2009 Mock Draft #1

[Schwks]

Since you asked, I dont like the make up of the squad. It seems like the overall strength/balance was sacrificed in order to stack your two closers. While I agree they marginally help your era/whip, and certainly give you top 3 save finish, you seem middle of the road to weak in the other categories. Looking at the make up of the winning squads from 08, all were successful because they drafted a closer in the 9-12 range who performed like a 4-5th rounder. Maybe Im wrong, but I dont think that there were any top teams who drafted closers so high with success...does anyone know of one?

[headhunters]

for pelfry to be a top 15 pitcher in 2009 he would have to significantly increase his k rate. nothing in his body of work suggests that will happen. also, the list of second year starters coming off good 1st years, or good final 23 games, that were busts in 2008 is much longer than the list of successes. see maine, hughes, hill, gallardo.

[Spartacus]

We drafted our closers pretty high last year. Not as high as 4th-5th round, nor by design. We drafted the same 2 closers (Nathan and Soria) in the sixth and eighth round. The plan going in was to take two closers between 9 and 12. When our pick came in the 6th round (next to last pick in the round, we drafted in the 2 hole), Nathan was inexplicably still sitting there! He was a bargain or call it a gift from our league that we couldn't pass on. By the time we went again in the 8th round after a sizable closer run, Soria was still sitting there and we had him rated pretty high. So we drafted 2 closers before we anticipated taking one. We played the opportunities presented by the draft, which in my estimation is the best strategy to have on draft day. We finished 22nd overall and won LV 10. Your point is well taken though Schwks. While I'd love to have Nathan and Soria on my teams in 09, I don't think I'd set my strategy to grab both of them that high. Although, I believe you can get still build a successful team doing it. It all depends on the flow of your draft and taking advanatage of the opportunities as they present.

[Head 2 Head]

