2010 NFBC Main Draft.wps

I had pick 14 in the NYC league 4 draft at Citi Field Saturday. Here is my draft and my thoughts as we went along.

Rd1 P14 – C- Joe Mauer- Didn’t think he would still be on the board but when he was I grabbed him. Guess a lot of people worry about taking a catcher round one. Not me. Last seasons MVP, 3 time batting champion and an overall weak position.

Rd2 P2- SP- Tim Lincecum- Don’t like to take a pitcher this early but it is Timba!  He was the guy I planned to take all along but I was second guessing myself after I did it. A day later and I feel good about it again.

Rd3 P14- 2B- Ben Zobrist- I do not think 2009 was a fluke at all. The guy can hit. Looks like he will be hitting third in a good Tampa Bay lineup. I look for great numbers from my second baseman.

Rd4 P2- OF- Josh Hamelton. There are not too many players that can do the things Hamelton can IMO. IF he can stay healthy he can put up first round numbers. I think he will.

Rd5 P14- 1B- Adam Dunn. If you miss out on the big stud first basemen and can get Dunn with the 74th pick in the draft, you gotta do it. You have to think 40 HR and 100 RBI. Just what you want from your first baseman.

Rd6 P2- RP- Heath Bell. With Broxton, Papelbon and Rivera all gone I wanted to get a front line closer. I think Bell fit’s the bill. He may very well get traded at some point this season but where ever he goes I think he will close and do well.

Rd7 P14- OF- Manny Ramirez. I still think the guy can hit. He will hit cleanup for the Dodgers and I think 25 HR and 100 RBI are his floor.

Rd8 P2- SP- Cole Hamels. A solid number two guy for my team. I though he would go earlier but there he was. Last season wasn’t his best but not as bad as some seem to think. I like him a lot this year.

Rd9 P14- OF- Jason Heyward. Yep, I was that guy in this draft. Was hoping for Adrian Beltre here but he was taken a few picks before. Can Heyward live up to all the hype? If he does he is a steal. Hard to project his stats this season but I love his skills. He will be very interesting to watch this season and may very well be the key to this team.

R10 P2- SP- Scott Baker. A very under-rated pitcher IMO. Love him as my number 3 starter. Has had a WHIP under 1.20 the last 2 seasons. Last year he won 15 games and stuck out 162. Whats not too like?

R11 P14- SS-Everth Cabrera. Not so thrilled with this pick. So many shortstops were gone by this time I think I panicked. Hopefully he will give me 35 stolen bases and hit better than .240.

R12 P2- RP- Chad Qualls. My second closer and I like him a lot. He did a nice job last season for the D’Backs before getting injured and has looked fine this spring. Looks like he will pickup where he left off last season.

Rd13 P14- OF- Colby Rasmus. Has the starting job now in St. Louis and has a year under his belt. He did hit 16 HR last year but hit just .251 with only 3 SB. I think he improves quiet a bit across the board.

Rd 14 P2- OF- Carlos Gomez.  He has looked real good this spring and looks like he will be hitting second in the Brewers lineup. He hasn’t done it yet in the big leagues but can steal 50 bases and score plenty of run hitting in front of Braun and Fielder. The key will be getting on first base.

Rd15 P14- 3B- Chase Headley. After missing out on  Adrian Beltre in the 9th round I waited until here to take a third baseman. Moving back to his natural position this season and having a very good spring. A switch hitter who hit .262, 16 HR, 62 RBI with 10SB last season. Much like Colby Rasmus, the hype has died down and I can see him improving across the board this season.

Rd16 P2- SP- Johnny Cueto. He was great the first half last season but seemed to wear down in the second half. He didn’t pitch in winter ball this year and my hope is the extra rest will keep him strong for the full season. I was debating between him and Randy Wolf here and afterward was second guessing my decision a bit.

Rd17 P14- SP- Randy Wolf. Was shocked to see he made it back to me 28 picks after taking Cueto. This made me stop second guessing the Cueto pick. Wolf is very under-rated IMO. He had a very good 2009 for the Dodgers and think he will be a very solid number 2 for the Brewers this year. I really like him as my number 5 starter.

R18 P2- RP- Brad Lidge. Last season was a disaster for Lidge. He will start this year on the DL but will be back in the second or third week. If he can regain his forum and pitch well I may have one of the best number 3 closers in this league.

R19 P14- SP -Daiuke Matsuzaka. Another pitcher coming off a terrible 2009 season. I will need to see more DiceK and less DiceBB but think he can have a good season. A 15 win season is not out of the question.

