On Tuesday, March 16, 2010, RotoCommunity.com participated in a fantasy baseball draft with the other industry experts listed below. Player position eligibility was provided by ESPN. We'll play a standard 5x5 category roto scoring system with weekly line-ups and NFBC-style FAAB. We're using the ESPN league manager, so you can see all the rosters and follow the league through the year by CLICKING HERE. The league has 15 teams and is set-up like this: C (2), 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, CI, MI, OF (5), UTIL, P (9), 7 Bench spots.

Participants

1. FantasyPhenoms.com - Jason Sarney
2. FantasyBaseball365.com - Charlie Saponara [FB365 analysis article]
3. FantasyBaseballTradeMarket.com - Chris Spencer [FBTM analysis article]
4. RotoSavants.com - Ryan Restivo and Troy Patterson
5. AdvancedFantasyBaseball.com - Jon Williams
6. ChinstrapNinjas.com - John Zaktansky [John's commentary]
7. LestersLegends.com - Ryan Lester and Delon Ferdinand
8. FantasyGameday.net - Ivar Anderson [FGD analysis article]
9. RotoRob.com - Tim McLeod and Buck Davidson
10. RotoProfessor.com - Jimmy Hascup and Eric Stashin [RP analysis article]
11. RotoCommunity.com - Dave Gawron and Pat Mayo
12. FantasyBaseballSherpa.com - Scott Swanay
13. FantasyBaseball.com - Ed Lilly
14. FantasyBaseballGeeks.com - Joe Pisapia
15. TheFantasyMan.com - Mike Kuchera

Here's how the draft went down round-by-round, with analysis following each round.

Round 1

(1) New York FantasyPhenoms - Albert Pujols 1B (2) Chicago FB 365 - Hanley Ramirez SS (3) Atlanta FBTradeMarket - Ryan Braun LF (4) Boston RotoSavants - Alex Rodriguez 3B (5) Texas Advanced FB - Matt Kemp CF (6) Milwaukee ChinstrapNinjas - Chase Utley 2B (7) Florida LestersLegends - Prince Fielder 1B (8) Detroit FantasyGameday - Miguel Cabrera 1B (9) Toronto RotoRob - Evan Longoria 3B (10) Washington RotoProfessor - Mark Teixeira 1B ** (11) Pittsburgh RotoCommunity - Ryan Howard 1B (12) New York FB Sherpa - David Wright 3B (13) Baltimore FB-dot-com - Joe Mauer C (14) Philadelphia FB Geeks - Tim Lincecum SP (15) New York Fantasy Man - Carl Crawford LF

The first round went as expected except it was a bit of a stunner that TradeMarket chose Braun over A-Rod with the lack of depth at 3B, but you certainly can’t fault anyone for loving Braun -- he’s a monster. It was relatively disappointing missing out on Evan Longoria, who went at pick 9, but shoring up our first base slot with elite power is a nice way to start a draft. It will allow for greater flexibility deeper in the draft as speed will be available later down the line. Apparently Dave and I aren’t the only ones who know this. Case and point, Carl Crawford and his propensity for base larceny fell to pick 15 -- by far the lowest I’ve seen him drop in any draft this year.

Round  2

(16) New York Fantasy Man - Roy Halladay SP (17) Philadelphia FB Geeks - Troy Tulowitzki SS (18) Baltimore FB-dot-com - Matt Holliday LF (19) New York FB Sherpa - Derek Jeter SS ** (20) Pittsburgh RotoCommunity - Justin Upton RF (21) Washington RotoProfessor - Ian Kinsler 2B (22) Toronto RotoRob - Jacoby Ellsbury CF (23) Detroit FantasyGameday - Pablo Sandoval 3B (24) Florida LestersLegends - Adrian Gonzalez 1B (25) Milwaukee ChinstrapNinjas - Zack Greinke SP (26) Texas Advanced FB - Dustin Pedroia 2B (27) Boston RotoSavants - Felix Hernandez SP (28) Atlanta FBTradeMarket - Ryan Zimmerman 3B (29) Chicago FB 365 - Grady Sizemore CF (30) New York FantasyPhenoms - Jimmy Rollins SS

I was praying for the Tulowitzki to fall to us at 20 but the Polish Punisher got scooped up at 17. When it came time to draft we had a tough choice between Upton and Kinsler, but we felt that an injury risk in the second round wasn’t worth it. I still love Kinsler this year, but where we drafted Howard with our first pick, it made sense not to add another problematic average to our line up. Upton is a true five category guy and should only improve on his breakout 2009. The shallow talent pool at 3B forced FantasyGameday into Sandoval a bit early at 23, but solidifying the position became a necessity. TradeMarket clearly had a plan passing on A-Rod. He was able to nab Ryan Zimmerman at pick 28 giving him a formidable one, two punch. The second most scarce position, SS, was addressed in a big way. Along with Tulo, Jeter came off the board at 19, which seems crazy to me, and Rollins was the bookend of the round at pick 30.

Round 3

(31) New York FantasyPhenoms - Joey Votto 1B (32) Chicago FB 365 - Jose Reyes SS (33) Atlanta FBTradeMarket - Ichiro Suzuki RF (34) Boston RotoSavants - CC Sabathia SP (35) Texas Advanced FB - Aaron Hill 2B (36) Milwaukee ChinstrapNinjas - Victor Martinez C (37) Florida LestersLegends - Kevin Youkilis 3B (38) Detroit FantasyGameday - Adam Lind LF (39) Toronto RotoRob - Robinson Cano 2B (40) Washington RotoProfessor - Brian McCann C ** (41) Pittsburgh RotoCommunity - Mark Reynolds 3B (42) New York FB Sherpa - Dan Haren SP (43) Baltimore FB-dot-com - Justin Morneau 1B (44) Philadelphia FB Geeks - Kendry Morales 1B (45) New York Fantasy Man - Brian Roberts 2B

FB 365 decided to jump on Reyes at 32, clearing the entire top tier of SS for the rest of us. In a two catcher league, Victor Martinez was a smart pick at 36 for the Ninjas. Some shockers from this round were Hill at 35 and Lind at 38. I have been firmly against Hill going this high all pre-season and continue to stand by it. I was surprised to see Lind go this high, but the upper crust of outfielders was becoming sparse and Lind could be a real gem. Dave and I both agreed that we didn’t like Mark Reynolds but decided that he was the best value on the board at 41. With Howard, Upton and now Reynolds, we’ve developed a monopoly (or at least an oligopoly with RotoProfessor) in the power department. Fear of Roberts’ back dropped him to the end of the round and FB Geeks surprised me taking Morales at 44. I suppose it’s not really too surprising. I seem to be out on island in my rallies against Morales this year. I just think we witnessed a career year in 2009.

