my league draft, round 1

by wily mo on Jan 7, 2008 11:33 AM EST

hi, this is (* REDACTED *) round of my league's minor league draft.

we got through three rounds yesterday and i was originally going to post them all but then i found myself writing up this lengthy disclaimer about how you shouldn't talk about players that haven't been picked yet, only these players here, and then i found myself repeating it at the bottom of the post, and then i realized that it wasn't going to work and that i should just post the first round for now.

so that's what i'm doing.

draft pool is basically 2007 draftees, imports, and unowned players. it's a fairly deep league (25-man minors), so the unowned pool is pretty shallow.

it's not indefinite keeper - you get them for 3 years supercheap and then can extend them for up to 7 more at a higher salary, so you get them for a long time but not forever. so there's some discount for guys who will take years and years to show up and some premium on immediate help, although philosphies vary.

here's the first round. i've bolded my own picks. i don't know if the other guys who post here want to be pointed out or not so i'll let them identify themselves in the comments if they feel like it.

Round 1
1 (1) Bail Bonds - Matt Wieters, C (BAL)
2 (2) Galacticos - Mike Moustakas, SS (KCR)
3 (3) Rattlers - David Price, P (TBD)
4 (4) Galacticos - Jason Heyward, OF (ATL)
5 (5) Rattlers - Matt LaPorta, OF (MIL)
6 (6) Galacticos - Jarrod Parker, P (ARI)
7 (7) Galacticos - Rick Porcello, P (DET)
8 (8) Polygamists - Josh Vitters, 3B (CHC)
9 (9) Incident - Kosuke Fukudome, OF (CHC)
10 (10) Winos - Michael Burgess, OF (WAS)
11 (11) MoneyShots - Beau Mills, 3B (CLE)
12 (12) Galacticos - Ross Detwiler, P (WAS)
13 (13) Drunks - Hiroki Kuroda, P (LAD)
14 (14) Winos - Casey Weathers, P (COL)
15 (15) Incident - Nick Noonan, 2B (SFG)
16 (16) Egomaniacs - Jordan Walden, P (ANA)

so. for your interest and edification. comments welcome. try to only talk about these picks for now, since the draft is still going on, although as i say we've already done 2 more rounds after this one.

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Comments

I like this

Thanks WMP. I like seeing what others are doing and NOT just a speculation as to who is # 43 in a list.

Of course, it's more interesting to know if the owners are drafting for team needs or just prospecting and taking what they perceive is the best player or simply don't know what they are doing.

I won't get married until the Red Sox win the World Series. AGAIN!!

by Shep on Jan 7, 2008 11:38 AM EST reply actions

yeah

there's a lot of team-needs subtext that you can't really put across, it's true.

the galacticos are in a tough division so he traded for a bunch of top picks and is trying to build the 3-years-from-now all-star team, so he went for all the prep stars. he got some pretty good loot, although he also gave up some pretty big pieces to get the picks in the first place (ryan zimmerman, kershaw, headley, etc.).

the japanese players are more win-now moves; the drunks and i are both already playoff-caliber teams who are trying to spackle over holes. i also have an asian-themed team and think fukudome is a very funny name.

other than that i think people were mostly just going for the best player.

by wily mo on Jan 7, 2008 11:45 AM EST up reply actions

actually

that should say 3-years-from-now top-10-prospects-list. it's more like the 5-years-from-now all-star team.

by wily mo on Jan 7, 2008 11:46 AM EST up reply actions

me = Galacticos

I actually think Heyward, Moustakas, Porcello and Parker will all move quickly, to be honest.

Anyway, yeah. My strategy was to accumulate top picks and go after specific players I had targeted. I traded Kershaw to get Moustakas. I did that because Kershaw was arb eligible after this year, and he might not be ready just yet, plus I have a lot of arb eligible pitchers I'll need to make decisions on. I traded Headley to get Porcello, because I considered the fact that Headley plays in San Diego, and his position with Kouz in the picture still wasn't clear. A risk, certainly, but one I was ok with.

