2008 Keeper Mock

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Mock drafts effectively prepare for your real draft. You can have all of your rankings and target-players set, but if you don’t know what round they’re projected to fall, you could either lose out or simply reach when you don’t have to. This started when deerayfan072 found 11 Cafe Regulars to participate in this slow mock that began with Alex Rodriguez being taken first overall by sportsguy138 on January 8th. A lot of thought and preparation went into this mock and I’ve taken the time to evaluate each round by making note of any trends or patterns, as well as my favorite and least favorite picks in each round. Many of our “mocksters” weighed in with their own opinions that are included as well. No mock or draft is alike, but the following will give you an idea of what to expect when your draft day comes.

This mock is based on a 12-team, H2H keeper league, using standard 5 x 5 scoring. Lineups consist of C, 1B, 2B, SS, 3B, OF, OF, OF, UTIL, SP, SP, RP, RP, P, P, P, and 6 bench spots. Four players are kept each year with no round penalties. Position eligibility is based on Yahoo! requirements.

Pick #	Player	Round	Team
1.	Alex Rodriguez, 3B – NYY	1	Sportsguy
2.	Albert Pujols, 1B – Stl	1	JCobb
3.	Hanley Ramirez, SS – Fla	1	Snakes
4.	Jose Reyes, SS – NYM	1	WaCoug
5.	David Wright, 3B – NYM	1	Guzman
6.	Chase Utley, 2B – Phi	1	Deeray
7.	Matt Holliday, OF – Col	1	ThirdDay
8.	Ryan Howard, 1B – Phi	1	CadensDad
9.	Miguel Cabrera, 3B – Det	1	Jake
10.	Jimmy Rollins, SS – Phi	1	Boomer
11.	Prince Fielder, 1B – Mil	1	Omaha
12.	Carl Crawford, OF – TB	1	Fade
13.	Ryan Braun, 3B – Mil	2	Fade
14.	Alfonso Soriano, OF – ChC	2	Omaha
15.	Grady Sizemore, OF – Cle	2	Boomer
16.	Vladimir Guerrero, OF – LAA	2	Jake
17.	Johan Santana, SP – NYM	2	CadensDad
18.	David Ortiz, 1B – Bos	2	ThirdDay
19.	Carlos Beltran, OF – NYM	2	Deeray
20.	Carlos Lee, OF – Hou	2	Guzman
21.	Jake Peavy, SP – SD	2	WaCoug
22.	Mark Teixeira, 1B – Atl	2	Snakes
23.	Ichiro Suzuki, OF – Sea	2	JCobb
24.	Lance Berkman, OF/1B – Hou	2	Sportsguy
25.	BJ Upton, 2B/OF – TB	3	Sportsguy
26.	Brandon Phillips, 2B – Cin	3	JCobb
27.	Magglio Ordonez, OF – Det	3	Snakes
28.	Garrett Atkins, 3B – Col	3	WaCoug
29.	Justin Morneau, 1B – Min	3	Guzman
30.	Aramis Ramirez, 3B – ChC	3	Deeray
31.	Curtis Granderson, OF – Det	3	ThirdDay
32.	Derek Jeter, SS – NYY	3	CadensDad
33.	Travis Hafner, 1B – Cle	3	Jake
34.	Victor Martinez, C – Cle	3	Boomer
35.	Alex Rios, OF – Tor	3	Omaha
36.	Brandon Webb, SP – Ari	3	Fade
37.	Manny Ramirez, OF – Bos	4	Fade
38.	CC Sabathia, SP – Cle	4	Omaha
39.	Adam Dunn, OF – Cin	4	Boomer
40.	Corey Hart, OF – Mil	4	Jake
41.	Russell Martin, C – LAD	4	CadensDad
42.	Troy Tulowitzki, SS – Col	4	ThirdDay
43.	Adrian Gonzalez, 1B – SD	4	Deeray
44.	Erik Bedard, SP – Sea	4	Guzman
