Shawn Childs League Draft Order

[eddiejag]

YES fun drafting baseball again and just amazing how many good players are getting plucked in the 20th round.We myself and rookie Steve Head had the first pick.

1 Puljos mr. everything

2 Sandoval i think he takes it up a notch 30 100

3 Grienke was thinking Youk but love Mr Cy Young

4 Either wanted a 300 hitter 100 rbi's and 30 bombs, 159 px in 2nd half with a 285 bavg.

5 Victorino needed some speed almost took Figgins

6 Gallarado love those 204 k's 24 years old.

7 Nolasco a much better 2nd half, passed on top closers.

8 Kubel didnt think he would make it back 28,103,and hit 300.

9 Asdrubal Cabrera like the 2 positions and speed

10 Radja Davis 41 2nd half steals and 65 2nd half runs. WON RICK THOMAS the Ultimate.

11 Hueston Street whip under 1.00

12 Ludwick 97 rbi's

13 Furcal hoping for a bounce back.



Well thats are start and we wanted balance we did add Capps later for a 2nd closer.

[Schwks]

That last team looks very good...got several top flight sps, including Greinke, while still managing to form solid hitting base.

[sportsbettingman]

Originally posted by eddiejag:

Radja Davis 41 2nd half steals and 65 2nd half runs. WON RICK THOMAS the Ultimate.

Those weren't all 2nd half numbers, though they may have felt like it as they happened!



Just for fun (and to show how hot RAJAI was in September of 2009, and to **** off Uncle Dough with some unneeded extrapolating! )...here's how Rajai would have done over 160 games, had he played and been "September Hot" all season long!



Rajai Davis



.333 average

143 runs

6 home runs

100 runs batted in

68 SB



Mmmmmm...nice!

[headhunters]

and with cust signing- he may be on the bench

[bjoak]

Originally posted by headhunters:

and with cust signing- he may be on the bench Don't see how that affects Raj. Cust is the DH. Two days ago there was no DH. They didn't sign Crisp to play there! I'm pretty sure they intend to platoon Sweeney and Hairston, which is the smart thing to do. Probably Crisp and Rajai will share the other two spots. The problem is that that leaves no room for Michael Taylor who seems pretty ripe to come up. As long as he is in the minors or Crisp is injured, though, Raj has a safe job.

[headhunters]

i agree that is what they should do- but- last year cust started in the outfield. i don't think he should have- but i am not making the decisions. buck started last year. hairston- when he was healthy- started. sweeney -when he was healthy- started. just think that davis- being right handed could end up on wrong side of platoon. i also would not be surprised to see the a's sign another bat- if they can get him for cheap. like vlad. the whitesox immediately stated who would play where when they picked up teahan and pierre. i bet the a's have said nothing.

[Schwks]

I truly believe that Shandler's methods and predictions should be taken as a tool, not "forecasting". That said, one thing he preaches is that talent will get a position...draft talent. Is there a question as to whom the A's best player was from July forward was? When was the last year that Crisp stayed healthy or had fantasy relevence? Sweeney, Buck...their next productive season will be their first. I think that Hairston is deserving of a starting spot, but to me its hard to bench your difference maker. I vote yeah on Raj

[headhunters]

schwks- i agree with you and bjoak. my point- again; is- the a's i know are #'s guys. everyone that was there last year- except holliday- is there this year. they added crisp. they are gonna play crisp. the other guys played ahead of davis. he got hot. you think- even if they start him- he can't "get cold" ? check his babip. just saying- the a's have not said " davis was great last year- he starts" . in fact if they loved him so much- why sign crisp? davis is a good defensive player. like i said- ( as an example) the minute the sox signed teahan and pierre they said teahan plays 3rd pierre left. ozzie and williams said it. the a's can spin it any way they want- they aren't sold on davis. we are.

[headhunters]

and shandler said chamberlain was #1 starter in baseball- by his "skills". nuff said

[Spartacus]

SCL Draft-from the 12 hole



Rd 1-Evan Longoria-One of the players I was hoping would be there. What's not to like?

Rd 2-Matt Holiday-Wanted the average and dependability. He'll thrive in St. Louis.

Rd 3-Justin Morneau- First baseman flew off the board. I chose him instead of K Morales based on longer track record, despite concerns over back injury. A boom or bust pick.

