Main Event Team - Who needs OF'ers!!

[ALL-IN JD]

Man, what a weekend. Four drafts in 40 hours! Enjoyed every minute! Main Event Team from the six hole. I knew going in that I wanted Tulo. I knew that SS was incredibly weak this year. I also wanted to build my team from middle out, with a very strong IF, excellent starting pitching and solid closers. Having to rob Peter to pay Paul meant skimping in the OF. That being said, I am happy with the way the draft played out. I will sink or swim with my OF (and the other OF'ers that FAAB will bring). Here is the team with some of the thought process (or lack of thought) that went into it).

1) Troy Tulowitzki - SS is awful this year and I expect Tulo to be huge.

2) Brett Lawrie - I am drinking the kool aid! Besides being a sucker the young, big upside, guys every year I think Lawrie is poised for a huge year. I also wanted to go SS/3B to secure studs at the two lightest positions.

3) Cliff Lee - I do not usually go pitchers early but when I saw Cliff Lee there at pick 35 I decided to draft my ace. He is as safe as they come and Kershaw, Verlander, Halladay, Greinke and Felix were gone already.

4) Matt Moore - The rest of rounds three and four saw SP flying off of the board. Eight more SP came off the board so I decided to pair Lee with Matt Moore. I know he is in his first full year but he has the ability to be downright dominating.

5) Yu Darvish - I was at a cross roads with this pick. I wanted Gordon or Aramis Ramirez and both went right before I picked. I decided to take the opportunity to try and dominate pitching in my league and jumped on Yu Darvish. It's the risk of the unknown with Yu but I am feeling very bullish regarding k's and wins, at the very least.

6) Eric Aybar - Needed to turn my attention back to some offense and decided to grab a second SS (and a very solid one) in Erik Aybar. Leading off for the Halos puts him i position for a very solid campaign. I also felt good about rostering two of the top SS, leaving my league mates at a disadvantage at that position.

7) Freddie Freeman - I have targeted Freeman as a breakout player this year since I started drafting in February. With his big spring he has unfortunately zoomed up the draft boards. With most of the top 1B gone takig Freeman here was a no-brainer.

8) Dustin Ackley - Decided to fill out my middle infield here. I have high hopes for Ackley this year. Despite playing in a pitchers park, in a not-so-favorable lineup I like his upside. He sure looks like a major league hitter and will be hitting in the middle part of the lineup. Thinking 15-15 and 80 along with solid BA.

9) Paul Goldschmidt - Filled my corner spot with the best remaining 1B left. He seems to have legit power and plays in a very hitter friendly park. I think he will build on his solid post season performance. Only concern will be where he hits in the lineup.

10) Brandon League - Closers started coming off of the board in a hurry so decided this my round to grab one. Very much wanted Jason Motte but he went one pick before me so I settled on League. I think he is rock solid and has settled into the closers role quite nicely.

11) Brian Wilson - Closers were still going fast and furious so I grabbed Wilson. Health is certainly a concern but if he is healthy he will certainly be in the chase for the NL lead in saves. I decided to take the risk a I thought 11th round was good value for him.

12) Yoenis Cespedes - I guess it was time to draft an OF'er so I made my first one Cespedes. He isn't in the most hitter friendly park but I like his power potential anyway. He is no kid at 26 and is the ultimate risk/reward pick.

13) Melky Cabrera - I know he is coming off of a career year but he followed up with a huge spring and is hitting at or near the top of the lineup. I would expect a solid yet unspectacular year from him.

14) Logan Morrison - Assuming his knee is okay I really felt fortunate to get Morrison here. He hit 23 bombs in 460 ab's last year so he could approach 30 this (assuming he can stay healthy). 30 homers in the 14th round would be sweet.

15) Doug Fister - Wanted to make sure I kept my pitching edge so decided to grab my 4th starter here. With very strong k's from my first three starters I thought Fister fit like a glove. He will win a lot of games pitching for the Tigers and I would expect his ERA and WHIP to be very good.

