On Monday I offered a not-so brief recap of the team I drafted on Sunday night in the first ever Fake Teams H2H Points League as well as a little insight into my strategy for the upcoming season. Essentially my team is a RP buffet with a side of over-the-hill hitters and gravy. But, I'm optimistic.
Yesterday, Ray recapped his team/draft. For it being his first time in a points league, I thought he did a great job while staying true to his Dodger blue (links to both recaps below).
Today, and for the remainder of the week, I will offer commentary on the draft as a whole as well as the other 10 teams in the league, each being ran by a Fake Teams reader just like you, starting with a recap of Lake Zurich Legends, Fake Teams (Ray's team), G4ce and my oh-so creative team ... Kevin.
And, for those interested, I am providing a link that will take you directly to the league so you can follow the season as it progresses if you are so inclined and get a sneak peek at all the teams:
Fake Teams H2H Teams Recap after the jump:
| Round | Lake Zurich Legends | Fake Teams | G4ce | Kevin |
| 1 | Miguel Cabrera 1B | Clayton Kershaw P | Matt Kemp OF | Albert Pujols 1B |
| 2 | Cliff Lee P | Mark Teixeira 1B | Curtis Granderson OF | Roy Halladay SP |
| 3 | Andrew McCutchen OF | Adrian Beltre 3B | Giancarlo Stanton OF | CC Sabathia SP |
| 4 | Eric Hosmer 1B | Alex Gordon OF | David Wright 3B | Brandon Phillips 2B |
| 5 | Matt Cain P | Jay Bruce OF | Hunter Pence OF | Shane Victorino OF |
| 6 | Asdrubal Cabrera SS | Jon Lester P | Paul Konerko 1B | Jonathan Papelbon P |
| 7 | Ian Kennedy P | Dan Uggla 2B | Brian McCann C | Mariano Rivera P |
| 8 | Carl Crawford OF | Dee Gordon SS | Chase Utley 2B | Lance Berkman 1B/OF |
| 9 |
Mat Latos P |
Josh Beckett P | Tommy Hanson P | Daniel Hudson P |
| 10 | Brett Gardner OF | Joel Hanrahan P | Michael Pineda P | Carlos Lee 1B/OF |
| 11 | Neil Walker 2B | Andre Ethier OF | Brandon Beachy P | Erick Aybar SS |
| 12 | Carlos Marmol P | Chris Young OF | Derek Jeter SS | Jesus Montero DH |
| 13 | Gaby Sanchez 1B | Jaime Garcia P | Cory Luebke P | Brandon League P |
| 14 | Colby Lewis P | Javy Guerra P | Max Scherzer P | Doug Fister P |
| 15 | Jhoulys Chacin P | Jeff Francouer OF | Johnny Cueto P | Coco Crisp OF |
| 16 | Kurt Suzuki C | Yadier Molina C | John Danks P | David Freese 3B |
| 17 | Trevor Cahill P | Mike Leake P | Adam Lind 1B/OF | Brandon McCarthy P |
| 18 | Yunel Escobar SS | Matt Thornton P | Danny Espinosa 2B | Mike Minor P |
| 19 | Edwin Encarnacion 3B | Dexter Fowler OF | Torii Hunter OF | Frank Francisco P |
| 20 | Gavin Floyd P | Jonathon Niese P | Delmon Young OF | Mark Trumbo 1B/OF |
| 21 | RA Dickey P | Bryce Harper OF | Daniel Bard P | Brett Myers P |
| 22 | Mark Buehrle P | Jose Altuve 2B | Russell Marin C | Chris Capuano P |
| 23 | Randy Wolf P | Brian Matusz P | Stephen Drew SS | AJ Pierzynski P |
Lake Zurich Legends (LZL):
Miguel Cabrera was my, and many others, number one player entering 2012, and, sure enough, he went first overall in this draft. I'm assuming LZL intends to slide him over to 3B once he qualifies (I wouldn't trust Edwin Encarnacion long term) and put Eric Hosmer at 1B and Gaby Sanchez at UTL for the remainder of the season for a trio that should combine for a lot of points. His infield is rounded out with Neil Walker and Asdrubal Cabrera. Walker was the sixth highest scoring 2B in 2011 and is a value in the 11th Round while Cabrera was the sixth highest scoring SS and merits a 6th Round selection, or close to it. Andrew McCutchen is the only Top 25 OF on the team, but Brett Gardner wasn't far behind at 26. Carl Crawford could be a steal or a complete bust in the 8th Round.