My full low minors squad, for those who want to consider that

C: John Jaso, Devin Mesoraco
1B: Jordan Brown, Anthony Rizzo
2B: (empty)
3B: Angel Villalona, Matt Dominguez, Mike Costanzo
SS: Mike Moustakas, Jason Donald
OF: Jason Heyward, Ryan Kalish, Cody Johnson, Aaron Cunningham
P: Rick Porcello, Jarrod Parker, Ross Detwiler, Nick Adenhart, Eric Hurley, Greg Reynolds, Tyler Herron, Kasey Kiker, Sean O'Sullivan, Josh Outman, Dallas Trahern, Oswaldo Sosa

I have $30M to spend in the upcoming auction, with 9 spots to fill. My major league roster is

C: Shoppach
1B: Konerko, Blake (eligible)
2B: K Johnson, M Ellis
3B: Blake, German (eligible at 2B too)
SS: Greene, Betancourt
OF: Dye, Teahen, Cuddyer, Crisp
DH: Thome

SP: Guthrie, Ownings, Bannister, Nolasco, Kendrick, Nippert, Gaby Hernandez
RP: Meredith, De La Cruz, Burton, Slaten, Casilla, Kensing, Littleton, Zagurski, Rich Thompson

Every pitcher on my team is making the minimum salary for our league. I need a few bats and one or two upper tier starters and I should at least be average in 2008. My division is nearly impossible without a ton of lucky breaks, but I'm banking on having a legit team in 2010 and beyond.

We'll see.

by phuturephillies on Jan 7, 2008 11:58 AM EST up reply actions

Porcello

Technically you also gave up Jake McGee to get Headley and Lance Berkman to get McGee and Dye. With that said, your system is insane now, so I'd imagine you'll be fine.

by drob320 on Jan 7, 2008 1:06 PM EST up reply actions

egomaniacs = 2007

by vaclipper on Jan 7, 2008 11:43 AM EST reply actions

2007

LOL

Egomaniacs = Me

(and if by 2007, you mean defending league champ, you would be correct)

He was annoying, but IMO, very on the mark about Walden.

by GregJP on Jan 7, 2008 12:46 PM EST up reply actions

2007

by the way, i was right about him not being joba. i mean, he actually left us alone for a while, right? i think he's just an angels fan who got way overzealous about his boy walden.

by jpahk on Jan 7, 2008 1:36 PM EST up reply actions

I assume

he's been tossed from the site (along with his puppets)

by vaclipper on Jan 7, 2008 4:28 PM EST up reply actions

nope

the account still exists, he's just much less active now. he posted something about kotchman in the ridiculous trade-that-didn't-happen thread.

by jpahk on Jan 7, 2008 4:51 PM EST up reply actions

my league's first round....

DMB league with $80.0m salary cap. Player's salaries increase $1.0m per year. Rookies get two extra years before contract begins to tick. Draft includes MLB debutantes and veterens released for cap considerations.

Ryan Braun
Hunter Pence
Daisuke Matsuzaka
Alfonso Soriano
Tim Lincecum
Yovanni Gallardo
Alex Gordon
Phil Hughes
Carlos Pena
Miguel Tejada
Ben Sheets
Barry Zito
Rafael Furcal
Joba Chamberlain
Jacoby Ellsbury
Josh Hamilton
Clay Buchholz
Akinori Iwamura
Jarrod Saltalamacchia
Kelly Johnson
Justin Upton
Brett Myers
Homer Bailey
Yunel Escobar
Jeremy Guthrie
Johnny Damon
Mark Reynolds
Shawn Hill

(The guy who drafted 3rd and 11th was pretty stoked to add Sheets and Matsuzaka to his rotation of Cain, Francis and Bonser. I got Gallardo in the first and Franklin Morales at #32 to add to Rich Hill, Ian Snell, Dustin McGowan and Andrew Miller.)

by ayjackson on Jan 7, 2008 11:53 AM EST reply actions

wow

the guy who took iwamura over justin upton is going to be really sad in about five months

by wily mo on Jan 7, 2008 12:00 PM EST up reply actions

upton vs. iwamura

There were some decisions by some teams to fill a need to win a Championship, rather than a prospect. Then there are some owners that aren't up to speed on the prospects. Then there are some owners who just aren't up to speed.

by ayjackson on Jan 7, 2008 12:44 PM EST up reply actions

Short term gain ... Long term pain

Our draft is a combined draft ... it includes free agents released from their contracts and players making their debut. There is a lot of turnover. There is no farm system. Teams often draft to meet position requirements. Different owners would rather pick a known quantity in a vet rather than a rookie. I picked #20 (Kelly Johnson) - I had no 2B. I probably would have went J Upton, Bailey or Maybin with my pick if Johnson was not there.

My #2 pick (48) - Andy LaRoche
My #3 pick (76) - Ian Stewart
My #4 pick (104) - Brandon Morrow

So I picked up some decent youth

by colin398 on Jan 9, 2008 11:19 PM EST up reply actions

Zito 12?