45.	Nick Markakis, OF – Bal	4	WaCoug
46.	Bobby Abreu, OF – NYY	4	Snakes
47.	Joe Mauer, C – Min	4	JCobb
48.	Josh Beckett, SP – Bos	4	Sportsguy
49.	Derrek Lee, 1B – ChC	5	Sportsguy
50.	Justin Verlander, SP – Det	5	JCobb
51.	Chone Figgins, 2B/3B/OF – LAA	5	Snakes
52.	Cole Hamels, SP – Phi	5	WaCoug
53.	Brian Roberts, 2B – Bal	5	Guzman
54.	Jason Bay, OF – Pit	5	Deeray
55.	John Lackey, SP – LAA	5	ThirdDay
56.	Robinson Cano, 2B – NYY	5	CadensDad
57.	Scott Kazmir, SP – TB	5	Jake
58.	Roy Oswalt, SP – Hou	5	Boomer
59.	Carlos Guillen, SS – Det	5	Omaha
60.	Jonathon Papelbon, RP – Bos	5	Fade
61.	Ian Kinsler, 2B – Tex	6	Fade
62.	Chris B Young, OF – Ari	6	Omaha
63.	Paul Konerko, 1B – ChW	6	Boomer
64.	Hunter Pence, OF – Hou	6	Jake
65.	Francisco Rodriguez, RP – LAA	6	CadensDad
66.	Eric Byrnes, OF – Ari	6	ThirdDay
67.	Dan Haren, SP – Ari	6	Deeray
68.	Miguel Tejada, SS – Hou	6	Guzman
69.	Torii Hunter, OF – LAA	6	WaCoug
70.	Chris Young, SP – SD	6	Snakes
71.	Aaron Harang, SP – Cin	6	JCobb
72.	John Smoltz, SP – Atl	6	Sportsguy
73.	Chipper Jones, 3B – Atl	7	Sportsguy
74.	Carlos Pena, 1B – TB	7	JCobb
75.	Tim Lincecum, SP – SF	7	Snakes
76.	JJ Putz, RP – Sea	7	WaCoug
77.	Roy Halladay, SP – Tor	7	Guzman
78.	Carlos Zambrano, SP – ChC	7	Deeray
79.	Nick Swisher, 1B/OF – ChW	7	ThirdDay
80.	Jeff Francoeur, OF – Atl	7	CadensDad
81.	Daisuke Matsuzaka, SP – Bos	7	Jake
82.	Felix Hernandez, SP – Sea	7	Boomer
83.	Brian McCann, C – Atl	7	Omaha
84.	Hideki Matsui, OF – NYY	7	Fade
85.	Ryan Zimmerman, 3B – Was	8	Fade
86.	Joe Nathan, RP – Min	8	Omaha
87.	Gary Sheffield, OF – Det	8	Boomer
88.	Rickie Weeks, 2B – Mil	8	Jake
89.	Andruw Jones, OF – LAD	8	CadensDad
90.	Kelvim Escobar, SP – LAA	8	ThirdDay
91.	Vernon Wells, OF – Tor	8	Deeray
92.	Brad Hawpe, OF – Col	8	Guzman
93.	Dan Uggla, 2B – Fla	8	WaCoug
94.	Matt Cain, SP – SF	8	Snakes
95.	Mariano Rivera, RP – NYY	8	JCobb
96.	Billy Wagner, RP – NYM	8	Sportsguy
97.	Rafael Furcal, SS – LAD	9	Sportsguy
98.	Mike Lowell, 3B – Bos	9	JCobb
99.	Ben Sheets, SP – Mil	9	Snakes
100.	Jorge Posada, C – NYY	9	WaCoug
101.	Jamie Shields, SP – TB	9	Guzman
102.	Michael Young, 2B – Tex	9	Deeray
103.	Howie Kendrick, 2B – LAA	9	ThirdDay
104.	Fausto Carmona, SP – Cle	9	CadensDad
105.	Edgar Renteria, SS – Det	9	Jake
106.	Matt Kemp, OF – LAD	9	Boomer
107.	Takashi Saito, RP – LAD	9	Omaha
108.	Javier Vazquez, SP – ChW	9	Fade
109.	Yovani Gallardo, SP – Mil	10	Fade
110.	Rich Hill, SP – ChC	10	Omaha
111.	Francisco Cordero, RP – Cin	10	Boomer
112.	Alex Gordon, 1B/3B – KC	10	Jake
113.	Manny Corpas, RP – Col	10	CadensDad
114.	Jose Valverde, RP – Hou	10	ThirdDay
115.	Huston Street, RP – Oak	10	Deeray
116.	Delmon Young, OF – Min	10	Guzman
117.	Juan Pierre, OF – LAD	10	WaCoug
118.	Bobby Jenks, RP – ChW	10	Snakes
119.	Brad Penny, SP – LAD	10	JCobb
120.	Jermaine Dye, OF – ChW	10	Sportsguy