Round 4

(46) New York Fantasy Man - Jayson Werth RF (47) Philadelphia FB Geeks - Aramis Ramirez 3B (48) Baltimore FB-dot-com - Jon Lester SP (49) New York FB Sherpa - Brandon Phillips 2B ** (50) Pittsburgh RotoCommunity - Ben Zobrist 2B (51) Washington RotoProfessor - B.J. Upton CF (52) Toronto RotoRob - Adam Wainwright SP (53) Detroit FantasyGameday - Andre Ethier RF (54) Florida LestersLegends - Nick Markakis RF (55) Milwaukee ChinstrapNinjas - Jonathan Broxton RP (56) Texas Advanced FB - Billy Butler 1B (57) Boston RotoSavants - Jason Bay LF (58) Atlanta FBTradeMarket - Adam Dunn 1B (59) Chicago FB 365 - Justin Verlander SP (60) New York FantasyPhenoms - Nelson Cruz RF

This was the first real heart-breaker of the draft as Dave and I watched Brandon Phillips fall down the board, only to end up under the control FB Sherpa one pick before us. DAMN YOU SHERPA!!! He’s just given me more ammo in my crusade against Nepal. Stupid Nepal with their arrogantly high mountains, desolate Steppeland, non-rectangular flag, and Communist sympathies. Go back to Russia!! Anyways, we ended up taking the last player in our second tier of 2B -- Zorbrist at 50. Nothing too out of the ordinary to report from this round. Advanced FB pulled the trigger on Billy Butler 56. That’s kind of high, but with the love for Butler in the fantasy community, it was unlikely that he would be around for Advanced at pick 65. Also of note, the first closer (Broxton) came off the board at 55. I expected this to start a closer run, but it never really materialized.

Round 5

(61) New York FantasyPhenoms - Shin-Soo Choo RF (62) Chicago FB 365 - Yovani Gallardo SP (63) Atlanta FBTradeMarket - Mariano Rivera RP (64) Boston RotoSavants - Cliff Lee SP (65) Texas Advanced FB - Curtis Granderson CF (66) Milwaukee ChinstrapNinjas - Chone Figgins 3B (67) Florida LestersLegends - Josh Hamilton CF (68) Detroit FantasyGameday - Alexei Ramirez SS (69) Toronto RotoRob - Carlos Lee LF (70) Washington RotoProfessor - Johan Santana SP ** (71) Pittsburgh RotoCommunity - Gordon Beckham 3B (72) New York FB Sherpa - Bobby Abreu RF (73) Baltimore FB-dot-com - Michael Young 3B (74) Philadelphia FB Geeks - Andrew McCutchen CF (75) New York Fantasy Man - Chris Carpenter SP

The biggest reach of the round was probably us, taking Beckhman at 71. We didn’t really need another 3B, but we had Santana stolen from us a pick before so we decided that bogarting a scarce position will give us excellent trade bait. Also, Beckham will qualify at both 3B and 2B, giving us tremendous flexibility at the CI and MI positions. LesterLegends took Josh Hamilton at 67, which I cannot endorse. I’m not a fan of Hamilton and he will certainly not make this team LEGENDARY. The Savants caught a falling Cliff Lee at 64, which is a great value for someone who should produce as an ace this season in Seattle. I was surprised to see FB 365 chose Gallardo over Lee, but if Yovani can come through on his potential (aka limiting his walks) he’ll have been well worth the gamble. I was more disappointed than surprised to see McCutchen go at 74. I was really hoping he would make it back to us in round 6.

Round 6

(76) New York Fantasy Man - Adam Jones CF (77) Philadelphia FB Geeks - Tommy Hanson SP (78) Baltimore FB-dot-com - Derrek Lee 1B (79) New York FB Sherpa - Torii Hunter CF ** (80) Pittsburgh RotoCommunity - Matt Wieters C (81) Washington RotoProfessor - Josh Johnson SP (82) Toronto RotoRob - Hunter Pence RF (83) Detroit FantasyGameday - Carlos Quentin LF (84) Florida LestersLegends - Elvis Andrus SS (85) Milwaukee ChinstrapNinjas - Shane Victorino CF (86) Texas Advanced FB - Josh Beckett SP (87) Boston RotoSavants - Nate McLouth CF (88) Atlanta FBTradeMarket - Cole Hamels SP (89) Chicago FB 365 - Jay Bruce RF (90) New York FantasyPhenoms - Javier Vazquez SP

I had actually campaigned for Adam Jones with our previous pick, but Pacman will suit up for the Fantasy Man, going at pick 76. I love Jones’ potential and could very well be a 30/20 guy this season. Since I lost out Jones the round before, Dave ceded to my cries and agreed to go with Wieters at 80. It’s a bit high, but in a two catcher league having Wieters could give us a huge advantage at the position and I didn’t think he’d be around twenty picks later. Also, we missed out on Tommy Hanson (pick 77) and had to turn to plan B.  FBTradeMarket continued their excellent draft, getting Cole Hamels at 88. Hamels is undervalued after a shaky 2009 and could be the real deal, making him a real steal. Javier Vazquez pulled a Brady Quinn and remained at the top of the draft board for what seemed like an eternity. FantasyPhenoms finally bit the bullet and grabbed him at 90. Vazquez is universally hated by fantasy writers this season, but could be a nice value if he turns in a quasi-respectable year in the Bronx. FantasyGameday took Carlos Quentin at 83. I hate Quentin but I must concede that he’s a legitimate sleeper this year. For the first time this year, Torii Hunter didn’t end up on my team. Hunter is a great value at 79, but has been getting over looked in most drafts. Of course he went to Sherpa, who is quickly becoming my nemesis in this draft.

