Fantasy 40/40 – 2012 Fantasy Baseball Rankings

Fantasy 40/40: Fantasy Draft #2

By Tito on March 31st, 2010

Just finished my second fantasy draft of the year.  Two down, one to go.  The league I just drafted for, THE TITTY CLASSIC, is in its third year of existence, second as a paying league, where I am commissioner.  I started it as a free league with a collection of my closest friends and my two brothers so we had something to do during off-season from fantasy football.  The draft was held online this past Sunday.

The league is a $175 entry, 12 team, mixed, 5×5, keeper roto league.  We start 23 players: 14 hitters, 9 pitchers and have 10 reserve/bench spots.  The penalty of keeping someone is the loss of 2 rounds per draft year.  EXAMPLE.  Troy Tulowitzki was drafted in the 9th round in 2009.  He will be heldover as a 7th round pick in 2010, 5th round in 2011 and so on…  A lot of good players were kept – a total of 62 overall – so people were reaching and taking guys early and often.

My six keepers were: Tulowitzki (7), W. Rodriguez (23), Heyward (28), A. Escobar (30), Stubbs (31), Lind (32).

C,1B,2B,3B,SS,MI,CI,OF,OF,OF,OF,OF,U,U,P,P,P,P,P,P,P,P,P,BN,BN,BN,BN,BN,BN,BN,BN,BN,BN.

Here’s my squad, The 40/40 Club.  I had the #10 pick out of 12.

