Fantasy 40/40: Dynasty Draft – Day 1
As I posted earlier, I had the 7th overall pick in one of my fantasy league drafts. It’s a 40-man, H2H, Points Scoring dynasty draft with some buddies over an email chain. With some luck, we’ll finish before April 4th. It started yesterday and will be going on for the foreseeable future – averaging 2.5 to 3 rounds a day. I’ll post and summarize complete rounds and initial thoughts on most of the draft. At its completion, I will explain my strategy and reasoning behind my picks and team direction. For now, I hold my cards close because my league mates check the site. Here’s the first two rounds.
ROUND 1
- 1.1 Richmond Night Crawlers-Hanley Ramirez, SS Florida
- 1.2 Moorpark Nago’s Rippas Brah- Albert Pujols, 1B, Cardinals
- 1.3 BOHICA- Prince Fielder, 1B, Brewers
- 1.4 Anaheim Smog- Alex Rodriguez, 3B, Yankees
- 1.5 Andy Likes To Pettite- Ryan Braun, OF, MIL
- 1.6 Hanford Hye-Lites- Tim Lincecum, SP, Giants
- 1.7 40/40 CLUB – Chase Utley, 2B, Phillies
- 1.8 Las Vegas Phantom Aces-Mark Teixeira, 1B, Yankees
- 1.9 San Diego The Smashing Blumpkins- Matt Kemp, OF, Doyers
- 1.10 Rogers Naturals- David Wright, 3B, Mets
- 1.11 St. Louis Rick Ankiel’s Wild Pitches- Roy Halladay, SP, Phillies1.
- 1.12 Kingston We Be Buntin’- Evan Longoria, 3B, Tampa Bay Rays
Initial Thoughts and Reactions: I took Utley over Kemp. I figured I could grab OF later because the league only calls to start 3 OF as oppose to most leagues where 5 is the customary or usual number. I never really considered Kemp because I thought he’d be gone. I wanted Utley all along, but Kemp made me hesitate for a second and I thought hard for a while. I was going to take 1. Utley, 2. Fielder and 3. if by some chance Lincecum ever fell. He was taken at 6. Nonetheless, Utley is the cream of the crop at 2B; I am extremely happy to acquire the best player at his position.
In a surprising move, Night Crawlers took the age and upside of Hanley Ramirez over the best player in baseball. Can’t say I would would have been able to pull that trigger. But I applaud the fortitude.
Two pitchers are also selected in the 1st RD as Halladay goes to Rick Ankiel’s Wild Pitches at pick #11.
ROUND 2
- 2.13 Kingston We Be Buntin’ – Joe Mauer, C, MIN
- 2.14 St. Louis Rick Ankiel’s Wild Pitches – Miguel Cabrera, 1B, DET
- 2.15 Rogers Naturals – Ryan Howard, 1B, PHI
- 2.16 San Diego The Smashing Blumpkins – Zack Greinke, SP, KC
- 2.17 Las Vegas Phantom Aces – Felix Hernandez, SP, SEA
- 2.18 40/40 CLUB – Troy Tulowitski, SS, COL
- 2.19 Hanford Hye-Lites – Carsten Charles Sabathia, SP, NYY
- 2.20 Mission Viejo Andy Likes To Pettite – Adrian Gonzalez, 1B, SD
- 2.21 Anaheim Smog – Justin Upton, OF, ARI
- 2.22 BOHICA – Pablo Sandoval, 3B/1B, SF
- 2.23 Moorpark Nago’s Rippas Brah – Carl Crawford, OF, TB
- 2.24 Richmond Night Crawlers – Jacoby Ellsbury, OF, BOS
Initial Thoughts and Reactions: I wanted an elite SS so I am excited to grab my first two choices with my first two picks. I considered Upton, Ellsbury and Crawford – but my choices came down to Tulo or Reyes. A healthy Reyes is a TOP 5 talent. But coming off a bad wheel, I couldn’t risk my 2nd pick. Tulo, 25, is now penciled in to play SS for the 40/40 CLUB for the next 10 years and will be wearing a “C” my 40/40 CLUB come April – giving 20-90-90-15 as a stat floor every year. By selecting Utley and Tulo, I accomplished a few things:
a) I drafted Fantasy 40/40 type guys (power/speed) that score in all categories (high points in this league – BB, 1B, 2B, HR, RUNS, SB, etc…)
b) Not worry about my middle infield. At all. Ever.
c) I locked in 2 elite players at historically weak, offensive positions – looking at a possible 60/60, 50/40 guaranteed from my SS and 2B. Kind of like the modern day version of Larkin and Ryno back in ‘88 to ‘93 days.
Hye-Lites goes with big CC and pairs him with his first pick, Tim Lincecum, creating a formidable Cy Young tandem to lead his rotation – Potential great move, potential season killer. Let’s see how this plays out – possibly playing catch up trying to fill out his offensive void. Nice 1-2 punch though huh? Wow.
Anaheim Smog reaches at pick 21 and grabs Justin Upton. I say reach because he’s mostly ranked outside of the top 30 or 40 in draft materials. This is a dynasty league and Smog now owns the right to a stud at 22. Hey, I am on the Justin Upton bandwagon too. And like I’ve always said, projections are just that. Draft who you want as long as its within reason. Smog did just that.
I thought Crawford and Ellsbury were both excellent value at picks 23 and 24.
Here is my rationale behind the pick:
Yes, Pujols is the best player in baseball right now. But in a dynasty format, a player who is younger, Hanley is 26, has had a 30/30 season already, batted .342 last year with 101 runs and plays SS which is a scarse position. You can find a 1B who will hit 30 HR’s later in teh draft, but having a combination of Hanley and say a Pena or a Youk is a huge upgrade over a Pujols and Bartlett or Asdrubal Cabrera