My 50 Round Dynasty League Draft: Rounds 41-50

Pick 41.1
Brandon Jacobs- The former two-sport star showed why Boston was so high on him, that is, high enough to hand out a $750,000 bonus after the '09 draft, a dollar figure that represents his ability more than his round selection (10th). Jacobs had a successful season at Low-A Greenville last year, batting .303 while slugging 17 home runs and stealing 30 bases. He showed the ability to be a run producer, though there are questions regarding his pitch recognition and propensity for strike outs. Sox officials would like to see him be more patient at the plate, laying off breaking balls outside the zone would surely cut down on his number of K's. Jacobs is said to have plus power potential, and the former Auburn running back recruit should see his speed increase as well, once he develops a frame that resembles more of a baseball body. He's a work in progress, still very raw, but if he reaches his potential he could be a 20-20 guy at the major league level. His 2011 performance earned him recognition from most prospect gurus, none more so than Kevin Goldstein who ranked him 46th in his top 101 prospect list.
Other Players Considered: Jon Jay, Levi Michaels, Josh Sale

Pick 41.16
Junior Lake- My selection of Lake centered a lot around this scouting report provided by Mike Newman at Fangraphs. Lake was a hot name in prospect circles this past Winter, after he hit a combined .279 with 33 extra-base hits while stealing 38 bases. If you follow KG on twitter I'm sure you noticed that there were more questions about him than any other prospect. Lake is worth the gamble at this juncture of the draft. My focus on minor leaguers was ceiling more than floor, and if you read Newman's piece you'll see that the potential is worth the flyer. I read that based on athletic ability alone his ceiling is higher than Starlin Castro's and while neither is a lock to stay at SS long term, if Lake could fulfill the "poor man's BJ Upton" comp and stick as a middle-infielder then he easily becomes a valuable fantasy commodity.
Other Players Considered: Jorge Alfaro, Chris Reed, Tyler Greene

Pick 43.1
Joba Chamberlain- My decision to punt on relief pitcher's with a guaranteed role lead to my selection of Chamberlain. I knew that he was coming back from surgery but saw enough prior to believe he could be a second half contributor. My roster doesn't boast one legitimate closer so the selection of Joba is me hoping he can be a source of cheap saves, someway, somehow. With my last 10 selections I'm less worried about mistakes, in a league with rosters this deep the final 10 are less important. Also I subscribe to the old adage of never paying for saves so the plan is to be active on the waiver one closers start falling. A perfect strategy? No, but could I reap the same rewards as an owner that selects closers and selects them early? Certainly, and that's where the fun comes in.
Other Players Considered: James Loney, Henry Owens, Andy Oliver

Pick 43.16
Enny Romero- Truth be told, I don't know much about Romero but a high ceiling arm in the Tampa organization seems like a good bet in the long term. The Rays have had the most recent success developing pitchers so any arm that grades as a B- (based on John Sickels of Minor League Ball) seems like a worthwhile selection. My preference would have been to choose Henry Owens of the Boston Red Sox, a pitcher who I am more familiar with. Unfortunately he went two picks prior which lead me to Romero.
Other Players Considered: Taylor Lindsey, Joe Blanton

Pick 45.1
Aaron Sanchez- Graded a B- by John Sickels, Sanchez is a high upside arm years away from contributing. Toronto has one of, if not the best farm systems when talking high ceiling pitching and Sanchez is a member of that discussion. Keith Law thinks enough of him to rate him as the #96 prospect in his top 100, and while basing selections solely on prospect rankings is an imperfect strategy, one I normally wouldn't implement, my knowledge of available players is pretty thin at this stage. I'm simply going for the highest potential and wishing on a star, which is what we're all doing when there is a lack of significant data.
Other Players Considered: Joc Pederson, Sean Coyle

Pick 45.16
Sean Coyle- I'm completely guilty of BoSox bias here, but taking Coyle makes a lot of sense for my minors system. He hit 14 home runs and stole 20 bases last year at Greenville and the reports on his transition to second base have been promising. Project Prospect ranked him 100 in their list and while it may be early to start pegging him as a potential successor to Dustin Pedroia, having a second baseman with his power and speed potential is an asset worth having. His bat is more advanced than his defense so he's still years away.
Other Players Considered: None

Pick 47.1

Andy Dirks- Ok, so maybe I'm grasping at straws here. Dirks selection is based on him being the Dominican League's version of "La Flama Blanca". He was scorching down in the DL this past Winter, I mean the boy was red hot! Of course that won't translate to major league production this season but maybe it could be a confidence builder for the 26 year old outfielder. He doesn't have a starting job for the Detroit Tigers but provides insurance should one of their key guys goes down. I'm sure I'm not the only one who is rostering a 4th outfielder at this point, here's hoping the legend of La Flama Blanca lives on!

Other Players Considered: Erasmo Ramirez

Erasmo Ramirez-He's a top 10 Mariners selection who is producing results greater than expected. The book on him is he is a bit undersized so there isn't much projection, but his secondary pitches have developed quite well and he uses his control and command to the best of his abilities. I reached out to Markus for his thoughts and he sent me over an article that sealed the deal. He's not far away from contributing in some aspect, whether he's a bullpen guy or starter long term is currently undecided, but never the less, I'm betting on the kid from Nicarauga who just wanted a shot.

Other Players Considered: None

Derek Lowe- Maybe it's his age, or the awful showing he has last year in Atlanta but I'm a bit surprised Lowe was available here. A ground ball pitcher such as him could really help my WHIP if he can return to form. I'm betting on Lowe improving on last season and being a viable streaming candidate this year. We'll see if I'm correct in my assessment but I think he's worthy of being a starting option if the match up is right.

Other Players Considered: Felix Doubront

Parker Markel- All I knew about Markel is that Law saw him and wrote about him last June. To paraphrase KLaw thinks his delivery requires too much effort which results in him not being able to maintain velo late in the game. He believes he would be better off as a reliever and sees late inning upside in the Tampa Bay pitcher. He even goes as far as to say he could be a real asset in the bullpen flashing two plus pitches and average third. Tampa is known for promoting starting pitchers to the MLB pen as part of their development process but it's possible Markel could be the one that sticks.

Other Players Considered: None