Since I couldn't sleep after two weeks of intense drafting I though I would take the time this morning to ramble on a bit about the auctions in NY and Vegas. I will probably chop them up into two threads for easier reading.
My strategy i most, if not all auctions, is to spread the wealth. I almost never play the stars and scrubs strategy so I almost always spend the first 60-90 minutes sitting on my hands or taking a nap!! For the auctions this year I had a specific strategy on how to construct my teams. I was not going to spend on catching. I did want to acquire Ruiz where I could and then grab Kratz in the reserve round to play the first month. I also was going to look to draft the handful of injured players (Hanley, Grandy, Headley, Freese) if I felt I could get them at a bargain. I felt that outfielders, by far, had the deepest inventory so my plan was to be very strong up the middle and at the corners and then worry about filling up my outfield (for the most part as every draft is different. As for pitching I always try to get very high upside guys, strong k's and three closers if I can. I felt like I was able to stik to my plan in almost all of try drafts (of course the one that I did not was the Ultimate Auction where I was left with Brian Roberts at MI).
First up was the Ultimate Auction (the Grand Daddy of the Auctions). Since one of the teams played a gimmick strategy this Auction played out a little differently. I did stick to my plan and amazingly did not spend more than $17 for any one player on the team. The finished product for this team was:
C Doumit (Got him at 6)
C Ellis
1B Rizzo (Got him at 12)
2B Roberts
SS Andrus
3B Middlebrooks (Got him at 9)
MI Hardy
CI Chris Davis
OF Melky
OF Beltran
OF Aoki
OF Crawford
OF Werth
UT Belt (Goy him at 6)
P Lester
P Harvey
P Minor
P Haren
P Tehrahon
P Ogando
P Rodney
P Holland
P Hanrahan
Definitely some risk on offense with Roberts, Crawford and Werth. I love the upside of the pitching staff and was able to secure three pretty good closers. And once again, did not spend more than $17 for any one player.
Next draft was my first team in the Auction Championship. Went in with the same strategy obviously and kept to the plan again staying mostly quiet for the first 60-90 minutes. I did let my hair down in this one and paid $23 for a player (Kris Medlen)
C Ruiz (paid 5 and got Kratz in the reserves
C Martin
1B Rizzo
2B Kipnis
SS Asdrubal
3B Freese (got Freese at 5 and rostered Nelson for the first few weeks)
MI Rutledge
CI Hosmer (got at 13)
OF Rios
OF Melky
OF Beltran
OF Crawford
OF Aoki
UT Granderson (got at 11 and rostered Reimold/Parmalee for the first month)
p Medlen
P Kuroda
P Lynn
P Haren
P Bailey
P Ogando
P Hanrahan
P Balfour
P Perkins
I will be fighting from behind a bit at the beginning with Ruiz, Freese and Granderson all sidelined. I also think the staff has some risk as I need Haren to bounce back and for Bailey and Lynn to step forward. The staff does have pretty nice upside and once again I was able to get three closers.
Will be back in a bit to move to the New York Auctions.
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