Round 7

(91) New York FantasyPhenoms - Ubaldo Jimenez SP (92) Chicago FB 365 - Lance Berkman 1B (93) Atlanta FBTradeMarket - Ricky Nolasco SP (94) Boston RotoSavants - Carlos Pena 1B (95) Texas Advanced FB - Joakim Soria RP (96) Milwaukee ChinstrapNinjas - Jonathan Papelbon RP (97) Florida LestersLegends - Jake Peavy SP (98) Detroit FantasyGameday - Wandy Rodriguez SP (99) Toronto RotoRob - Matt Cain SP (100) Washington RotoProfessor - Manny Ramirez LF ** (101) Pittsburgh RotoCommunity - Clayton Kershaw SP (102) New York FB Sherpa - Jason Bartlett SS (103) Baltimore FB-dot-com - Francisco Rodriguez RP (104) Philadelphia FB Geeks - Brian Wilson RP (105) New York Fantasy Man - Brandon Webb SP

It’s at this point in the draft that Dave and I begin to (slightly) worry that we haven’t selected a pitcher yet. After our last selection we start discussing which of the available guys we’ll take at 101. On top of Hamels, Ubaldo and Nolasco went at pick 91 & 93 respectively. LestersLegends once again takes a gamble and selects Peavy at 97, then Wandy and Cain come off the board with the next two picks. It would seem like our plan’s been foiled. At least it wasn’t at the hands of Sherpa this time. At pick 101, we decide that Kershaw is our best option. I realize the downside on Kershaw. He throws too many pitches and doesn’t work deep enough into games to have his ratios really make an impact. But who cares about that. In the innings he does give us he’ll have sterling ratios and a huge number of strikeouts. We’ll take that and just wait for our desired SS, Jason Bartlett, to fall to us in the next round. With the next pick (102) Sherpa decides that he’ll continue to read our minds and steal Bartlett from us too. SHERPA!!!! That closer run I thought was coming a few rounds back starts here. We watch as Soria (95), Papelbon (96), K-Rod (103) and Beach Boys front man Brian Wilson (104) all come off the board. Dave and I agreed beforehand to grab some lower second/upper third tier closers, so the fact the run stalled to round seven was good news for us. The Fantasy Man was on auto pick and wound up with Brandon Webb at 105... that kind of sucks.

Round 8

(106) New York Fantasy Man - Johnny Damon LF (107) Philadelphia FB Geeks - Andrew Bailey RP (108) Baltimore FB-dot-com - Howie Kendrick 2B (109) New York FB Sherpa - John Lackey SP ** (110) Pittsburgh RotoCommunity - Carlos Gonzalez LF (111) Washington RotoProfessor - Stephen Drew SS (112) Toronto RotoRob - Heath Bell RP (113) Detroit FantasyGameday - Huston Street RP (114) Florida LestersLegends - Michael Bourn CF (115) Milwaukee ChinstrapNinjas - Brett Anderson SP (116) Texas Advanced FB - Jason Kubel RF (117) Boston RotoSavants - Denard Span CF (118) Atlanta FBTradeMarket - Jose Valverde RP (119) Chicago FB 365 - Asdrubal Cabrera 2B (120) New York FantasyPhenoms - Jorge De La Rosa SP

My man-crush on Carlos Gonzalez could wait no longer. In fear that he won’t be available next round, we snatched up CarGo at pick 110. It gives us two 20/20 threats in the outfield -- not too shabby. Four more closers come off the board in round eight, but we feel like we still have loads of time before we’ll need one. It’s at this point we target the undervalued, and pirate favorite, David Aarrrdsma as bounty a few round from now. Looking forward to our next pick, we decide that our average could use a boost and that we desperately need a SS. Dave and I agree that either Asdrubal Cabrera or Yunel Escobar will be will our next pick and kill two birds with one stone. Unfortunately Cabrera goes to FB 365, who’s quickly challenging Sherpa as the recipient for the majority of my obscenities, at pick 119.  Two pitchers I was hoping to get later, Brett Anderson and Jorge de la Rosa go at pick 115 and 120, making me turn to a bucket of ice cream for some delicious comfort.

Round 9

(121) New York FantasyPhenoms - Matt Garza SP (122) Chicago FB 365 - Carlos Marmol RP (123) Atlanta FBTradeMarket - Yunel Escobar SS (124) Boston RotoSavants - Dan Uggla 2B (125) Texas Advanced FB - Alex Rios CF (126) Milwaukee ChinstrapNinjas - Chris Davis 1B (127) Florida LestersLegends - Francisco Cordero RP (128) Detroit FantasyGameday - Jose Lopez 2B (129) Toronto RotoRob - Adrian Beltre 3B (130) Washington RotoProfessor - Ian Stewart 2B ** (131) Pittsburgh RotoCommunity - Miguel Montero C (132) New York FB Sherpa - Chad Billingsley SP (133) Baltimore FB-dot-com - Jair Jurrjens SP (134) Philadelphia FB Geeks - Carlos Beltran CF (135) New York Fantasy Man - Raul Ibanez LF

I make my case (or beg, as Dave would probably describe) for Nyger Morgan. I feel like we have decent team speed but could really use an elite swiper. Unfortunately for Morgan, Dave makes a lot of sense suggesting we take Montero. We agree that Morgan, Pierre, Borbon or Davis will still be there for our next pick and any one will fill our need … OUR NEED FOR SPEED. Hmmmm… I may have been watched Top Gun too many times over the last month, I seem to quickly be approaching the DANGER ZONE. Anyways, Dave and his stupid logic gets us Montero at pick 131, giving us the best catching tandem in the league. This turns out to be a great pick all around. Along with our catching advantage, we no longer need to fret about catching and it taught me a valuable lesson in humility. FantasyGameday gets a great deal here, taking Jose Lopez at 128. Lopez is a very underrated source if power from 2B. FB Geeks may have got the steal of the draft in Carlos Beltran. Taking a gamble on Beltran’s health in the ninth round is a very acceptable risk, which could pay Microsoft-like dividends. Only two more closers come off the board here: Marmol at 122 and Francisco Cordero at 127, giving us more time to wait.

