Hey everyone, I just took my first 14 team fantasy draft. It's a league full of people that know what they're doing, and I'll post my team. I had the 7th pick, which is where I prefer, right in the middle, and I think I drafted fairly well, but definitely need to make a trade or two, although since it's a daily league, my solutions may come internally.
First of all, it's Yahoo H2H, scoring categories on offense are R, HR, RBI, AVG, and SB:
- C: Jason Varitek-Round 16
- 1B: Travis Hafner-Round 3
- 2B: Aaron Hill-Round 18
- 3B: Miguel Cabrera-Round 1
- SS: Khalil Greene-Round 15
- OF: Ichiro Suzuki-Round 2
- OF: Brad Hawpe-Round 6
- OF: Ken Griffey Jr.-Round 12
- U: Jim Thome-Round 8
- BN: Yunel Escobar-Round 13
- BN: Michael Bourn-Round 17
- BN: Ryan Doumit-Round 22
- BN: Andy LaRoche-Round 23
- BN: Travis Buck-Round 24
And for Pitchers, the categories are W, S, K, ERA, and WHIP:
- SP: Justin Verlander-Round 4
- SP: Tim Lincecum-Round 7
- RP: Francisco Rodriguez-Round 5
- RP: Rafael Soriano-Round 10
- P: John Maine-Round 9
- P: Chad Billingsley-Round 11
- P: Matt Garza-Round 14
- BN: Franklin Morales-Round 19
- BN: Hiroki Kuroda-Round 20
- BN: Chuck James-Round 21
My thoughts are split. Overall, I'm very happy with my pitching, especially considering I didn't draft a pitcher until the 4th round. I am relying a lot on a few young pitchers without much experience, but I like the bench depth where I could pick up a potential sleeper. Jason Schmidt is also a free agent, so I may look to pick him up quick if he starts well when he gets back.
Now, my offense is a different story. I hate myself for draft Ichiro in the second round, but I wanted a hitter that was going to guarantee me a good average because I knew with 14 teams in the league, at least 2 players were going to hurt me in that category, which is why I feel Ichiro and Miguel Cabrera go so well together in that category. I picked up Hafner in the third since he was first base eligible, and I like him to have a big bounce-back year and hit like a first of second rounder.
I fully believe that I won't be starting Khalil Greene for long, and that I will have Yunel Escobar slotted in that spot because he hits the ball so well. That's why I drafted him early, for the multiple position eligibility, and potential combined. Plus, I knew no other team would be touching Greene for a while. Aaron Hill I have faith in, but just incase he doesn't do well, I have Yunel Escobar. If none of them do well, well then, I'm screwed I guess.
Jason Varitek, I like him as a player, just not a fantasy player. Most any catcher is going to destroy you in the avg department minus the first big 4, but I was targeting Geovany Soto and Jarrod Saltalamacchia, but they went 2 and 5 picks ahead of me, so I waited a few more rounds and took Varitek.
I like Thome as my Utility man, and I'm happy with Griffey, but I expect to sit both of them so Michael Bourn can get me at-bats and steals. I like Travis Buck on my bench, I may drop him and pick up Reggie Willits though, higher avg and more steals that I need, despite the fact he may not bat everyday.
I'm hoping Ryan Doumit gets at bats at a position regularly so that I can play him at catcher. Higher average and better power than Varitek.
Overall on Pitching: My starters will not only get me strikeouts and a lot of them, but I will get big wins from my front 3 of them from the Tigers, Mets, and Dodgers, and Lincecum and Garza can win a good amount of games on the Giants and Rays too because of their talent. The WHIP could be better, but that should also improve with the younger starters maturing more and walking fewer hitters. My two relievers are top notch, and Soriano will help a lot in the WHIP category, and both will get Saves and Ks with a low ERA. I'm very happy with my pitching, although I wish I had another reliever, but I'm happy regardless.
Overall on hitting: I have power and a lot of it. From my starters, Ichiro has the lowest HR total with 6, and from there the lowest is 17 (Varitek and Hill), and after that, everyone is over 24, with 3 over 30. Batting average hurts with the power, but Ichiro and Miggy should help boost that up, as well as Hawpe and Hill helping, just not as much. I wish I had more speed, but if Bourn bats high and really turns on the speed, he'll have a starting spot on my team.
Overall, I think my team is good. I don't think it's the best, but in the top half. Maybe it looks rough to me because I'm not really accounting for the 14 teams in the league since I'm used to 10-12, but I still think it's a good team. Any thoughts on who I should deal, where else I should improve, see something I missed? Should I drop someone and pick up someone else? Oh, and especially in this league, I really want to save my waiver rank and hopefully climb up (I'm 8th right now) because there will be a lot of moves and I would love to swoop down and nail a player that could really help my team.
-Mat