First Fantasy - Blog Edition

First Fantasy - Stop Mocking Me! (ESPN Part Five)

Yes, make all the jokes you want. I know I ripped on Brandon Lyon’s “Unbreakable”-esque ability to get hurt and then go and draft Rich Harden, the epitome of Glass Joe from Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!, in the very next round. Harden’s upside makes it manageable though, as he’s got Dan Haren or Matt Cain-level stuff when he’s healthy, and the fact that we haven’t heard anything negative out of Oakland about his physical state yet is almost unprecedented. If he can avoid injury (impossible, I know, but it’s worth a 21^st round shot in the dark), he’ll outperform this selection by leaps and bounds. Other guys who have no business being picked this late are Fukudome, who should thrive in a stacked Cubs lineup, Hughes, who could easily be Rich Harden sans-injuries, and Wainwright, who’s St. Louis’ only bright spot on the mound. I don’t know what Teams 8 and 10 were doing by selecting Weathers and Cameron. Weathers won’t do anything outside of pitch in innings that aren’t the ninth and wish he were Francisco Cordero while Cameron gets to sit home and let the juice get out of his system while Tony Gwynn, Jr. auditions to take his job. Mind-boggling picks.

I’ll admit it: I love getting caught up in rookie hype. Hey, it pays off. Just ask guys who owned Ryan Braun and Troy Tulowitzki last season how believing the hype worked for them. Longoria is the favorite to win the Rays’ third base job out of camp, and if he does, look out. The kid’s got Braun-esque hitting tools and will get to regularly have Carl Crawford and B.J. Upton on base ahead of him and Carlos Pena very close behind. That’s not a bad scenario for a rookie. The Rays lineup is loaded with talent and there’s no reason Evan can’t hit 20 bombs and drive in 85 runs if he sticks for the whole season. To get that kind of value in Round 22 is just insanity. Joey Votto offers similar value, but of course, expectation must be tempered due to the presence of the black Henry F. Potter, Dusty Baker. Why anyone’s drafting Curt Schilling I’ll ever know. Not even Curt Schilling would draft Curt Schilling at this stage of his career.

Good value being found here, as Unit, Young, Willingham, Kotchman, and Okajima could all easily  more than earn their keep if they stay healthy and catch a break or two. The same goes for my pick of Justin Upton, who I’m banking on to produce big numbers hitting in the loaded D-Backs lineup. The kid’s got limitless potential and there’s no reason to think he can’t translate that potential into big-time production in 2008. CBY did it in ’07, I think its Upton’s time. Plus now I have both Uptons on my team. The brothers Upton cannot be stopped! Lastly, I don’t know who you people think you are, but just because you draft them, Richie Sexson and Ty Wigginton aren’t going to magically stop sucking. It just isn’t gonna go down.

What’s that? You didn’t think I had enough young, high-ceiling players in good position to break out? Well, Mr. Lester’s addition might change your mind! Lester’s just as talented as his young compatriot Clay Buchholz but doesn’t have a cap on his innings and will be counted on to produce more in 2008. That’s a formula I’m happy to cash in on, especially in the next-to-last round of the draft. And you know, I’m going to give this wave a round of applause, as it’s been the most solid of the entire draft. With the possible exception of Crisp I like each and every one of these picks from a value perspective. Flyers well taken, fellow drafters!

So I drafted Rich Harden and now Kerry Wood. I know I’m asking for problems, but hear me out. Despite Carlos Marmol’s ridiculous talent, Wood is the odds-on favorite to become Chicago’s closer, and if I can get value like that in the last round of a draft, I’m damn sure doing it. Worse comes to worse, I drop him when a new source of saves emerges. No harm done. Definitely worth the pick, as there’s no risk involved. Many people took similar choices in typically injured or inconsistent players here, as every guy selected here has question marks over his head going into 2008. No sure things after 250 picks, friends.

So at the end of the day, my team looks like this:

C - Russell Martin (7^th Round)
1B – Derrek Lee (6^th Round)
2B –Howie Kendrick (14^th Round)
SS – Jimmy Rollins (2^nd Round)
3B - Miguel Cabrera (1^st Round)
CI – Garrett Atkins (8^th Round)
MI – Ian Kinsler (9^th Round)
OF - Curtis Granderson (4^th Round)
OF – Alex Rios (5^th Round)
OF – Chris B. young (10^th Round)
OF – Delmon Young (11^th Round)
OF – B.J. Upton (3^rd Round)
UTIL – Evan Longoria (22^nd Round)
BN (OF) – Justin Upton (23^rd Round)

SP – Felix Hernandez (12^th Round)
SP –Tim Lincecum (13^th Round)
RP – Rafael Soriano (16^th Round)
RP – Kevin Gregg (18^th Round)
P – Joba Chamberlain (15^th Round)
P – Jeremy Bonderman (17^th Round)
P – Chad Billingsley (19^th Round)
P – Jered Weaver (20^th Round)
BN (P) – Rich Harden (21st Round)
BN (P) – Jon Lester (24^th Round)
BN (P) – Kerry Wood (25^th Round)

See? I used 12 of my Top 14 picks on hitting and still had enough talent left over to fill up a pretty good pitching staff. I’m short on saves, but I’m confident a good source of one will emerge throughout the season. They always do.

This just goes to show you that if you follow the battle-tested strategy of not overpaying for name talent or pitching, not to mention not paying for saves at all, you can field a great team. Now take this information and take ESPN drafts by storm!