I went through my top 100 and top 300 for 2009 fantasy baseball and I chose a guy every 12 or so picks to make up my ideal team if I were in a Razzball Commenter League (so 12 team, 5×5, 5 OFs, etc.). Obviously this is a team I probably would never get, because each draft unfolds differently, but if a draft unfolded exactly how I wanted it, this is how my best 2009 fantasy baseball draft would turn out. But, and there’s always a but unless you’re an alien, I held myself to the false constraint of not being able to choose more than one guy every 12 picks, so I still didn’t get everyone I would’ve wanted.
C: Jeff Clement
1B: Joey Votto
2B: Alexei Ramirez
SS: Hanley Ramirez
3B: Chris Davis
MI: Mark DeRosa
CI: Ryan Zimmerman
OF: Carlos Lee
OF: Matt Kemp
OF: Jay Bruce
OF: Andre Ethier
OF: Shin-Soo Choo
UT: Elijah Dukes
P: Chad Billingsley
P: Jonathan Broxton
P: Adam Wainwright
P: Matt Cain
P: Jose Valverde
P: Josh Johnson
P: Matt Capps
P: Joel Hanrahan
P: Wandy Rodriguez
BENCH:
P: Chris Ray
P: Jason Motte
P: Octavio Dotel
So what do you think of my fantasy fantasy team? Don’t like it? Go to the top 300 and make up your own fantasy fantasy team and post it in the comments.
Cool! Was going to ask if you could do something like this.
Can you give us the round-by-round? Or the nominal spot each guy was picked?
Interaction…fun! I went strict 1-12, 13-24, 25-36, 37-48, etc. for where I picked from.
C: Chris Iannetta
1B: Prince Fielder
2B: Dan Uggla
SS: Clint Barmes
3B: Aramis Ramirez
MI: Mark DeRosa
CI: Mark Reynolds
OF: Grady Sizemore
OF: Nick Markakis
OF: Jay Bruce
OF: Pat Burrell
OF: Adam Lind
UT: Freddy Sanchez
P: John Lackey
P: James Shields
P: Felix Hernandez
P: Kerry Wood
P: Chris Young
P: Heath Bell
P: Ubaldo Jiminez
P: Trevor Hoffman
P: Matt Lindstrom
BENCH:
P: Wandy Rodriguez
P: Chris Carpenter
P: Aaron Cook
If i ever see a mock fantasy fantasy draft I am calling it quits.
@Freak: Realy? Freddy Sanchez? yargel
@Eric W:
that’s funny .
@Eric W: It was either him, Orlando Hudson or Kaz Matsui.
Sanchez hit .344 once.
And like I said, I was being strict and forcing myself to pick someone from each 12 player section. That particular section was 255-266. Slim position player pickings there.
Hey Everyone, looking to make some moves to increase my power, decrease speed. I found a team with no speed, literally (his fastest man is Longoria). I want to move Upton. Here’s the teams…
My Team:
C-Napoli
1B-A Gonzalez
2B-Utley
3B-Aramis Ramirez
SS-Reyes
OF-BJ Upton, Abreu, Pence
UT-Carlos Pena
BN-Ibanez, T Hunter, Jose Lopez
SP-Beckett & Peavy
RP-Jenks & Devine
P-Billingsley, Wainwright, Bedard
BN-Slowey & Weaver
His Team:
C-Soto
1B-M Cabrera
2B-DeRosa
3B-Longoria
SS-Hardy
OF-M Ramirez, Dunn, Burrell
UT-Morneau
BN-Matsui, Navarro
SP-Matsuzaka, Zambrano
RP-Rivera, Hoffmann, Valverde, Gonzalez
P-Oswalt Wong, Cook, Saunders
What should I do? Try & trade with this kid…
Well if you really want to get rid of Upton then maybe Upton for Longoria. They should both be third round picks, but their potential to be first rounders next year keeps them in the second this year, hah, got lost…But I’d rather keep Upton and run away in the steals cat.
& also, I’m dropping Weaver for Hanrahan today…I needed another closer and he is one of the few left that have the closing job secured
@Nick: is this a 10 team league? because you really have a lot of 2nd to 4th round picks there.