1 - Edwards Kings - Jose Reyes

2 - Hard Heads - Alex Rodriguez

3 - Greg Ambrosius - Hanley Ramirez

4 - Head 2 Head - David Wright

5 - Bud Fox - Grady Sizemore

6 - Doughboys - Chase Utley

7 - Eli Grimmett - Albert Pujols

8 - Joe Sambito - Matt Holliday

9 - Dak - Josh Hamilton

10 - Headhunters - Ian Kinsler

11 - Bobby J - Miguel Cabrera

12 - Captain - Ryan Braun

13 - KJ Duke - Jimmy Rollins

14 - Asumijet - Ryan Howard

15 - God Loves You - Mark Teixeira



2-1 God Loves You - Dustin Pedroia

2-2 Asumijet - Ichiro

2-3 KJ Duke - Lance Berkman

2-4 Captian/Hook - Manny Ramirez

2-5 Bobby J - Alfonzo Soriano

2-6 headhunters - Carlos Beltran

2-7 Dak - Carl Crawford

2-8 Joe Sambito - Carlos Lee

2-9 Eli Grimmett - Tim Lincecum

2-10 Doughboys - Johan Santana

2-11 BudFox - Evan Longoria

2-12 Head 2 Head - CC Sabathia

2-13 Greg Ambrosius - Matt Kemp

2-14 Hard Heads - Brandon Phillips

2-15 Edwards Kings - Carlos Quentin



3-1 Edwards Kings - Prince Fielder

3-2 Hard Heads - B.J. Upton

3-3 Greg Ambrosius - Justin Morneau

3-4 - Head 2 Head - Alexi Rios

3-5 - Bud Fox - Jason Bay

3.6 - Doughboys - Aramis Ramirez

3.7 - Eli Grimmett - Brian Roberts

3.8 - Joe Sambito - Russell Martin

3.9 - Dak - Alexie Ramirez

3.10 - Headhunters - David Ortiz

3.11 - Bobby J - Magglio Ordonez

3.12 - Captain - Vladimir Guerrero

3.13 - KJ Duke - Jacoby Ellsbury

3.14 - Asumijet - Nate McLouth

3.15 - God Loves You - Brian McCann



4.1 God Loves You - Joakim Soria

4.2 Asumijet -Ryan Ludwick

4.3 KJ Duke - Kevin Youkilis

4.4 Captian - Brandon Webb

4.5 Bobby J - Curtis Granderson

4-6 - Headhunters - Nick Markakis

4-7 - Dak - Adrian Gonzalez

4-8 - Joe Sambito - Cole Hamels

4-9 - Eli Grimmett - Bobby Abreu

4-10 - Doughboys - Joe Mauer

4-11 - BudFox - Corey Hart

4-12 - Head 2 Head - Jake Peavy

4-13 - Greg Ambrosius - Scott Kazmir

4-14 - Hard Heads - Dan Haren

4-15 - Edwards Kings - Jonathan Papelbon



5-1 - Edwards Kings - Shane Victorino

5-2 - Hard Heads - Rafael Furcal

5-3 - Greg Ambrosius - Torii Hunter

5-4 - Head 2 Head - Jermaine Dye

5-5 - Bud Fox - Roy Halladay

5-6 - Doughboys - Adam Dunn

5-7 - Eli Grimmett - Johnny Damon

5-8 - Joe Sambito - Francisco Rodriguez

5-9 - Dak - Garrett Atkins

5-10 - Headhunters - Victor Martinez

5-11 - Bobby J - Howie Kendrick

5-12 - captain - Derrek Lee

5-13 - KJ Duke - Aubrey Huff

5-14 - Asumijet - Ervin Santana

5-15 - God Loves You - Joe Nathan



6-1 - God Loves You - Chad Billingsley

6-2 - Asumijet - Brad Lidge

6-3 - KJ Duke - Cliff Lee

6-4 - Captain - Derek Jeter

6-5 - Bobby J - Carlos Pena

6-6 - Headhunters - Troy Tulowitzki

6-7 - Dak - Stephen Drew

6.8 Joe Sambito - Brad Hawpe

6.9 Eli Grimmett - Joey Votto

6.10 Doughboys - Geovany Soto

6.11 BudFox - James Shields

6.12 Head 2 Head - Hunter Pence

6.13 Greg Ambrosius - Dan Uggla

6.14 Hard Heads - Raul Ibanez

6.15 Edwards Kings - Roy Oswalt



7-1 - Edwards Kings - Rich Hardin

7-2 - Hard Heads - Chris Davis

7-3 - Greg Ambrosius - Josh Beckett

7-4 - Head 2 Head - Chris Young (OF)