Rd 4-Adam Dunn- Remembered the multi position eligibility-forgot about the batting average. While it put further pressure on the 1B position, In retrospect I should have taken another direction.

Rd 5-Chone Figgins- Grabbed a 2nd top 3rd baseman in a questionable field and needed to start working on steals. Based on the preceding 4 picks, it was the right move.

Rd 6-Tommy Hanson- Adam Wainwright was taken out from under me with the preceding pick, but I'm not complaining.

Rd 7-Cole Hamels- I considered his health reliability and despite a pregnant pause, hopped on his ace potential.

Rd 8-Andrew Bailey- I wanted at least one reliable closer and I think he's the real deal.

Rd 9-Miguel Montero- I also wanted one reliable catcher. I had him last year and very much liked what I saw.

Rd 10-Matt Garza- A third reliable starter with plenty of upside to boot.

Rd 11-Juan Pierre- Finally, a round where he's fairly valued! Wanted the BA and was still playing catch up on speed.

Rd 12- Billy Wagner- He sure looked healthy to me last year!

Rd 13- Justin Heyward- A reminder as to why I draft in January and a warning to others. I'll forgive myself for this one come June when he's called up from the minors. In the long run I don't think I'll regret owning him but as a 13th rounder, I sure do now.

Rd 14-JJ Hardy- One bad season does not a bum make, and potentially hitting in front of Mauer is not a bad thing. Young enough to rebound.

Rd-15-Tim Hudson- My 4th starter. A veteran presence on a good team and like Wagner sure looked healthy to me. Looks like I'll be watching a lot of Braves games.

Rd 16-David Price- A fair risk for a 5th starter based on his 2nd half improvement. I guess I'll be watching a lot of Tampa games as well

Rd-17-Kelly Johnson- See JJ Hardy-subtract Mauer-and add in a better ballpark and full time job. I like his chances of a nice rebound.

Rd 18-Cameron Maybin- Measured risk-but I was slumming for steals and the speed MI's I wanted were gone. I hope this is the year he begins to live up to his potential.

Rd 19-Shaun Marcum-One can't find a lot more upside in a 6th starter. A nice sleeper here.

Rd 20-Jeff Francoer- The available outfielders were thinning out. I was simply looking for those with full time jobs and remembered how he seemed to flourish after leaving ATL.

Rd 21-Luke Scott- One of those guys you always hope is on the FAAB list.

Rd 22-Luis Valbuena- Some pop but another BA drag. Young enough to improve-I hope.

Rd 23-Mark Rzepczynski- It's a good thing I didn't have to spell it, otherwise I couldn't have drafted him. Nice K/9 and as a 7th starter I don't worry about his control.

Rd 24-Carlos Santana- 'Oye como va' Really not interested in his musicality, but expect to see him in Cleveland by the break and you should have seen what the remaining catchers available looked like. Took the upside first, the starting stiff later.

Rd 25-Orlando Hudson- My 4th middle and may provide some BA protection if I can time it right.

Rd 26-Trevor Cahill- Finished the season on an up note. With a little experience under his belt, Who knows?

Rd 27-Dioner Navarro- The starting stiff.

Rd 28-Pedro Martinez- He may not have his old stuff, but still seems to know how to pitch.

Rd 29-Manny Parra- Was I really looking for a 10th starter or merely someone to drop?

Rd 30-Rick Ankiel-A sentimental choice as I hear he's looking for big bucks this off season. So am I.



Well, that's the good, the bad, and the ugly. The good is that there are no gaping holes that can't be fixed by FAAB and the offensive counting numbers, except for steals, look decent, and I'm cautiously optimistic about the pitching staff. On the down side, I left the draft with a small hill to climb in steals and BA has some black hole characteristics. There are also some health concerns based on the numbers sitting in the recovery room and I feel a little vulnerable by the one dimensional nature of some of the offensive players. Some of that was due to flaws in strategy, the rest was the result of just being beat to the players I was targeting. The SCL is a tough room, always is-always will be.