Well i guess upton could’ve fallen to the third, a.ramirez to the fourth and a.gonzales to the fifth, what about peavy though? This looks like a good team to me and i think you should keep upton.
@Mowses: Yeah 10 team H2H league. I like Upton alot but I just think my RBI/HR are going to be down
@Nick: mmh ok, maybe try Upton and A.Ramirez for Longoria and M.Ramirez. Does that even sound fair?
C: Clement (24)
1B: Teixeira (2)
2B: Kelly Johnson (15)
SS: Reyes (1)
3B: Chipper Jones (5)
OF: Carlos Lee (3), Bruce (8), Krispie (9), Milledge (13), Choo (20)
CI: Adrian Gonzalez (4)
MI: Elvis Andrus (25)
U: J. Upton (17)
SP: Haren (6), Shields (7), Wainwright (11), Vazquez (12), Guthrie (19)
RP: Broxton (10), Bell (14), Hanranhan (16)
BN: Qualls (18), C. Perez (23), U. Jimenez (24)
@Mowses: Intersting trade, could work but I don’t know if he will go for that…plus I don’t know how I feel about Longoria
@Nick: Upton for Morneua… .300 hitter, tons of RBI’s, and i see HR’s over 30 again this year. He might do that? I dont know if you want another 1B? but You could slide Ibanez in the OF, PENA to the bench IMO and stick Morneua in….
@Nick: yeah, probably the same way as about upton. Keep Upton then, your rbi/hr should be fine with what you have.
Is it just coincidence that almost your ENTIRE team plays in the NL?
Alright now I have some options, i proposed some trades but both will probably be rejected.
Votto for Pena -pending
Wright for A Ramirez/J Lopez (this team loves the cubs) -pending
Morneau for Upton -might propose
I have lots of trouble making trades if you can’t tell, haha
Thanks guys
C-PUNT!
1B-Albert Pujols
2B-Robbie Cano
SS-Jhonny Peralta
3B-Chris Davis
MI-Yunel Escobar
CI-Chase Headley
OF-Adam Dunn
OF-Matt Kemp
OF-Jay Bruce
OF-Lastings Milledge
OF-Willy Taveras
UT-Prince Fielder
P-Dan Haren
P-Hiroki Kuroda
P-Erik Bedard
P-Brad Lidge
P-Brian Fuentes
P-Jose Arrendondo (handcuff, yo!)
P-Heath Bell
P-Zack Grienke
P-Gil Meche
B-Chris Carpenter
B-Johnny Cueto
B-Paul Maholm
I figure I’d trade power for a catcher and upgrade at CI. And I always pay attention to SP/RP on free agency. There are always 2-4 guys that come out of nowhere to blow mofo’s away.
@Grey…that’s a young, fairly unproven team you’d have drafted….but the upside is ridiculously high. You gotta bigger sack than me, yo.
Whoops……had Nelson Cruz on the bench, not Paul Maholm. Huge difference to my team.
Some of the names on your draft will not happen Grey, because the names have gotten too hyped/hot.
Votto
Alexei
Davis
Billingsley
From what I’ve seen in mocks, these names are either creaping or flying up the ladder. Davis is overrated at this point where he’s going. He consistently gets picked ahead of Atkins now. And Votto is beginning to go ahead of Derrek Lee in many of the drafts I’ve seen.
I mention these guys especially since I’m in a Yahoo league. Alexei is a SS/2B so he’s gone in the 4th, or sooner. Davis is 1st/3rd and has been going in the 6th from what I’ve seen. And in Yahoo, Bills is the 10th ranked SP ahead of Beckett, Lackey, Shields, Oswalt, etc. He’s not going to be much value in Yahoo leagues because guys drafting “the next guy on the list” will be taking him in the 6th/7th rounds.
I guess I should feel pretty good. I have five of those guys among my 13 keepers on my 10-team NL only league. (Hanley, Bruce, Ethier, Valverde, Wandy.) Also trying like heck to get Votto, but that owner won’t budge.
Great team. I especially like the Josh Johnson pick.
