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Tout Wars AL-Only Draft Results Recap

March 19, 2012; Surprise, AZ, USA; Texas Rangers starting pitcher Yu Darvish (11) delivers a pitch to Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Norichika Aoki (left) during the second inning at Surprise Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE
March 19, 2012; Surprise, AZ, USA; Texas Rangers starting pitcher Yu Darvish (11) delivers a pitch to Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Norichika Aoki (left) during the second inning at Surprise Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE

The Tout Wars experts league AL-Only draft took place on Saturday morning, and here is a link to the spreadsheet with rosters and auction prices for every team.

Here are some auction prices that caught my eye, by position:

Catcher

Matt Wieters was drafted att $22 by Chris Liss. I am not one to spend a lot on catchers, but I am long Matt Wieters this season. I think he will have a breakout season in 2012. By comparison, he was auctioned for $2 more than Twins catcher Joe Mauer.

Interesting that Jesus Montero went for $14 in the auction, and even more interesting was the fact that he was drafted as a catcher. Where is he eligible in ESPN and Yahoo leagues?

First Base

Albert Pujols went for $40, the most expensive player in the draft. Not surprising. Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera went for $39. What surprised me the most was that Prince Fielder went for just $30 in this auction. I am participating in my first AL-only keeper league auction in two weeks, and I don't see Fielder going for anything less than $40.

Angels DH/first baseman Kendrys Morales went for $13 to Mike Siano, and he could prove to be the steal of the draft if he can come close to his 2009 performance.

More Tout Wars AL-Only draft results recap after the jump:

Second Base

Robinson Cano went for $37, Ian Kinsler went for $33, Dustin Pedroia went for $31, then Howie Kendrick went for $25. Kendrick at $25? He somehow went for more than Rays second baseman Ben Zobrist, who went for $24. I would take Zobrist over Kendrick as he almost put up a 20-100-90-20 season last year.

Shortstop

Derek Jeter went for $20 to Mike Siano, which was the same auction price that Asdrubal Cabrera went for. Really? Jeter is nothing more than a singles hitter now. The surprising bids, for me, were the $17 bid on Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar and the $13 on A's shortstop Cliff Pennington. I did hear in the offseason that Pennington plans to run more in 2012, so he could be a cheap source of stolen bases in AL-only leagues.

Third Base

Not surprisingly, Blue Jays third baseman Brett Lawrie went for $29 to Rotowire's Jeff Erickson. Lawrie went for just $2 less than Rays third baseman Evan Longoria and $3 less than Blue Jays third baseman Jose Bautista. How much do you want to bet that Lawrie puts up a 20-20 season in 2012?

Outfield

Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury went for $37, making him the highest priced outfielder in the draft. Yankees outfielder Curtis Granderson went for $32, the same value as Jose Bautista.

Some surprising draft prices were: Desmond Jennings at $27, Ichiro Suzuki for $24, Yoenis Cespedes for $15 and Coco Crisp for $20. Which would you prefer?

DH/Utility

White Sox DH Adam Dunn went for $15, so someone is betting that he returns to the 35 home run hitter he was two years ago. He could prove to be a steal if he can put his 2011 season behind him. Mariners first baseman Justin Smoak went for $14 and I think he will make Chris Liss look smart for winning that bid. By the way, Liss also drafted Dunn at $15.

Royals DH Billy Butler went for $25 in this draft, which is about $4-5 more than I would have expected.

Pitchers

Justin Verlander was the most expensive pitcher taken in the draft, going for $28, with Jered Weaver and CC Sabathia going for $26 apiece, followed by David Price and Felix Hernandez at $25 apiece. The guy who I think could outperform all of these guys, Dan Haren, went for $22 to Jeff Erickson.

Erickson also won the bidding on Rays starter Matt Moore at $18.

It appears that some of the experts are buying the solid spring that Twins starter Francisco Liriano is having as he went for $13, which is about $5 more than I would have expected. Some other starters who went for more than I expected include Chris Sale for $11 to Mike SIano, Jeremy Hellickson to Jason Collette for $15, Clay Buchholz for $11 to Chris Liss, David Price for $25 and James Shields for $20 to Ron Shandler, and Brian Matusz for $7 to Liss.