[bjoak]

Originally posted by headhunters:

i agree that is what they should do- but- last year cust started in the outfield. i don't think he should have- but i am not making the decisions. buck started last year. hairston- when he was healthy- started. sweeney -when he was healthy- started. just think that davis- being right handed could end up on wrong side of platoon. i also would not be surprised to see the a's sign another bat- if they can get him for cheap. like vlad. the whitesox immediately stated who would play where when they picked up teahan and pierre. i bet the a's have said nothing. They started Cust in the outfielf last year because they signed Giambi. There is no chance Cust plays the outfield this year unless they do something equally stupid and sign Jim Thome, which they won't.



I think they've been pretty clear that they needed someone in a corner and that Raj was a starter. Going into the offseason, that meant they were platooning the other two. Sweeney and Hairston are not terribly good players on their own but put their splits together and you have a superstar. So the fact that they said it and that it's a good idea probably means it's going to happen.



Since then, they brought Taylor and Crisp over. My guess is that they want to start the year with Crisp and then are planning to bring up Taylor when Crisp gets hurt and Taylor's service time has been pushed back by a year.



It's no great mystery. Cust isn't going to be in center with Raj at DH or something. This is it. If Raj sucks and Crisp is healthy in July, you will likely not be seeing Raj but how many major leaguers will lose their jobs by July if they suck? That isn't anything unusual to worry about with him.



Headhunters, I am splitting my ideas into short sentences and paragraphs. People find them easier to read in posts. I'm just sayin'.



Spartacus, if you're going to St. Louis or some other two draft town, let the rest of us know asap so we can plan to be in your league. Thanks.

[Hard Heads]

I guess we can play as well though I will only tease with some early picks, ok maybe more....

1.4 Alex Rodriguez we honestly were all set to get crazy and take Evan Longoria here assuming Zola took ARod, but he didn't so we went with the "better" 3B at a very thin position.

2.12 Victor Martinez Got our guy! Really wanted a top flight catcher and we got the 2nd best. A full year in Boston is looking good and we love the power and AVG at that spot.

3.4 Justin Upton He was our 2nd choice at 2.12 if VMart went so we were happy to see his power speed combo come back to us in the 3rd round.

4.12 Dan Haren Plan was to get an ace and it was either Lester, Haren or Verlander. Verlander went and we decided though we might see more upside in Lester that it was worth chancing he make it back at 5.4 cause Haren wouldn't, were we right....

5.4 Jon Lester we wanted to get 2 stud SP's in 4-5 if they fell right. Pitching wasn't going fast in this draft so we got two top 8 arms to anchor us with 400k's

6.12 Alexei Ramirez This one was a pick we weren't planning to make and may not have been sold on, but we're hoping he finally gets it. The 20-20 potential at SS was hard to pass up as MI were flying off the board.

7.4 Mariano Rivera wanted a top closer and he is the best of the best. Hard to pass on him there when you are planning on taking a closer at that spot.



That's that, rip away as I am sure we will get ripped.

[headhunters]

bojak- i know you are a teacher. trust me- i get your points- all of them. no need to reply to this but if they did something stupid last year with cust why wouldn't they do it this year? answer- i don't think the A's or the pirates or kc to name 3 are trying to win. the a's seem to be juggling a bunch of cheap parts around to sell to their fan base. that makes sense because i don't think that beane thought in his worst day cust should play left. he thought giambi would sell tickets. when those stud pitchers come around- they will try to win. i hope you are right cause i am drafting davis. but it would not surprise me at all if buck got in there etc. on the july thing- i think may 15th. i also think way more guys than davis- like david ortz- get more time to suck. but i hear what you are saying.

[The Franchise]

I don't like my catchers at all. Great group of fantasy players in this league. It was a good learning experience.





1B Kevin Youkilis BOS R3 P5

1B Nick Johnson NYY R17 P5

1B Aubrey Huff DET R18 P11

1B Brandon Allen ARI R22 P11

2B Chase Utley PHI R1 P5

SS Jose Reyes NYM R2 P11

SS Cliff Pennington OAK R30 P11

C Buster Posey SF R16 P11

C Yorvit Torrealba COL R26 P11

C Taylor Teagarden TEX R27 P5

OF Curtis Granderson NYY R4 P11

OF Carlos Beltran NYM R5 P5

OF Alex Rios CHW R8 P11

OF Brad Hawpe COL R11 P5

OF Gerardo Parra ARI R24 P11

OF Michael Taylor PHI R25 P5

DH David Ortiz BOS R10 P11

SP Josh Beckett BOS R6 P11

SP Jake Peavy CHW R7 P5

SP Brandon Webb ARI R9 P5

SP Clay Buchholz BOS R12 P11

SP Neftali Feliz TEX R13 P5

SP Chris Young SD R19 P5

SP Homer Bailey CIN R20 P11

SP Andrew Miller FLA R29 P5

RP Brad Lidge PHI R14 P11

RP Leo Nunez FLA R15 P5

RP Brandon Lyon HOU R21 P5

RP Justin Masterson CLE R23 P5

RP Mike MacDougal WAS R28 P11

[bjoak]