R20 P2- OF- Scott Podsednik. He was the last of the good base stealers left on the board. Starting in CF and batting leadoff for the Royals this season another 30 SB season is well within reach.

R21 P14- OF- Luke Scott. A nice pick here. He has averaged 22 HR over the last 3 years and maybe in my starting lineup very often. A under valued player IMO.

R22 P2- 3B- Brandon Inge. He will be my CI heading into the season. Had a great first half and then played most of the second half on two bad knees and it showed. He had surgery on both knees in the off season and has looked great this spring.

R23 P14 2B/3B- Jeff Baker. Ugh! A bad pick here. The thought was he would be the starting  2B for the Cubs and could bring some pop to my MI position. Reality is he lost the starting job to Mike Fontenot this spring. He will probably be my first player dropped.

R24 P2- SP- CJ Wilson. The converted relief pitcher will be the number two starter in Texas this season. He has looked good this spring and is striking out batters at a very nice rate.

R25 P14- SP- Colby Lewis. He is on many sleeper lists this year after posting some very good numbers in Japan the last few seasons. I’ll take a shot.

R26 P2- 3B- Pedro Alvarez. Starting the season in the minors, he should be up in a few months. That gives Headley and Inge a few months to earn their keep.

R27 P14- DH- Andrew Jones. Ozzie seems to like him in Chicago this year. He is in great shape and has been hitting and even stealing bases this spring.

R28 P2- RP- Fernando Rodney. Saved 37 of 38 last season for the Tigers. An eighth inning guy this season for the Angles. Could grab some saves if Brian Fuentes stumbles or gets injured.

R29 P14- 2B/3B-Adam Kennedy. Starting second baseman and leadoff hitter for this Nationals this season. He will be my MI to start the season. I would love to see him repeat his 2009 stat line of .289-11-63 with 20 SB.

R30 P2- C- Gregg Zaun. Started this draft with my first catcher and ended it with my second. He is the starter for the Brewers this year and should catch 110 games. His batting average won’t kill me and he could hit double digit HR
.

That’s my team. I love my pitching staff. My hitters have many question marks with a lot of upside. What do you think?

Derek Jeter: By the Numbers

 

For a long time now we have heard that you can’t judge Derek Jeter by the numbers he puts up. He brings much more to the game of baseball than a batting average or run batted in total. It’s the intangibles, leadership, hustle, and baseball I.Q. that define Derek Jeter.

In an era of me first ball players, a time when steroids and embarrassing moments seem to make just as many headlines as anything else in the world of baseball, Jeter’s image remains untarnished. He plays the game the right way, wins championships, and makes headlines for the good he does on and off the field.

With all that said, Derek Jeter has put up some very impressive numbers over his career. In fact the .317 life time hitter became the Yankees all time hit leader in 2009. And when you lead the most famous and storied sport franchise in history in any category it is impressive.

Many of the names you have to pass on any Yankee list are Hall of Fame names. If you take a look at their top ten leaders in any offensive category you find names like Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, Berra and now Jeter.

 To become the Yankee all time hit leader Jeter had to pass Lou Gehrig’s mark of 2,721. He did that on September 11, 2009 and ended the season at 2,747 hits. Before passing Gehrig he collected hit number 2,674 on August 17, 2009 passing Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio for the most hits by a shortstop in MLB history.

He currently sits just 16 hits behind Ken Griffey Jr. for most hit by an active player and should pass him sometime during the 2010 season. He needs 253 hits to get to 3,000 and that should happen during the 2011 season.

During the 2010 season he could move up the list in a few more all time Yankee categories:

22 stolen bases will give him 327 and move him past Rickey Henderson into first place.

26 more games played will give him 2,165 and move him to second place ahead of Lou Gehrig and 237 games behind Mickey Mantle for first.

32 RBI will give him 1,100 and move him to 9^th place passing Don Mattingly.

Derek is entering his 16^th season as a Yankee and will become 36 years old on June 26. I can’t imagine him playing for another team and he should continue to move up the list in quite a few other categories in the coming years. He is a 10 time All-Star, 5 time World Champion and has won 4 Gold Gloves.

You may not be able to judge Jeter’s value by the numbers alone. But you have to admit, the numbers are becoming very impressive.

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As the first week comes to a close on the 2009 baseball season we begin to take a look ahead to week two of the 26 total weeks of play. In fantasy baseball we start too look at our teams, see where are weaknesses are, and try to make moves to improve.