7-5 - Bud Fox - Micheal Young

7-6 - Doughboys - Chipper Jones

7-7 - Eli Grimmett - Mo Rivera

7-8 - Joe Sambito - John Lester

7-9 - Dak - AJ Burnett

7-10 - Headhunters - John Lackey

7-11 - Bobby J -Daisuke Matsuzaka

7-12 - captain - Felix Hernandez

7-13 - KJ Duke - Ryan Doumit

7-14 - Asumijet - Edinson Volquez

7-15 God Loves You - Mark Reynolds



8-1 God Loves You - JJ Hardy

8-2 Asumijet - Mark DeRosa

8-3 KJ Duke - Ricky Nolasco

8-4 captain - Chone Figgins

8-5 Bobby J - Vernon Wells

8-6 Headhunters - Robinson Cano

8-7 DAK - Justin Verlander

8-8 Joe Sambito - Paul Konerko

8-9 Eli Grimmett - Miguel Tejada

8-10 Doughboys - Bobby Jenks

8-11 BudFox - Carlos Delgado

8-12 Head 2 Head - Jhonny Peralta

8-13 Greg Ambrosius - Jose Valverde

8-14 Hard Heads - Zach Grienke

8-15 Edwards Kings - Kerry Wood



9-1 Edwards Kings - Adrian Beltre

9-2 Hard Heads - Benji Molina

9-3 Greg Ambrosius - Ryan Zimmerman

9-4 Head 2 Head - Francisco Liriano

9-5 Bud Fox - Francisco Cordero

9-6 Doughboys - Chris Young, P, SD

9-7 Eli Grimmett - Jim Thome

9-8 Joe Sambito - Matt Garza

9-9 Dak -Jonathon Broxton

9-10 Headhunters - Yovanni Gallardo

9-11 Bobby J - Carlos Zambrano

9-12 captain - Erik Bedard

9-13 KJ Duke - Ryan Dempster

9-14 Asumijet - Xavier Nady

9-15 God Loves You - Andre Ethier



10-1 God Loves You - Conor Jackson

10-2 Asumijet - Matt Cain

10-3 KJ Duke - Elijah Dukes

10-4 captain - Eric Byrnes

10-5 Bobby J - Ben Sheets

10-6 Headhunters - Adam Wainright

10-7 DAK - Jose Lopez

10-8 Joe Sambito - Orlando Cabrera

10-9 Eli Grimmett - Derek Lowe

10-10 Doughboys - James Loney

10-11 BudFox - Kelly Johnson

10-12 Head 2 Head - Chris Iannetta

10-13 Greg Ambrosius - Jorge Cantu

10-14 Hard Heads - Alex Gordon

10-15 Edwards Kings - Jason Werth



11-1 Edwards Kings - AJ Pierzynski

11-2 Hard Heads - Javier Vazquez

11-3 Greg Ambrosius - Ted Lilly

11-4 Head 2 Head - JJ Putz

11-5 BudFox - BJ Ryan

11-6 - Doughboys - Brian Wilson

11-7 - Eli Grimmett - Edwin Encarcion

11-8 - Joe Sambito - Hank Blalock

11-9 - Dak - John Danks

11-10 - Headhunters - Denard Span

11-11 - Bobby J - Matt Capp

11-12 - captian - Brian Fuentes

11-13 - KJ Duke - Mike Gonzalez

11-14 - Asumijet - Trevor Hoffman

11-15 - God Loves You - Mike Pelfrey



12-1 - God Loves You - David Price

12-2 - Asumijet - Joba Chamberlian

12-3 - KJ Duke - Jay Bruce

12-4 - captian - Brett Myers

12-5 - Bobby J - Mike Aviles

12-6 - headhunters - Carlos Guillen

12-7 - DAK - Milton Bradley

12-8 - Joe Sambito - Willy Taveras

12-9 - Eli G - Delmon Young

12-10 - Doughboys - Cien-Wang Wang

12-11 - Bud Fox - Lastings Milledge

12-12 - Head 2 Head - Adam LaRoche

12-13 - Greg A- Carlos Gomez

12-14 - Hard Heads - Rickie Weeks

12-15 - Edwards Kings - Aaron Harang



13-1 - Edwards Kings - Scott Baker

13-2 - Hard Heads - Rick Ankiel

13-3 - Greg A - George Sherill

13-4 - Head 2 Head - Josh Johnson

13-5 - Bud Fox - Placido Polanco

13-6 - Doughboys - Mike Cameron

13-7 - Eli G - Jason Kubel

13-8 - Joe Sambito - Ty Wiggington

13-9 - DAK - Jered Weaver

13-10 - Headhunters - Troy Glaus

13-11 - Bobby J - Kevin Kouzmanoff

13-12 - captian -Kaz Matsui

13-13 - KJ Duke - Alexi Casilla

13-14 - Asumijet - Mike Jacobs

