From Tuesday's pre-draft strategy column:
What few resources I have available tonight will be spent trying to add as much upside as I can in an effort to diversify the chances of any one risky hitter from sinking the season.
I did not accomplish that task as the presence of $1 end-gamers Luis Rodriguez, Darin Erstad and Edgar Gonzalez attest. However, my initial plans to spread the $45 of wealth across several sleeper types had to be adjusted thanks to the draft presenting a different alternative.
My draft prep sheets contained groups of players who would offer some upside potential at positions I would need to fill and would fit into a $5 salary range. Additionally, I had a group of ten or so players that I would consider rostering for $20 if the market allowed. Given the lack of top tier talent, I did not expect more than one chance, if that, at any of the players. If I did get one of the $20 players, I figured the groups of upside $5 ones would still provide the compliment of options I'd be looking to draft with even less money to chase so many roster slots.
This secondary strategy kicked in when I added Atlanta Braves 1B Casey Kotchman. Then the eventual acquisitions of two-thirds of the San Diego Padres middle infield and the epitome of the Houston Astros' favoritism of veteran players became inevitable. Cincinnati Reds 3B Edwin Encarnacion went to me for $17.
That second acquisition left me with $11 to chase nine players. At this point, a $4 bid on any of the players on my upside list would shut me out. I ended up with Florida Marlins C Ronny Paulino for $2 and Cincinnati Reds reliever Jared Burton for another Thomas Jefferson.
Amongst the other $1 players I landed was Washington Nationals UT Willie Harris, New York Mets reliever Sean Green, Pittsburgh Pirates SP Ian Snell and San Francisco lefty Jonathan Sanchez. In the minor league draft Florida Marlins' 1B Logan Morrison dropped to me at #8, and I took a longer-term prospect in Milwaukee brewers' 2B Brett Lawrie with my second and final minor league pick.
Did I get enough upside potential to off-set the risk of relying too heavily on all my keepers? (My protects are listed below.)
- C Carlos Ruiz PHI 3
- 1B Ryan Howard PHI 20
- CR Adrian Gonzalez SD 20
- 2B Emilio Bonifacio FLA 10
- MM Chase Utley PHI 46
- OF Lastings Milledge WAS 15
- OF Michael Bourn HOU 15
- OF Jordan Schafer ATL 5
- SP Yovanni Gallardo MLW 15
- CL Mike Gonzalez ATL 2
- RP Carlos Villanueva MLW 3
- SP Johan Santana NYM 41
- SP Tim Lincecum SF 15
- FARM: Mat Gamel, Alcides Escobar, Todd Frazier, Geraldo Parra, Ross Detwiler