So how can we improve our teams? Well I have made a few moves that hopefully will help my teams and maybe you can use them to help yours.

My J.A.I.L. league team seems to be lacking a bit of speed, so I picked up Pirates outfielder Nyjer Morgan. As I sit here writing this, he just stole his second base of the day and third of
the season. He is owned in just 9% of CBS leagues. If you feel a need for speed, Nyjer is your man! He can steal 40 this season.

Looking for a third baseman? In a few leagues I picked up Scott Rolen. He is healthy, for now, and hitting over .400 with a home run. Owned in just 22% of leagues. I have picked him up in a few league and been playing him regularly.

Another good third base option is Whitesox third baseman, Josh Fields. The job is his now and he is off to a great start and owned in 39% of leagues. I used him for a couple of games this past week in the Fantasy Baseball Trade Market Premier League.

A good middle infield pickup can be Blue Jays shortstop, Marco Scutaro. Currently hitting over .400 with a couple of home runs. I like the fact that he is hitting leadoff and is eligible at third base and both middle infield spots. He is owned in 29% of leagues. I drafted him at the end of the NFBC main event and am moving him into my starting lineup for week 2.

A sleeper for some power with first base and outfield eligibility is the Cardinals Chris Duncan. I used him for a few games this past week in the J.A.I.L. league and he gave me a homerun. Owned in just 18% of leagues, his only downside is you never know when he won’t be in the starting lineup as Tony LaRussa continues to use a different lineup every day.

A starting pitcher I picked up in a few leagues is Royal Kyle Davies. He had a great first start of the season against the Whitesox, pitching seven shut out inning of 3 hit ball. He walked 2 and tied a career high with 8 strikeouts. He also has a great September last season, going 4-1 with a 2.77 ERA. He is owned in 38% of leagues.

These are a few players I have picked up. Hopefully they will help me out and maybe a few can help you too. Good Luck!

 

 

 

Its all about the end of the season. Nothing matters except were you are in the standing when the season end. With that said, I have had a very good pre-season.

First I won a snuggie for having the best draft in the J.A.I.L. league. Now I have been picked as the favorite to win the first ever Benchwarmer Baseball expert league!

The entire league was handicapped in a blog written by the man who has won six straight division titles in the original benchwarmer league. He has some very good things to say about my team and I sure hope he is right.

To read the blog go to:

 http://dinksanddunks.blogspot.com/2009/04/benchwarmer-experts-league-2009-season.html

Sure hope the season goes this well!

My NFBC Online Championship draft was held April 3, Friday night. Just like the NFBC Main Event, I had pick 7, and again took Ryan Braun. Unlike the Main Event, this is a 12 team league, not a 15 team.

Below are my picks:

R1- Ryan Braun, OF, Brewers. A few bumps and bruises this spring but don’t think its anything big. I sure hope I am right, having him in both leagues.

R2- BJ Upton, OF, Rays. Will miss a handful of games at the start but looks fully recovered from off season shoulder surgery.

R3- Johan Santana, SP, Mets. Was planning to wait a few more rounds to draft an ace, but Johan with the 31^st overall pick seemed a no brainer. Tim Lincecum and CC Sabathia were already off the board at this point.

R4- Adrian Gonzalez, 1B, Padres. He continues to put up impressive numbers hitting in a pitchers park and a weak lineup.

R5- Brian McCann, C, Braves. The best catcher in baseball as far as I am concerned.

R6- Dan Uggla, 2B, Marlins. A second baseman with 30 HR & 90 RBI is hard to come by.

R7- Mariano Rivera, RP, Yankees. He shows no signs of slowing down. The best ever at his position.

R8- Scott Kazmir, SP, Rays. With him and Johan, plenty of strikeouts should come. He seem healthy this spring.

R9- Adam Dunn, OF, Nationals. Picking up 40 HR in round 9 seemed good to me.

R10- Chone Figgins, 3B, Angels. Along with Upton, he gives me some speed to go along with all the power I had at this point.

R11- Kerry Wood, RP, Indians. A nice combo with Rivera. You always wonder about his health.

R12- Joe Mauer, C, Twins. Will miss some time at the start, but when he comes back I will have two of the top catchers.

R13- Aaron Harang, SP, Reds. If he can bounce back from a bad 2008 my team should have plenty of strikeouts.

R14- Brad Hawpe, OF, Rockies. Started hitting lefties last season. With Matt Holliday gone, he becomes the big RBI man in Colorado.

R15- David Price, SP, Rays. Starting the season in the minors but should be back up soon. He showed what he can do at the end of last season and in the post season.