Cliff Lee is an excellent way to get your rotation started in a points league and Matt Cain and Ian Kennedy each made my Top 20 SP list in January. Most are projecting a good year for Mat Latos and there should definitely be the potential for the 7-point W multiplier with him now on Cincinnati. Carlos Marmol is the only RP on his team, but considering you don't play for categories in a points league, it's unlikely to hurt LZL much considering the talent at the top of his staff.
Biggest Bargain: Neil Walker 2B
Getting Top 6 points at an infield position as late as the 11th Round is definitely a bargain in my book.
Honorable Mention: Gaby Sanchez 1B
Biggest Reach: Kurt Suzuki C
Considering Carlos Ruiz scored as much as Suzuki in 2011 and went undrafted and AJ Pierzynski and Russell Martin each scored more than Suzuki and were drafted much later, LZL probably could have held off on the A's backstop for a few more rounds.
Honorable Mention: Eric Hosmer 1B, Carl Crawford OF
Fake Teams:
Read Ray's recap of his team here. Ray targeted the 4-point HR multiplier and went heavy on power with Mark Teixeira, Jay Bruce, Dan Uggla and Chris Young, but all do offer strikeout potential. It's a risk but it could pay off huge if each can increase their BA from last season while at the same time limiting their strikeouts.
Clayton Kershaw drafted second overall came as a surprise to some, but considering I had seen him chosen first overall quite often in mock drafts this offseason, it's a move that makes sense to me. Jon Lester, Josh Beckett and Jaime Garcia should round out the rotation nicely. Like LZL, Ray is a little short on RP considering both Javy Guerra and Matt Thornton could lose the closer role not long into the season, but, as mentioned above, that's not as detrimental as in a roto league.
Biggest Bargain: Josh Beckett P
Considering the team he plays for, Beckett should offer excellent potential for points via wins as the third best pitcher on Ray's team.
Honorable Mention: Chris Young OF, Bryce Harper OF
Biggest Reach: Dee Gordon SS
Dee Gordon could steal 70 bases this year, but he might have to to merit a 8th Round selection as he offers little potential for points via XBH, RBI or BB.
Honorable Mention: Jay Bruce OF
G4ce:
G4ce took an interesting approach and targeted OF with four of his first five picks with Matt Kemp third overall. Kemp was the third highest scoring hitter last season and many are predicting similar numbers this year. Curtis Granderson is expected to have another productive season, but I somewhat question the selection of Giancarlo Stanton in the 3rd Round in this format. Hunter Pence in the 5th Round could be the best value of all four of them. Both David Wright and Chase Utley have yet to see ABs which could leave G4ce's infield depleted if both start the season on the DL. It doesn't get more consistent than Paul Konerko at 1B .
Tommy Hanson is the ace of the staff, selected in the 9th Round with Michael Pineda and Brandon Beachy selected right after. All three should offer a lot of points via strikeout in 2012, as well as Cory Luebke and Max Scherzer. G4ce elected not to draft any RP and instead will likely focus on filling his seven P spots each week with the five starters mentioned above and other favorable matchups.
Biggest Bargain: Hunter Pence OF
Hunter Pence scored 433 points in 2012 and could be primed to score even more as the cleanup hitter for Philadelphia on Opening Day.
Honorable Mention: Michael Pineda P, Cory Luebke P, Torii Hunter OF
Biggest Reach: Giancarlo Stanton OF
Over 30 outfielders scored more points than Giancarlo "Mike" Stanton in 2011 due to his extreme strikeout tendencies. His contact rate suggests Stanton isn't likely to drastically improve on his strikeout totals in 2012 and he has already suffered wrist and knee injuries over the course of spring training. His power certainly plays in roto leagues, but in a points league, the strikeouts and injury potential are a liability more than anything else.
Honorable Mention: Chase Utley 2B
Kevin:
Read the complete recap of my team including my RP pitching strategy here.
Biggest Bargain: Roy Halladay P
To get what could be the highest scoring pitcher this season in the end of the 2nd Round combined with who could be the highest scoring hitter (Albert Pujols) in the 1st Round, is a great foundation for my team.
Honorable Mention: Jesus Montero DH, Lance Berkman 1B/OF, Erick Aybar SS
Biggest Reach: Jonathan Papelbon P
I have no idea why I selected Papelbon prior to Rivera or when Axford was still available. Fortunately I was able to select Rivera the next round to build my RP focused strategy, but it could be a costly error to have passed on Axford.
Honorable Mention: Brandon League P, Frank Francisco P, Brett Myers P
If my RP strategy doesn't pay off, I could be in big trouble from a pitching standpoint.
What do you think about these teams? Which ones do you think are in good shape going into the start of the season? Feel free to comment below and ask any and all points league questions.