Yeah, that’s right. If you combine the Wu Tang Clan and my fantasy baseball team, you would have a $145M ruckus. Why? That’s just how I roll. Check out my 25 draft picks, and you’ll understand why.
- Robinson Cano (2B)
- David Wright (3B)
- Ubaldo Jimenez (P)
- Buster Posey (C/1B)
- Jose Bautista (OF/3B)
- Mat Latos (P)
- Carlos Marmol (P)
- Corey Hart (OF)
- Nick Swisher (OF)
- Starlin Castro (SS)
- Madison Bumgarner (P)
- Vladimir Guerrero (DH)
- Paul Konerko (1B)
- Trevor Cahill (P)
- CJ Wilson (P)
- Jason Kubel (OF/DH)
- Ryan Theriot (MI)
- Jose Valverde (P)
- Johan Santana (P)
- Bobby Abreu (OF)
- Jon Garland (P)
- Andres Torres (OF)
- Allen Craig (Util)
- Juan Uribe (Cl)
- Tommy Hunter (P)
Back at the end of February, I gave my draft a preliminary grade of “B” at about the 60% completion mark, but I hoped to move that up to the “B+” range by the end of the draft (click here for that article). No such luck. I did add quite a bit of potentially useful depth, but I’m not convinced that I nabbed a great “sleeper” pick in the later rounds (past the 15th). Kubel might be the guy, because he’s a nice OF/DH combo in case I need to replace Wright with Bautista, but that’s about it.
The value of a lineup like this really depends on the kind of league you are in and the rules associated with that league. If the league allows players to qualify at different positions as they reach certain innings or games played plateaus, then Ryan Theriot might be better off starting as a 2B and qualifying as a SS. You then would be better off having someone else as your MI for strategic purposes (maybe). Notice that I drafted two closers. Marmol saved 38, and Valverde saved 26 last season. There is a significant dropoff between the two, but the dropoff to the next tier of closers beyond Valverde is massive in my opinion. If something happens to Marmol, I didn’t want to risk having to pick up a closer off the scrap heap.
I probably didn’t stress this enough in my fantasy baseball guide, but it’s worth keeping track of where closers are currently pitching and whether or not they still have that designation. Last year’s closer is this year’s setup man, and that doesn’t just apply to Rafael Soriano. Just do a quick check before you draft. Also, be sure to grab a few of your favorite team’s players. Somehow, some way, they will stick it to you if you don’t draft them. *I grabbed a few Cardinals – Allen Craig and Ryan Theriot*
The takeaway here is that fantasy players should look at other people’s drafts and learn from their mistakes (or copy their successes). Would you be happy going into the season with my 25? Does this lineup have greater value in a keeper league or a rotisserie one? Do you need to know about other duel-threat players? If so, then let me know, and I’ll update the fantasy baseball guide.
Finally, I’ve scouted the other teams involved with @STLDraftTB on Twitter. There are an awful lot of honor roll grades, and I don’t see a dunce cap among them. Just consider the first few rounds for each of the other players:
- Albert Pujols, Joe Mauer, Ryan Howard
- Hanley Ramirez, Cliff Lee, Jayson Werth
- Miguel Cabrera, Ryan Zimmerman, Felix Hernandez
- Troy Tulowitzki, Adam Wainwright, Mark Teixeira
- Evan Longoria, Roy Halladay, Matt Kemp
- Matt Holliday, Dan Uggla, Chris Carpenter
- Joey Votto, Chase Utley, Jose Reyes
- Carlos Gonzalez, Alex Rodriguez, Kevin Youkilis
- Carl Crawford, Ryan Braun, Tim Lincecum
- Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Hamilton, Dustin Pedroia
Yeah, it’s THAT kind of league. Don’t hang in curve balls, kid. So, now that the lineups are picked, it’s time to set up the teams on Yahoo and familiarize ourselves with the family friendly version of the famous Wu Tang Clan battle cry….
Bring The Ruckus!
TIDBITS: The earthquake news out of Japan today is startling, and it is difficult to put into a reasonable frame of reference. Try this. The largest earthquake to hit the eastern US in recorded history was actually a pair of earthquakes attributed to the New Madrid fault on December 16th, 1811. There is no Richter scale measurement, but the earthquakes were massive enough to cause soil liquefaction (that’s where hard earth behaves like a liquid) and the Mississippi appeared to run the wrong direction for a bit. An 8.9 on the Richter scale is much, much worse. Consider that a 9 on the Richter is the equivalent to 32 billion TONS of TNT. That’s definitely not “very funny”. Think of some of the people in need as a bunch of college kids you know on spring break, and they’ve just been robbed…..of everything. Just please don’t fall for any email scams coming from Albanian princes who claim that they are collecting money, and all you need to do is send them a check or a money order.
Like it? Wish you could bring the ruckus, too? Follow gr33nazn on Twitter, and maybe we can all bring it together!
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That is an excellent team you just put together. That’s the kind of payroll every major league team needs. lol
Thanks, Dan. Imagine what that payroll would look like without some of the players that aren’t really even needed and could be replaced by relievers and inexpensive options. There’s a lpt to be said for drafting and holding onto good, young talent.
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