Round 10

(136) New York Fantasy Man - Scott Baker SP (137) Philadelphia FB Geeks - Julio Borbon LF (138) Baltimore FB-dot-com - Alcides Escobar SS (139) New York FB Sherpa - Rafael Soriano RP ** (140) Pittsburgh RotoCommunity - Nyjer Morgan LF (141) Washington RotoProfessor - Nolan Reimold LF (142) Toronto RotoRob - Michael Cuddyer 1B (143) Detroit FantasyGameday - Juan Pierre LF (144) Florida LestersLegends - Geovany Soto C (145) Milwaukee ChinstrapNinjas - Rajai Davis CF (146) Texas Advanced FB - Chipper Jones 3B (147) Boston RotoSavants - Erick Aybar SS (148) Atlanta FBTradeMarket - Rickie Weeks 2B (149) Chicago FB 365 - Brad Hawpe RF (150) New York FantasyPhenoms - Max Scherzer SP

Lo and behold Dave was spot on, Morgan falls to us at pick 140 and I couldn’t be happier. Morgan may not contribute much in the power department (also known as the Tim Allen Department) but he’ll be an elite source of runs and steals, with a plus average to boot. Couldn’t ask for more in round ten. To be fair, there were a lot of really nice picks in this round. A lot of high-end speed came off the board with Borbon (137), Alcides Escobar (138), Pierre (143), and Rajai Davis (145) all finding homes. Fantasy Man adds a quality number two in Scott Baker, FB 365 gets Brad Hawpe at a discount with pick 149, and RotoProfessor takes Nolan Reimold  with selection 136, which I believe to be the round’s best pick. Rafael Soriano falls off the board at 139, making it about that time to join the closer fray. 

Round 11

(151) New York FantasyPhenoms - Chad Qualls RP (152) Chicago FB 365 - Francisco Liriano SP (153) Atlanta FBTradeMarket - Kurt Suzuki C (154) Boston RotoSavants - Frank Francisco RP (155) Texas Advanced FB - David Price SP (156) Milwaukee ChinstrapNinjas - Everth Cabrera SS (157) Florida LestersLegends - Alfonso Soriano LF (158) Detroit FantasyGameday - Roy Oswalt SP (159) Toronto RotoRob - Jered Weaver SP (160) Washington RotoProfessor - Billy Wagner RP ** (161) Pittsburgh RotoCommunity - David Aardsma RP (162) New York FB Sherpa - Jorge Posada C (163) Baltimore FB-dot-com - A.J. Burnett SP (164) Philadelphia FB Geeks - James Shields SP (165) New York Fantasy Man - James Loney 1B

After watching Qualls (151), Francisco (154), and Wagner (160) come off the board, along with our desired pick David Price at 155, we walk the plank and get ARRRRRRRRRRdsma at 161. TradeMarket gets Kurt Suzuki on the cheap and the Ninjas grab a potential 50 steals in Everth Cabrera. David Price also goes. I would have liked to have had him.

Round 12

(166) New York Fantasy Man - Miguel Tejada SS (167) Philadelphia FB Geeks - Placido Polanco 2B (168) Baltimore FB-dot-com - J.D. Drew RF (169) New York FB Sherpa - Ryan Ludwick RF ** (170) Pittsburgh RotoCommunity - Rich Harden SP (171) Washington RotoProfessor - Clay Buchholz SP (172) Toronto RotoRob - Franklin Gutierrez CF (173) Detroit FantasyGameday - Trevor Hoffman RP (174) Florida LestersLegends - Mike Napoli C (175) Milwaukee ChinstrapNinjas - Brett Gardner CF (176) Texas Advanced FB - Adam LaRoche 1B (177) Boston RotoSavants - Ryan Doumit C (178) Atlanta FBTradeMarket - Russell Martin C (179) Chicago FB 365 - Chris Iannetta C (180) New York FantasyPhenoms - Chris Coghlan LF

I’m disgusted to learn that Miguel Tejada, my last bastion of hope at SS, goes to Fantasy Man at 166. We still don’t have a SS and it’s become as serious of a problem as alcoholism. Unfortunately, there’s no AA (or rather SS) to help resolve this problem. Dave talks me into Harden because of his high strikeout totals. I actually like the pick, but it’s a bit risky having Harden as out number two. There’s a mini catcher run towards the end of the round. Closing out the last of the decent backstops are Napoli (174), Doumit (177), Martin (178) and Iannetta (179). Stupid Sherpa gets great value on Ryan Ludwick at pick 169, but I’m confident he’ll eventually get his comeuppances.

Round 13

(181) New York FantasyPhenoms - Jason Heyward RF (182) Chicago FB 365 - Brian Fuentes RP (183) Atlanta FBTradeMarket - Corey Hart RF (184) Boston RotoSavants - Bobby Jenks RP (185) Texas Advanced FB - J.J. Hardy SS (186) Milwaukee ChinstrapNinjas - Edwin Jackson SP (187) Florida LestersLegends - Tim Hudson SP (188) Detroit FantasyGameday - Dexter Fowler CF (189) Toronto RotoRob - Ryan Theriot SS (190) Washington RotoProfessor - Paul Konerko 1B ** (191) Pittsburgh RotoCommunity - Ryan Franklin RP (192) New York FB Sherpa - Garrett Jones 1B (193) Baltimore FB-dot-com - Jorge Cantu 3B (194) Philadelphia FB Geeks - Bengie Molina C (195) New York Fantasy Man - Gavin Floyd SP

Dave mentions that Jason Hayward is still available, but he pulls a Kaizer Soze on us and just like that… he’s gone, with pick 181. TradeMarket never surrenders and grabs Corey Hart at 183. Hart has 20/20 capability and is a great value this late but has a tendency to lose fly balls in night games. We target Ryan The(Quiet)riot for our SS but RotoRob acts as a dream stealer and takes him at 189. We decide that we can be done with closers if we take Ryan Franklin. So at pick 191 we make Franklin ours. We agree that despite the fickleness with Cardinals’ closers, Frankin should be able to keep the job. As a failsafe we decide to grab Jason Motte in the late round (Spoiler alert: We forget) just to lean on the safe side. 2009 super pick up Garrett Jones goes to, who else, Sherpa at 192. It’s a nice pick this far into the draft.

