With the start of the MLB season just around the corner, my money league (10 team, 5x5, roto) has drafted. Here's who I ended up with:
C - Yadier Molina, STL
C - JP Arencibia, TOR
1B - Joey Votto, CIN
2B - Brandon Phillips, CIN
3B - David Wright, NYM
SS - Erick Aybar, LAA
CI - Chase Headley, SD
MI - Andrelton Simmons, ATL
OF - Giancarlo Stanton, MIA
OF - Justin Upton, ATL
OF - Michael Bourn, CLE
OF - Austin Jackson, DET
OF - Nelson Cruz, TEX
UT - Chris Davis, BAL
P - Gio Gonzalez, WSH
P - Johnny Cueto, CIN
P - Yovani Gallardo, MIL
P - Brandon Morrow, TOR
P - Lance Lynn, STL
P - Anibal Sanchez, DET
P - Wade Miley, ARI
P - Joel Hanrahan, BOS
P - Kenley Jansen, LAD
B - Brandon League, LAD
B - Ryan Madson, LAA
B - Manny Machado, BAL
B - Colby Rasmus, TOR
B - Lance Berkman, TEX
B - Oscar Taveras, STL
I had a tough draft position with the seventh pick and ended up taking Votto over Pujols. Most people seem to prefer Pujols, but I'm confident Votto will bounce back and have a huge year. Granted, the Angels added Josh Hamilton to their lineup, which will only help Pujols, but one player is in the prime of his career, and the other is not. So, I took the former.
I'm especially pleased with my OF. Giancarlo Stanton (my 2nd rd. pick) is a beast, and should be good for about 40 HRs or so, and Justin Upton could potentially be just as good as Matt Kemp or Andrew McCutchen (Carlos Gonzalez-like #s are almost a given). The rest of my OF panned out pretty well too -- Michael Bourn should put me near the top of the SB category, and Austin Jackson was a steal as late as I got him.
As for my IF, I doubt Molina will have as big of a year as he did last season, but I still got a good deal on him (especially in a 2-catcher league). If I recall correctly, Mauer, Wieters and Santana all went off the board before he did. David Wright should be good, as always (although, I was hoping to get Longoria or Beltre instead), and Brandon Phillips is solid. Andrelton Simmons is an interesting pick. He tore it up at the WBC, and if he can maintain his current pace, he could be one of the biggest steals in the draft.
With that being said, there are a few question marks on my pitching staff. Looking back, I probably should've taken Felix Hernandez over David Wright, but what can you do about it? I just remember looking at Mike Moustakas still sitting there at the end of the draft and thinking "dammit". In any case, I'm expecting Gio Gonzalez to be my ace, but he really doesn't have much of a track record. My other option was Madison Bumgarner, who should put up a better WHIP, but I opted for more Ks. That might've been a mistake in hindsight, given some of the other SPs I took. Which leads me to -- Cueto & Gallardo. They've slipped in recent years, so they're risky. Likewise, Morrow & Sanchez are injury risks, and Lynn & Miley are young. They're all risk/reward kind of players, which isn't good. I don't really have a solid SP I can count on. Plus, I've only got two closers to start the season until Madson returns. So, I'll have to keep my eye on the FA market for closers (that strategy usually works out alright for me, but last season it screwed me. So, I may have to make a trade at some point -- and I hate trading for closers).
But overall I'm pretty happy with my team. Obviously, with Chase Headley being out 2 - 4 weeks to start the season, I'll have to move Chris Davis over to the CI spot and use a fill-in off my bench in the UT spot (probably Colby Rasmus, but we'll see how Machado and Berkman do), but I think I'll be able to make do. In any case, it should be a good season. Looking forward to seeing my new and improved Dodgers take the field. Go Hanley!... err... I mean... Luis Cruz!
+MLB
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