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Footballguy
Sporting News first look Mock Baseball Draft
Some good commentary and interesting picks...it was a serpentine draft with Benson picking first, Kuznia picking last.
Some good commentary and interesting picks...it was a serpentine draft with Benson picking first, Kuznia picking last.
Here's your first look:
Round 1
John Benson Rob Hurtt Mark Allen Haverty Seth Trachtman Matt Spiegel Brendan Roberts Adam London Eric Ferguson Chris Bahr Kevin Wheeler George Winkler Roger Kuznia
1. Albert Pujols, 1B 2.Ryan Howard, 1B 3. Alex Rodriguez, 3B 4. Alfonso Soriano, OF 5. Johan Santana, SP 6. Jose Reyes, SS 7. Vladimir Guerrero, OF 8. Carl Crawford, OF 9. David Ortiz, UT 10. Chase Utley, 2B 11. Lance Berkman, OF 12. Miguel Cabrera, 3B
Analysis: Once the free mock drafts start up on our site this spring, I'll be very interested to see how the first round shakes out with other fantasy folks. For now, I'm still trying to digest the idea of Vladimir Guerrero being available at pick No. 7.
Wish I could have drafted him: Jose Reyes. I've heard from a few readers who disagree with me about Reyes being a top five pick, but I'd gladly "reach" for a guy who could hit 20 homers and steal 70 bases.
Potential pitfall: Johan Santana. I've taken a SP in the first round only once in my fantasy career, and it was Santana last season. It worked out, but I'm still wary of the idea.
Round 2
24. Joe Nathan, RP 23. Miguel Tejada, SS 22. David Wright, CI 21. Justin Morneau, 1B 20. Derrek Lee, 1B 19. Derek Jeter, MI 18. Hanley Ramirez, SS 17. Jimmy Rollins, SS 16. Francisco Rodriguez, RP 15. Carlos Beltran, OF 14. Mark Teixeira, 1B 13. Travis Hafner, UT
Analysis: Four shortstops came off the board in this round, and Roberts already is loaded at the position, with Jose Reyes and Derek Jeter. Travis Hafner is the second DH drafted, but with two utility spots on each roster, that's no problem.
Wish I could have drafted him: Carlos Beltran. I was hoping he'd make it back to me, but I was on deck when C-Belt came off the board. He officially is an elite talent again.
Potential pitfall: Mark Teixeira. I actually have him ranked behind Justin Morneau, and I'm spooked by Teixeira's dreadful first half of 2006. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to own him. But I wouldn't take him so early.
Round 3
25. Mariano Rivera, RP 26. Grady Sizemore, OF 27. Joe Mauer, C 28. Aramis Ramirez, 3B 29. Carlos Lee, OF 30. Chris Carpenter, SP 31. Manny Ramirez, OF 32. Jason Bay, OF 33. Ichiro Suzuki, OF 34. Andruw Jones, OF 35. Garrett Atkins, 3B 36. Billy Wagner, RP
Analysis: One pick after taking Joe Nathan, Benson went with Mariano Rivera, giving him a 1-2 punch no one can match at closer. We finally had another SP taken -- 25 picks after Santana!
Wish I could have drafted him: Grady Sizemore. I knew it was a long shot that he'd be hanging around at No. 40, but I'll be targeting him as a five-category stud in all my drafts. Sizemore is going to get even better.
Potential pitfall: Ichiro. I would have been thrilled with any of the other outfielders picked in this round, and I regretted this pick immediately. I've never drafted Ichiro in the past, and while the steals are nice, I'm going to have to compensate for his lack of homers and RBIs.
Round 4
48. Michael Young, SS 47. Johnny Damon, OF 46. Jermaine Dye, OF 45. Chone Figgins, OF 44. Rafael Furcal, SS 43. Bobby Abreu, OF 42. Vernon Wells, OF 41. Paul Konerko, 1B 40. Brandon Webb, SP 39. Roy Halladay, SP 38. Roy Oswalt, SP 37. Matt Holliday, OF
Analysis: There was a major run on outfielders, with six coming off the board. Apparently, Matt Holliday is no longer a sleeper, as he went before some very established names. And there also was a run on Roys.
Wish I could have drafted him: Roy Oswalt. He is about as solid as they come, despite pitching half his games in a home park that could make a home run hitter out of Richard Simmons. If I don't draft Oswalt, I usually target him in a trade in as many leagues as possible.
Potential pitfall: Brandon Webb. Wow, I really must hate my team, huh? I didn't want to wait any longer for a SP, and I can't really complain much about settling for the reigning NL Cy Young winner. But something about Webb just doesn't scream "fantasy staff ace."
Round 5
49. Ryan Zimmerman, 3B 50. B.J. Ryan, RP 51. Carlos Delgado, 1B 52. Bill Hall, SS 53. Victor Martinez, C 54. Jim Thome, UT 55. Brian McCann, C 56. Huston Street, RP 57. Dan Uggla, 2B 58. Carlos Zambrano, SP 59. Juan Pierre, OF 60. Robinson Cano, 2B
Analysis: We finally see some action at second base and catcher, though the lack of backstops is understandable because we are starting only one in this league. I was torn between Dan Uggla and Robinson Cano, but went with the power.
Wish I could have drafted him: Bill Hall. Not only would it have deflated Kuznia, who has an A-1 man crush on Hall, it also would have boosted my squad. Hall isn't a one-year wonder and likely will start the season in the outfield. That SS/OF eligibility has me drooling.
Potential pitfall: Jim Thome. Everyone shied away from Frank Thomas, who lasted until Round 9 and was moved down in our preliminary rankings/dollar values as a result, but there was no such skepticism when it came to Thome, a fellow DH who also has durability concerns.