@Steve: I went through my top 100 and 300 and went 1-12 pick a guy, 12-24 pick a guy, 24-36 pick a guy, etc. I should’ve probably did 1-12 then 13-25, but the math was getting confusing for an exercise.
@Freak: Nice! I wouldn’t put Uggla, Reynolds and Burrell on the same team, but overall good stuff. Very solid pitching though.
@Nick: Your league is really short, so it makes trades harder. I’d send him Upton and Pena for Morneau and one of his closers, if you want. But you really don’t need to do any trade.
re: Hanrahanananan — Yes, pick up any closers that are on waivers.
@sean: Nice! Very solid team. Maybe a little light on power, but not that bad.
@Bryan: Yeah, it was the way it worked out. If I were to do the exercise again, I’d probably get a lot of different players, so the title is a bit hyperbolic.
@nmdunkel: Nice! I draft hitting heavy early, so I agree with most of what you have there, but I think you might’ve punted pitching a little too much.
re: my team — Yeah, like I said to Bryan above, my team is young but it would probably change if I were to do the exercise again.
@Frank Rizzo: Yeah, agreed about me not being able to get this team. I said that in the opening. I was just doing a fun exercise. Or what I thought was fun. For myself at least.
However, I do like Votto more than Derrek Lee, and I do like Alexei around the 4th, so I agree with them going early. But Davis has been too hyped at this point.
Like your team, Grey. As I mentioned in an earlier comment, I did a mock this year in which I took alexei, Davis, and Bruce in 5,6,7. Afterward I worried I’d rookie-nookied myself to death. Do you not think that’s too much investment in the children?
@Baron Von Vulturewins: Children are the future. You have to show them all the beauty they possess inside… Teach them a sense of pride. I probably did take too many youngsters, but that was the way this draft fell. At one point, Hanley was a 5th rounder and people were worried he wouldn’t take the next step. If nothing else, I’d be able to trade away a lot of this team because they are hot commodities. Even though, to be fair, I probably wouldn’t trade them away, because I like to let a draft ruminate for at least a few weeks into the season.
This is an actual team that I drafted in a 10 team ESPN league last weekend. This is my third year participating in this competitive 6 x 6 keeper league. The reason that I am posting the results is because my team looks very similar to the team that Grey posted underneath the header. Thanks to Razzball, I feel that I have a contender going into the season.
C: Jarrod Saltalamacchia
1B: Albert Pujols
2B: Alexei Ramirez
SS: Stephen Drew
3B: Chris Davis
MI: Mark DeRosa
CI: Lance Berkman
OF: Matt Kemp
OF: Shane Victorino
OF: Bobby Abreu
OF: Brad Hawpe
OF: Rick Ankiel
UT: Adam Lind
P: Yovanni Gallardo
P: Adam Wainwright
P: Scott Kazmir
P: Scott Baker
P: Matt Garza
P: Zach Greinke
P: Matt Capps
P: Brad Lidge
P: Chad Qualls
P: Chris Perez
Bench:
OF: Shin-Soo Choo
3B: Ian Stewart
3B: Mat Gamel
C: Taylor Teagarden
P: Clayton Kershaw
P: Brandon Morrow
P: Chris Young
P: Hideki Okajima
P: Octavio Dotel
In the auto-draft world of me versus the NSA supercomputer, this is what I came up with:
C – Mike Napoli
1B – Connor Jackson
2B – Jose Lopez
SS – Jimmy Rollins
3B – David Wright
CI – Alex Gordon
MI – Mike Aviles
OF – Matt Kemp
OF – Nick Markakis
OF – Vladimir Guerro
OF – Ryan Ludwick
OF – Nelson Cruz
UT – Ryan Spilborghs
P – John Lackey
P – James Shields
P – Jose Valverde
P – Kevin Slowey
P – Derek Lowe
P – Matt Capps
P – Hong-Chih Kuo
P – Jeremy Guthrie
P – Randy Johnson
Bn – Jason Kubel
Bn – Gil Meche
Bn – Chris Ray
@Pops: My team was a 12 teamer, but you still have a very solid team. Well played!
@Grey – A great exercise! I fully support and use this strategy before my draft. It’s always good to have a very specific plan.
