round saw eight players return to that round from March drafts, meaning seven players vaulted up. Making the biggest move was Curtis Granderson, whose ADP in March was 105. He went 20th here as he’s currently on pace for a 40-20 season. Jay Bruce also vaulted from 61st to 21st. Others emerging from third or fourth round status in March to second round status now included Justin Upton, Jacoby Ellsbury, Clayton Kershaw, Adrian Beltre and Mike Stanton. Here’s the second round from the Second Chance League:

16. Ryan Howard

17. Prince Fielder

18. Roy Halladay

19. Jose Reyes

20. Curtis Granderson

21. Jay Bruce

22. Justin Upton

23. Jacoby Ellsbury

24. Clayton Kershaw

25. Tim Lincecum

26. Andrew McCutchen

27. Kevin Youkilis

28. Adrian Beltre

29. Mike Stanton

30. Dustin Pedroia

It’s interesting to note that NFBC owners still have confidence in players who missed the early part of the season with injuries. Joe Mauer went 106th and Pablo Sandoval went 97th, with both players expected back in the lineup soon. Even Alex Rios, who has been the bane of most fantasy owners during the first half, was projected for a second half rebound as he went 121st.

Among the rookies, Seattle’s Michael Pineda stands heads and shoulders above the rest. He went 52nd overall, with Eric Hosmer going 76th, followed by Craig Kimbrel at 116th, Brett Lawrie at 187th, Zach Britton at 196th and Mike Moustakas at 245th. Lawrie is expected to be called up to the majors by the Blue Jays soon and Moustakas could be the next great third baseman once the Royals give him that promotion from Omaha to Kansas City.

These Second Chance Leagues give fantasy owners a second chance for success but these draft results also give all of us a second chance to evaluate the talent in today’s game. And surprisingly, the cream of the crop still rises to the top, just like it did in March.

(Greg Ambrosius is the founder of the National Fantasy Baseball Championship, the industry’s premiere live events contest with a $100,000 grand prize. Go to nfbc.stats.com for more details.)

High Octane Baseball · Post by **High Octane Baseball** » Fri Jun 03, 2011 4:10 am

As the owner of the Big Tex/Doc block I must say last night was a great time and I defo felt out of my league in this draft as I struggled on a few guys and ended up throwing my strat out the window and just picking guys I personally liked and not based on projections..etc.

Knew I wanted Doc and when Big Tex fell I just couldnt pass on him knowing i was taking a pitcher next and big power would be hard to find moving forward in the draft.

Good times and i highly suggest others giving one of these drafts a go.

Life is good · Post by **Life is good** » Fri Jun 03, 2011 9:23 am

I was surprized Jay bruce wasn't a late first rounder......He has been a beast so far. I got him in round 2 & felt pretty good getting him & Cano...

Sebadiah23 · Post by **Sebadiah23** » Fri Jun 03, 2011 9:41 am

Originally posted by Life is good:

I was surprized Jay bruce wasn't a late first rounder......He has been a beast so far. I got him in round 2 & felt pretty good getting him & Cano... Bruce at #2 was a nice pick, I'm sure most had him about there. It's tough to become a 1st rounder in two months. Bautista has 74 home runs in the last year and a third. That's the kind of body of work necessary to take a jump like that.

whipsaw · Post by **whipsaw** » Fri Jun 03, 2011 9:58 am

Originally posted by Life is good:

I was surprized Jay bruce wasn't a late first rounder......He has been a beast so far. I got him in round 2 & felt pretty good getting him & Cano... Bruce was my favorite pick of the first four rounds... if he were eligible somewhere other than OF I think he woulda been gone in the 1st round.

rkulaski · Post by **rkulaski** » Fri Jun 03, 2011 1:36 pm

Since this thread was getting some attention, I thought I'd post my team and keep it rolling.

I had the #1 pick and debated A-Gone and Bautista. As crazy as it sounds, I already have Bautista on multiple teams this year, so I just wanted a little variety and took Gonzalez.

While I wasn't too prepared for this draft as far as a draft strategy goes, I felt I knew the player pool all too well and could adjust on the go... Here's my midseason team:

C Hundley (24), Carlos Santana (7)

1b A-Gonzalez (1)

2b Pedroia (2)

3b Aramis Ram (12)

SS Y Escobar (13)

CI D Lee (21), W Betemit (27), Rizzo (29)

MI Nishioka (19), A Escobar (26)

OF Choo (5), Victorino (6), Rios (9), Pagan (15), Swisher (16), McLouth (30)

Util M Brantley (17), Hafner (23)

SP Sabathia (3), C Lee (4), Romero (10), Nolasco (14), S Baker (18), Porcello (20), H Bailey (25), Duffy (28)

RP Axford (9), Hanarhan (11), Francisco (22)

A good team? I have no idea as I haven't scanned the competition's rosters... I wouldn't have minded one more reliable slugger. My pitching looks strong but it should- I took my 3rd starter in the 10th round. Aramis is a little worrisome with only 2 HRs on the year but, in the 12th round, I was still missing a 3B. I don't like the Cubs, don't like Aramis, he's always battling some nagging injury, yet there he is on my team.