13-15 - God Loves You - Jed Lowrie



14-1 - God Loves You - Cameron Maybin

14-2 - Asumijet - Matt Lindstrom

14-3 - KJ Duke - Pablo Sandoval

14-4 - captain - Melvin Mora

14-5 - Bobby J - Adam Jones

14-6 - headhunters - Hideki Matsui

14-7 - DAK - David DeJesus

14-8 - Joe Sambito - Fausto Carmona

14-9 - Eli G - Jeremy Hermida

14-10 - Doughboys - Clayton Kershaw

14-11 Bud Fox - Kevin Slowey

14-12 Head 2 Head - Todd Helton

14-13 Greg A - Jorge Posada

14-14 Hard Heads - Max Scherzer

14-15 Edwards Kings - John Maine



15-1 Edwards Kings - Pat Burrell

15-2 Hard Heads - Jeff Francouer

15-3 Greg A - Justin Upton

15-4 Head 2 Head - Fernando Rodney

15-5 Bud Fox - Ubaldo Jimenez

15-6 Doughboys - Ryan Theriot

15-7 - Eli G - Clint Barmes

15-8 - Joe Sambito - Chris Snyder

15-9 - DAK - Mike Napoli

15-10 - Headhunters - Andy Petitte

15-11 - Bobby J - Michael Bourn

15-12 - captain - Ivan Pudge Rodriguez

15-13 - KJ Duke - Edgar Renteria

15-14 - Asumijet - Jason Bartlett

15-15 - God Loves You - Shin-Soo Choo



16-1 - God Loves You - Gil Meche

16-2 - Asumijet - Jair Jurrjens

16-3 - KJ Duke - Joey Devine

16-4 - captain - Carlos Marmol

16-5 - Bobby J - Matt Wieters

16-6 - headhunters - Juan Pierre

16-7 - DAK - Jose "Long Fingers" Arredondo

16-8 - Joe Sambito - Brandon Morrow

16-9 - Eli Grimment - Jeremy Guthrie

16-10 - Doughboys - Orlando Hudson

16-11 - Bud Fox - Jason Giambi

16-12 - Head 2 Head - Jensen Lewis

16-13 - Greg A - Randy Winn

16-14 - Hard Heads - Johnny Cueto

16-15 - Edwards Kings - Akinori Iwamura



17-1 - Edwards Kings - Frank Francisco

17-2 - Hard Heads - Fred Lewis

17-3 - Greg Ambrosius - JP Howell

17-4 - Head 2 Head - Jeff Clement

17-5 - Bud Fox - Adam Lind

17-6 - Doughboys - Chase Headley

17-7 - Eli G - Paul Maholm

17-8 - Joe Sambito - Freddy Sanchez

17-9 - DAK - Hoston Street

17-10 - Headhunters - Randy Johnson

17-11 - Bobby J - Mark Buehrle

17-12 - captain - Joe Blanton

17-13 - KJ Duke - Justin Duchscherer

17-14 - Asumijet - Matt LaPorta

17-15 - God Loves You - Dioner Navarro



18-1 - God Loves You - Nick Swisher

18-2 - Asumijet - Yadier Molina

18-3 - KJ Duke - Taylor Buchholz

18-4 - captain - JD Drew

18-5 - Bobby J - Oliver Perez

18-6 - headhunters - Chad Qualls

18-7 - DAK - David Murphy

18-8 - Joe Sambito - Scot Shields

18-9 - Eli Grimment - Wandy Rodriguez

18-10 - Doughboys - Yunel Escobar

18-11 - Bud Fox - Gary Sheffield

18-12 - Head 2 Head - Asdrubal Cabrera

18-13 - Greg A - Kelly Shoppach

18-14 - Hard Heads - Manny Corpas

18-15 - Edwards Kings - Casey Kotchman



19-1 - Edwards Kings - Andy Sonnanstine

19-2 - Hard Heads - Hiroki Kuroda

19-3 - Greg Ambrosius - Mike Mussina

19-4 - Head 2 Head - Bronson Arroyo

19-5 - Bud Fox - Taylor Teagarden

19-6 - Doughboys - Andrew Miller

19-7 - Eli Grimmett - Jonathan Sanchez

19-8 - Joe Sambito - Jeff Francis

19-9 - DAK - Roman Hernandez

19-10 - Headhunters - Joel Hanrahan

19-11 - Bobby J - John Baker

19-12 - captain - Kevin Gregg

19-13 - KJ Duke - Josh Willingham

19-14 - Asumijet - Aaron Cook

19-15 - God Loves You - Nelson Cruz



20-1 - God Loves You - Ryan Garko

20-2 - Asumijet - Randy Wolf

20-3 - KJ Duke - Brad Ziegler

20-4 - captain - Felipe Lopez

20-5 - Bobby J - Dan Wheeler