121.	Johnny Damon, OF – NYY	11	Sportsguy
122.	Pat Burrell, OF – Phi	11	JCobb
123.	Chad Cordero, RP – Was	11	Snakes
124.	Adrian Beltre, 3B – Sea	11	WaCoug
125.	Trevor Hoffman, RP – SD	11	Guzman
126.	Chad Billingsley, SP – LAD	11	Deeray
127.	Kenji Johjima, C – Sea	11	ThirdDay
128.	Jacoby Ellsbury, OF – Bos	11	CadensDad
129.	Adam Wainwright, SP – Stl	11	Jake
130.	John Maine, SP – NYM	11	Boomer
131.	Dustin McGowan, SP – Tor	11	Omaha
132.	Todd Helton, 1B – Col	11	Fade
133.	Joakim Soria, RP – KC	12	Fade
134.	Placido Polanco, 2B – Det	12	Omaha
135.	Matt Capps, RP – Pit	12	Boomer
136.	Eric Gagne, RP – Mil	12	Jake
137.	Philip Hughes, SP – NYY	12	CadensDad
138.	AJ Burnett, SP – Tor	12	ThirdDay
139.	Edwin Encarnacion, 3B – Cin	12	Deeray
140.	Rafael Soriano, RP – Atl	12	Guzman
141.	Brett Myers, SP – Phi	12	WaCoug
142.	Shane Victorino, OF – Phi	12	Snakes
143.	Jason Isringhausen, RP – Stl	12	JCobb
144.	Brad Lidge, RP – Phi	12	Sportsguy
145.	Clay Buchholz, SP – Bos	13	Sportsguy
146.	Aaron Rowand, OF – SF	13	JCobb
147.	Jim Thome, DH – ChW	13	Snakes
148.	Kevin Gregg, RP – Fla	13	WaCoug
149.	Francisco Liriano, SP – Min	13	Guzman
150.	Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C – Tex	13	Deeray
151.	Joba Chamberlain, SP – NYY	13	ThirdDay
152.	Jeremy Bonderman, SP – Det	13	CadensDad
153.	Carlos Marmol, RP – ChC	13	Jake
154.	Josh Fields, OF – ChW	13	Boomer
155.	Chien-Ming Wang, SP – NYY	13	Omaha
156.	Tim Hudson, SP – Atl	13	Fade
157.	Khalil Greene, SS – SD	14	Fade
158.	Kosuke Fukudome, OF – ChC	14	Omaha
159.	Mark Buehrle, SP – ChW	14	Boomer
160.	Tom Gorzelanny, SP – Pit	14	Jake
161.	Dontrelle Willis, SP – Det	14	CadensDad
162.	James Loney, 1B – LAD	14	ThirdDay
163.	Justin Upton, OF – Ari	14	Deeray
164.	Billy Butler, 1B – KC	14	Guzman
165.	BJ Ryan, RP – Tor	14	WaCoug
166.	Pedro Martinez, SP – NYM	14	Snakes
167.	Oliver Perez, SP – NYM	14	JCobb
168.	Ian Snell, SP – Pit	14	Sportsguy
169.	Jered Weaver, SP – LAA	15	Sportsguy
170.	Jonathan Broxton, RP – LAD	15	JCobb
171.	Tony Pena, RP – Ari	15	Snakes
172.	Paul Ibanez, OF – Sea	15	WaCoug
173.	Rich Harden, SP – Oak	15	Guzman
174.	Troy Percival, RP – TB	15	Deeray
175.	Kerry Wood, RP – ChC	15	ThirdDay
176.	Hank Blalock, 3B – Tex	15	CadensDad
177.	Andrew Miller, SP – Fla	15	Jake
178.	Jeremy Accardo, RP – Tor	15	Boomer
179.	Evan Longoria, 3B – TB	15	Omaha
180.	JR Towles, C – Hou	15	Fade
181.	Rafael Betancourt, RP – Cle	16	Fade
182.	Jeremy Hermida, OF – Fla	16	Omaha
183.	Brandon Lyon, RP – Ari	16	Boomer
184.	Josh Hamilton, OF – Tex	16	Jake
185.	Troy Glaus, 3B – Stl	16	CadensDad
186.	Kevin Youkilis, 1B/3B – Bos	16	ThirdDay
187.	Derek Lowe, SP – LAD	16	Deeray
188.	Ken Griffey Jr, OF – Cin	16	Guzman
189.	Jeff Francis, SP – Col	16	WaCoug
190.	Jeff Kent, 2B – LAD	16	Snakes
191.	Orlando Cabrera, SS – ChW	16	JCobb
