2013 Fantasy Baseball Draft

     After a 3 month hiatus, I'm back for baseball season!  For my fist article, I'll be breaking down my draft for 2013.  There are 8 teams in my Yahoo baseball league. Our position slots are as follows: C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, 3 OF, 5 SP, 3 RP, and 2 P.  We have 7 bench spots available.  We each have 5 keepers that we choose off  our rosters from last year.  You are not allowed to choose the same player to be your keeper for more than 1 consecutive year.  You are allowed to trade keepers in my league. For instance, I traded my keeper Tim Lincecum last year for my league mate's keeper, Evan Longoria.  I then used one of my keeper slots for this year on Evan Longoria.  Our scoring categories are:  R, HR, RBI, SB, AVG, OBP, W, SV, ERA, WHIP.  We are a friends and family league that is in our third year of operation.  The entry fee is $50 with prizes for first, second, and third place, as well as for best records in the first and second half of the season.  Any roster moves over 25 cost 1 dollar each, that money also goes to the league champion.  My keepers this year are Giancarlo Stanton, Evan Longoria, Adam Jones, Cole Hamels, and Kris Medlen.  Because I am the defending league champion, I picked last in the draft this year.  Our draft was on Monday, 3/18 at a local pub.  It snowed and unfortunately for those who were at the draft party, the internet kept going out!  As a result, several of my later round picks were auto-drafted.  Here our my picks for the 2013 fantasy baseball draft:

Prince Fielder, 1B

Prince Fielder (1st round, 8th pick)-  I was a little surprised that Fielder fell to me at 8.  Some of my league-mates are a little pitcher happy.  Verlander went 2nd overall, before Braun, Cano, McCutchen, and Pujols.  Trout, Kemp, Votto, C.Gonzalez, and Strasburg were all keepers, thus unavailable.  In fairness, the person who took Verlander 2nd did not keep any starting pitchers from last year so there was a need.  In my opinion, Fielder is the most durable of the elite first baseman.  This increases his value to me and I probably would have still taken him over Pujols if I had the option.

Troy Tulowitzki, SS

Troy Tulowitzki (2nd round, 1st pick)-  Tulo is far and away the best shortstop in baseball when he is healthy.  Unfortunately, being healthy has been an issue the last couple of years.  The possibility of 30HR/100RBI type of production from the shortstop position was just too good to pass on.  Tulo presents risks, but if he's healthy, he could be what I need to put me back in the championship.

Yu Darvish, SP

Yu Darvish (3rd round, 8th pick)-  Pitchers were flying off the board and Darvish was pretty much the best available at this point.  Anytime a pitcher can get me 200 strikeouts and an ERA under 4.00, I'm happy. With the addition of Houston to the AL West and his MLB rookie jitters gone, Darvish should get even better this year.

Ben Zobrist, 2B

Ben Zobrist (4th round, 1st pick)-  Cano, Pedroia, Kinsler, and A.Hill were all already off the board, but Zobrist was my target at second base going into the draft anyways.  He is consistent, durable, and most importantly, has eligibility at 2nd,SS, and OF.  Going into the draft, I knew I would probably take Tulo with my second pick.  Since there is a legitimate injury risk with him, I knew I needed someone decent who could play short for me for possibly an extended period of time.  Zobrist fits that criteria.  He will be my starting 2nd baseman, but I can move him to short if I need to.  It gives me more flexibility if I need to pick up a free agent due to injury.

Anthony Rizzo (5th round, 8th pick)- This was when the internet at the pub went out the first time.  It's not that I don't like Rizzo, I just wouldn't have taken him this high.  Especially when there where other first baseman with more proven track records available.  I would have preferred to have taken Konerko or Trumbo to use in one of my utility spots or as my backup 1st baseman. Oh well, owned by the auto-draft.

Aramis Ramirez, 3B

Aramis Ramirez (6th round, 1st pick)- I love me some Aramis.  I had him on my team last year and he is seriously underrated.  The guy puts up over 25 HRs, around 100 RBIs, and hits about .300 every year. All around great player and a good value at this point in the draft.  He will occupy one of my utility spots this season and since my starting 3rd baseman (Evan Longoria) is injury prone, ARAM is a perfect backup.

Jordan Zimmermann, SP

Jordan Zimmermann (7th round, 8th pick)-  Zimmermann is another one of my mid round favorites.  I have had him on my team for 3 years now.  I haven't used a keeper slot on him, but he always seems to be available to me at the right time in the draft.  He won't get you a ton of strikeouts, but he always has a low ERA/WHIP and he's on the Nationals so he should get plenty of wins.

Yovani Gallardo, SP

Yovani Gallardo (8th round, 1st pick)-  I had Gallardo on my team 2 years ago, he is pretty consistent in what he is going to give you.  I expect over 200 strikeouts and plenty of wins, as the Brewers have one of the highest scoring offenses in baseball.  If he does that and keeps his ERA under 4, I'll be happy.

Wilin Rosario, C

Wilin Rosario (9th round, 8th pick)- Victor Martinez was my first choice at catcher, but he went a lot earlier than I expected.  Rosario put up 27 homers and 70 RBIs in 117 games last season. Impressive numbers for the rookie catcher and since he is still playing for Colorado, there is a good chance he will at least match that this season.

