skyking162

In the spirit of mocking those I think are less fortunate than I, my reviews of AL fantasy draft will go in reverse order of predicted finish according to PECOTA. I already wrote up my team, so hopefully this doesn’t jinx them into a last place finish. I’m screwed, aren’t I?

Click here for the rest of the reviews.

The Keepers

Rod Barajas - $9; Eh, the power from a catcher is nice, but he’s not good enough to play full-time with Laird also on the team.
Jeff Mathis - $4; Could be a good risk, but a risk as a keeper?
Chris Shelton - $8; I foresee this guy having a huge first week and a solid rest of the season. Good value here.
Jhonny Peralta - $15; Underrated going into last year, but is this an overrated price?
Joe Crede - $4; Cheap, decent keeper
Nick Swisher - $6; Billy Beane thinks young players really come into their own the second half of their second year. Is that a corollary to the Age 27 Breakout Rule?
Scot Shields - $6; One of the best, most reliable middle relievers. He’ll earn this even if he doesn’t close. I liked when Shield got to start a couple games a year or two ago.
Jarrod Washburn - $6; Upside used to be a lot higher. Will be decent pitching in Safeco.

Michael had the worst set of keepers, putting him on pace for a team worth $216 of value. None were bad prices, but none were well below value.

The Auction

Ichiro Suzuki - $43; In the first three years of the HRBL (current version), the winning team had Ichiro! on its roster. The difference between Ichiro being worth this much and being worth $30 is the difference between hitting .300 and .350 (insert Bull Durham quote here).
Adrian Beltre - $23; A good gamble to perform somewhere between his Dodger breakout level and last year’s level.
Garret Anderson - $18; I forget, is he overrated or underrated this year? $18? Must be overrated.
Lew Ford - $7; Michael had filled most of his team before filling his first OF spot. He found some solid deals for waiting so long.
Carl Everett $6; He’s not a star, Safeco will hurt, but unless he bombs Everett should play full time. That’s worth at least $6.
Kevin Millar $5; Remember when the Marlins, Red Sox, and Japan were fighting over Millah? He’s become underrated.
Tony Graffinino $1; Once a Royal, always a Royal. I wonder if they can get Randa back from the Pirates mid-year…

Ron Belliard - $17; Ugh. He and Juan Uribe both had breakout years two years ago and neither will ever approach those performances again.
Barry Zito - $23; When is a pitcher with a 8.00 ERA league-average? When he alternates giving up 7 runs in 1.1 IP with giving up 1 hit in 8 IP.
Javier Vazquez - $19; There were a number of second tier pitchers that went for $20 — Vazquez is a better bet than any of them.
Gustavo Chacin - $11; Hey, I think the Jays are going to win a lot of games this year — the dubyas have to go to somebody.
David Wells - $7; Only if he’s traded to San Diego. And then only if he pitches exclusively at home.
Justin Ducksharer - $6; What a great role for a damn good pitcher. If the A’s didn’t have such a solid rotation I’d be clammoring that Justin’s wasted in the ‘pen.
Adam Eaton - $6; Ouch.
Jesse Crain - $3; I’ve seen him pitch live.

Team Outlook

PECOTA pegs this team at $192 and Rototimes says $198, good for 10th and 9th respectively. If things turn out this way, Michael’s prediction that his brother will beat him his first year of fantasy baseball will be correct. Nice prediction!

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