192.	Joe Borowski, RP – Cle	16	Sportsguy
193.	Ted Lilly, SP – ChC	17	Sportsguy
194.	Willy Taveras, OF – Col	17	JCobb
195.	Geovany Soto, C – ChC	17	Snakes
196.	Carlos Delgado, 1B – NYM	17	WaCoug
197.	JJ Hardy, SS – Mil	17	Guzman
198.	Scott Baker, SP – Min	17	Deeray
199.	Cameron Maybin, OF – Fla	17	ThirdDay
200.	Curt Schilling, SP – Bos	17	CadensDad
201.	Gil Meche, SP – KC	17	Jake
202.	Freddy Sanchez, 2B – Pit	17	Boomer
203.	Joe Blanton, SP – Oak	17	Omaha
204.	Bronson Arroyo, SP – Cin	17	Fade
205.	Michael Cuddyer, RF – Min	18	Fade
206.	Joey Votto, 1B – Cin	18	Omaha
207.	Lastings Milledge, OF – Was	18	Boomer
208.	Ivan Rodriguez, C – Det	18	Jake
209.	Ryan Garko, 1B – Cle	18	CadensDad
210.	Zach Greinke, RP – KC	18	ThirdDay
211.	Stephen Drew, SS – Ari	18	Deeray
212.	Shaun Marcum, SP – Tor	18	Guzman
213.	Jon Lester, SP – Bos	18	WaCoug
214.	Michael Bourn, LF – Hou	18	Snakes
215.	Pat Neshek, RP – Min	18	JCobb
216.	Todd Jones, RP – Det	18	Sportsguy
217.	Barry Zito, SP – SF	19	Sportsguy
218.	Andy Pettite, SP – NYY	19	JCobb
219.	Randy Johnson, SP – Ari	19	Snakes
220.	Jay Bruce, OF – Cin	19	WaCoug
221.	Rocco Baldelli, OF – TB	19	Guzman
222.	George Sherrill, RP – Bal	19	Deeray
223.	Jhonny Peralta, SS – Cle	19	ThirdDay
224.	Mark Prior, SP – SD	19	CadensDad
225.	Matt Garza, SP – TB	19	Jake
226.	John Danks, SP – ChW	19	Boomer
227.	Bill Hall, OF – Mil	19	Omaha
228.	Kevin Slowey, SP – Min	19	Fade
229.	Matt Wieters, C – Bal	20	Fade
230.	Jose Guillen, OF – KC	20	Omaha
231.	Akinori Iwamura, 3B – TB	20	Boomer
232.	Manny Parra, RP/SP – Mil	20	Jake
233.	Kelly Johnson, 2B – Atl	20	CadensDad
234.	Chris Carpenter, SP – Stl	20	ThirdDay
235.	Scott Olsen, SP – Fla	20	Deeray
236.	Bengie Molina, C – SF	20	Guzman
237.	Richie Sexson, 1B – Sea	20	WaCoug
238.	Homer Bailey, SP – Cin	20	Snakes
239.	Kevin Kouzmanoff, 3B – SD	20	JCobb
240.	David DeJesus, OF – KC	20	Sportsguy
241.	Kazuo Matsui, 2B – Hou	21	Sportsguy
242.	Carlos Villanueva, RP – Mil	21	JCobb
243.	Jeremy Guthrie, SP – Bal	21	Snakes
244.	Joel Zumaya, RP – Det	21	WaCoug
245.	Dustin Pedroia, 2B – Bos	21	Guzman
246.	Hideki Okajima, RP – Bos	21	Deeray
247.	Orlando Hudson, 2B – Ari	21	ThirdDay
248.	Ervin Santana, SP – LAA	21	CadensDad
249.	Scott Shields, RP – LAA	21	Jake
250.	Buddy Carlyle, SP – Atl	21	Boomer
251.	Colby Rasmus, OF – Stl	21	Omaha
252.	Clayton Kershaw, SP – LAD	21	Fade
253.	Heath Bell, RP – SD	22	Fade
254.	Bob Howry, RP – ChC	22	Omaha
255.	Carlos Quentin, OF – ChW	22	Boomer
256.	Andrew Sonnanstine, SP – TB	22	Jake
257.	Jason Giambi, DH – NYY	22	CadensDad
258.	Adam Jones, OF – Bal	22	ThirdDay
259.	Masahide Kobayashi, RP – Bal	22	Deeray
260.	Corey Patterson, OF – Bal	22	Guzman
261.	Jon Rauch, RP – Was	22	WaCoug
262.	Kyle Kendrick, SP – Phi	22	Snakes
263.	Josh Willingham, OF – Fla	22	JCobb
264.	Jason Varitek, C – Bos	22	Sportsguy