Round 14

(196) New York Fantasy Man - Brad Lidge RP (197) Philadelphia FB Geeks - Colby Rasmus CF (198) Baltimore FB-dot-com - Rick Porcello SP (199) New York FB Sherpa - Ryan Dempster SP ** (200) Pittsburgh RotoCommunity - John Danks SP (201) Washington RotoProfessor - Mike Gonzalez RP (202) Toronto RotoRob - A.J. Pierzynski C (203) Detroit FantasyGameday - Martin Prado 2B (204) Florida LestersLegends - Hideki Matsui DH (205) Milwaukee ChinstrapNinjas - Vernon Wells CF (206) Texas Advanced FB - Scott Kazmir SP (207) Boston RotoSavants - Rafael Furcal SS (208) Atlanta FBTradeMarket - Lastings Milledge LF (209) Chicago FB 365 - Vladimir Guerrero DH (210) New York FantasyPhenoms - Jon Rauch RP

It’s time to grab another pitcher and we decide that John Danks fit’s the bill. Danks should steady out ratios and even chip in some strikeouts. I finally get a chuckle at Sherpa’s expense when he takes Ryan Dempster at 199. He should just legally change his name to Ryan Dumpster, because his game is trash. He may not be the Devil, but FantasyGameday will be wearing Prado in 2010. We had targeted Prado for our next pick and now had to come up with a new plan for round fifteen. It’s at this point that I begin to incessantly badger Dave about taking Drew Stubbs. This last for the next 25 minutes or so. Vernon Wells goes to the Ninjas at 205. I really like this pick. Wells is due for a bounce back year and could approach a 20/20 season.

Round 15

(211) New York FantasyPhenoms - Jonathan Sanchez SP (212) Chicago FB 365 - Brian Matusz SP (213) Atlanta FBTradeMarket - Ted Lilly SP (214) Boston RotoSavants - Yadier Molina C (215) Texas Advanced FB - David Ortiz DH (216) Milwaukee ChinstrapNinjas - Stephen Strasburg SP (217) Florida LestersLegends - Scott Sizemore 2B (218) Detroit FantasyGameday - Neftali Feliz RP (219) Toronto RotoRob - Cody Ross CF (220) Washington RotoProfessor - Octavio Dotel RP ** (221) Pittsburgh RotoCommunity - Orlando Cabrera SS (222) New York FB Sherpa - Chase Headley 3B (223) Baltimore FB-dot-com - Travis Snider LF (224) Philadelphia FB Geeks - Nick Johnson 1B (225) New York Fantasy Man - Carlos Zambrano SP

This is where it starts getting thin. I suggest Drew Stubbs, but Dave assures me he’ll be around later. I force myself to believe in a vein attempt to manage my anxiety. We have our Stephen Strasburg sighting, it comes at pick 216. We finally decide it’s time to get a SS and take Orlando Carbrera at 221. I think that’s still considered a reach, even in the fifteenth round. One of may favorites, Naftali Feliz goes to FantasyGameday at 218. Quality pick.

Round 16

(226) New York Fantasy Man - Ervin Santana SP (227) Philadelphia FB Geeks - Johnny Cueto SP (228) Baltimore FB-dot-com - J.A. Happ SP (229) New York FB Sherpa - Hiroki Kuroda SP ** (230) Pittsburgh RotoCommunity - Kevin Slowey SP (231) Washington RotoProfessor - Carlos Santana C (232) Toronto RotoRob - Wade Davis SP (233) Detroit FantasyGameday - Todd Helton 1B (234) Florida LestersLegends - Ben Sheets SP (235) Milwaukee ChinstrapNinjas - Buster Posey C (236) Texas Advanced FB - Aaron Harang SP (237) Boston RotoSavants - Kyle Blanks RF (238) Atlanta FBTradeMarket - Erik Bedard SP (239) Chicago FB 365 - Alex Gordon 3B (240) New York FantasyPhenoms - John Baker C

I can’t believe we’ve been doing this for almost three hours and we’re only at the midway point. This does not stop me from using the word Stubbs in every sentence I use. In my defense, it actually somewhat applied when I made a passing reference to the death of the world’s smallest man. A lot of pitchers coming off the board here. We grab Kevin Slowey at 230, the Earth does not stand still but it doesn't stop either. RotoRob gets Wade Davis at 232 from what I assume is a suggestion from so-manager Buck Davision, who absolutely loves Davis. A few former aces go with picks 234 and 238 when Ben Sheets and Erik Bedard find homes. RotoSavants grab Kyle Blanks 237 which leaves me disappointed, until I’m told that he is in fact, not the son of TaiBo pitchman Billy Blanks. Minor victory for me I guess. Advanced FB gets Aaron Harang at a great value. The Harangatang could be an excellent sleeper if he’s healthy.

Round 17

(241) New York FantasyPhenoms - Juan Rivera LF (242) Chicago FB 365 - Kerry Wood RP (243) Atlanta FBTradeMarket - Kevin Kouzmanoff 3B (244) Boston RotoSavants - Chris Young CF (245) Texas Advanced FB - Delmon Young LF (246) Milwaukee ChinstrapNinjas - Maicer Izturis 2B (247) Florida LestersLegends - Jhonny Peralta SS (248) Detroit FantasyGameday - Conor Jackson LF (249) Toronto RotoRob - Daisuke Matsuzaka SP (250) Washington RotoProfessor - Kelly Johnson 2B ** (251) Pittsburgh RotoCommunity - Drew Stubbs CF (252) New York FB Sherpa - Mark Buehrle SP (253) Baltimore FB-dot-com - Milton Bradley RF (254) Philadelphia FB Geeks - Cameron Maybin CF (255) New York Fantasy Man - Matt Capps RP

After my boasting of Stubbs’ ability devolves into, “I’m pretty sure we could  play only Drew Stubbs and win the league, he’s that good” territory, Dave cracks and we get him at pick 251. Great success. Also, inventory of Monopoly and local hothead Milton Bradley get taken by my fantasybaseball.com collogue, Ed Lilly at pick 253. Good value there. TradeMarket picks up Kevin Kouzmanoff at 243, which is a great pick with the aforementioned kiddy-pool depth at 3B.

