League 10 Draft Recap
This is the peak of the “steroid era”. There is a ton of hitting in this era and very few A+ range guys worth rostering. Good starting pitching is very sparse. My goal in this draft is to get at least three SPs with ERC# < 2.40. Had I drafted hitters early, I would’ve gone after Lance Berkman, Bernie Williams, Roberto Alomar, Chipper Jones, Carlos Guillen and Carlos Beltran. But the best seasons of these guys will certainly get taken before I start taking hitters in round 4 or 5.
Round 1, Pick 11
2003 Tim Hudson ($7,899,543)
Had I been lucky enough to get an early pick, I certainly would’ve taken ’99 or ’00 Pedro Martinez. It’s no surprise that they got selected with picks 1.01 and 1.03. Since my goal is to get at least three top 25 starting pitchers, I started off by taking a guy with a lower salary. ’03 Hudson has done very well for me in other leagues. I knew I’d surely get a shot at another top 12 SP in round 2. Hudson’s stats: 240 ip, 2.29 erc#, .221 oav#, 1.06 whip#, 0.41 hr/9#.
Round 2, pick 4
2002 Derek Lowe (8,509,896)
After the Tim Hudson pick, I had my mind made up to take ’98 Kevin Brown if still available and had him all typed in to take. His ultra-low HR/9 is very valuable in this league, but Derek Lowe is ranked a little better and costs $1.1 million less, which keeps me drafting in the top 5 next round, which will allow me to maybe get ’00 Maddux or one of the two remaining Johan Santana seasons. Had I taken Brown, I would fall at least 5 spots and might miss out on those guys. I have a love/hate relationship with Lowe. He’s bombed for me in previous leagues but has occasionally done ok at times. His stats: 220 ip, 1.99 erc#, .210 oav#, 0.97 whip#, 0.36 hr/9#.
Round 3, pick 4
2005 Johan Santana ($8,147,678)
With a few picks before my turn, I decided to take 2000 Greg Maddux, despite Santana having a lower ERC#. Clearly, the HRs is the main reason Santana is still available. Then pedrocerrano sniped me and took ’00 Maddux. I chose ’05 Santana over ’06 Santana (slightly lower erc#) but these guys are close and either one would’ve been fine. Had ’01 Lance Berkman been available, it would’ve been tempting to take him, but he was gone (pick 3.01).
Round 4, pick 6
2006 Roger Clemens ($4,178,194)
It was very tempting to take my fourth SP here (Ben Sheets, Curt Schilling, Odalis Perez and Freddy Garcia were all still available). But I wanted to keep the fourth SP spot open. If this team advances to round 2, I want to be able to upgrade a weak SP4 to somebody like Pedro Martinez or Kevin Brown. I thought briefly about drafting offense here but nothing jumped out at me. I love having at least one good short-inning SP. Clemens’ stats: 114 ip, 2.15 erc#, .215 oav#, 1.02 whip#, 0.40 hr/9#. I plan on using him as my main setup guy, pitching innings 6-8.
Round 5, pick 2
1998 Chipper Jones ($7,153,691)
All those SPs that I mentioned above got taken since my last pick. There are two pitchers I considered here, ‘06 BJ Ryan and ’05 Halladay, but I really need to start adding some offense. My choice was between ’01 Larry Walker and '98 Chipper Jones. Walker was the best hitting OF left and I was very close to taking him, but I really didn’t like many of the other options at 3B (too many right-handed guys). Outfield is ultra-deep so I can get my OFs later. Chipper’s stats: .313/.403/.533. With A/C defense, he’s not going to make a bunch of plus plays, but shouldn’t commit too many errors.
Round 6, pick 22
1998 Barry Bonds ($7,688,517)
Last round, I was deciding between Chipper and a good Larry Walker season, but I also had on eye on ’98 Bonds, so when both Walkers went, Bonds was a no-brainer. ’00 Bonds is a little bit better (1.098 ops# vs 1.032 ops#), but ’98 Bonds has 90 more PAs and is has better range (B/C vs B+/D+). Bonds will be my team’s best hitter: .303/.437/.595. I will probably grab one of A-Rod’s good shortstop seasons with my next pick.
Round 7, pick 2
2004 Albert Pujols ($8,739,185)
Well, there was a late run on Alex Rodriguez shortstop seasons and I missed out, but that’s ok… He always sucks for me anyway. First base is so deep that eight 1B got drafted before '04 Pujols. I drafted Pujols with the thought that I might move him to 2B since his great fielding should translate well. His stats: .331, .413, .638. I picked his 2004 season over his slightly better 2006 season because of 54 extra PA and almost twice as many doubles.
