Our fantasy baseball draft was held this past Sunday afternoon. After finishing in fourth place and a half a point out of the money last season, I'm looking to regain my rightful position among the top three in our league. Here is my Opening Day roster for 2011:
C -- Victor Martinez, Detroit
1B -- Adam Dunn, White Sox
2B -- Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati
SS -- Hanley Ramirez, Florida
3B -- Ryan Zimmerman, Washington
OF -- Colby Rasmus, St. Louis
OF -- Curtis Granderson, N.Y. Yankees
OF -- Adam Jones, Baltimore
OF -- Carlos Lee, Houston
OF -- Bobby Abreu, L.A. Angels
OF -- Garrett Jones, Pittsburgh
SP -- Matt Cain, San Francisco
SP -- Brett Anderson, Oakland
SP -- Phil Hughes, N.Y. Yankees
SP -- Madison Bumgarner, San Francisco
SP -- Brendan Morrow, Toronto
SP -- Brian Matusz, Baltimore
RP -- Joakim Soria, Kansas City
RP -- Andrew Bailey, Oakland
RP -- Fernando Rodney, L.A. Angels
RP -- David Aardsma, Seattle
I tried a little bit different strategy this time. I drafted my entire infield with my first five picks. In previous years, I drafted a stud outfielder or a stud pitcher in the early rounds. Then, I'd end up with Jose Lopez or some crappy player like that as my everyday second baseman and it would cost me all season. This year, I decided I would have a quality guy at every position on the infield, then try to mix and match my outfielders. After all, there are more good outfielders out there than there are good second basemen or good third basemen.
Much to my surprise, Florida shortstop Hanley Ramirez (pictured) fell to me at the fifth overall pick. Most projections I saw had him going first or second in fantasy drafts. I had intended to take second baseman Robinson Cano of the Yankees with my fifth pick, but the chance to draft Ramirez at that spot was too good to pass up.
I grabbed my third baseman, Zimmerman, in the second round. I selected Martinez in the third round. I filled second base in the fourth round by taking Phillips. Finally, I grabbed Dunn in the fifth round.
We'll see if this new strategy works this year. My pitching staff isn't nearly as strong this season. Last year, I had Ubaldo Jimenez, Josh Johnson and Justin Verlander on my team. Alas, my offense stunk and all that good pitching didn't get me anywhere but fourth place.
I'm hoping to be a little bit more balanced this year. I don't have an ace starter. I don't have an All-Star outfielder. But I think I have a better team.
Garrett Jones might turn into an all-star by default. My former youth basketball teammate has hit 21 homers the last two years, and you'd think he could work a couple more over the fence this season.
Abreu & Lee have boom or bust written all over them, but if they boom - you're good.
Anderson will surprise many in your rotation, though I'd be worried about Hughes. I can't believe you went with the Seattle pirate! AAARRRdsma! ha!
I had Aardsma last year, too. I like to carry at least three and sometimes four closers. Your fourth closer is never really that good.
Aardsma is going to start the season on the DL. He probably won't pitch until May. I picked him in the 20th round. At that point, almost every guy you take is going to be hit-or-miss.
I'm hoping for a breakout year from Adam Jones. I picked him in like the 15th round. I thought he slipped a lot in our draft. If he has a good year, it will solidify my outfield. Out of those six outfielders, I have to get good years from three, right? That's my strategy.
As far as I can see, you've got yourself a hell of a fantasy team. Hopefully, your new strategy will pay off (no pun intended) and you'll be among the top three in your league come the end of September. :)
Now that the 2011 season is over and we're close to the start of 2012, you should look back at last year's draft in retrospect and see what worked and what didn't.