20-6 - headhunters - Manny Parra

20-7 - DAK - Glavin Floyd

20-8 - Joe Sambito - Emammanuel Burriss

20-9 - Eli Grimment - Tim Wakefield

20-10 - Doughboys - Jorge Campillo

20-11 - Bud Fox - Travis Snider

20-12 - Head 2 Head - Armando Galarraga

20-13 - Greg A - Greg Maddux

20-14 - Hard Heads - Chris Perez

20-15 - Edwards Kings - Christian Guzman



21-1 - Edwards Kings - JR Towles

21-2 - Hard Heads - Kurt Suzuki

21-3 - Greg A - David Bush

21-4 - Head 2 Head - Chris Dickerson

21-5 - Bud Fox - Jeff Mathis

21-6 - Doughboys - Pedro Martinez

21-7 - Eli G - Brandon Inge

21-8 - Joe Sambito - Brian Giles

21-9 - DAK - Ian Stewart

21-10 - Headhunters - Kenji Johjima

21-11 - Bobby J - Aaron Hill

21-12 - captain - Joe Saunders

21-13 - KJ Duke - Todd Wellemeyer

21-14 - Asumijet - Casey Blake

21-15 - God Loves You - Anibal Sanchez



22-1 - God Loves You - John Lannan

22-2 - Asumijet - Blake DeWitt

22-3 - KJ Duke - Mike Lowell

22-4 - captain - Miguel Olivo

22-5 - Bobby J - Jason Isringhausen

22-6 - headhunters - Josh Fields

22-7 - DAK - Kyle Lohse

22-8 - Joe Sambito - Grant Balfour

22-9 - Eli Grimment - Kevin Millwood

22-10 - Doughboys - Ryan Church

22-11 - Bud Fox - Phil Hughes

22-12 - Head 2 Head - Ryan Spilbourghs

22-13 - Greg A - Mark Ellis

22-14 - Hard Heads - Josh Anderson

22-15 - Edwards Kings - Aaron Rowand



23-1 - Edwards Kings - Lyle Overbay

23-2 - Hard Heads - Gio Gonzalez

23-3 - Greg A - Erick Aybar

23-4 - Head 2 Head - Ramon Santiago

23-5 - Bud Fox - Micah Owings

23-6 - Doughboys - Andruw Jones

23-7 - Eli G - Gerald Laird

23-8 - Joe Sambito - Marcus Thames

23-9 - DAK - Ben Francisco

23-10 - Headhunters - John Smoltz

23-11 - Bobby J - Edwin Jackson

23-12 - captain - Coco Crisp

23-13 - KJ Duke - Brandon Wood

23-14 - Asumijet - Jarrod Saltalamacchia

23-15 - God Loves You - Chris Volstad

[Captain Hook]

Anyone want to improve their performance here (LOL) or practice again, we are taking signups for Mock Draft #3....

[Joe Sambito]

I'd be curious to see some teams from Mock 1, but I am too lazy to do it myself , but I will post mine in hopes others do the same just to look at the makeups after such an early Mock



C- Martin, Snyder

Corners- Konerko, Blalock, Wigginton

Middle- O. Cabrera, Sanchez, Burriss

OF- Holliday, Lee, Hawpe, Taveras, Giles

DH- Thames



Hamels, Lester, Garza, Carmona, Morrow, Francis

K-rod, S. Shields, Balfour



[ November 13, 2008, 11:00 AM: Message edited by: Joe Sambito ]

[Schwks]

Joe, I like your team. Interesting that with hitting you stayed with older more established guys, while with pitching, you went with a lot of young arms. I'd like to see a couple more upside guys in your hitting, but maybe youd have gotten to those in rounds 24-30

[Asumijet]

C Y. Molina

C Saltalamacchia

1B Howard

2B DeRosa

SS Bartlett

3B Blake

CI Jacobs

MI DeWitt

OF Ichiro

OF Ludwick

OF McClouth

OF Nady

OF Porta

U Took an extra pitcher



P E. Santana

P Volquez

P Cain

P Chamberlian

P Jurrjens

P Wolf

P B. Lidge

P Hoffman

P M Lindstrom





I would grade this effort out as C+, at best. Pitching should be strong 50 points, but the hitting, assuming a 20 HR hitter at U, comes out at low 40s/high 30s at best.



