1st Fantasy Baseball draft, how did I do?

Question

C Ivan Rodriguez
1B Lance Berkman
2B Chone Figgins
3B Scott Rolen
SS Jose Reyes
OF Vernon Wells
OF Bobby Abreu
OF Torii Hunter
Util Jim Thome
BN Nomar Garciaparra
BN Hank Blalock
BN Scott Podsednik

SP Chris Carpenter
SP Dice K
SP Jeremy Bonderman
RP Trevor Hoffman
RP Jonathan Papelbon
P Barry Zito
P Bronson Arroyo
P Mark Prior
P Armando Benitez

I don't follow baseball as much as I'd like, but thought that Fantasy BB could get me in the groove. Just want to see what some of you think of my draft(8 Teams).

Thanks

Thanks for all the suggestions. I am picking up Joe Borowski and dropping Prior. I am also contemplating picking up Nick Swisher and dropping Podsednik, however I might have to pick up a 2B if Figgins is going to be out for a while.

Answer 1

Excellent!! My only suggestion would be to dump Prior and Benitez as they will only drag you down if you play them. Maybe you can get Saito or another closer too because you'll need a third one to compete for saves weekly, but DO NOT sacrifice ERA and Whip to get there.

Pods is not really needed, but unless you can get a trade, I'd hang on to him in case Reyes or Figgy gets hurt. Nice job on having Blalock to back up Rolen if he gets hurt too.

Answer 2

You did a hell of a job for a first go around. I'm impressed.

However, the one glaring issue you have is Relief Pitching. Jonathan Papelbon is moving into the starting rotation in Boston this season, and if your 2nd guy is Armando Benitez, you may have problems. He can be very good when healthy, but "when healthy" is the optomistic phrase..

If I were you I would consider adding one of the following that may be available in your league, as depth at RP.

TB - Seth McClung is no long term closer - Look at Juan Salas, or Chad Orvella at www.thebaseballcube.com and you'll see why McClung's days are over.

BOS - Joel Piniero, Brendan Donnelly, or Julian Tavarez will be the closer - Announcement coming this week. Keep your ears open for that.

KC - Octavio Dotel has been utterly dominant this spring. Check on his availability.

CIN - He's not a sexy name, but it appears that the Reds will use Dustin Hermanson as their closer. Also - Keep an eye on hard throwing young lefty Bill Bray.

You have plenty of speed w/Reyes, Figgins, Abreu, Hunter -- That it would allow you to drop Scott Podsednik and his health concerns to pick up one of the aformentioned (its never good when a guy THAT 1 dimensional (SB) is coming off of an off-season where he is re-habbing his legs)

Answer 3

Well, the thing you want to do in the first round is take the best hitter available. I would rank the top 5 as Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols, David Wright, Hanley Ramirez, and Chase Utley. If none of those players are available, look to take an outfielder, 1st baseman, or 3rd baseman. Don't waste your first pick on anything else. Ramirez is the one exception at SS. Take a pitcher in the 3rd or 4th round or even both and make sure you get at least 2 closers and maybe even 3. If you don't get speed in the first round, stock up on power, and get a fast player in round 5 or later. Also, stay away from old injury prone players because they almost always get hurt. Some guys you can get late in the draft that could make a big impact include, Jason Bay, Troy Glaus, and Richie Sexson. For where they will be available, they could make a huge impact on your team.

Answer 4

Nice looking team,

I would drop Prior and add another high quality SP. At least a 10 - 15 game winner, you can probably find one on your free agent list. Prior will just be a sore on your team (again for anyone who's had him in past years)

Your other pitching looks great. Especially if Dice K lives up to the hype.

For hitters, your OF is nice looking, and great infield. Reyes and Berkman and top class as is Rolen (I'm a Scott Rolen fan) Figgins + Reyes should total around 100 stolen bases by themselves.

Good luck this year!

Answer 5

I say you have a nice core to work with. Figgins is out for a month with broken fingers, and Prior may start the season on DL as well. I would put them both on DL when possible and find some power and saves. You lucked into Papelbon turning into closer, or your RPs were bad news. Find someone that needs SBs once the season has gotten going and move somebody with SBs for saves or power.

Answer 6

You did really well for your first draft. The only 2 suggestions I would make are getting rid of Podsednik, he's only good for SB's and you have that more than covered with Reyes and Figgins...and getting another RP. Papelbon is starting this year, and the two you have are injury prone.

Answer 7

It's pretty good. You have an excellent pitching staff (you are pretty much screwed with Mark Prior, but oh well you still have a great rotation). Your only spot that could be trouble is injuries. You have some aging guys on there (Berkman, Rolen, Thome, Garciappara), who have had injury problems in the past.

Answer 8

Well, the Red Sox just announced that Papelbon is going back to closer so you shouldn't have so much pressure to get another relief pitcher.

Answer 9

You have lots of injury risks in that rotation (Papelbon, Prior and Benitez especially,) but then again what rotation doesn't? Good job.

Answer 10

you did better than me my first draft that is for sure and i won my league. another thing to look at though is fantasy baseball with a salary cap try sportingnews.com or espn.com both are free.