Round 8, pick 3
2006 Carlos Guillen ($5,643,924)
I was already on my way to the East coast, so everything written from this point happens after the draft and based on my memory. I was a little bummed that I missed out on the A-Rod run, but I knew I would end up with Carlos Guillen. But when ’04 Guillen went at pick 7.06, I didn’t want to wait and risk missing out on the other Guillen. There were better hitting shortstops available, but all were right-handed. Had I missed out on this Guillen, I would’ve had to taken Rafael Furcal way too early (footballmm11 stole him in the 13th round). Guillen’s stats: .314, .395, .491.
Round 9, pick 3
2005 Roy Halladay ($4,614,701)
When I drafted ’06 Clemens in round 4, I drafted him mostly as a long reliever since he only has 114 innings. But ’05 Halladay is actually ranked higher and has more innings. I kept “almost” taking Halladay in each of the last four rounds but held out until now. Halladay (142 ip, 2.14 erc#, .222 oav#, 0.96 whip#, 0.53 hr/9#) and Clemens would make a great combined SP4, but I’ll end up using him in a mixed role, starting some games and pitching long relief in other games. It’s really weird for me to have 5 pitchers and only 4 hitters thru 9 rounds.
Round 10, pick 2
2003 Carlos Beltran ($6,776,425)
In each of the last three rounds, I was deciding between Carlos Guillen, Roy Halladay and this guy, Carlos Beltran. I badly needed a defensive CF who could also hit. Do you know how many OFs (500+ PA) that have RRFOF > 2.90 and OPS+ > 115 in this era? Just two… ’06 Beltran (who was picked in round 6) and ’03 Beltran. And of course, he gives me a third switch-hitter. I am hoping to add Bernie Williams, Lance Berkman and Jorge Posada later in the draft.
Round 11, pick 3
2001 Steve Karsay ($2,289,710)
I guess I should have taken ’01 Bernie Williams here as he went one pick after I took Karsay. People were grabbing the top closers and although I had 5 pitchers, I didn’t really have a closer. Karsay has closer-worthy stats: 44 ip, 1.12 erc#, .186 oav#, 0.84 whip#, 0.15 hr/9#.
Round 12, pick 1
2003 Rheal Cormier ($3,627,633)
Back in round 5, I briefly considered taking ’06 B.J. Ryan, but took Chipper Jones instead. Ryan then went on the very next pick to pedrocerrano. But the reason I didn’t take Ryan is because I thought I might get Cormier a few rounds later, so I was very happy to snag one of the best LH RP this late. Cormier’s stats: 85 ip, 1.54 erc#, .182 oav#, 0.93 whip#, 0.32 hr/9#. This was the pick that I thought I sent via a proxy before I went to sleep but never hit send. Sorry about that. Ironically, the other player I had on the proxy was ’05 Bob Howry and he went two picks later.
Round 13, pick 1
2001 Arthur Rhodes ($3,059,445)
Continuing with the reliever run, I wanted another good lefty as it seems everybody’s outfield is mostly left-handed. There just aren’t any hitters that are must-haves anymore, so might as well add depth in the pen. Rhodes’ stats are better than Cormier’s: 68 ip, 1.48 erc#, .186 oav#, 0.84 whip#, 0.49 hr/9#. This is the best pitching I’ve had in all ten leagues.
Round 14, pick 1
2000 Mike Piazza ($5,245,695)
I guess people stayed away from this Piazza due to his “D” arm. But among catchers with 500+ PA, this version of Piazza has the highest OPS# of any catcher in this entire era… With a slash of .322, .391, .589, how can I not take him? He’s one of only two right-handed batters in my entire starting lineup.
Round 15, pick 1
2002 Lance Berkman ($6,011,008)
It's time to get another switch-hitting stud hitter. This Berkman isn’t as good a hitter as 2001, 2004 or 2006 versions and his defense isn’t very good (C/D+), but he fulfilled two requirements – he’s a switch hitter and his .294, .403, .564 slash qualifies as a stud hitter. When I drafted him, I wasn’t sure if he’d be my third OF or my DH. I left that decision for later.
Round 16, pick 2
2004 Billy Wagner ($2,195,133)
Once again, when no hitter jumped out as a must-have, I went back to the bullpen. Wagner’s 0.70 hr/9# is the only reason he lasted this long. A lefty reliever with these numbers (49 ip, 1.42 erc#, .181 oav#, 0.76 whip#) would have been long gone. Drafting all these RPs keeps me picking in the top 3 every round, which is kind of nice.