16) John Mayberry - With Howard out and Brown banished to the minors Mayberry looks like an everyday player for the first few months, at the very least. He had 15 homers and 8 steals in 256 AB's last year so with regular playing time those numbers can easily improve. Another gamble but one I had to take with limited OF choices

17) Jonathon Lucroy - I like Lucroy this year. He took a step forward last year, batting .265 with 12 homers. If he can bump that up to .270 and 15 homers i'll be a happy camper. I think he is low risk (unlike a lot of my picks)

18) Jarrod Saltalamachia - I wanted to go Judy here but Revere and Brantley got selected a few picks before I went. His BA is definitely a risk but if he can get 400 AB's I would fully expect him to approach 20 HR's.

19) Ted Lilly - Went back to making sure I keep my pitching edge and getting Lilly in the 19th worked for me. He will miss his first start but I expect him to be very solid pitching in one of the best pitchers parks in the league. I'd expect 160 k's and a very good whip, with 12-13 wins.

20) Bryce Harper - Can make or break this team. With out many choices left that I wanted I decided Harper was worth the risk. If he plays 75% of the season he will be worth the pick here. He has a great power/speed combo and will give me the potential OF'er that I need. Oce again, high risk/reward as I need him to stay healthy and to get called up in June. With a CF combo of Bernadina and Ankiel I believe his chances of playing a good portion of the season in the bigs is fairly good

21) Chris Capuano - Starting pitcher number six. Capuano, despite a high ERA at Citifield last year, stayed healthy and should be servicable moving over to Dodger stadium. I think he will get 160-180 k's and win 12-13 games, more than acceptable from number six starter.

22) Ivan Nova - Decided to round out my staff with starter number seven. With such a solid base of k's and WHIP I decided to slot Nova here. He won 16 games last year so if he can duplicate that number this year that would be perfectly fine. If the Yankees win 95+ games I think they are reasonable expectations.

23) Eric Thames - He beat out Travis Snider for the LF job. Jays have a very potent lineup this year and I think Thames can certainly be serviceable, if he can hold onto the job.

With the lack of OF depth that I have I addressed that with some picks in the reserve draft:

John Jay - Looks like the everyday CF. Hit almost .300 last year, could be a definite help for me.
Jordan Schaefer - Stole 22 bases last year in 360 AB's. Will hit leadoff for the Astros and could definitely be my Judy
Drew Pomeranz - Didn't really need to grab any SP for my bench but I have rostered him in a lot of leagues. Big guy with a big arm. Could do some damage this year
Bobby Abreau - Worth a gamble in case he gets released and lands a starting gig. I think he will be released.
Nolan Arrenado - May not be able to hold him on my bench for long since I have Harper but on the flipside, how long do the Rockies go with Nelson/Pacheco
Koji Uehara - I think Nathan is done and Mike Adams is destined to be a setup guy. Uehara's ratios are off the charts and I believe he gets the gig whe Nathan gets injured or removed from the role
Endy Chavez - Mister Irrelevant for me; Had a big spring and might be locked in to the LF role to start the year. Seems to produce when given the opportunity.

High Risk/ High Reward draft. OF will obviously be the key. Think the staff could be special (at least I am hoping they can)

[BK METS]

I like your draft a lot. I think the outfielder issue was made up nicely with some depth guys like Jay, Schaefer, and Thames. Strong upside pitching, solid infield, average but serviceable catchers and closers. It was good drafting with you. I think we were in 3 out of 4, the only one not being the main, so I wish you luck in this one... Alan

[ALL-IN JD]

Thanks Alan. Good luck to you as well!

[mattjb]

I used a similar tactic in my OC (12 teams), focused on infield and pitching and gambled on OF.

I ended up with Werth (11), Cabrera (12), Prado (16), Alonso (20), De Aza (21) as my starting 5.

[ALL-IN JD]

A little different in a 15 teamer though. Much tougher, in my humble opinion.

[Outlaw]

I like it also. Nice Job!