Round 18

(256) New York Fantasy Man - Mat Latos SP (257) Philadelphia FB Geeks - Nick Swisher 1B (258) Baltimore FB-dot-com - Joe Blanton SP (259) New York FB Sherpa - Leo Nunez RP ** (260) Pittsburgh RotoCommunity - Shaun Marcum SP (261) Washington RotoProfessor - Matt LaPorta LF (262) Toronto RotoRob - Phil Hughes SP (263) Detroit FantasyGameday - Kelly Shoppach C (264) Florida LestersLegends - Carlos Gomez CF (265) Milwaukee ChinstrapNinjas - Mark DeRosa 3B (266) Texas Advanced FB - Matt Thornton RP (267) Boston RotoSavants - Brandon Wood 3B (268) Atlanta FBTradeMarket - Kazuo Matsui 2B (269) Chicago FB 365 - Magglio Ordonez RF (270) New York FantasyPhenoms - Coco Crisp CF

I’m happy to get one of my other super sleepers in Shaun Marcum at 260. Marcum hasn’t pitched since 2008, but can deliver tremendous ratios at a discount price. FB 365 takes Maggilo -- Oh how the mighty have fallen. Still, this is too low for ol’ Mags and he will prove to be a great bargain at pick 269. The last of the established closers falls to none other than Sherpa when he gets Leo Nunez at 259. I’d like to harp on this pick, but we were going to take him if he fell to us.

Round 19

(271) New York FantasyPhenoms - Luis Castillo 2B (272) Chicago FB 365 - Pedro Alvarez 3B (273) Atlanta FBTradeMarket - Derek Lowe SP (274) Boston RotoSavants - Joba Chamberlain SP (275) Texas Advanced FB - Marco Scutaro SS (276) Milwaukee ChinstrapNinjas - Casey McGehee 2B (277) Florida LestersLegends - Andy Pettitte SP (278) Detroit FantasyGameday - Brandon Lyon RP (279) Toronto RotoRob - Scott Rolen 3B (280) Washington RotoProfessor - Josh Willingham LF ** (281) Pittsburgh RotoCommunity - Marlon Byrd CF (282) New York FB Sherpa - Jason Frasor RP (283) Baltimore FB-dot-com - Carlos Ruiz C (284) Philadelphia FB Geeks - Brad Penny SP (285) New York Fantasy Man - Jeff Clement C

The rounds are all blending together at this point but this one kind of stands out. About an hour before, Dave and I discussed how Marlon Byrd just had a career year and could come close to replicating it again and we have a chuckle about how I’d rather have the bird that Koko B Ware used to come to the ring with. Funny how that this kind of thing plays out. Convinced he’s now a value pick, we take Byrd at 281. We totally forgot about Brad Penny and he’s head and shoulders the best pick of the round. Now in St. Louis, he should have a terrific year, nice pick FB Geeks.

Round 20

(286) New York Fantasy Man - Jarrod Saltalamacchia C (287) Philadelphia FB Geeks - Randy Wolf SP (288) Baltimore FB-dot-com - Nate Schierholtz RF (289) New York FB Sherpa - J.R. Towles C ** (290) Pittsburgh RotoCommunity - Melky Cabrera CF (291) Washington RotoProfessor - Jeff Francoeur RF (292) Toronto RotoRob - Kevin Gregg RP (293) Detroit FantasyGameday - Ramon Hernandez C (294) Florida LestersLegends - Bronson Arroyo SP (295) Milwaukee ChinstrapNinjas - Derek Holland SP (296) Texas Advanced FB - Joel Pineiro SP (297) Boston RotoSavants - Scott Feldman SP (298) Atlanta FBTradeMarket - Skip Schumaker 2B (299) Chicago FB 365 - Mark Teahen 3B (300) New York FantasyPhenoms - Adam Kennedy 2B

Rounds twenty and on are kind of like last call at the bar. Some of the people have left and you force yourself to focus on the positives. Except at the bar, you may hear me say something to the effect of, “Please. Thick is the new skinny”. In fantasy drafts it’s more like, “well he may not suck…. So much”, which, I suppose, would be a negative comment at some alternative bars. We look for upside in these round and decide that the “thick” Melky Cabrera is a good fit or our team. Melky could threaten 15/15, not too shabby. There’s not much going on here.

Round 21

(301) New York FantasyPhenoms - Ivan Rodriguez C (302) Chicago FB 365 - Troy Glaus 3B (303) Atlanta FBTradeMarket - Chris Perez RP (304) Boston RotoSavants - Chris Young SP (305) Texas Advanced FB - David Freese 3B (306) Milwaukee ChinstrapNinjas - Jake Fox 3B (307) Florida LestersLegends - Scott Downs RP (308) Detroit FantasyGameday - Luke Gregerson RP (309) Toronto RotoRob - Randy Ruiz DH (310) Washington RotoProfessor - Marc Rzepczynski SP ** (311) Pittsburgh RotoCommunity - Casey Blake 3B (312) New York FB Sherpa - Ryan Raburn LF (313) Baltimore FB-dot-com - Austin Jackson LF (314) Philadelphia FB Geeks - Alberto Callaspo 2B (315) New York Fantasy Man - Freddy Sanchez 2B

We take Casey Blake at 311. Blake could hit 20 or so dingers and that’s find for this late in the draft. I thought there were actually some really selections here. Glaus at 302 could prove to be a 25+ power source. Same goes for Randy Ruiz at 309. The speedy Austin Jackson went to FB.com with 313, he’ll defiantly out perform that number. 

