The Fake Teams Dynasty League draft took on a life of its own in the third round as there was a run on top prospects who were called up in 2011 and on shortstops, so let's take a look.
Round 3 - $10 - 5 Years
Oakland Athletics - Brett Lawrie - 3B - Toronto Blue Jays
Colorado Rockies - Carlos Santana - C/1B/Singer/Songwriter - Cleveland Indians
Arizona Diamondbacks - Zack Greinke - SP - Milwaukee Brewers
Brooklyn Nets - Buster Posey - C - San Francisco Giants
Anaheim Angels - Matt Moore - SP - Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa Bay Rays - Cliff Lee - SP - Philadelphia Phillies
Carl Winslows - Jason Heyward - OF - Braves
Atlanta Braves - Ben Zobrist - 2B/OF - Tampa Bay Rays
Miami Marlins - Eric Hosmer - 1B - Kansas City Royals
Fake Teams - Carl Crawford - OF - Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox - Mike Trout - OF - Los Angeles Angels
New York Mets - Starlin Castro - SS - Chicago Cubs
Texas Rangers - Asdrubal Cabrera - SS - Cleveland Indians
Bronx Bombers - Elvis Andrus - SS - Texas Rangers
Los Angeles Dodgers - Hunter Pence - OF - Philadelphia Phillies
Toronto Blue Jays - David Price - SP - Tampa Bay Rays
My thoughts on the third round picks after the jump:
Third Round Analysis
Fake Teams own Jason Hunt took Blue Jays third baseman Brett Lawrie with the first pick in the third round, a few rounds earlier than I expected Lawrie to be picked. As this is my first dynasty league draft, I was surprised to see Lawrie go off the board that early, but can understand taking him if you really wanted him. When Matt Moore, Eric Hosmer and Jason Heyward came off the board a few picks later, I was definitely pondering drafting Angels outfield prospect Mike Trout, but could not pass up taking Red Sox outfielder Carl Crawford.
I think Crawford will have a bounceback season in 2012, and I have him at $10 for five years. I ranked Crawford as my #1 outfielder heading into 2011 drafts, and everyone knows how big a bust he was. I have more on Crawford in my early Top 50 outfielder rankings for 2012 that will post next Monday.
It appears that dudedudedude's decision to take Hanley Ramirez and Jose Reyes back to back in the 1st/2nd round impacted the picks at the end of the 3rd round as there was a run on shortstops with Asdrubal Cabrera, Starlin Castro and Elvis Andrus taken much earlier than I would have ever taken them, but as Jason mentioned in his shortstop rankings on Monday morning, the position is pretty thin.
The decisions by some owners to take former prospects Lawrie, Hosmer and Moore, among others, will probably turn out to be excellent decisions down the road. I like all three of these guys a lot. Is this normal drafting strategy in dynasty leagues?