As Ray wrote about on Wednesday, the Fake Teams staff participated in a 5x5 Mixed League Mock Draft hosted by Mock Draft Central. Ray posted his results and analysis here. I wanted to go through my draft and what my thought process was to provide an additional and perhaps different point of view. The specs of the league are as follows:
12 teams, 2 C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, 5 OF, CI, MI, 9P
My thoughts after the jump...
I had the third overall pick and will post my pick and then what I was thinking, if it needs explaining. I will say this was my first mock of the year and I did little to no preparation for it. My plan, if you couldcall it that, was to amass as much power as possible at as many positions as possible. Like several of the other drfters, this was my first experience drafting in a league without a bench. Let's see how I did.
R1 - P3 - Jose Bautista
Kemp and Miggy Cabrera were the first two picks off the board and left me in a bit of a lurch. I considered Pujols, Tulowitzki, Justin Upton, and even Cano with this pick, but ultimately went with Bautista for his elite power, and hopes that his average doesn't regress TOO much. I also factored in his positional eligibility, though squandered that a bit as you'll soon see.
R2 - P22 - Curtis Granderson
Simply an elite mix of power and and speed. I don't expect another 40 homers, but a repeat of 900+ OPS doesn't seem out of reach with 20+ steals.
R3 - P27 - Adrian Beltre
I nullified Bautista's positional advantage with this pick, and I regretted the pick almost as I picked it, but I just couldn't resist his stats. Beltre has posted elite power stats with good if not better averages from a position of scarcity, and Bautista's stats still play in the outfield of course.
R4 - P46 - Starlin Castro
Eschewing power for a brief moment, I jumped on a position of extreme scarcity and took a shortstop who will actively help my average, and won't hurt me too much elsewhere.
R5 - P51 - Brian McCann
Ray snagged my intended target Dan Uggla two picks prior so I snagged the best catcher on the board in a two catcher league
R6 - P70 - Howie Kendrick
Having missed out on Uggla, I may have reached a bit to fill my 2B slot, but given that we also needed to fill a MI spot, I felt I needed a solid 2B and things were looking a bit thin. Not the greatest bit of drafting strategy, but I don't hate the pick.
R7 - P75 - Jason Heyward
I was pretty excited to get Heyward this late in the draft. Yes, he fell well short of expectations (finally, I have something in common with Jason Heyward!) but he wasn't all that bad, and I expect him to be a bit healthier and a bit more effective this year resulting in a good power/speed combo. If he craps the bed, there should be no shortage of suitable outfielders available in a league this size.
R8 - P94 - Yu Darvish
Kenneth sniped me the pick before by picking Dustin Ackley, so I settled for taking my first pitcher. I waited on pitching with the idea that above average, though not elite pitching will be available later on given the size of the league.
R9 - P99 - Devin Mesoraco
Probably another reach, especially given that Dusty Baker passed on a chance to name him the starter recently. That said, it's a two catcher league and as I said before, I want power. If Mesoraco wins the job, and he should, he should provide well above average power and average for the position. I felt it was a big benefit to have two above average catchers in this situation.
R10 - P 118 - Adam Lind
This was a bit of an accident. I had put Lind at the bottom of my queue and failed to select another player before my pick came up, and I thought I was picking the person at the top of my queue. Careless error, and it caused me to punt 1B as it should be a position of depth, and Lind does have some upside. Wasn't thrilled though.
R11 - P123 - Jaime Garcia
I was already a fan of Garcia, and then I read Bret's article and I became even more convinced of his worth. I love him as an underrated number two in fantasy, and if Darvish is for real, that's just what he is on my team.
R12 - P142 - Logan Morrison
First and foremost, I needed a twitter presence. Secondly, Morrison has hit for average and hit for power but never at the same time. In round 12, I love his upside and again, am counting on a fairly deep pool for outfielders due to the size of the league. If he breaks out, I win, if he doesn't, he is eminently replaceable.
R13 - P147 - Trevor Cahill
I know he's moving from Oakland's cavernous coliseum to a nice hitter's park in Arizona, but I think the switch from the AL to the NL could trump that. It doesn't hurt that he's always had a nasty sinker and generates plenty of groundballs. I loved him as a prospect, and his struggles haven't changed my mind. I think there's breakout potential here, and as with outfielders, if he busts I can swap him for someone off the waiver wire.
