2009 Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft: Ryan Braun

Here is my latest mock draft courtesy of Mock Draft Central.  It was a 10-team Yahoo! format with five bench spots.  The key to this format was the lack of a 2nd catcher, a middle infielder, a corner and a 5th OF.

With the 9th pick, I decided to grab one of the best outfielders as I am coming to believe the difference between the top of the outfield ranks and the middle ones is greater than that difference at other positions.  My preference was Ryan Braun of Milwaukee with the reluctant resignation that I'd take Grady Sizemore if he fell to me.  FWIW, I like Braun's power production and AVG more than Sizemore's SBs at that spot.

Luckily, Braun was there at #9.  With my 2nd round pick, I wanted another outfielder or 1B Ryan Howard.  Unfortunately, both were taken, and I was left with a Jimmy Rollins decision.  Given this was a mock draft, I was still committed to seeing what a two OF start would look like, and I grabbed Tampa Bay Rays' OF B.J. Upton.

I consider this a riskier move than Jimmy Rollins because Upton's 2009 value as a 2.2 selection is heavily dependent on his HRs rebounding in 2009.  Geez, Upton hit fewer HRs than Rollins did in Rollins' disappointing 2008 season.  And stole fewer bases at a less premium position!

What do you think and how do you handle this format?

Pos  Name       Team   Pick   
C   Joe Mauer     MIN   R6 P2     
1B  Chris Davis     TEX   R7 P9     
2B  Dustin Pedroia     BOS   R4 P2     
SS  Jhonny Peralta     CLE  R11 P9     
3B  Adrian Beltre     SEA   R14 P2     
OF  Ryan Braun     MIL   R1 P9     
OF  B.J. Upton     TB   R2 P2     
OF  Lastings Milledge   WAS   R12 P2     
UT  Pat Burrell     TB   R18 P2     
UT  Jim Thome     CHW   R15 P9     
SP  Tim Lincecum     SF   R3 P9     
SP  Cliff Lee     CLE   R5 P9     
SP  Josh Beckett     BOS   R8 P2     
SP  Matt Cain     SF   R9 P9     
SP  Yovani Gallardo     MIL   R10 P2     
SP  Zack Greinke     KC   R17 P9     
RP  Brian Wilson     SF   R13 P9     
RP  Heath Bell     SD   R16 P2     
RP  Trevor Hoffman     MIL   R21 P9
Bench     
1B  Pablo Sandoval     SF   R22 P2
2B  Rickie Weeks     MIL   R24 P2
OF  Justin Upton     ARI   R20 P2     
OF  Carlos Gomez     MIN   R23 P9
RP  Clayton Kershaw     LA   R19 P9