Originally posted by headhunters:

bojak- i know you are a teacher. trust me- i get your points- all of them. no need to reply to this but if they did something stupid last year with cust why wouldn't they do it this year? answer- i don't think the A's or the pirates or kc to name 3 are trying to win. the a's seem to be juggling a bunch of cheap parts around to sell to their fan base. that makes sense because i don't think that beane thought in his worst day cust should play left. he thought giambi would sell tickets. when those stud pitchers come around- they will try to win. i hope you are right cause i am drafting davis. but it would not surprise me at all if buck got in there etc. on the july thing- i think may 15th. i also think way more guys than davis- like david ortz- get more time to suck. but i hear what you are saying. I just think the A's are way more transparent than you do. The A's were trying to win last year. They didn't trade for Holliday and sign the veterans for no reason. When it didn't work they traded everyone out. Didn't that hurt their sales? Trading them away mid-season doesn't support your point at all.



The A's are on record as saying the only way to improve ticket sales is winning. If they didn't know it, they certainly learned it in the last year as they had the lowest attendance in the majors in 2009 and all their prices all came down for the coming year. But they know as some of us do that the economics of the game are such that if you improve from 70 to 80 wins there is only a very negligible financial reward, but if you go from 80 to 90 and get in the playoffs, the gain is huge. So what they're trying to do is put together an 80 win team that they can add free agents to. In a sense, you're right, they're not trying to make the playoffs *this* year. But the plan is to get to 80 wins and then try.



The Pirates and Royals are not fair comparisons. They haven't done well in the last ten years.

[headhunters]

ya- i can see where the royals and pirates were sorta low blows it wasn't meant that way. i will agree- since you are there and i am not- that the a's are "transparent" Just not enough to let us know their outfield plans. Holiday- btw- was a piece to trade. they weren't going anywhere with that young of a staff last year. if they convinced you they were trying to win last year- mission accomplished on their part. but they are not the royals or pirates. i double take that back. not very impressed with the moves the a's have made lately. Maybe they are going the kenny williams route- keep churning parts till we get a group that works. they sure do have some nice pitchers- but boy it sure looks like they are gonna make one run with them because they racked up a lot of innings last year.maybe a 3 year window - or until the clock runs out.

[eddiejag]

The Radja Davis report, who is this guy.

Age 29 years old.

What he did in the 2nd half was one of the biggest suprises of the year.His 32 2nd half steals were 2nd to Ellsbury who had 37.

This was his first opportunity playing almost every day in the 2nd half.What would happen with 600 at bats as he still only had 390 at bats.

How about the 44 rbi's in 285 2nd half at bats with a 92 px ,pretty impressive.Ellsbury had a 65 px for the season.

Ellsbury scored 53 runs in 325 at bats in the 2nd half.

Radja scored 49 runs in 285 at bats 2nd half.

Davis also hit 316 againest lefties and 299 againest righties which means he doesnt have to be a platoon player.

Who is going to take his at bats if your worried.



Crisp 30 years old. 3 homers 14 rbi's and a 228 bavg in 180 at bats last year.



Aaron Cunningham 24 years old.

He hit 151 bavg in 53 at bats.



Travis Buck 26 years old.

Hit 3 homers and batted 219 in 105 at bats.



Scott Hairston 30 years old.

Hit 17 homers with 64 rbi's in 430 at bats.

Hit 318 againest lefties but 255 righties.

Looks like a platoon player here.



Jack Cust 31 years old.

Three homers againest lefties in 140 at bats screams could become a platoon player real soon.

He is also a horrible outfielder which will keep him a dh especially with the Giambino gone.