Curtis Granderson, OF

Curtis Granderson (10th round, 1st pick)-  I live in New Jersey and all my league-mates are also from Jersey/New York.  That means lots of Yankees nuts in my league.  Usually the New York players go quick and early.  I know Grandy will be out for a good month and a half, but I was surprised he was still around this late in our draft.  If he can still get me 30 homers and 80 RBIs, he will be well worth the pick.

Miguel Montero, C

Miguel Montero (11th round, 8th pick)-  I had Montero on my team last year for most of the season.  I traded him around the deadline for ARAM.  A good backup catcher is always a valuable commodity.  It's a grueling position to play and your starter will miss more games than any other position.

Hunter Pence, OF

Hunter Pence (12th round, 1st pick)-  I have mixed feelings about this pick.  Pence and I have a history.  I had him on my team my first year doing fantasy baseball and he was great.  I used a keeper on him last year and things started out ok.  Unfortunately, the Phillies had a huge amount of injuries last year and their offense was virtually anemic.  Pence was traded to the Giants, his third team in 2 years, where he proceeded to take a nose dive.  I ended up dropping him for Ryan Ludwick towards the end of the season.  I really think Pence can bounce back this year.  He is surrounded by good players and doesn't have being traded hanging over his head.  I will be happy if he puts up similar numbers to last year, but brings his batting average back up by 30 points.

Jeff Samardzija, SP

Jeff Samardzija (13th round, 8th pick)- And the internet goes out again...  At this point we were about to start breaking stuff!  This time the Wifi didn't start working again until the draft was finished!  Needless to say we will not be going back to that Pub next year.  I'm actually not upset by this auto-draft pick.  Pretty solid late round starting pitcher.  He is projected to have a good year, but he is on the Cubs...

Anibal Sanchez, SP

Anibal Sanchez (14th round, 1st pick)-  Another auto-draft and at this point, I'm starting to really wish I had put some closers in my que.  Not too crazy about this pick.  Sanchez should get plenty of opportunities to win games for Detroit this year, but the rest of his stats don't make me want to do the Harlem Shake.

Brett Anderson, SP

Brett Anderson (15th round, 8th pick)- For the love of God, auto-draft me a closer!  Anderson can put up decent stats when he is healthy. Which hasn't happened in two years...  First ingrown nail, stubbed toe, or hyper-extended pinky finger he gets that I hear about, I'm dropping him.

Addison Reed, RP

Addison Reed (16th round, 1st pick)- REALLY auto-draft? This is the best closer you could get me?  Seriously though, I'm just glad to get a closer at this point.  Reed's ERA is way too high for a closer, but at least he is relatively locked into the job.  Of all the positions I could be lacking in at this point, closer is the one I feel most comfortable about.  I didn't even draft most of my closers last year, my best pickup being Fernando Rodney when Kyle Farnsworth went down with injury.  There is a lot of volatility at the closer position, due to injury or just poor play.  There should be plenty of chances to pick up decent ones throughout the season.

Jonathan Broxton (17th round, 8th pick)- OH COME ON NOW!  I guess auto-draft didn't know Chapman was most likely going to go back to being the closer for the Reds...  I have already dropped Broxton in favor of Steve Cishek.  Cishek is Miami's official closer and will get more save opportunities even though the Marlins will be terrible again this year.

Brandon League (18th round, 1st pick)- At least he is a closer, well for the time being,,,  I will have to keep a close eye on him to make sure he doesn't lose the job.  I already have Kenley Jansen on my watch list just in case... I like to fill my P slots with closers, that way I have a chance of getting some production from those slots all week.  I usually run 5 closers total, and then 3 starting pitchers on the bench that I rotate in, for a total of 8 starting pitchers.  That leaves me 4 bench slots for hitters.

Nick Swisher, OF

Nick Swisher (19th round, 8th pick)-  I'm a Yankees fan and I never liked this guy.  Mostly because he is terrible in the post season, but also because he acts like a puppy dog.  I'm serious, put some floppy ears and a tail on the dude and he is a puppy dog.  Funny thing is,  I actually like this auto-draft pick.  Swisher puts up decent stats in the regular season and I think he wants to prove to the Yankees that they were wrong in passing on him.  He has eligibility at 1st and the outfield. He is also having a good spring, not that that means much.  We'll see, if he has a slow start I'll ship his puppy dog ass off to the pound.

Norichika Aoki, OF

Norichika Aoki (20th round, 1st pick)-  Another auto-draft pick I don't really mind.  Aoki is an ideal bench player.  He hits for a decent average and can get you runs and stolen bases.  That's all I really want from a guy on my bench.  Come in, don't suck, and get me a few numbers here and there.  The only downside to him is that I have too many outfielders.  I need a backup second baseman and I will probably end up dropping Aoki for one who can steal a TON of bases because that is the stat I am most lacking in.

Adam Eaton (21st round, 8th pick)-  I don't hate this auto-draft pick either.  I was planning on taking Eaton late if he was available anyway.  Eaton is a highly touted prospect for Arizona.  He was having a good spring and then sprained the UCL in his left elbow.  He'll miss 6-8 weeks, which makes me a sad panda.  I'll probably stash him away on my DL and see what he does in a couple of months.

Eric Aybar (22nd round, 1st pick)-  I already have two guys who can play short on my team and I don't need a Nosferatu, I mean a third...  I dropped him for Ernesto Frieri because I am desperate for closers and Frieri should have the job for the next couple of months.  I still need another closer that I will pick up when I am able to put Curtis Granderson on the DL.

Thanks for reading!  My next article will be on some sleeper picks that I'm keeping an eye on.  I should get that to you by mid week.