[mattjb]

A little different in a 15 teamer though. Much tougher, in my humble opinion.

not disputing that. i like your team if Darvish works out.

[Red Sox Nation-]

Hi Jeff,

It looks good. I like the players you took in the teens. Looks like a lot of balance. Fun drafting against you in the auctions. Best of luck

Jason

[ALL-IN JD]

Thanks Jason. Good drafting with you as well and good luck.

[Sebadiah23]

Jeff,

I remember liking your outfielder picks like Melky and Morrison during the draft- even while not being able to concentrate on your team dynamics- so now they seem even better. Nice job.

-Craig

[ALL-IN JD]

Thanks Craig, appreciate it. And thanks for coming four minutes early!!

[Sebadiah23]

Early bird gets the worm

[Zman]

Brother! Lawrie is now up in the 2nd round. You know I remember when I drafted a rookie SS who just was traded to the Marlins. He won the SS job that same spring and I drafted him with my LAST round pick. And I was still nervous about HanRam keeping his job all year. Now I have to pick virtually the same player in the 2nd! I'm quickly losing interest.

[Gekko]

jeff - great to see u this weekend! your team..

obviously great front end pitching. probably overkill IMO. let's look at the offense. hr look ok, however sb come up to around 120 with your core group (and that includes lawrie swiping 20). if lawrie doesn't get the green light as often due to his groin injury, the total goes lower. i know you have shafer available, however then u are just trading hr for sb. would like this team more if u too out moore or darvish and replaced with stud offensive guy. just my opinion. good luck

[ALL-IN JD]

Great seeing you too Mark and thanks for the honest assessment. I actually think that the homers are a little higher than you have. I also think that in competing for the overall it won't necessarily be overkill. As for the steals I will humbly disagree a little bit. Firstly, Harper can provide some speed. Moreover, if I swap out Thames for Schaefer I do not loose a ton of homers but see this team potentially getting to 160. Also, with the way the staff is constructed I think I can focus my FAAB on steals and another closer, in mu humble opinion.

[Gekko]

call me the harper poo poo'er but i don't think he makes an impact in the major leagues until 2013 or 2014.

his K rate in AA last year was once every 5 AB which is pretty good, esp for someone of his age. unfortunately, he didn't show any XBH ability

more importantly, this spring his K rate was once every 2.5AB which is horrendous. and as can be expected, he didn't show any XBH ability. even quasi MLB pitchers destroyed him this spring.

IMO, he has NEGATIVE value this year, because:
1. owners used a draft pick on him
2. owners will be compelled to keep him all year hoping a savior will come and will tie up a valuable roster spot
3. if he does get called up, he will likely flop.

i was in a total of 15 leagues this year. i didn't draft harper in a single one.

[ALL-IN JD]

I guess we can agree to disagree then!

[Gekko]

I guess we can agree to disagree then!

of course. that's what makes this game so fun!

[ALL-IN JD]

Absolutely Mark! Let's get this season started!!

[chest .rockwell]

Jeff nice job as always...

[ALL-IN JD]

Thank you Chest and good luck this season.

[Gekko]

Absolutely Mark! Let's get this season started!!

who gets dropped first my 9th round pick of pineda or your 20th round pick of harper?

[ALL-IN JD]

Zero chance of me dropping Harper!

[ALL-IN JD]

I might get more production from Harper then you get from Pineda!

[Gekko]

Not to belabor the point, however, I’ll debate the “2012 usefulness” of harper with anyone. Get all of your supporting documentation ready. Here’s mine and it’s factual:

He’s only 19 years old. In the history of MLB, how many 19 year old hitters have had successful seasons in the bigs?

Despite being a “reported” monster XBH guy, his numbers in AA and this spring training have severely underwhelmed.

Sure he can show growth this year, however that is nothing more than “hope”

Now, for the harper supporters, what factual evidence can you bring to the table that he will be a difference maker in 2012? Please produce it. My best guess is you’ll rattle off something like “the scouts say he’s the real deal”.

Clear case of the Hype Monster tricking people again. Happens every year.