Round 17, pick 2
2003 Mike Mussina ($6,257,853)
2002 Jason Isringhausen ($2,983,989)
Two rounds ago, I typed in 2001 Mike Mussina and I was quickly notified that he was already drafted. At first, I couldn’t figure out how that could happen (drafting a player already selected). Then I realized what I did. My spreadsheet showed ’03 Mussina as one of the top SP still available. Then I did a search on SPs, so I could click on him and see his performance review (which I liked). Well, ’01 and ’03 Mussina aren’t that far apart in the search results, and I probably clicked on ’01 Mussina, then drafted him into my SP4 slot and waited until it was my turn to take him. Once I figured this out, I checked '03 Mussina's performance review numbers and they are decent, so I quickly grabbed him (215 ip, 2.56 erc#, .236 oav#, 1.07 whip#, 0.65 hr/9#). I decided to use Halladay and Clemens mostly in the bullpen (with maybe a few spot starts) instead of trying to add another 225 innings of reliever-only types. ’02 Isringhausen is a favorite “cookie” of mine, mostly due to his 0 HRs allowed in 66 innings. His other stats (1.55 erc#, .201 oav# and 0.98 whip#) are pretty good too.
Round 18, pick 2
2006 Chase Utley ($6,460,678)
1999 Carl Everett ($5,146,256)
I still only have seven starting offensive players, so I still need a 2B and an OF or DH. I thought about taking a defensive oriented 2B (’98 Vina or ’06 O.Hudson), but Utley is just too good offensively (.307, .376, .504) and his defense is at least average (C/B). Nobody drafted Vina or Hudson. Utley is a lefty bat and his 40 doubles means he’s not totally dependent on hitting home runs. Carl Everett gives me another switch-hitter who has some extra base hit potential (33 doubles, 25 homeruns) but also has a very good average (.325, .391, .547). His defense (C/C+) is better than Berkman so Berkman is my DH.
Round 19, pick 3
1998 Rondell White ($4,504,094)
2006 Travis Hafner ($5,456,460)
Since Beltran (602) and Everett (535) are light on PAs, I needed another OF, preferably one who can play defense. '98 Rondell White (A/A+) was a guy I had my eyes on ever since njbigwig took Milton Bradley in round 9. He’s not a bad hitter either (.300, .362, .498). I mapped out the rest of my roster and realized I have a free space. I could use it to either take a defensive 2B or SS. But instead, I decided to grab the best DH available. Travis Hafner ranks first in this entire era in OPS# for DH-only players (.302, .433, .633). He’s probably going to start vs RH, and I’ll play Berkman in RF. Then against LHP, I’ll sit Hafner, start Everett at RF and move Berkman at DH. This player is just too good to pass up in round 19, even though I didn't really *need* him.
Round 20, pick 4
2005 Clay Hensley ($1,871,816)
2003 Jorge Posada ($5,001,840)
2001 Kevin Brown ($3,416,301)
I wanted Paul Wilson as my last RP but njbigwig grabbed him at the end of round 19. Clay Hensley (48 ip, 1.61 erc#, .196 oav#, 1.04 whip#, 0.00 hr/9#) was the best RP left. Hey look – I have another RP with 0 home runs allowed. I hope it works out better than that putrid Greg Minton, who is 1-5 and 4/11 in saves in league 7.
I waited until round 14 to take my starting catcher and feel like I got a steal with ’00 Mike Piazza. The guys I had as backup picks (had I lost Piazza) included ’03 Posada (who’s now Piazza’s backup) plus a bunch of guys that didn’t even get drafted including ’99 Lieberthal, ’00 Meluskey, ’04 Varitek, ’06 V.Martinez. Crazy depth at catcher in this era, I guess. Posada’s stats: .278, .402, 494. Neither of my catchers have good throwing arms, but in this league, I doubt too many teams will steal a ton with the amount of home runs that are going to be hit.
I went back and forth with this last pick. I was already at 1525 innings before the Kevin Brown pick. I still hadn’t decided if I wanted to play in a hitter’s park or pitcher’s park. Despite mediocre real life stats (116 ip, 2.56 erc#, .224 oav#, 1.14 whip#, 0.44 hr/9#), Brown has solid performance review numbers, so I figure I can give him some spot starts early and see if he performs. At the very least, he frees up Halladay to be used 100% as a long-reliever. It also may save Halladay’s innings so I can use him to start in high-leverage games late in the season.
Ballpark:
Most of my hitters hit a ton of doubles and homeruns. But I don’t necessarily want a bunch of 15-14 games, so I chose a park with +2 on doubles, +2 on homeruns, but -2 on singles. Riverfront Stadium has a park rating of 0.90, which means my very strong pitching staff still has a shot at being near the top in ERA.
I was very happy to land in the AL West. It's the first team I've drafted that went pitching early and often. No idea how they'll do.