@Grey: Yeah, I wasn’t trying to draft the Whitney Houston All-Stars, I just liked each guy better than whatever else was left. And once you get to rounds 5 through 7, even the established guys have caveats.*
I had a girlfriend who gave me caveats once. Itched like hell for weeks.
@IowaCubs: Nice! See, punting 2nd longer than I did still makes for a very solid team. You might be a little weak power-wise at 1B and CI.
@Baron Von Vulturewins: Lime zest takes care of that.
Here are the results to a real fantasy mock draft that I did a few days ago. I can safely say that it is definately a fantasy of mine to end up with a team like this.
10 team, yahoo mock.
1. David Wright (NYM – 3B)
2. Ryan Howard (Phi – 1B)
3. Alfonso Soriano (ChC – OF)
4. Carl Crawford (TB – OF)
5. Curtis Granderson (Det – OF)
6. Dan Haren (Ari – SP)
7. Chad Billingsley (LAD – SP)
8. Félix Hernández (Sea – SP)
9. Derek Jeter (NYY – SS)
10. Joey Votto (Cin – 1B)
11. Robinson Canó (NYY – 2B)
12. Carlos Mármol (ChC – RP)
13. B.J. Ryan (Tor – RP)
14. Nelson Cruz (Tex – OF)
15. Heath Bell (SD – RP)
16. Pablo Sandoval (SF – C,1B,3B)
17. Chris Young (SD – SP)
18. Joey Devine (Oak – RP)
19. Elijah Dukes (Was – OF)
20. Randy Johnson (SF – SP)
21. Frank Francisco (Tex – RP)
@emporers monkey: That team is insane.
Sign me up for VOTTO over derek lee anyday. He’s going to steal more bases and hit for more power and probably more average in 2009. One’s rising, one’s on his way DOWN, which would you want…. VOTTO. And Davis over Atkins is a no brainer to me as well. Atkins has been regressing for 3 years straight. Time to move on.
I agree Chris Davis, Alexie, and Votto are all getting way too hyped, but what are you going to do?
C- Jeff Clement (20, 228-240)
1B- Joey Votto (5, 48-60)
2B- Brandon Phillips (2, 12-24)
SS- Jose Reyes (1, 1-12)
3B- Chris Davis (7, 72-84)
CI- Derrek Lee (6, 60-72)
MI- Stephen Drew (9, 96-108)
OF- Carlos Quentin (3, 24-36)
OF- Shane Victorino (4, 36-48)
OF- Jay Bruce (8, 84-96)
OF- Cameron Maybin (13, 144-156)
OF- Adam Lind (25, 288-300)
UT- Adam LaRoche (17, 192-204)
P- Brian Fuentes (10, 108-120)
P- Aaron Harang (11, 120-132)
P- Javier Vazquez (12, 132-144)
P- Chris Young (14, 156-168)
P- Johnny Cueto (15, 168-180)
P- Brian Wilson (16, 180-192)
P- Chris Perez (18, 204-216)
P- Scott Baker (19, 216-228)
P- Oliver Perez (21, 240-252)
BE- Dan Wheeler (22, 252-264)
BE- Chris Volstad (23, 264-276)
BE- Paul Maholm (24, 276-288)
I reached for a few guys towards the end, but I think this is how my ideal team would look. Not sure about my closer picks after Fuentes, but Wilson and Perez both have a chance for 35+ saves if they keep the job all year.
@Josh: Extremely solid, only questionable pick is Maybin. When you have Reyes already, he seems unnecessary. Also, your starters are a bit risky. With no true #1 guy. Finally, I feel like Volstad and Maholm may be good, but they’re probably just as easily on waivers. All in all though, it’s solid.
Who gets the better of a reyes, hamels, and shoppach for beltran, soto, johan and peralta trade? 12 team H2H.
@ABell: Beltran side, assuming they need all of those parts.
Yeah, Im super high on Votto this year. I think I might have to go to Votto rehab once the season begins. Most of the drafts Ive done so far he has been undervalued. Hopefully the guys in my cash league feel the same way. Actually considering reaching a few rounds early on him unless someone else is there that I can pass up.