Sportsguy = sportsguy138 JCobb = jcobb79 Snakes = Snakes Gould WaCoug = WaCougMBS Guzman = Guzman24 Deeray = deerayfan072 ThirdDay = Third Day CadensDad = CadensDad Jake = jake_harv88 Boomer = OneLoveBoomer Omaha = Omaha Red Sox Fade = Fade2White12

 

Round 1

Round Highlights: No real surprises in the first round, but it’s safe to say that most drafters prefer to use this round to draft a stud infielder to build their team around. 10 of the 12 players drafted here are infielders.

Best Pick: Miguel Cabrera (1.09). Jake got a steal here with the ninth pick of the draft. Cabrera is only 24 and is now in one of the best lineups in baseball. At the very least, Cabrera should have been taken before Ryan Howard in the eighth spot. At best, he could have gone with the fourth overall pick of the draft.

Worst Pick: Jose Reyes (1.04). Reyes should certainly be a first-round pick, but not before Wright or Holliday. Sure, he is the second best fantasy option at shortstop (behind Hanley Ramirez) but Reyes should be downgraded a few spots in H2H leagues given his primary contribution to fantasy teams is the unreliable stolen base.

Round 2

Round Highlights: If round one is where you take your infielder, then round two is the spot to take your stud outfielder. Seven of the 12 players taken here were outfielders.

Best Pick: Johan Santana (2.05). At the time of this pick in the mock draft, Santana was still a Minnesota Twin, however the likelihood of a trade to one of the AL East powerhouses or the New York Mets easily warranted an earlier pick for Santana. Since the conclusion of the trade to the Mets, Santana’s value increases (as should his draft position) moving to the pitcher-friendly confines of Shea Stadium with a great offense to give him the run support he has not enjoyed in the past.