Pick I liked: Pagan in the 15th. You could easily make the argument that he's a better player than my 9th rd pick, Rios, which you could argue is the worst pick of my draft.

Pick I didn't like: Possibly Aramis. I actually like Rios from this point forward although I wonder how long he would've lasted had I passed on him (probably a long time )

Player I was preparing to take and he went 1 round earlier than I expected: Brandon Beachy taken by some guy named Duke.

Most questionable pick: How about taking a catcher hitting .230 in round 7? Honorable mention: Rios.

Best pick between rd 20-30: Hafner if he comes back and stays healthy. Big IF.

Prediction: I'd like to think it's a top 5 team but this isn't 2010. My OF will have to play better than it has in April and May. Choo, Rios, and Swisher are no guarantees.

Feel free to comment- good, bad, whatev.

[ June 03, 2011, 07:41 PM: Message edited by: rkulaski ]

rockitsauce · Post by **rockitsauce** » Sat Jun 04, 2011 5:09 am

Originally posted by whipsaw:

quote:Originally posted by Life is good:

I was surprized Jay bruce wasn't a late first rounder......He has been a beast so far. I got him in round 2 & felt pretty good getting him & Cano... Bruce was my favorite pick of the first four rounds... if he were eligible somewhere other than OF I think he woulda been gone in the 1st round. [/QUOTE]ah yes, but he isn't (eligible elsewhere) and despite his fast start he's been streaky in his young career. Don't get me wrong he was in the conversation (in my mind

) but ultimately I felt Longoria was too good to pass up at 12 (esp since he's already had his mandatory oblique injury).

In the 2nd rd I was tempted by Bruce & Stanton, but again succumbed to the siren song of position scarcity, and took Reyes. He currently has 1 HR and I still think he reaches double digits.

Looking back now, the one pick that really stunned me was Pineda in the 4th. He's def a top talent, but you hafta wonder if Seattle is gonna shut him down before too long. Maybe they take the Nolan Ryan approach and to hell w/ limiting his IP, but thats too risky for me.

I also coveted Beachy (and Homer) thx KJ & Rich

w/ both on the DL guess I thought I could wait longer than I should have.

Does anyone else who drafted in this league get the sneaky feeling that all you're guys are gonna put up their best #'s this wkend? Case in pt, my 29th pk, Jason Vargas...pitches a complete game shutout last night, you know his next start is gonna be 6ER in 4 1/3 IP :rolleyes:

High Octane Baseball · Post by **High Octane Baseball** » Sat Jun 04, 2011 7:31 am

Going into the draft I knew there were some NFBC vets and that this would be a tough one but I went into the draft hell bent on having two good closers and two catchers not named Posada who has killed me in my other leagues.

With the 13th pick I wanted and targeted Doc and planned on taking him at 13 but when Big Tex was there and having been burned by him having great second half of seasons vs. me in the past..i jumped on him and hoped that Doc would be there on the turn.

C

A. Avila

G. Soto

1B

M. Teixeira

E. Hinske

2B

N. Walker

D. Barney

3B

L. Chisenhall

P. Polanco

SS

E. Andrus

J. Turner

OF

D. Span

C. Ross

B. Abreu

N. Markakis

J. Jay

M. Ordonez

R. Ibanez

P

B. Arroyo

Y. Gallardo

E. Bedard

D. Price

R. Halladay

F. Carmona

M. Buehrle

A. Aceves

K. McClellan

J. Guthrie

J. Niemann

RP

Mariano

Valverde

Overall I am happy with my team minus the obvious lack of big power and my outfield has a chance to be sneaky good but will have to perform well for me to have any shot.

Not sure where I will place and will be happy with a top half finish tbh.

[ June 04, 2011, 01:32 PM: Message edited by: High Octane Baseball ]

Rog · Post by **Rog** » Sat Jun 04, 2011 8:39 am

c ramos

c montero

1b fielder

2b k johnson

3b young

ss h ramirez (s drew)

ci j lowrie

mi s drew (ellis until hanley is back)

of crawford

of holliday

of torres

of d young

of guiterrez,gomes,nix

ut gomes or nix

as you can see I gambled with ijuries and slow starts.If everybody produces the way they are supposed to and stay off the dl I will be comfortable with my hitting but we all know how that goes

now my pitching needs alot of help

billingsly

kennedy

lohse

meyers

floyd

wolf

macdonald

feliz

farnsworth

holland,marqius, and mcarthy

not unhappy with the team but it could have been better if the other 14 guys in the league wern't so smart.jI was ust hoping to not finish last.Dont want to hear it from my wife.I might have to enter another one next month so i can try to figure this stuff out

good luck to all in the league it was nice and enjoyble and went different than expected.

rkulaski · Post by **rkulaski** » Sat Jun 04, 2011 10:13 am

Does anyone know if free agency starts this weekend for this league?

