I know there must be other notable fantasy news occurring or worth commenting on, but the day after a draft still has me thinking of little else but that draft. Here are some surprise picks from my draft last night. By "surprise", I mean good, bad and everything in between.
1st Round:
Pick #8: Johan Santana. This seems too early, but the team did follow-up in the 3rd round with CC Sabthia so he does have his staff anchored well.
2nd Round:
Pick #20: Victor Martinez. Again, this seemd to be a round too early.
3rd Round:
Pick #30: Carlos Lee. My turn was up at #31, and I was hoping Lee would have fall to me. That would have blown my strategy of drafting a couple big pitchers early, but the value would have been too much to pass-up.
4th Round:
Pick #38: Corey Hart. I thought Hart, Markakis and Pence were grouped together in the end of 4th/5th. Taking Hart in the early 4th surprised me. but the skills are there to justify it.
5th Round:
Pick #49: Francisco Rodriguez. Lance Berkman was still on the board.
6th Round:
Pick #71: Adam Dunn. A great selection this late. One of only two players I consider a lock for 40 HRs.
7th Round:
Pick #78: Hideki Matsui. By far, the worst pick of the draft. Raul Ibanez went in the 19th round. Like the State Trooper told the hillbilly in Appalachia - nothing before the teens.
8th Round:
Pick #87: Alex Gordon. This was a reach, but I think Gordon will earn this rank.
9th Round:
Pick #98: Joba Chamberlain. Way too early, but more surprising was the team took Chipper Jones right before this when Ryan Zimmerman was still on the board.
10th Round:
Pick #110: Rickie Weeks. He should have been taken by me in the previous round. Great spot to take a likely 20/40 2B.
After this round, things got odd because of the league format (no CR or MM, only 3 OF and just 7 active P). I began filling my rotation out without a ton of concern for available hitters because I thought I had enough hitters who I would play everyday regardless of the quality still available. I also guessed that my 2008 mixed-league sleepers (Lastings Milledge, Justin Upton, etc) would still be around to fill my bench.