NFBC Main Event Draft 2010
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
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That’s my team. I love my pitching staff. My hitters have many question marks with a lot of upside. What do you think?