Draft went pretty much how I had it scripted beforehand. I can only recall having a player taken before I could pull the trigger twice. One was Ben Zobrist. I had him slotted in the 11 hole and Barzilla grabbed him in the 10th. The other was Scott Kazmir who I had in my sights for the 18th and he got scooped up in the 17th.

I had the 2nd pick overall which means I was drafting 2nd to last in every even numbered round and again 3 picks later in odd numbered rounds.

Catcher
Matt Wieters - Catcher was the last position I filled and I grabbed Wieters at the end of the 16th.

First Base
I went with Miguel Cabrera with my 1st pick (2nd overall). Miggy qualifies for 1B and 3B, so the thinking was to grab him and have my choice of going with 1B or 3B later. 1B is pretty deep but comes off the board pretty quick, 3B not so deep. Was happy when the 3rd sacker I grabbed was still on the board in the 3rd. Backups - Michael Cuddyer (18), Mark Trumbo (9) and Michael Morse (20).

Second Base
Cano, Altuve and Rendon were gone by round 3, so grabbing a 2B for me, got pushed to the mid rounds. After I missed on Zobrist I selected Daniel Murphy in the 11th. Backup - Wilmer Flores-25th round (last pick). Who?

Third Base
Like I said, either Cabrera was going to play 3B and I'd draft a 1B or I'd stick Miggy at 1st and grab a 3B, if available. Freddie Freeman was the 1B I was looking at here if this certain 3B was gone. Josh Donaldson was still on the table in the top of the 3rd so I ran to the podium with that pick. Backups - Miggy and Murphy both qualify at 3rd.

Shortstop
While guys like Tulo, Hanley and Reyes were coming off the board early, and SS being such a shallow position, I use my 2nd pick (23rd overall) on Ian Desmond. Backup - Flores is eligible at SS.

Left Field
Outfield didn't get addressed until the 9th round because I used rounds 4-8 on pitching. Mark Trumbo was the selection here. Backup - Michael Morse (20th round) is eligible in LF.

Centerfield
Ben Zobrist is eligible at 2B, SS, and all 3 OF positions. My plan was to draft Zobrist and Murphy, use Murph at 2B and Zobrist in CF. When Barzilla screwed that to hell, I pushed CF to the 12th round where I picked up A.J. Pollock. A lot of talk about him doing some good things this year so I rolled the dice. Backup - Went with a guy from the Dodgers, Joc Pederson (17th), who draft geeks predict could go 20/20 this season.

Right Field
I did about 4 or 5 mock drafts in the past month and only once was I able to get this guy where I wanted to draft him, which was 10th. So I was really surprised he was still there, at the bottom of 10 at that. He'll start the season on the DL, but that's OK. My starting RF will be Hunter Pence. Backup - Michael Cuddyer (18th).

Starting Rotation
Top 4
Matt Harvey, Jake Arrieta, Jacob deGrom, Michael Wacha
I know it's pretty risky going with a guy coming off a major injury as my ace but by the time I got around to drafting an ace (end of the 4th round) there wasn't a whole lot left. Arrieta is a guy I just wanted. Don't know why, I just did. Grabbed him at the end of 6. For me it came down to deGrom and Gio Gonzalez in the 8th. I usually don't like taking multiple pitchers from the same staff, and I did and still do think Gio probably would have been the better option but I had deGrom rated a little better and went with that. Then in the 13th round, I had the trigger about halfway pulled on Colin McHugh. Went with Wacha instead because I just trust him a little better. Plus, Astros on my fantasy team have never done too well. Don't know the last time I had an Astro, but I haven't drafted one since 2009 (Valverde).

Rest of the rotation
Jose Fernandez, Taijuan Walker, Jake Odorizzi, Drew Pomeranz
I know Fernandez won't be ready 'til June or July, but it doesn't hurt to have him stashed. I did have to grab him pretty early though (14th). Walker has just been lights out in spring ball so this pick (15th) is one I'm hoping to catch lightning in a bottle.

Relief Pitching
Closers
Craig Kimbrel, Trevor Rosenthal
The last and only time I've won this league (2011) was with Kimbrel on my team. Have never been able to get him back because he always goes pretty early and I usually don't start looking for a closer 'til around the 8th round. Not this time. I have TWO closers before the 8th and I grab Kimbrel in the top of the 5th and take Rosenthal in the 7th.

Relievers
Joel Peralta, A.J. Ramos, Kevin Quackenbush
My holds guys get pushed back until the 21st round where I take them in 3 consecutive rounds. No real strategy here as I'll go through holds guys like I'll go through an 18 pack.


I don't feel like I really reached in this draft, other than maybe grabbing 2 closers before the 8th round. Like I said, normally I don't draft my 1st one until the 8th. And if either one of these guys sees significant shelf time then I paid a pretty high price. Other than that, I stayed pretty close to ADP. Fernandez may have been a bit of a reach but I felt like I had to take him when I did if I had any decent chance of grabbing him. If I didn't get him bottom 14/top 15 where I did, I didn't think there was any way he lasted 'til the bottom of 16.

I'm happy with the draft. I've got decent speed as Murphy, Pollock, Desmond and Pederson can all give me double digit steals.
I've got some pop with Cabrera, Trumbo, Donaldson, Desmond, Pence, Wieters, Cuddyer, Morse and Pederson all with 20+ HR potential. I feel I have a solid rotation that gets better when Fernandez comes back mid-summer, and a couple of solid closers that aren't likely to lose their jobs and have me scrambling to find closers.

I started out with nothing...and I still have most of it.
Last Edited By: Speedy08 Mar 29 15 12:36 AM. Edited 3 times.