1. Evan Longoria (10) 3B, TB – All the top 1B were gone, Fielder, Teixiera, Howard and Cabrera.  It came down to Longoria or Lincecum for me, but I rarely take P early.  I targeted Longoria here if Fielder was gone before the draft and continue with my plan.  Elite 3B is shallow this year so I am happy to build around the MLB THE SHOW cover boy.
2. Carl Crawford (15) OF, TB – I was going to take Wright if he was available.  Adrian Gonzalez also went at #12 so I went with my best available.  It was Crawford or Ellsbury and I have Crawford ranked higher.  I chose Crawford for a couple reasons – mainly because of his .300 BA, 15-18 HR potential and 2010 being his contract year.  He joins an OF of keepers I already have: Lind, Heyward and Stubbs.
3. Joey Votto (34) 1B, CIN –  Was targeting Zimmerman (29) and Cano (31) with my next two picks in rounds 3 and 4.  Neither lasted.  However, I am a big fan of Joey Votto and he was plan B.  Like I said, all TOP 1B were taken.  I took him over D. Lee, Butler, Berkman and Pena.  I now own Votto in two leagues where I am counting on .300-30-100-90.
4. Brandon Phillips (39) 2B, CIN - With Utley, Kinsler, Pedroia, Cano, Zobrist, Hill and Stewart gone, I snagged Phillips before I had to wait another 19 picks for the draft to come back to me.  The next available after Phillips was Roberts and I am not sure how his aging body will hold up so I went safe with 20/20.  This is a perfect example of the tier system I always talk about.
5. Adam Dunn (58) 1B/OF, WAS – 40 HR and 100 RBI is what I drafted.  He is as consistent as they come.  He can play 1B, CI or OF for me and will provide my squad with a nice power source.  I am not worried about his anchor of a batting average since I have plenty of .300 hitters to balance everything – plus .260 isn’t Mark Reynolds.  He completes my starting OF: Crawford, Dunn, Lind, Heyward and Stubbs.  Good balance of BA, HR and SB.  I’m looking at approx: .280 BA – 125 HR – 350 to 400 RBI – 375 RUNS and 100 SB of production from my 5 OF.
6. Billy Butler (63) 1B, KC - I am actually the driver of the Billy Butler Bandwagon.  The kid isn’t even 24 and puts up productive numbers in a weaker Kansas City lineup.  .301-21-93-78-1 were his numbers last year – .300-28-100-90 are legit possibilities with this right-handed Joey Votto.  He will play CI for me and was my pick over A. Ramirez, D. Lee and C. Pena.
7. Troy Tulowitzki (82) SS, COL – I drafted Tulo last year in the 9th and kept him for my SS/field general.  He is the 2nd best SS in baseball and I took him in the 7th round.  Have to love keeper leagues.
8. Torii Hunter (87) OF, LAA – I thought he was the best available on the board.  He out scores guys like BJ Upton and Josh Hamilton in roto leagues on a yearly basis, just drafted 4 rounds later in drafts.  18-80-75-18 aren’t too bad for this productive veteran.
9. Ricky Nolasco (106) SP, FLA – I usually wait until the double digit rounds to address pitching, but I couldn’t pass on him here.  He was the best available on my sheet (CBS has some crazy, whack, weird, whatever, rankings) and I try to draft strong K/9 guys.  I had him ranked in front of guys like Shields, Oswalt and Weaver who had already been drafted rounds earlier.
10. Jose Lopez (111) 2B/3B, SEA – With the knowledge that Lopez will be seeing time at the hot corner, Lopez will fill my 2B/3B guy for flexibility within my lineup.  He had 25 HR and 96 RBI in ‘09 and should have similar numbers this season.  He does have Figgins batting in front of him too now alongside Ichiro.
11. Nolan Reimold (130) OF, BAL – I like Baltimore’s young outfield and Reimold is the least talked about of the trio.  With a full season of AB’s and a healthy Achilles, I hope he puts up 20 HR and 80 RBI.
12. Geovany Soto (135) C, CHC – All the catchers went earlier so I waited a bit.  A lot of my positions were filled so I turned to sleeper candidate.  Soto was the available after I waited last round to grab him so this pick was easy for me.  He will bounce back after recovering from his issues last year and I have high expectations for him in 2010.
13. Ryan Ludwick (154) OF, STL – Another OF, I couldn’t pass up the bat here.  He should benefit with a full season from Matt Holliday and a full season AB’s without Rick Ankiel stealing opportunites.  25 to 30 HR and 90 RBI is a realistic projection.
14. Mike Napoli (159) C, LAA – A 20 HR catcher is hard to find.  I grabbed Napoli here with no other position players or pitchers matching their draft spot value.  I pair him with Soto for a pretty good backstop combo, I think.
15. Jorge De La Rosa (178) SP, COL – Sticking with the NL and their starters, I took De La Rosa and look for him to add to his second half last year.  After going 0-6 to start the season, De La Rosa was 16-3 in his next 19 starts.  16-3!  He also had 193 K in 185 innings.  That’s TOP 20 production in the 15th round.  HE”S NOT A SEXY PICK, GRAB HIM IN YOUR LEAGUES LATE TOO!
16. Randy Wolf (183) SP, MIL – Everything I said about De La Rosa… But he didn’t go 16-3 in 19 starts.  Wolf gives me a nice K/9 rate and hopefully 15 wins with that young, talented lineup in Brewer Town.  I now own Wolf on 3 teams, he’s always sitting there late…