R14 - P166 - Brandon Morrow
So continues my run on pitchers. I am absolutely that guy who just refuses to believe that Morrow won't breakout. I cannot resist the allure of his strikeouts and I think one of these days his ERA will catch up to that. If it's not this year, he is still my 4th starter. This continues to be all about upside due to the amount of depth on the waiver wire.
R15 - 171 - Jason Motte
I only play in two dynasty leagues at the moment, and I actively avoid closers in those for the most part. I think they should be the final piece of the puzzle in a championship run, and gotten on the cheap for their volatility and fungibility. That said, if you're in a redraft league, you're likely to need to get them at some point. That was a long-winded way of saying I don't really know if this is good value. I went for a guy that has been named the closer and generates a ton of strikeouts. I'd like to point out that Kenley Jansen was taken at P138, so I felt this was good value relative to that pick.
R16 - P190 - David Freese
I am having a love affair with third base right now. I know I have Bautista and Beltre, but the former is in the OF, and the latter will remain at 3B while Freese fills in the CI position. I was happy to get Freese here. We know what he can do in the playoffs, and while he has suffered through some injuries, he is just hitting his prime and I just think this adds to my power supply.
R17 - P195 - Javy Guerra
Perhaps a bit of bias here as I am a Dodger fan, but for Guerra to go nearly 60 picks after Jansen strikes me as lunacy at this point. I love Jansen more than the next guy, but Don Mattingly has said that Guerra is the guy "right now" and while that could change in spring training Guerra was nails last year and I think he gets a shot to hold on to the job. I'll spare you my theory on why this is actually a best case scenario for the Dodgers, but it really is.
R18 - P214 - Grant Balfour
More questionable closers! I think Balfour winds up being the guy out of the Balfour/Fuentes/De Los Santos troika, and I think he's good enough to keep it. He's a plus strikeout guy as well. Just a flier and someone I can easily drop for another starter if I need to.
R19 - 219 - Brandon McCarthy
Just lock the twitter cat down right now. I can't believe an accomplished tweeter like McCarthy fell this far. What's that? Twitter isn't a category? I'm running this joke into the ground? Ok. While Cahill left the spacious confines of the Coliseum, McCarthy still pitches there, and he pitched wonderfully there last year. Yes, he's an injury risk, but he could provide great value for someone drafted in the 19th round. Guy had a 3.32 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP last year, including a mere 25 walks in 170.2 innings.
R20 - 237 - Matt Thornton
Again, I drafted Thornton 12 picks after Addison Reed was popped (225), and I can't really understand why. I know Reed has the hype, but there are a few options in front of him in Chicago, and Thornton is an extremely qualified reliever. Oh yeah, and he's been named the closer to begin the year. Am I missing something?
R21 - 242 -Mike Moustakas
The love affair continues! I'm actually not an ardent supporter of Moustakas, but his September was worth noting (960 OPS) even if it was probably boosted by facing some weaker players due to September callups. He's got a nice pedigree and again, if he stinks, I will swap him. But he could potentially be a huge source of power, and that's basically how this pick happened. He could hit for power and he plays third base. Sign me up.
R22 - 261 - Dexter Fowler
I feel the need to point out that Kyle Farnsworth was picked four spots ahead of this. All those good feelings about Thornton or Guerra or Balfour? Down the drain. Great pick by Jason there. Anyway- this is a flier pick to fill out my outfield. Fowler has been working out with Matt Kemp this offseason and I have read a ton of positive reports. Of course, they're all positive reports around this time of year so that should be taken with a grain of salt. I have always liked Fowler, and it was a last ditch attempt to salvage a little speed.
R23 - 266 - Jed Lowrie
Last round pick here. Filled in my MI spot. I had to punt the position at some point and opted for Lowrie because he's a starter and has shown the ability to at least hit for an empty average in the past. Uninspired? Sure, but it'll get the job done.
Overall I was pretty happy with my results. If I could choose a theme song for my team (and really, don't we all?), it would be "Power"* by Kanye West. What do you all think (theme song, or otherwise)? Any major gaffes? Was my strategy off? I'll admit that redraft leagues are no strength of mine so I would love to hear what you all think.
Other songs under consideration: "That Power" by Childish Gambino, "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC, literally just any other song by AC/DC