@Tony: BTW, meant to tell you, I like your clay trophies. Especially the Amish Buggy one. Hehe…
@emporers monkey: Yup, I got it bad for Votto too. We all might need to meet weekly at the community rec center.
I will bring the cookies, you bring the punch.
Since you guys are hyped about Votto I hope this dude accepts my Pena for his Votto. If he doesn’t know much about Votto he will probably accept. Ranks are very close and Pena’s #s were better last season for the most part (exception:average)
So I went through this, and instead of guess or being close i stictly took players based upon every 12 picks. So i stuck with 100%:
1-12;13-24;25-36;37-48;49-60;61-72;73-84;85-96;97-108;109-120;121-132;133-144
145-156;157-168;169-180;181-192;193-204;205-216;217-228;229-240;241-252;253-264;
265-276;277-288;289-300
Just did 1 run through the top 300 and came up with
C:Salty
1B:Votto
2B: Alexei so Sexei
3B:D. Wright
SS: Rollins
MI:Theriot
CI:C.Davis
OF:Kemp
OF:Bruce
OF:Milledge
OF:Maybin
OF:Cruz
UT: Elijah Dukes
P: Lackey
P: King Felix
P: Fuentes
P: Gallardo
P: J.Johnson
P: Josh Johnson
P: Gonzolez
P: Corpas
P: S. Baker
BENCH:
P: C. Ray
P: O. Dotel
OF:S. Choo
@Grey: this was a fun exercise.. big fan of your site since i just discovered this recently.
too bad we can’t make some giant league and see who’s lineups end up on top using the every 12 picks format.. it’d be fun.
@gleeksquad: Thanks for the kind words. Well, there is the RCLs where one person will be crowned the winner out of everyone. Hope you’ve joined that.
re: your team — You had me at Alexei so Sexei. Nice, solid team. Small quibble, I like Maybin too, but I think he’s more of a complement for a team that is a bit slow. Don’t think your team has that trouble. Like if you had Hardy and Uggla in the middle, then Maybin maybe. Oh, and I like Josh Johnson too, but you can only draft him once.
EDIT: Typo. Word.
@Grey: Checked Votto’s ADP for Yahoo on Mockdraftcentral and he was #81 this morning with Derek Lee being #72. Just checked it again and now Votto was #77 while Lee was #73. Also, Garrett Atkins is at #71. I’m not making this stuff up.
I’m a little over a week until my draft. Is Votto really a value in the 6th/7th round?
@Grey:Ya i copied your list and replaced mine to be all institutionalized like i know you like it. But i did double up JJ. I hear ya on Maybin b/c i’m already high on speed and upside OF.. but in the 145-156 range i took best available more then best fit.
But i do agree i could have supplemented a bit better. Again, thats why i found this so fun, u can really see where guys might fall and then think in the back of your alternatives in later rounds to complement early picks.
@Frank Rizzo: He really is. I wrote a Votto post already:
(http://razzball.com/joey-votto-2009-fantasy-sleeper/)
The ADP for him has gone up since I wrote that, but the rest holds true.
@gleeksquad: Yeah, totally.