Round 22

(316) New York Fantasy Man - Matt Diaz RF (317) Philadelphia FB Geeks - Oliver Perez SP (318) Baltimore FB-dot-com - Bud Norris SP (319) New York FB Sherpa - Brett Wallace 3B ** (320) Pittsburgh RotoCommunity - Kevin Correia SP (321) Washington RotoProfessor - Chris Tillman SP (322) Toronto RotoRob - Matt Guerrier RP (323) Detroit FantasyGameday - Randy Wells SP (324) Florida LestersLegends - John Maine SP (325) Milwaukee ChinstrapNinjas - Jeff Niemann SP (326) Texas Advanced FB - Jon Garland SP (327) Boston RotoSavants - Elijah Dukes RF (328) Atlanta FBTradeMarket - Justin Masterson SP (329) Chicago FB 365 - Daniel Murphy 1B (330) New York FantasyPhenoms - Madison Bumgarner RP

Sherpa gets Blue Jays power prospect Brett Wallace at 319, another high-upside pick. We land Kevin Correia at 320. I’ve been hyping Corriea for months now and he should be a decent back of the rotation guy, for any fantasy team, when he pitches at home. RotoSavants got the super talented and super unstable Elijah Dukes at 327. He’s the last 20/20 potential guy left. TradeMarket picked up Justin Masterson at 328, which should give him a great anchor to his rotation.

Round 23

(331) New York FantasyPhenoms - Brendan Ryan SS (332) Chicago FB 365 - Trevor Cahill SP (333) Atlanta FBTradeMarket - Luke Scott LF (334) Boston RotoSavants - Mike Cameron CF (335) Texas Advanced FB - Akinori Iwamura 2B (336) Milwaukee ChinstrapNinjas - Todd Coffey RP (337) Florida LestersLegends - Edwin Encarnacion 3B (338) Detroit FantasyGameday - Ryan Madson RP (339) Toronto RotoRob - Adam Moore C (340) Washington RotoProfessor - John Buck C ** (341) Pittsburgh RotoCommunity - Scott Podsednik LF (342) New York FB Sherpa - Aubrey Huff 1B (343) Baltimore FB-dot-com - Homer Bailey SP (344) Philadelphia FB Geeks - Eric Young Jr. 2B (345) New York Fantasy Man - Seth Smith LF

We pick up another 35+ steal guy in Podsednik. That’s a great find this late.  TradeMarket gets Luke “Great” Scott at 333. If you can handle the sub .250 average, you’ll be pleased with his 20+ HR power.

Round 24

(346) New York Fantasy Man - Clint Barmes 2B (347) Philadelphia FB Geeks - Anibal Sanchez SP (348) Baltimore FB-dot-com - Mark Ellis 2B (349) New York FB Sherpa - Ian Kennedy SP ** (350) Pittsburgh RotoCommunity - Ryan Rowland-Smith SP (351) Washington RotoProfessor - Luis Valbuena 2B (352) Toronto RotoRob - Orlando Hudson 2B (353) Detroit FantasyGameday - Colby Lewis SP (354) Florida LestersLegends - Takashi Saito RP (355) Milwaukee ChinstrapNinjas - Rick Ankiel CF (356) Texas Advanced FB - Dan Runzler RP (357) Boston RotoSavants - Jason Hammel SP (358) Atlanta FBTradeMarket - Kyle Lohse SP (359) Chicago FB 365 - Ian Desmond SS (360) New York FantasyPhenoms - Michael Brantley CF

Ryan Rowland-Smith has had a sub 4.00 ERA the last three years and is from Australia. How can we go wrong? Ninjas get a power source in Rick Ankiel at 355. Now in Kansas City, Ankiel will now get his chance to swing for the fences every day. FB 365 picks up rookie SS Ian Desmond. At 359. Desmond has a chance to start everyday for the Nats and could post a sneaky 10/20.

Round 25

(361) New York FantasyPhenoms - Taylor Teagarden C (362) Chicago FB 365 - Chris Getz 2B (363) Atlanta FBTradeMarket - Matt Lindstrom RP (364) Boston RotoSavants - Travis Hafner DH (365) Texas Advanced FB - Drew Storen RP (366) Milwaukee ChinstrapNinjas - Jermaine Dye RF (367) Florida LestersLegends - Pat Burrell DH (368) Detroit FantasyGameday - Felipe Lopez 2B (369) Toronto RotoRob - Jason Motte RP (370) Washington RotoProfessor - Aroldis Chapman SP ** (371) Pittsburgh RotoCommunity - Daniel Bard RP (372) New York FB Sherpa - David DeJesus LF (373) Baltimore FB-dot-com - Chris Dickerson LF (374) Philadelphia FB Geeks - Barry Zito SP (375) New York Fantasy Man - Jim Johnson RP

Billy Shakespeare was unavailable so we settled for another Bard, Daniel Bard. In sooth, we just loved the strikeouts that the Red Sox’ closer in waiting could give us with pick 371.  RotoProfessor gets Cuban rookie sensation Aroldis Chapman. Who knew pick 370 could possible elevate a team to the next level.

Round 26

(376) New York Fantasy Man - Casey Kotchman 1B (377) Philadelphia FB Geeks - Daric Barton 1B (378) Baltimore FB-dot-com - Ronnie Belliard 1B (379) New York FB Sherpa - Scott Hairston LF ** (380) Pittsburgh RotoCommunity - Will Venable RF (381) Washington RotoProfessor - Mike Pelfrey SP (382) Toronto RotoRob - Gaby Sanchez 1B (383) Detroit FantasyGameday - Desmond Jennings LF (384) Florida LestersLegends - Brett Myers SP (385) Milwaukee ChinstrapNinjas - John Smoltz SP (386) Texas Advanced FB - Brandon League RP (387) Boston RotoSavants - Jack Cust RF (388) Atlanta FBTradeMarket - Mat Gamel 3B (389) Chicago FB 365 - Kosuke Fukudome CF (390) New York FantasyPhenoms - Eugenio Velez 2B

We roll the dice on Will Venable. Hopefully he doesn’t crap out. FantasyGameday took a flyer on Rays’ outfield prospect Desmond Jennings. If anything happens to one of Tampa’s outfielders, this could be the best pick of the 300s. Ninjas autodraft John Smoltz, who just signed a broadcasting contract. Funny Stuff.