R16- Matt Lindstrom, RP, Marlins. With many of the closers already gone I want to make sure I had three.

R17- Chris Young, SP, Padres. Suffered a bad broken nose injury on a line drive hit back at him on the mound last season. He is fully healed now and his arm has always been good.

R18- Denard Span, OF, Twins. Looked real god last season. He can steal 30 bags and have a nice BA.

R19- Ryan Theriot, SS, Cubs. Another 30 stolen bases possible here, and the best short stop left on the board.

R20- John Maine, SP Mets. Could be a nice sleeper. Coming off minor shoulder surgery, he seems healthy and can add even more strikeouts to my team.

R21- Jeremy Hermida, OF, Marlins. He seems to be on almost all of my teams because I see very good upside from him this late in a draft.

R22- Brad Penny, SP, Redsox. Looking for a very nice year from the Redsox number five starter.

R23- Manny Burris, MI, Giants. Won the starting job in San Francisco this spring and can steal plenty of bases.

R24- Mike Lowell, CI, Redsox. The hip looks fine and he should drive in 90 runs in the Boston lineup.

R25- Miguel Olivo, C, Royals. Has some pop in the bat and will hold down my number two catcher spot until Mauer comes back.

R26- Manny Corpas, RP, Rockies. Number two behind Hudson Street in Colorado, but for how long?

R27- Ian Stewart, 3B, Rockies. Will start the season as a super utility man in Colorado and can step in at many positions should someone get hurt.

R28- Koji Uehara, SP, Orioles. Coming over from Japan. He seems to have real good control and can have some value this season.

R29- Colby Rasmus, OF, Cardinals. Been hearing about him for a few years now. Finally getting his chance to play in the big leagues.

R30 Mark Ellis, 2B, A’s. A little bit of pop, a little bit of speed. A nice Mi fill in if needed.

Here is what the team looks like:

C Brian McCann R5

C Joe Mauer R12

C Miguel Olivo R25

1B Adrian Gonzalez R4

3B Chone Figgins R10

3B Mike Lowell R24

3B Ian Stewart R27

2B Dan Uggla R6

SS Ryan Theriot R19

2B/SS Emmanuel Burriss R23

2B Mark Ellis R30

OF Ryan Braun R1

OF BJ Upton R2

OF Adam Dunn R5

OF Brad Hawpe R14

OF Denard Span R18

OF Jeremy Hermida R21

OF Colby Rasmus R29

SP Johan Santana R3

SP Scott Kazmir R8

SP Aaron Harang R13

SP David Price R15

SP Chris Young R 17

SP John Maine R20

SP Prad Penny R22

SP Koji Uehara R28

RP Mariano Rivera R7

RP Kerry Wood R11

RP Matt Linstrom R16

RP Manny Corpas R26

Any Thoughts?

.

As I wrote here before, I will be representing FantasyPros911 in an expert league over at Benchwarmer Baseball, a simulated game type of fantasy baseball. The draft phases have been completed and my lineup is set. To check out my team and thoughts on the team please check out the link below.

http://www.fantasypros911.com/joe-lanos-benchwarmer-baseball-lineup.html

If you want to see the entire league or learn about the rules go to this link:

http://www.benchwarmerbaseball.net/leagues/E7/league_home.asp

This league is much different than any other I have ever played in and I am looking forward to the challange. I  think my team is solid as has a good chance to compete for a championship.

I went into the NFBC main event draft well prepared. I had a game plan ready but like so many other drafts, the plan quickly went out the window. I had planned on not taking too many outfielders early, only to end up with four after just nine rounds.

Picking from the seven spot in NYC league 2, I was hoping for Ryan Braun to be there in round one, and he was. From that point on things pretty much went differently than I thought they would; and that may have been a good thing.

Below is my draft and what I was thinking through out the nearly five hours (including two 10 minute breaks) of drafting.

Round 1- Ryan Braun, OF, Brewers. I was hoping for Braun but thought it would be Miguel Cabrera there for me. Cabrera went with pick 5 and Grady Sizemore went number 6 and I got my man.

Round 2– Matt Holliday, OF, A’s. The plan was Carl Crawford here but two things happened that changed that. 1) Carl Crawford went the pick right before me and 2) Matt Holliday was still available. I know he has moved from a hitters park in Colorado to a pitchers park in Oakland, but I never thought he would still be there at pick 24 over all.

Round 3– Brian Roberts, 2B, Orioles. After picking Holliday in round two I was hoping for Roberts to make it to me and he did. I got the speed I was hoping for from Crawford and one of the better second basemen.

