Baseball Draft Results

I just finished up a draft on ESPN employing a bit of a different strategy this time around. I focused heavily on hitting early on and then, in a twist, I picked some closers early. My strategy this draft was to focus on picking pitchers with high strike out rates and a great potential for low ERA and WHIP. Of course I should also be very good in saves. Of course, many of my pitchers are injury prone, so I may struggle in wins, but could be VERY good in 3 categories and very solid in K's.

Just so you know, I had the 8th pick in the draft.

1.) Chase Utley (2B) - I love Utley this year, simply because he is so much better than the rest of the position. The drop-off is so steep Utley not only has a tier to himself, there may also be an empty tier between him and Brian Roberts, who is usually the second 2B off the board.

2.) David Ortiz (DH) - Big Papi! Ryan Howard goes 10 picks ahead of him, yet Papi should have identical (or better) numbers.

3.) Jason Bay (OF) - Had lots more value when he was stealing, but happy to get 35 HRs and 10-20 SBs.

4.) Jimmy Rollins (SS) - Utley and Rollins give me two studs at very shallow positions. Rollins added power last year and is trying to add more SB this year. Love this guy.

5.) Vernon Wells (OF) - Similar player to Bay. Could see a dip in average, but I think last year was quite legit.

6.) B.J. Ryan (RP) - High K, reliable pitcher with great rate stats. Should get lots of K's pitching for a good Jays team.

7.) Billy Wagner (RP) - Another very high K reliever with solid rate stats. I really like the Mets team to win lots this year, which means plenty of saves.

8.) Daisuke Matsuzaka (SP) - I usually don't buy into the hype, but I'm starting to buy into the hype on this guy. Besides, I'm not even reaching for him in the 8th round.

9.) Felix Hernandez (SP) - I think last year was just a small step back. The kid has bigtime talent and should really put things together this year.

10.) Rich Harden (SP) - Appears to be healthy and dominating spring hitting. Could be one of only pitchers to push Santana for Cy Young this year.

11.) Mike Piazza (C) - Perhaps a reach, but I simply love this guy too much DHing for the Athletics.

12.) Chris Ray (RP) - Another great, young, underappreciated reliever with great rate stats. Should rack up more saves behind a better Baltimore team this year.

13.) Todd Helton (1B) - I don't expect the Helton of old, but would be happy with .300 and 25 HRs. Of course, he still has potential for a big year.

14.) J.D. Drew (OF) - Only reason this guy slips here is because of his injury pronedness. I think its a bit overexaggerated and I love his potential in that Red Sox line-up.

15.) Eric Gagne (RP) - A gamble. If it explodes...meh...I didn't pass on anyone intriguing on the board. If it works....fits my strategy well.

16.) Mike Mussina (SP) - Ridiculously consistent. Should get me some wins and strike out enough to be useful.

17.) Dave Roberts (OF) - Noticed I needed some more speed and JD Drew insurance, so I drafted a underrated speedster

18.) Hank Blalcok (3B) - Noticed I still needed a 3B. I expect this kid to bounce back nicely.

19.) Javier Vazquez (SP) - Looking for high K pitchers....should also see wins. Could have poor ERA, though.

20.) BJ Upton (3B) - Blalock insurance and more speed. The last roster spot should be for drafting risky high reward players since you'll likely use this spot to cycle in players during the season.