Rog · Post by **Rog** » Sat Jun 04, 2011 10:44 am

I can only hope

KrisMC · Post by **KrisMC** » Sat Jun 04, 2011 10:51 am

I am in the league and Greg said it starts a week from Sunday on the 12th

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Sat Jun 04, 2011 10:54 am

Originally posted by rkulaski:

Does anyone know if free agency starts this weekend for this league? Nope. First FAAB for this league is next Sunday. Starting lineups need to be set for this Monday's games. Good luck all.

rockitsauce · Post by **rockitsauce** » Sat Jun 04, 2011 12:13 pm

it's all good Rog, if you have a bad yr there's plenty of grass to cut in FLA

(none out here, unless you're rich

not me)

This draft was certainly different, but nothing compares to the MLBC lge's when it comes to unpredictability.

Hey now High Octane, I was abit surprised w/ when you took Doc. There was no way in hell I was taking ANY pitcher until the 3rd at the earliest. Usually I want at least 2 SP & a Closer inside the 1st 10 rd's, but in Year of the Pitcher 2, getting quality bats has become the highest priority.

I may've been influenced by another satellite where I had the 15th pk. I took Doc & Prince, then Posey & Ellsbury. This team is doing MUCH worse than another that I had the 5th pk and started out w/ Crawford/Mauer/Posey. That team actually has about 90 pts and isn't in the cellar.

Obviously there's more to a draft than the 1st 3 or 4 pks, but w/ a start like that, ouch! When it comes to catchers I think it was my ol buddy Patrick (God Loves You) who was a big proponent of the "who cares, take any ol catcher philosophy".

Lesson learned.

Rog · Post by **Rog** » Sat Jun 04, 2011 5:44 pm

plenty of grass to mow and plants to plant.(rich by no means)but it does manage to pay the bills.The mlbc draft was like no other, very unprepared for that but I did manage to get some useful info that I was able to use in my next couple of drafts.It was also nice just chatting about fantasy baseball with such a talented group of minds..

rockitsauce · Post by **rockitsauce** » Sun Jun 05, 2011 4:46 am

Originally posted by Rog:

plenty of grass to mow and plants to plant.(rich by no means)but it does manage to pay the bills.The mlbc draft was like no other, very unprepared for that but I did manage to get some useful info that I was able to use in my next couple of drafts.It was also nice just chatting about fantasy baseball with such a talented group of minds.. Hi Rog

I brought up the lawn mowing b/c I recall you talking about it during MLBC draft (back in Feb when most of our leaguemates were buried in snow ) By rich, I meant here in the desert there is no grass in you're yard unless you're rich enough to pay an exorbitant water bill

I found that draft to be a learning experience as well...when you're in a league w/ veterans of this game like CC's Desperados, Mighty Men, KJ Duke, Roundtrippers, Doughboys, Hells Satans, etc etc you SHOULD learn something

High Octane Baseball · Post by **High Octane Baseball** » Sun Jun 05, 2011 8:57 am

I liked my first four picks...*shrugs* all you can ask for. If i failed i am sure ill find out soon enough lol

KJ Duke · Post by **KJ Duke** » Sun Jun 05, 2011 12:37 pm

Originally posted by rockitsauce:

Does anyone else who drafted in this league get the sneaky feeling that all you're guys are gonna put up their best #'s this wkend? Wish you hadn't mentioned it ... Kemp 3 HRs and probably 10 RBI, Lind 4-4 with 2 HRs today, McCutcheon a nice weekend, Jaime bounced back with a great start ... all for naught.

High Octane Baseball · Post by **High Octane Baseball** » Sun Jun 05, 2011 12:54 pm

I was thinking the same thing with with big weekends from Tex, Andrus and solid pitching all around..

rockitsauce · Post by **rockitsauce** » Sun Jun 05, 2011 1:58 pm

Originally posted by KJ Duke:

quote:Originally posted by rockitsauce:

Does anyone else who drafted in this league get the sneaky feeling that all you're guys are gonna put up their best #'s this wkend? Wish you hadn't mentioned it ... Kemp 3 HRs and probably 10 RBI, Lind 4-4 with 2 HRs today, McCutcheon a nice weekend, Jaime bounced back with a great start ... all for naught.

[/QUOTE]You were 1st in mind when I saw what Kemp did. At the time I thought you took Lind too early (another great ex: that I know much less than I think).

Hey, how do you think I feel? Can I honestly hope for more complete game shutouts from Vargas

?

KJ Duke · Post by **KJ Duke** » Mon Jun 06, 2011 1:12 pm

What is the payout structure for this league?

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Mon Jun 06, 2011 1:47 pm

Originally posted by KJ Duke:

What is the payout structure for this league? Same as any $125 Satellite League. I believe it's $1,000, $375, $125.