Round 4– Carlos Quentin, OF, Whitesox. My plan was to take Dan Haren here and he was still on the board, but I couldn’t pass the big bat here. Haren went with the very next pick in the draft.

Round 5– Brad Lidge, RP, Phillies. The plan was a top shelf closer here and for a change I stuck with the plan. I was thinking about taking a starter here since I passed on Haren but figured I would wait one more round to take a starter and grab the closer before all the top ones were gone.

Round 6– James Shields, SP, Rays. Got my staff ace and a pretty good one. He maybe a notch below Haren, but I’ll bet their stats will be pretty close at the end of the season.

Round 7– Carlos Pena, 1B, Rays. He should get me 30+ HR and 100+ RBI & RS. Would love to see him hit .260+.

Round 8- AJ Burnett, SP, Yankees. Ryan Ludwick was still on the board and I really thought about taking him but felt I needed another starting pitcher and already had three outfielders at this point. If any other pitcher put up the numbers Burnett did in 2008, he would have been drafted already. Everyone is afraid of the injury history, I think he is well worth the risk here.

Round 9– Ryan Ludwick, OF. Cardinals. I was very surprised when he made it back to me and considered him a no brainer here. I don’t think last season was a fluke and see 30+ HR from him.

Round 10– Edwin Encarncion,3B, Reds. He seemed like the last of the good third baseman on the board, I needed one and took him. I wouldn’t mind another 25 homerun season.

Round 11– Heath Bell, RP, Padres. Grabbed my second closer here. This will be his first year at the job and I think he is ready.

Round 12– Carlos Zambrano, SP, Cubs. He had a few issues with his shoulder last season but is still just 27 years old and could have a nice bounce back season.

Round 13– Willie Taveras, OF, Reds. Part of my plan coming into the draft was to wait on my final three outfielders. Obviously that didn’t happen as I took my fifth outfielder here. I felt the need for speed and should get over 50 with Taveras.

Round 14– Ramon Hernandez, C, Reds. I felt it was time to take a catcher and I really like Hernandez hitting in the great American small park in Cincinnati. Looking for 15-20 home runs from him this season.

Round 15– Ubaldo Jimenez, SP, Rockies. While spring training games mean very little, watching him pitch in the WBC made me think this could be his break-out season. If he can just cut down on the walks he will be a stud.

Round 16- Brad Zigler, RP, A’s. Could start the season as the A’s number one closer with Joey Divine dealing with a sore elbow this spring. Even if Devine is ready to go on opening day Zigler should his share of saves.

Round 17– Gavin Floyd, SP, Whitesox. He won 17 games last season, with a 3.84 ERA but many people are down on him coming into this season. While I wouldn’t take him much earlier than this, he could be a good value here.

Round 18– Jeremy Hermida, OF, Marlins. Getting a clean up hitter this late, no matter how disappointing he has been so far in his career, is a good thing.

Round 19– Ryan Garko, 1B, Indians. My corner infielder should see plenty of at bats between first base, DH, and outfield this season. Would love to see him repeat his 90 RBI from last season.

Round 20– Randy Wolf, SP, Dodgers. I like him as a Dodger, pitching in their ball park. He gets to face the Padres and Giants weak lineups in their pitcher friendly parks often too.

Round 21– Orlando Hudson, 2B, Dodgers. A nice MI player who should give me a .290 BA and about 10 HR & SB.

Round 22– Kurt Suzuki, C, A’s. Getting a number two catcher that actually helps you and doesn’t hurt you in a 15 team league is always good.

Round 23– Yuniesky Betancourt, SS, Mariners. Wasn’t planning on waiting this long to get a shortstop but every time I was ready to take one, he got pick just before me. He is having a very nice spring, maybe he can carry it over to the regular season.

My last seven round were spent on bench players that I feel can be helpful.

Round 24– Mark Lowe, RP, Mariners. Maybe some saves?

Round 25– Marco Scutaro, 2B, SS, 3B, Blue Jays. Multi-position eligibility leadoff hitter.

Round 26– Brad Penny, SP, Redsox. He could a very nice sleeper.

Round 27– Kosuke Fukudome, OF, Cubs. Starting in CF and hitting second.

Round 28– Carlos Villanueva, RP, Brewers. May get some saves right at the start.

Round 29– Mat Gamel, 3B, Brewers. Very good hitter, could get called up.

Round 30– Nick Adenhart, SP, Angles. With all the injuries, he should be in the rotation.