48 leagues made 14,400 selections at the draft table in March. 440 different players were chosen, with 218 being selected in all leagues. Another 15 were drafted in 47 of the 48 leagues. 33 were taken in just 1 league.
Last year Albert Pujols was the first choice in 37 of the 38 leagues, but this year there was a bit more variety. Miguel Cabrera led the way with 28 selections at #1, while Pujols trailed with 10. Ryan Braun (5), Matt Kemp (4), and Jose Bautista (1) also were honored with a first-overall pick.
Those 5 went in the first round in every draft, along with Joey Votto. A total of 20 different players were drafted in round 1, including Alcides Escobar, surely by someone thinking they were in a Fantasy Razzball draft. First basemen dominated round 1 with 207 selections, followed by outfielders (170), third basemen (87), shortstops (67), and second basemen (39). Pitchers were selected 6 times, with Roy Halladay (4) and Justin Verlander (2) taking those spots.
Miggy had the top ADP at 1.8, followed by Pujols at 2.1. The rest of the top 10 consisted of Kemp (4.1), Braun (4.2), Bautista (5.1), Votto (6.2), Troy Tulowitzki (6.5), Evan Longoria (9.6), Adrian Gonzalez (10.2), and Robinson Cano (10.4). Cabrera’s face injury may have worried a few drafters, as Pujols had the slightly better ADP (1.7 to 2.0) over the last 2 days (11 drafts). Roy Halladay (19.4) was the top pitcher, 18th overall, followed by Clayton Kershaw (22.6) and Verlander (22.9). Craig Kimbrel was the first relief pitcher chosen 45 times and finished with a 70.7 ADP.
Hanley Ramirez: Despite the horrible 2011 from the consensus 2nd-overall pick, drafters weren’t giving up on Hanley. He went in the first round 18 times, and the 2nd round in the other 30 drafts for a 13.6 ADP.
Carl Crawford: People were not as willing to trust Crawford would return to form, and he was generally chosen in the 6th or 7th rounds.
Eric Hosmer: Razzers are all in, driving his ADP to 41.4.
Ian Kinsler: Was taken in the 2nd round of every draft, improving on his 2011 ADP by 17 spots.
Giancarlo Stanton: Lots of love for the man they used to call… I want to say Mark, but that doesn’t sound right. Anyways, he usually went in round 2, but did fall to the early 3rd on 4 occasions.
The Defending Champion: Random ItalicizedVoice is back to defend our title (I was in his league, so I must have had something to do with it) and picking out of the 10th slot started his team with the Gonzalez Gang, Adrian and Carlos, followed by Ryan Zimmerman. Now, don’t embarrass us, RIV.
The ECFBL: The toughest 2011 league has returned and once again followed their own path, drafting fewer starting pitchers than any other league. With the average being 80 starters per league, the ECFBL took just 64. Pitchers they ignored who were drafted in the other 47 leagues include Jhoulys Chacin, Bud Norris, Wandy Rodriguez, Ted Lilly, Ryan Dempster, and Justin Masterson.
We Like You More Than Grey Does, Mr. Bourn: Ranked 125th by Grey in his top 300, RCL drafters still valued him highly. He was picked as early as 25th, with an average of 47.4. Also in this category would be David Ortiz (184th/ADP: 85.1), Ben Zobrist (96th/ADP: 53.1), Ichiro (148th/AD:97.3) and Dee Gordon (165th/ADP 108.6), along with pitchers James Shields, Matt Cain, and Matt Moore.
We Can’t Agree: David Freese was drafted as early as 109th , and as late as 283rd, a 174 slot difference. Jose Tabata was picked 124th and also 292nd. Jason Kubel’s ranged stretched from 98 to 264.
What Does Grey See That We Can’t, Roger? Grey has Roger Bernadina ranked 201st, in a tier called, “You may get a top 20 OF from any of these guys. Or a guy you want to drop by April 15th.” Every other OF in this tier was grabbed at least once, but not Mr. Bernadina.
>>You can find all the draft numbers here.
Looking forward to another great year of Razzball Commenter League action. I’ll be posting stuff in the fantasy baseball forums all season, so check it out. Good luck!