17. Ardolis Chapman (202) SP, CIN – With my targeted Phil Hughes being taken, this pick for Chapman was a mixture of 50% “post-May, this season” and 50% for “keeping purposes next year”.  100mph and lefty; not many out there not named The Unit.
18. Chad Qualls (207) RP, ARI – Hoping Qualls is healthy again and can save 30 – which all signs point to this Spring.  My first RP or closer on the squad.
19. Cameron Maybin (226) OF, FLA – Once a major piece of the Miguel Cabrera deal, Maybin fell off a lot of radars after being sent down last year.  He’s got the spot in 2010 and could be a steal, could be a bust or I could trade him before the season starts for some pitching.
20. Conor Jackson (231) OF, ARI – CoJack is tearing it up this Spring and will start in left for the Dbacks.  He’s that magical age of 27 and could have a bounce back/breakout season to match his numbers from 2 years ago.  Also, should see a start at 1B sometime this year.
21. Jonathan Sanchez (250) SP, SF – Weird, another NL pitcher with a nice K/9 rate.  The only one of the SF staff to throw a no-hitter last year, Sanchez will provide quality starts and hopefully 10 to 15 wins.
22. Austin Jackson (255) OF, OF – A piece to the Curtis Granderson deal, Jackson will start for Jim Leyland in center and hit the ground running.  He should provide some decent SB numbers and possibly a surprising total of RUNS if he gets to hit at the top. Maybe not because of Johnny Damon.  Possible keeper.
23. Wandy Rodriguez (274) SP, HOU – Another one of my keepers, Wandy is a nice addition to my staff.  Might not win 15, but will have nice K rate, ERA and WHIP.
24. Desmond Jennings (279) OF, TB – Hopefully, Carl Crawford has a new home at the trade deadline and this young speedster, Crawford 2.0, will have a starting job.  He is a stud and will be a definite starter in 2011 for Joe Maddon.  Keeper.
25. Jason Marquis (298) SP, WAS – The Nationals “ace”, Marquis has won double digits the past couple of years.  Just a staff filler, I’ll probably end up dropping him sometime this year for better pitching.  I hope he makes it difficult though.
26. Dustin Ackley (303) 2B, SEA – Seattle’s 2nd overall pick in the amateur draft, Ackley is a hitting machine who projects to hit .310, .320, .330 sometime soon.  His bat is MLB ready and he is coming fast.  The former North Carolina Tar Heel standout will be a starter in 2011 somewhere on the diamond.  Might play 1B, 2B or OF.  I don’t care.  He’s going to be a stud and he’s my keeper.
27. Carlos Santana (322) C, CLE - The Indian’s catcher of the future, Santana should start in AAA with a mid-season call up.  He has Lou Marson in front of him, but Santana’s bat will have him in the lineup sooner than later.  He’s the reason V-MART was allowed to move on.  Possible keeper.
28. Jason Heyward (327) OF, ATL – The prize piece of the 40/40 Club, I picked up Heyward last year and plan on keeping him forever , or until I can’t draft him anymore (13 years in our league according to the rules).  ”Last name ever, first name greatest.  Like a sprained ankle…”  Serious fantasy man crush and in the 28th round, why not. Keeper.
29. Matt Thornton (346) RP, CHW – I took Thornton to fill my staff.  Not many starters out there.  He has a great ERA and WHIP and should steal some saves from fragile Bobby Jenks this season.
30. Alcides Escobar (351) SS, MIL –  I drafted Escobar in the 32 round last year and he will start for me at MI or U this year.  He will split time with Jose Lopez and should provide 30 SB’s and a decent BA and RUN total if he bats 2nd.  I have Tulo for the next two years.  Escobar will take over SS then.  Keeper.
31. Drew Stubbs (370) OF, CIN – I picked up Stubbs on the waiver wire last year and decided to keep him in 2010.  He should start in center and hopefully bat leadoff for the Cincinnati Reds – 20/40 potential here.  Keeper.
32. Adam Lind (375) OF, TOR – Picked up Lind in a trade for BJ Upton last year.  As a 32 round keeper, Lind may be the best value in the league (Kendry Morales in the 32nd maybe).  .300-30-100-80 please.  Keeper.
33. Anibal Sanchez (394) SP, FLA – Mr. Irrelevant was auto-snagged as I jumped into the shower for work.  He is currently in the process of being released for another pitcher.

Some of these picks seem either real early or too late.  That’s because its a keeper league and over 60 players were kept, changing draft rounds and averages.  Overall, I was happy with the draft.  But so were the other 11 owners.  My offense is stacked from top to bottom with backups at each position.  My pitching staff is only 10 deep, with Chapman being a minor leaguer to begin the season – Might have to make a move for some pitching, but usually wait until at least May to start trading.  I would rather have excess hitting and trade for pitching than vice versa.  And since it is a mixed league, I should be able to peruse the waiver aisle and find some nice bargains throughout the season.  TJ Hooosyomama… Championship.