2008 Draft Recap

The 2008 Draft came and went and everything fell exactly into place. My team came along nicely and I think we should have another quality team. I came into the draft with a strategy of having certain allotments for each position. This made it easy for me to realize where and when that I should spend my money and kept me from the unnecessary bidding. Overall, it work and the only mishap was when I got stuck with an outfielder that I hadn't envisioned being on my team. The following days I will be recapping each position.

Catchers
My strategy going into the draft was to spend as little money as possible. I budgeted $14 to be spent on both catchers. I ended up spending $9 total and I also picked up a catcher in the reserve draft. ($5 surplus)

Geovany Soto - Chicago Cubs - $6 - 137th pick
I thought the Talented Mr. Soto would have gone for at least double this price but when he fell to me for $6 I was ecstatic. Soto is the everyday catcher for the Cubs and shined last year when he was called up. He was the player of the year in AAA last year when he launched 30 homeruns. He should bring a nice punch with decent average to our team.
Projected Stats:
.280 avg, 15 hrs, 70 Rbi's, 55 R's, 0 SB, 500 AB's

Ryan Doumit - Pittsburg Pirates - $3 - 152nd pick
I like Ryan because he also has OF eligibility and I needed that versatility after getting Willy Mo and Cameron. Both players will be out until the end of April so I needed someone that played that could fill one of those spots while they were gone.
Projected Stats:
.270 Avg, 12 Hr's, 55 Rbi's, 45 R's, 2 SB, 400 AB's

Chris Iannetta - Colorado Rockies - Reserve pick
I thought highly of Iannetta last year and drafted him as one of my regulars. He didn't pan out to well and he went undrafted and when I realized this I snatched him up. He will get the occasional spot start and should be the starting catcher for the Rockies next year.
Projected Stats:
.250 Avg, 5 Hr's, 35 Rbi's, 30 R's, 0 SB, 200 AB's

Overall Grade: B
There is too much uncertainty with Soto. I believe he will be better than expected but can he be the work horse that the Cubs are expecting? Only time will tell. Soto's arm is going to be tested as teams believe they can run on him, he has proven early that he can throw guys out which should get more teams attention now. Doumit is seeing the majority of the time at Catcher for the Pirates right off the bat. Doumit is suppose to be facing only RH pitchers but has seen some action versus LH pitchers due to his fast start. Iannetta is an injury away from getting some more AB's. Yorvit isn't the greatest and he might get benched if he doesn't prove that he can handle the starting catching gig.

Middle Infield (2B and SS)
I had budgeted $70 to be spent here for four guys. I ended up spending $55 leaving me with $15 surplus. I wanted to get Theriot again but when that didn't happen I went for the next big name player multi position player left on the board, Yunel Escobar. My utility position was filled within this group so I moved my $18 budget to this group.

Jimmy Rollins - Philadelphia Phillies - $32 - Keeper
The raining NL MVP was kept from last years team. J-Roll is a fantasy stud with his 30 homerun and 30 stolen base capability every year makes him a nice cornerstone to our offense.
Projected Stats:
.290 Avg, 30 Hr's, 85 Rbi's, 130 R's, 40 SB, 700 AB's

Yunel Escobar - Atlanta Braves - $16 - 194th pick
Yunel has 2B, SS, and 3B position eligibility. I had to draft him in my utility position and he is currently residing their. I am hoping that he continues with his average and that he adds some power to his swing.
Projected Stats:
.300 Avg, 10 Hr's, 60 Rbi's, 100 R's, 10 SB, 600 AB's

Jayson Nix - Colorado Rockies - $3 - 193rd pick
Jayson is the starting second basement for the Rockies. This could be short lived if he doesn't get off to a fast start. If he keeps his job, he could be a 10-10 player.
Projected Stats:
.260 Avg, 10 Hr's, 60 Rbi's, 60 R's, 15 SB, 500 AB's

Jose Castillo - San Francisco Giants - $1 - 176th pick
Castillo should be starting everyday for the Giants. He has shown his power potential with the Pirates a few years back but now that he has a starting job and no pressure to succeed....well...hopefully he succeeds. He has eligibility at 2B and 3B.
Projected Stats:
.250 Avg, 10 Hr's, 50 Rbi's, 60 R's, 3 SB, 450 AB's

Overall Grade: B+
This should be an "A" grade but with Castillo holding down a spot in the MI drops this category down to the B+ range. Rollins is the raining MVP and should see his numbers drop but not as much as people believe they will. Expecting 2200 AB's out of this bunch by be asking for a lot but we shall see.

Corner Infield (3B and 1B)
I budgeted a total of $50 budgeted for this group of guys with a dollar spent on Braun I had a lot of money to get David Wright. Wright was targeted from the beginning of my draft research and I decided that I had to have him. I ended up spending $42 total on the three guys here which resulted in a surplus of $8. I wanted Steve Pearce for my 1B but got out bid by new comer to the league Trevor. I was hoping he would slip into the late rounds but Trevor threw him out early with the 103rd pick.