Round 6
72. Freddy Sanchez, 2B 71. Jake Peavy, SP 70. Jason Giambi, UT 69. Trevor Hoffman, RP 68. Cole Hamels, SP 67. J.J. Putz, RP 66. Brett Myers, SP 65. Jorge Posada, C 64. Kenji Johjima, C 63. Bobby Jenks, RP 62. Carlos Guillen, SS 61. Gary Sheffield, OF
Analysis: The attention-grabbing headline here: two Phillies starting pitchers go within three picks. Brett Myers rebounded well after suffering through the shame of his domestic assault arrest, and Hamels had a Jered Weaver-like effect in the second half of '06.
Wish I could have drafted him: Gary Sheffield. I'm not worried about him getting complacent after signing a new deal, and I'm not concerned about him leaving Yankee Stadium. I covet his power production, and I think he will play angry all season in order to send a message to New York.
Potential pitfall: Freddy Sanchez. He was one of the best stories of the 2006 season, but Sanchez has no power, doesn't steal bases and isn't going to score a lot in that lineup. And there's no guarantee he'll hit close to .344 again.
Round 7
73. Rocco Baldelli, OF 74. Hideki Matsui, OF 75. Adam Dunn, OF 76. Prince Fielder, CI 77. Torii Hunter, OF 78. Jered Weaver, SP 79. Scott Kazmir, SP 80. John Smoltz, SP 81. Nick Swisher, 1B 82. Justin Verlander, SP 83. Raul Ibanez, OF 84. John Lackey, SP
Analysis: While this round featured several youngsters, it also included some proven veterans (John Smoltz, Adam Dunn, Hideki Matsui, Torii Hunter). But the pick that intrigues me is Rocco Baldelli. If healthy, he'll be a steal.
Wish I could have drafted him: Jered Weaver. When one of my rotations was banged up last season, Weaver saved the day and was a huge factor in my first-place finish in that league. He already is a No. 1 starter and would have eased my doubts about Webb.
Potential pitfall: Raul Ibanez. His 2006 numbers were just too good to be true. Ibanez eclipsed his previous high in homers by nine, and he drove in 20 more runs than ever before. He also scored 100 runs for the first time, while hitting triple digits in K's for the first time.
Round 8
96. Alex Rios, OF 95. Ivan Rodriguez, C 94. J.D. Drew, OF 93. Chris Ray, RP 92. Jeremy Bonderman, SP 91. Ben Sheets, SP 90. Felipe Lopez, MI 89. Michael Cuddyer, OF 88. C.C. Sabathia, SP 87. Delmon Young, OF 86. Akinori Otsuka, RP 85. Brian Roberts, MI
Analysis: A round chock full of injury risks -- Brian Roberts, Ben Sheets, J.D. Drew and Alex Rios. And the always-intriguing but often-inconsistent Jeremy Bonderman becomes Spiegel's third SP. I like him as a No. 3, but I'm still not sold on Bonderman as more than that.
Wish I could have drafted him: Delmon Young. Wheeler beat me to the punch once again. While I think Young will go too early in many drafts this season, don't let him escape Round 7 if you really want him.
Potential pitfall: Michael Cuddyer. I'll still be singing his praises on my deathbed for the job he did for me last season, but that was a career year. And don't overlook the fact that Cuddyer loses 2B and 3B eligibility this season.
Round 9
97. Josh Barfield, MI 98. Scott Rolen, 3B 99. Chris Young, SP 100. Chipper Jones, UT 101. Troy Glaus, 3B 102. Adam LaRoche, 1B 103. Jorge Cantu, 2B 104. Brandon Phillips, 2B 105. Mike Cameron, OF 106. Frank Thomas, UT 107. Erik Bedard, SP 108. Brian Fuentes, RP
Analysis: I'll remember this round for the first communal groan. It came right after Benson took Josh Barfield to open the round. In another development, a trio of 3B injury risks went in the span of four picks.
Wish I could have drafted him: Adam LaRoche. By drafting LaRoche, I could have moved Nick Swisher to my outfield and shored up first base. Very quietly, LaRoche put up numbers similar to the elite 1B options.
Potential pitfall: Chipper Jones. In the cult classic "Top Secret," there's a scene where a man falls off a ledge, hits the ground and shatters like glass. Every time I see Chipper play, I expect that to happen.
Round 10
120. Juan Rivera, OF 119. Josh Johnson, SP 118. Jonathan Papelbon, RP 117. Magglio Ordonez, OF 116. Matt Cain, SP 115. Francisco Cordero, RP 114. Richie Sexson, 1B 113. Aaron Harang, SP 112. Takashi Saito, RP 111. Adam Wainwright, RP 110. Ray Durham, 2B 109. Dontrelle Willis, SP
Analysis: Interestingly, both Jonathan Papelbon (saying goodbye to the closer role) and Adam Wainwright (possibly saying hello to the closer role) went in the same round. Plus, collective groan No. 2 went out with the Magglio Ordonez selection by Trachtman.
Wish I could have drafted him: Wainwright. Drafting behind Wheeler is comparable to getting in line behind a Sumo wrestler at a buffet. Just think of Wainwright as the last piece of pizza. Although there's still a chance that Wainwright could start (sorry, but I'm not buying Jason Isringhausen's miraculous recovery), I'd gladly take him as SP or RP. That said, I'm happy with Takashi Saito in Round 10.
Potential pitfall: Juan Rivera. I tend to avoid Angels hitters not named Vladimir, and I'm of the opinion that plenty of outfielders post Rivera-like numbers.