Round 27

(391) New York FantasyPhenoms - Clayton Richard SP (392) Chicago FB 365 - C.J. Wilson RP (393) Atlanta FBTradeMarket - Mike Adams RP (394) Boston RotoSavants - J.P. Howell RP (395) Texas Advanced FB - Charlie Morton SP (396) Milwaukee ChinstrapNinjas - Julio Lugo 2B (397) Florida LestersLegends - Xavier Nady RF (398) Detroit FantasyGameday - David Robertson RP (399) Toronto RotoRob - Garrett Atkins 3B (400) Washington RotoProfessor - Michael Stanton RF ** (401) Pittsburgh RotoCommunity - Brandon Morrow SP (402) New York FB Sherpa - George Sherrill RP (403) Baltimore FB-dot-com - Doug Davis SP (404) Philadelphia FB Geeks - Pedro Feliz 3B (405) New York Fantasy Man - Paul Maholm SP

Flame throwing Brandon Morrow. Is this done yet?

Round 28

(406) New York Fantasy Man - Cristian Guzman SS (407) Philadelphia FB Geeks - Jeremy Bonderman RP (408) Baltimore FB-dot-com - Manny Parra SP (409) New York FB Sherpa - Ronny Paulino C ** (410) Pittsburgh RotoCommunity - Gil Meche SP (411) Washington RotoProfessor - Chris Carter 1B (412) Toronto RotoRob - Brian Bruney RP (413) Detroit FantasyGameday - Justin Duchscherer SP (414) Florida LestersLegends - Fernando Rodney RP (415) Milwaukee ChinstrapNinjas - Lyle Overbay 1B (416) Texas Advanced FB - Rich Hill SP (417) Boston RotoSavants - LaTroy Hawkins RP (418) Atlanta FBTradeMarket - Luke Hochevar SP (419) Chicago FB 365 - Russell Branyan 1B (420) New York FantasyPhenoms - Emilio Bonifacio SS

We get Gil Meche at 410. If he can rebound from a dreadful 2009 we should have a pretty good pitching staff. Luke Hochevar goes at 418. I don’t know why, but I like Hochevar.

Round 29

(421) New York FantasyPhenoms - Joel Hanrahan RP (422) Chicago FB 365 - Lou Marson C (423) Atlanta FBTradeMarket - David Murphy LF (424) Boston RotoSavants - Sergio Romo RP (425) Texas Advanced FB - Jesus Montero C (426) Milwaukee ChinstrapNinjas - Rafael Betancourt RP (427) Florida LestersLegends - Gerardo Parra LF (428) Detroit FantasyGameday - Jeremy Affeldt RP (429) Toronto RotoRob - Gio Gonzalez SP (430) Washington RotoProfessor - Fausto Carmona SP ** (431) Pittsburgh RotoCommunity - Mike Aviles SS (432) New York FB Sherpa - Kris Medlen RP (433) Baltimore FB-dot-com - Jeff Baker 2B (434) Philadelphia FB Geeks - Rod Barajas C (435) New York Fantasy Man - Justin Smoak 1B

Pick 431? Stupid baseball and its endless amount of players. We still need to fill out a MI spot. Welcome to the team Mike Aviles.

Round 30

(436) New York Fantasy Man - Oscar Salazar 3B (437) Philadelphia FB Geeks - Angel Pagan CF (438) Baltimore FB-dot-com - Delwyn Young 2B (439) New York FB Sherpa - Mike Fontenot 2B ** (440) Pittsburgh RotoCommunity - Chris Volstad SP (441) Washington RotoProfessor - Jenrry Mejia SP (442) Toronto RotoRob - Nick Masset RP (443) Detroit FantasyGameday - Arthur Rhodes RP (444) Florida LestersLegends - Mike MacDougal RP (445) Milwaukee ChinstrapNinjas - Aaron Rowand CF (446) Texas Advanced FB - Dioner Navarro C (447) Boston RotoSavants - Franklin Morales RP (448) Atlanta FBTradeMarket - Andy LaRoche 3B (449) Chicago FB 365 - Felipe Paulino SP (450) New York FantasyPhenoms - Brandon Inge 3B

With our last pick (440) we take a chance on 2009 sleeper Chris Volstad. I reckon that we needed someone with a last name that started with V. Come to think of it, TradeMarket and Fantasy Phenoms get two decent picks at 448 and 450 when they take Andy LaRoche and Brandon Inge. Inge was an all-star last year, but is coming off an off-season where Santa brought him a new knee. LaRoche I actually really like to have a breakout campaign. Never too late to find a diamond in the rough, or worse … Pittsburgh.

Our Team

11    Ryan Howard, Phi 1B  20    Justin Upton, Ari OF  41    Mark Reynolds, Ari 3B  50    Ben Zobrist, TB 2B  71    Gordon Beckham, CWS 3B  80    Matt Wieters, Bal C  101    Clayton Kershaw, LAD SP  110    Carlos Gonzalez, Col OF  131    Miguel Montero, Ari C  140    Nyjer Morgan, Was OF  161    David Aardsma, Sea RP  170    Rich Harden, Tex SP  191    Ryan Franklin, StL RP  200    John Danks, CWS SP  221    Orlando Cabrera, Cin SS  230    Kevin Slowey, Min SP  251    Drew Stubbs, Cin OF  260    Shaun Marcum, Tor SP  281    Marlon Byrd, ChC OF  290    Melky Cabrera, Atl OF  311    Casey Blake, LAD 3B  320    Kevin Correia, SD SP  341    Scott Podsednik, KC OF  350    Ryan Rowland-Smith, Sea SP  371    Daniel Bard, Bos RP  380    Will Venable, SD OF  401    Brandon Morrow, Tor SP  410    Gil Meche, KC SP  431    Mike Aviles, KC SS  440    Chris Volstad, Fla SP 

I like this team a lot. I'm looking forward to a fun season with a great bunch of owners.

ALSO

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