The other day in the comments someone asked that I give some pairings for my first two rounds of the 2010 fantasy baseball drafts. I was going to do this anyway (you’re not the boss of me!), but sometimes I need a gentle nudge in the right direction. Not a noodge, thank you. What I’m hoping to lay out to you is who do you draft 2nd if you’ve drafted so and so first. I think it might be helpful to go through pairings for your 5 outfielders, all your middle and corner infielders and pitchers too. We’ll go through those on another post. For easy reference, the Royal We will be using the top 10 2010 fantasy baseball rankings and the top 20 2010 fantasy baseball rankings. I’m going to assume you’re in a 12 team, 5×5, MI, CI, 5 OF, 1 Utility, 1 Catcher league. Anyway, here’s some pairings for the first two rounds of 2010 fantasy baseball drafts:
Albert Pujols – Could really team him up with anyone, except another 1st baseman. Preferably, I’d like to have Pujols and a 3rd baseman (Zimmerman). Then on the turn you can grab an outfielder. So Pujols, Zimmerman and Upton. Yeah, that would be nice.
Hanley Ramirez – Again, you want just about anyone but Tulo, Reyes or Rollins. Ideally, you want a big bat. I.e., not Carl Crawford. Someone that is going to get you 30+ homers. Howard and Fielder will be gone, but A-Gon, Morneau, Zimmerman or even Votto should be there. I’d consider J-Upside, but if I went that way I would definitely want another 30+ hitter sooner vs. later.
Chase Utley – No Kinsler or Phillips. Since Utley is a power threat at a normally weaker position, I’d take a speed outfielder (Crawford), speed shorstop (Reyes, Rollins) or a power/speed outfielder (Sizemore, Upton). He could work with a 1st baseman or a 3rd baseman or even Tulo. Shoot, Utley works with everyone. Love you, Utley. Write soon!
Alex Rodriguez – No 3rd basemen. A-Rod is similar to Utley since he also gives you a decent amount of steals, you can put him with just about anyone. Someone like Holliday would give you a nice balance.
Ryan Braun – I wouldn’t draft an outfielder next and I’d hesitate to draft a 1st baseman. Ideally, I’d try for a shortstop (Tulo or Rollins), 2nd baseman (Kinsler, Phillips) or a 3rd baseman (Zimmerman). The reason I’d hesitate on a 1st baseman is because it’s a deeper position and so is outfield, so you’d have two deep positions covered and no shallow ones. I wouldn’t kick Braun and Votto out of bed, but Braun/Zimmerman looks better.
Mark Teixeira/Miguel Cabrera/Prince Fielder/Ryan Howard – Similarly to Braun, I’d avoid a 1st baseman and hesitate on an outfielder. Ideally, you’d have some combo of one of those 1st basemen and Wright, Longoria, Kinsler or Tulo.
Matt Kemp – Since he’s not as safe with the power as Braun, I’d take a 1st baseman with Kemp. I’d also look at taking a bat at a weaker position (Tulo, Kinsler, Wright). I’d avoid guys who bring their value with speed (Reyes, Crawford, Ellsbury).
Evan Longoria – Anything but a 3rd baseman. Since his speed’s a little wonky, I’d have no problem pairing him with Sizemore. Holliday would also work nicely since Longoria’s average is a bit weak.
Tim Lincecum – You have to have a big bat at 1st base if you’re going to take Lincecum. If you can’t get Howard, Fielder, Miggy or Tex, skip Lincecum altogether and go for Wright as your first pick.
David Wright – Since he hit, what, 2 homers last year, I’d want a power guy at a weak position to be paired with Wright or a power guy at 1st base. Think Tulo and Wright. That’s nice. Think Wright and Howard. That sounds like the best pairing since my tilapia, Mad Dog 20/20 pairing last night.
