With the possibility that Jesus Montero is not eligible at catcher in Yahoo/ESPN leagues in 2012, I had to draft a catcher and was pleasantly surprised that Matt Wieters......was....avail......no, that's Geovany Soto, Ray!!! Still, I was surprised he was still available and quite happy to have him on my roster this late in the draft.
Round 19 - $1 - 1 Year
Oakland Athletics - Hiroki Kuroda - SP - New York Yankees
Colorado Rockies - Gaby Sanchez - 1B - Miami Marlins
Arizona Diamondbacks - Johnny Damon - OF/DH - Free Agent
Brooklyn Nets - Francisco Cordero - RP - Free Agent
Anaheim Angels - Mat Gamel - 1B/3B - Milwaukee Brewers
Tampa Bay Rays - Kendrys Morales - 1B - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Carl Winslows - Edwin Encarnacion - 1B/3B - Toronto Blue Jays
Atlanta Braves - R.A. Dickey - SP - New York Mets
Miami Marlins - Ryan Lavarnway - C - Boston Red Sox
Fake Teams - Geovany Soto - C - Chicago Cubs
Boston Red Sox - Antonio Bastardo - RP - Philadelphia Phillies
New York Mets - Vernon Wells - OF - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Texas Rangers - Greg Holland - RP - Kansas City Royals
Bronx Bombers - Dellin Betances - RP - New York Yankees
Los Angeles Dodgers - Mike Carp - OF - Seattle Mariners
Toronto Blue Jays - Ryan Dempster - SP - Chicago Cubs
More Round 19 analysis after the jump:
The A's, managed by Jason Hunt might have picked the steal of the draft here in Round 19, as he selected Yankees starter Hiroki Kuroda. Kuroda has to be the most under-rated starter in baseball, and Yankee fans should be very happy to have him in 2012. I am sure Jason is too.
I think the Diamondbacks choice of Johnny Damon will prove to be a fine selection here in the 19th round. He could end up with the Yankees within the next week. I hear the Yankees will move one of their excess starters for a DH, but they could free up salary in the deal and sign Damon.
The Marlins selection of Ryan Lavarnway could be a steal here as well, as Lavarnway has plenty of power, and can hit too, but it remains to be seen how many starts he will make at catcher in 2012.
The Rays choice of Kendrys Morales could be the steal of the draft as well as long as he can start the season healthy. At this point, all we know is GM Jerry Dipoto telling us that there is no timetable for his return this season. He could be playing it conservative so he doesn't put pressure on Morales to be ready for spring training, or he could really have no idea when he will be healthy.