***There’s two new posts if people want to check them out. Or stay in this post, you guys know how to handle yourselves.
I’ll give it a shot…preparing for the Commentor league, and a life-time supply of Taco-Bell
C- Sandoval (14, 156-168)
1B- Chris Davis (7, 72-84)
2B- Uggla (5 48-60)
SS- Reyes (1, 1-12)
3B- Youkilis (4, 36-48)
CI- Zimmerman (10, 108-120)
MI- Aviles (18, 204-216)
OF- Beltran (2, 12-24)
OF- Bruce (8, 84-96)
OF- Milledge (12, 132-144)
OF- Ethier (13, 144-156)
OF- Choo (16, 180-192)
UT- Theriot (23 264-276)
P- Peavy (3, 24-36)
P- Lidge (6, 61-72)
P- F. Hernandez (9, 96-108)
P- Cain (11, 120-132)
P- Cueto (15, 168-180)
P- Capps (17, 192-204)
P- Arredondo (19, 216-228)
P- Parra (20, 228-240)
P- O.Perez (21, 240-252)
BE- C. Ray (22, 252-264)
BE- Lowrie (24, 276-288)
BE- A. Cook (25, 288-300)
One problem I see with many of the fantasy fantasy drafts, I see a lot of managers pulling for Broxton in round 10ish. First, he’s a Dodger (enough said). Although point one is sufficient to meet the burden of proof necessary to convince someone not to draft Broxton at round 10, point two: Kuo is waiting in the wings. I know Kuo has DL issues and is a lefty, but I think its conceivable he steals 5-10 saves from Broxton. Also, Kuo could arguably steal the closer’s role from Broxton, especially if Broxton continues his plight at maintaining a 4.00 ERA in the 9th and somewhat inability at nailing down lefties (I think like a 270avg). I’d go with BJ Ryan over Broxton, who you can grab somewhere around round 12 or 13. Broxton is young and could certainly prove to be the Soria of 2008, but I feel the risk a bit high given the round you need to grab him in. Obviously I’m bias given his Dodger status.
I’m also apprehensive of Clement, especially after the Griffy signing. Its seems like the Mariners don’t have a flipping clue on a forward-looking plan. Then again, when did they ever?
@Paul Nebenfuhr: I’d want one more solid OF, maybe instead of Youuuuk, but overall it’s a solid team. I like the F-Her pick a lot. I was trying to get him on my team, but it became impossible.
@TBone: I hear ya, but I look at Broxton like this. The worst case scenario is he only gets 20 saves and has great Ks, solid WHIP and good ERA. He’s been on of the top middle relievers for the last 3 years so I’m not too concerned with him. Team him up with someone like Brian Wilson and you have solid numbers and the saves you need. In the end, saves are had to predict.
@gleeksquad and Grey – First, I love that Alexei nick name. Second, I obtained some intel today that Rollins might be picked before me in my draft. As a result, I am going to have to either reach, by using my 4th round pick (31), for Alexei in the 30s or miss out on him totally due to my draft pick. By the way, this is a keeper league, which makes the 31st pick really the 36th overall pick.
I am concerned by his free swinging ways, and don’t want to reach on a player that could regress when pitchers figure this out. What do you guys think about this concern?
@James: I don’t know who else will be on the board for you to choose from, but 31 is a bit early for him.
Yes, I haven’t got a chance to think about this, but I am leaning towards that side. However, Tulo, Young, Hardy, and Jeter don’t get me excited. Plus, I plan on taking other players at their ADP. Hopefully I can get Rollins or Alexei falls to me at 50.
@James: Tulo and Hardy are fine, Jeter and Young are bleh.
C – Iannetta
1B – Votto
2B – Kinsler
SS – Hanley
3B – Chris Davis
CI – Alex Gordon
MI – Mike Aviles
OF – BJ Upton
OF – Nick Markakis
OF – Krispie Young
OF – Shin-Soo Choo
OF – Dukes
UT – Cust
P – James Shields
P – Gallardo
P – Vazquez
P – Grienke
P – Baker
P – Carpenter
P – Devine
P – Qualls
P – Joakim Soria
Bn – Hermida
Bn – Ian Stewart
Bn – Meche
@Dean: Your hitting looks okay, but it’s near the bottom of the league in average. Your pitching looks solid, if maybe a bit risky.
Lineup:
LF – Alfonso Soriano
SS – Derek Jeter
1B – Albert Pujols
3B – Alex Rodriguez
RF – Ryan Braun
2B – Chase Utley
CF – Grady Sizemore
DH – Hideki Matsui
C – Brian McCann
Bench:
MI – Hanley Ramirez
CI – Mark Teixera
UOF – Brett Gardner – Speed
UIN – Mark Derosa
UC- Joe Mauer
Starting Pitcher Rotation:
SP1 – Roy Halladay
SP2 – Johan Santana
SP3 – Brandon Webb
SP4 – CC Sabathia
SP5 – Tim Lincecum
Bullpen:
MR – Johnathon Broxton
MR – Heath Bell
LR – Zach Greinke
LR – Josh Beckett
SU – Francisco Rodriguez
C – Mariano Rivera