Ryan Braun - Milwaukee Brewers - $1 - Keeper
Ryan was the toast of the draft being mentioned numerous times for the steal that I got away with from last years draft. Many fantasy magazines have him listed at $35+ and having him for a dollar is awesome. He will be a FKAky for awhile. He also is gaining OF eligibility as he has been shifted to LF.
Projected Stats:
.300 Avg, 38 Hr's, 105 Rbi's, 120 R's, 20 SB, 650 AB's

David Wright - New York Mets - $40 - 50th pick
David was the third overall player drafted in this years Roto Draft. I knew he was going to be one of the first five players drafted and I had hoped more players would have been drafted before him in order to get him cheaper. My idea of throwing out Johan was the beginning of eating others money early. This only lasted for one more player as Wright was brought up after Reyes. I knew I had to be aggressive to get him and was willing to bid to the moon for him. Luckily it stopped at 40. Only Pujols went higher at $41. He has the potential to be a 30-30 player this year.
Projected Stats:
.320 Avg, 30 Hr's, 105 Rbi's, 120 R's, 30 SB, 600 AB's

Josh Phelps - St Louis Cardinals - $1 - 211st Pick
I could have gone for Jorge Cantu but I have a strange feeling that Pujols is going to be shut down this year. That is why I made a dollar bid for him. The real question will be how long I will hold on to him to see if this theory plays out how I want it to.
Projected Stats:
.275 Avg, 5 Hr's, 20 Rbi's, 20 R's, 0 SB, 150 AB's w/out Pujols injury
.275 Avg, 15 Hr's, 60 Rbi's, 60 R's, 0 SB, 350 AB's w/ Pujols injury

Matt LaPorta - Milwuakee Brewers - Reserve Pick
Matt is in Double A and he switching to play RF. He is an injury or two away, in the OF for the Brewers, from being called up. He packs a lot of punch in his bat. He has potential to hit 35 homeruns. He is a deep sleeper and he was hurt with the move of Braun to LF.
Projected Stats:
.275 Avg, 5 Hr's, 20 Rbi's, 20 R's, 0 SB, 100 AB's

Overall Grade: A
I thought about giving myself an "A+" grade but with Phelps chilling in the minors at the moment I couldn't do it. Braun and Wright make up the best Corner Infield in the league and should be able to provide a lot of punch for the $41 combined spent on them. This should be an exciting season for these two.

Outfielders
I budgeted $47 for this group of guys. I ended up sending $52 dollars. I wanted either Soriano or Beltran for one of my players. When Soriano went for $35, I decided to go with Beltran thinking that he would be a few dollars cheaper. Beltran ended up going for $35 also. So that back fired. I was excited to get Cameron Maybin for $2. I had him penciled in for $15.

Hunter Pence - Houston Astros - $5 - Keeper
Another hot spring has me believing that Hunter will be able to put together a full season with spectacular numbers. A reserve pick last year that I was patient with and it paid off. Pence has the potential to be great in Houston. He could easily hit 25 homeruns with 20 stolen bases this year. I am expecting more RBI's and R's too if he sticks to the two whole.
Projected Stats:
.300 Avg, 25 Hr's, 100 Rbi's, 89 R's, 20 SB, 600 AB's

Carlos Beltran - New York Mets - $35 - 69th pick
Carlos is one of my favorite players. I think I have a man crush on him. Whenever I watch the movie Bench Warmers, I always think of him as the drunken pitcher is named Carlos too. I took this as a sign to draft him last year. I regretted trading Carlos late last year because he proceed to go off. I am hoping that he continues where he left off last year.
Projected Stats:
.270 Avg, 30 Hr's, 100 Rbi's, 100 R's, 20 SB, 550 AB's

Mike Cameron - Milwaukee Brewers - $8 - 185th pick
Mike is suspended for the first 25 games of this season and because of this I believed that I could get him for cheap which I did. He has the talent to play everyday and will contribute nicely with 20+ homeruns and 20 stolen bases when he is back. Mike also has applied for a therapeutic use exemption that would allow him to take certain substances not approved by Major League Baseball. Hmm......
Projected Stats:
.260 Avg, 20 Hr's, 65 Rbi's, 70 R's, 20 SB, 450 AB's

Wily Mo Pena - Washington Nationals - $2 - 192nd pick
I got stuck with Wily Mo, thinking that I could bid Calvin up but after I realized that Calvin couldn't bid me up it was too late. Corey Patterson was penciled into his spot but he could be a nice addition to our team with his power potential. Once healthy, he will be an every day player for the Nats.
Projected Stats:
.260 Avg, 20 Hr's, 65 Rbi's, 55 R's, 2 SB, 450 AB's

Cameron Maybin - Florida Marlins - $2 - 223rd pick
Cameron is a 21 year old stud that was the main players the Marlins wanted when they traded away Miguel and Dontrelle. He was given the chance to win the CF position during spring training but he failed and was moved to AA. Maybin has the potential to be a 30 - 30 player.
Projected Stats:
.250 Avg, 10 Hr's, 30 Rbi's, 30 R's, 30 SB, 200 AB's

Cody Ross- Florida Marlins - Reserve Pick
Cody has power and will be able to display it if he can stay healthy. I picked him up in the reserve draft to fill in for Maybin.
Projected Stats:
.260 Avg, 15 Hr's, 50 Rbi's, 40 R's, 0 SB, 350 AB's

Brian Barton - St Louis Cardinals - Reserve Pick
A Rule 5 draft pick in December he was the top position talent available. He has speed and could be a useful part timer.
Projected Stats:
.260 Avg, 5 Hr's, 25 Rbi's, 40 R's, 15 SB, 275 AB's

Overall Grade: B-
Only two starters going into the season. I will have to get creative with my outfielder. I have already moved Doumit to fill one spot. Barton and Ross are spot starters going into the season. Wily Mo is injured but should be back shortly. Cameron is gone until May. Hopefully I will have other players that will step up in their absence.