Did he lose a bet?

by jahs34 on Jan 7, 2008 1:43 PM EST up reply actions

Wow ... HOMER

This looks a lot like the first round in my league.

by colin398 on Jan 9, 2008 11:01 PM EST up reply actions

I assume

College players were not available?

by Yoda @ Minor League Ball on Jan 7, 2008 12:00 PM EST reply actions

yeah

only players signed to contracts. no college players (pedro alvarez), no current japan-league players (yu darvish), no alexei ramirez (hasn't technically signed yet).

by wily mo on Jan 7, 2008 12:03 PM EST up reply actions

OUR LEAGUE DRAFT

APBA LEAGUE (SIM LEAGUE) - GUYS NEED TO PLAY IN MLB BEFORE THEY GET DRAFTED... SOME GUYS WERE FREE AGENTS SO THEY GOT DRAFTED TOO...
1 - Ryan Braun
2 - Tim Lincecum
3 - Alex Gordon (My Pick)
4 - Yovani Gallardo
5 - Justin Upton
6 - Hunter Pence
7 - Joba Chamberlain
8 - Jacoby Ellsbury
9 - Dice K
10 - Clay Buchholz (My Pick)
11 - Ian Kennedy
12 - Phil Hughes
13 - Jeremy Guthrie
14 - Cameron Maybin
15 - Carlos Pena
16 - Franklin Morales
17 - Homer Bailey
18 - Luke Hochevar
19 - Kyle Kendrick
20 - Josh Hamilton

My other picks
23 - Jarrod Saltamaccia
28 - Joey Votto
29 - Travis Buck
36 - Billy Butler
42 - Asdrubal Cabrera
43 - Jeff Clement
49 - Felix Pie
50 - John Danks

by ChrisRef19 on Jan 7, 2008 12:09 PM EST reply actions

Kyle Kendrick

...?

Talkin' Sports

by BlackOps on Jan 7, 2008 12:56 PM EST reply actions

wily mo -

Is this fantasy (e.g. roto) or sim (e.g. DMB)?

Either way, I think 3 years of "supercheap" Fukudome is going to be a treat.

by BobbyMac on Jan 7, 2008 2:55 PM EST reply actions

yeah,

I'm no big fan of Fukudome, but I'd take his next three years over anyone else listed.

by Galt on Jan 7, 2008 3:30 PM EST up reply actions

I Agree

You are 100% correct.

I broke it down by salary and potential value, and I don't even think it's close.

by GregJP on Jan 7, 2008 3:48 PM EST up reply actions

League

It's 6X6 H2H, 16 teams in 4 divisions

HR, RBI, R, OBP, 2+3, SB-CS
W, S, Holds, ERA, WHIP, K

by GregJP on Jan 7, 2008 3:47 PM EST up reply actions

From this draft; second round

here's the second round, I'll post it since I did some work. Kind of went out on a limb for a couple. Scherzer fell all the way to me, I'm Ducks.

Round 2
1 (17) Bail Bonds - Josh Smoker, P (WAS)
2 (18) Drunks - Josh Donaldson, C (CHC)
3 (19) Bail Bonds - Cole Rohrbough, P (ATL)
4 (20) Knights - Aaron Poreda, P (CHW)
5 (21) Ducks - Todd Frazier, SS (CIN)
6 (22) Incident - Tim Alderson, P (SFG)
7 (23) Incident - Oscar Tejeda, SS (BOS)
8 (24) 33's - Joe Savery, P (PHI)
9 (25) Winos - Matt Latos, P (SDP)
10 (26) Bail Bonds - Michael Main, P (TEX)
11 (27) Cannons - Madison Bumgarner, P (SFG)
12 (28) Ducks - Kellen Kulbacki, OF (SDP)
13 (29) Galacticos - Devin Mesoraco, C (CIN)
14 (30) Drunks - Daniel Moskos, P (PIT)
15 (31) Incident - Jesus Montero, C (NYY)
16 (32) Ducks - Max Scherzer, P (ARI)

by Deech on Jan 7, 2008 4:11 PM EST reply actions

Wieters over Price

It's good to see, as I'm also planning on using my #1 pick on Wieters despite Price's higher ranking on almost every prospect list. There's just so many excellent pitching prospects, so few excellent catcher prospects.

Hey fish, leave those kids alone!

by The Congo Hammer on Jan 7, 2008 5:03 PM EST reply actions