I just don't think you can take Ryan Howard and expect to win you league given his average is such a drain that you limit your available talent later in the draft and he does not run.

[Edwards Kings]

Until I win one of these things, I will withhold comments on others teams on the boards. Here is mine, however, for grins/comments.



Prince Fielder Mil 1B 31 Pure Power, eat cows please.

Adrian Beltre Sea 3B 121 Thin Thin Thin at 3B

Casey Kotchman Atl CM 270 Bobby Cox majic will bring him up.

Jose Reyes NYM SS 1 Do not want to be last in SB anymore.

Akinori Iwamura TB 2B 240 Bottom of the 2B barrel.

Cristian Guzman Was MI 300 Was his success really because he was healthy?

Carlos Quentin ChW OF 30 Manlove.

Shane Victorino Phi OF 61 I like this pick here. More speed.

Jayson Werth Phi OF 150 No Jenkins, No Burrell, full time job.

Pat Burrell Phi OF 211 No BA, but good power out of this spot.

Aaron Rowand SF OF 330 Must only like Philly or ex-Philly Ofers.

A.J. Pierzynski ChW C 151 Ehhh…

J.R. Towles Hou C 301 Gamble pick on last years Hype-Boy.

Lyle Overbay Tor UT 331 Will he hit 20 HR this year?

Roy Oswalt Hou SP 90 Surprised me last year with power resurgance.

Rich Harden ChC SP 91 Will he stay healthy back-to-back?

Aaron Harang Cin SP 180 Pre-last year, he "had arrived" at elite status.

Scott Baker Min SP 181 Rock solid for many years to come.

John Maine NYM SP 210 Back on track.

Andy Sonnanstine TB SP 271 This years Shields/Baker.

Jonathan Papelbon Bos CL 60 As good as it gets.

Kerry Wood ChC CL 120 Found his niche.

Frank Francisco Tex MR 241 Best of a bad lot last year.

[headhunters]

my draft:



c johjima

c martinez

1b guillen

2b kinsler

ss troy boy

3b glaus

mi cano

ci fields

of beltran

of span

of markakis

of matsui

of pierre

u ortiz



p lackey

p gallardo

p wainright

p pettite

p unit

p parra

p qualls

p hanrahan

p smoltz



if 31 is past prime and 24 is pre- then 7 past prime, 3 prime, 4 pre for hitters. obviously a little old. but almost all in the 31-34 age. not old. most of these guys come at a discount in these drafts. some- like pierre, would either start somewhere - or be benched ( by me). if this were a real draft in rounds 20-23 i probably grab a 4th corner to cover glaus injury or fields playing time issues, instead of going " legal roster". Then if pierre doesn't start- guillen goes to outfield after eligible. Most just seemed like bargains and i took a high risk high reward approach knowing i will get a few bay like comebacks and a few andrew jones busts. I guess i am in minority in saying i would rather take a 32 year old past their prime and available 2 rounds past prior draft positions; than a young guy that has never done it. most remember hamilton. i remember gordon. on pitching- lot of high or medium k guys and 2 " maybe" closers- with high k's. closers go much later in all mocks and much quicker in main because about 27 closers are known. for this i was willing to wait and risk being wrong.

[Hard Heads]

Haven't sat down and really really looked at the finished product, but at first glance I like the hitting. Good combo of power and speed. Some weakness in AVG. Pitching have young upside arms and if a few win jobs could do well in K's. Saves i obviously missed out early and waited till late to take some fliers that may not pan out. Corpas was ok until Street was dealt to Colorado, but anyway, here it is. Feel free to add comments.

B Molina

K Suzuki

C Davis

B Phillips

R Furcal

A Rodriguez

A Gordon

R Weeks

BJ Upton

R Ibanez

R Ankiel

j Francouer

F Lewis

J Anderson

D Haren

Z Greinke

J Vazquez

M Scherzer

J Cueto

M Corpas

H Kuroda

C Perez

G Gonzalez