I think this is a great buying opportunity especially with these slow drafts but once we get to spring training and he's out there every day you will see Radja moving up that board fast.

We will see but im on the Radja band wagon.

[DOUGHBOYS]

First rule before jumping on a bandwagon, is to know the name of the bandwagon.

[headhunters]

bjoak. one more player that i am surprised you didn't mention is jake fox. i am not surprised that i forgot about him- my memory sucks. is jake fox going to play 3rd?!!?. most team had him as " why is he on an nl team- he can hit like mays but field like giambi , he is a dh!. if they play him at 3rd will you be on here next year saying " the A's played him at 3rd but they knew he was a dh?".

[Schwks]

Great point re Fox. Do they consider him at first?

[headhunters]

eddie- we agree on davis. in fact i was kinda shocked they signed crisp; which is my point. don't sign crisp, play davis in center and play around with and platoon the other guys. sweeney is a really really good defensive outfielder. if one thing is obvious it is the white sox seem not to care about outfield defense. hence the trade of sweeney. the A's seemed to care- then they put cust out there. it is all so confusing. bjoak says they now care again about defense- but they trade for jake fox. maybe they plan to platoon everyone. i hope davis plays 160 games. i picked him up and he carried my team like no one has since adrian beltres famed salary drive to free agency.

[bjoak]

Originally posted by Schwks:

Great point re Fox. Do they consider him at first? Well, they don't really have a third baseman so one who can hit but not field is better than, say, Jack Hanrahan. I expect Fox to be out there. How bad he is remains to be seen and depending on the level of suckitude they should make adjustments in season. That's what McPherson and the gimp (Chavez) are for.



Last year was a situation where they thought the level of offense would outweigh the defensive hit, but the defense sucked as expected while the players didn't produce (at all) on offense and that type of mishap is how you end up with 75 wins instead of 85.

[bjoak]

Originally posted by headhunters:

eddie- we agree on davis. in fact i was kinda shocked they signed crisp; which is my point. don't sign crisp, play davis in center and play around with and platoon the other guys. sweeney is a really really good defensive outfielder. if one thing is obvious it is the white sox seem not to care about outfield defense. hence the trade of sweeney. the A's seemed to care- then they put cust out there. it is all so confusing. bjoak says they now care again about defense- but they trade for jake fox. maybe they plan to platoon everyone. i hope davis plays 160 games. i picked him up and he carried my team like no one has since adrian beltres famed salary drive to free agency. The problem here is that you aren't familiar with how a team's inner-workings tend to go so everything I say turns into another question. I'll answer this one, but frankly I'm short on time today.



The A's and most other teams care about value, runs, wins. They don't say, "We're going with defense this year," and then just head in one direction. They weigh costs/benefits and runs created.



They got Fox for a couple business cards and a regifted Hickory Farms gift basket from last Christmas, so why not trade for him? I'm not going to go down the 'replacement level' road with you so let's just say average. If Fox is ten runs better than average on offense and ten worse on defense, while Hanrahan gives you ten better than average on defense but thirty worse on offense then you take Fox because he is 20 runs better. Whether it's offense or defense doesn't matter.



Last year was the same thing, having one of Cust or Giambi on the field would be a defensive hit; the A's knew this going in. But they were expecting greater rewards by having both on offense. I said it was stupid earlier because the defense was going to suffer no matter what while it is hard to rely on players with serious decline profiles to both perform well. But putting Cust on defense is not stupid in and of itself--not when the offensive rewards of doing so are better.



[ January 08, 2010, 01:43 PM: Message edited by: bjoak ]

[eddiejag]

Rajai = Bandwagon

[Schwks]

I think that the message is that Oakland is a tough team to draft from. The outfield, corner IF and DH spots all seem to multiple candidates for each spot, with no clear indication from management as to what their plan is.



At OF, they have:



Davis, Crisp, Sweeney, Hairston, Taylor, Buck and probably a couple of Denorfias that they are high on that we dont even have on our radar. That leaves 6 guys for 3 spots and doesnt include guys Im sure I have forgotten or never heard of.



At 3b:

Fox

Hanrahan

Chavez

who was the kid they had there last year?



At 1b:

Barton gets his seeming 20th chance to put up 2b men numbers

Carter



DH

Cust

Fox



I like Raj but the murky situation probably means a couple rounds less to draft his true value.