Worst Pick: Ichiro Suzuki (2.11). If forced to choose a pick I found questionable, I’d have to go with Ichiro, but only because this is a keeper mock draft and Ichiro will be turning 35 at the end of the 2008 season – an age when players typically begin to steal fewer and fewer bases, one of Ichiro’s strongest stats. Although Seattle Mariners Manager John McLaren stated in December that Ichiro could steal 80 bags this season, I think it is more realistic to expect closer to 30 in the near future.

Round 3

Round Highlights: Like the first round, the third seems to be good spot to grab another infielder. Half of the picks in this round were infielders, seven if you plan to utilize Victor Martinez’s first base eligibility.

Best Pick: Travis Hafner (3.09). Many fantasy owners who invested an early round pick on Hafner were disappointed by his 2007 season. However, injuries (hand, knee, hamstring) were largely to blame for his poor season. I fully expect the 30-year-old slugger, who has first base eligibility in some formats, to rebound in 2008.

Worst Pick: Derek Jeter (3.08). Despite batting over .320 and getting over 200 hits for the third consecutive season, 2007 was a down year for Jeter. He had only 12 home runs and stole less than half as many bases as he did in 2006. Jeter will be turning 34 in June, and while he can still be considered a top-six shortstop, the third round is too early for him – especially in keeper leagues.

Round 4

Round Highlights: This round is generally when you start to see second tier starting pitchers go off the board, but I was surprised when only three were taken – CC Sabathia (4.02), Erik Bedard (4.08), and Josh Beckett (4.12). Instead, youth seemed to be the theme of this round as all but two players (Manny Ramirez and Bobby Abreu) were 30 years of age or younger.

Best Pick: Josh Beckett (4.12). Considered by many to be the third best starting pitching option, Beckett was the steal of this round by sportsguy138, when he took the only pitcher to win 20 games in 2007 (and the first since 2005). At only 27 years of age (he turns 28 in May), the runner up for the AL Cy Young has many good years ahead of him.

Worst Pick: Joe Mauer (4.11). While an argument can be made for Corey Hart and Adrian Gonzalez going too early as well, I feel Mauer was the worst pick of this round. Although the 24-year-old catcher could very well rebound in 2008, the questions surrounding his health and the development of power that most scouts expected, still remain. It’s precisely these question marks that should put him closer to Brian McCann’s draft position, 3 rounds later, than in Victor Martinez and Russell Martin territory.

Round 5

Round Highlights: In this mock, it appears that round five was the round of the second tier starting pitchers, as five of the twelve picks play only every fifth day.

Best Pick: Derrek Lee (5.01). Another good pick, and back to back no less, by sportsguy138. Although Lee hit .317 in 2007, it was considered a down year for him as he hit only 22 home runs and knocked in only 82 RBI. Lee had 16 of those 22 home runs in the second half, however, and another year removed from wrist problems will have Lee bouncing back in 2008.

Worst Pick: Jason Bay (5.06). Bay is certainly a bounce back candidate for 2008, but I think deerayfan072 reached here. Drafted in the second and third rounds last year, Bay disappointed his owners by hitting .247 with only 21 home runs in 2007. This was nearly four rounds too early for this 29-year-old.

Round 6

Round Highlights: A handful of starting pitchers went in this round as well, four to be exact, and the closers started leaving the board as well.

Best Pick: Aaron Harang (6.11). The always undervalued Harang was the 14th starting pitcher selected in this mock, which was a steal for jcobb79. You can expect another 15-plus wins and 200-plus strikeouts for this soon to be 30-year-old.

Worst Pick: Ian Kinsler (6.01). I really like Kinsler and think he could develop into a top five second baseman, possibly as early as 2008, but he barely cracked the .260 mark in 2007 and hit nearly half of his home runs in one month (April). It should also be noted that he only hit .215 away from the hitter friendly confines of Rangers Ballpark. Even in a keeper, round six is too early for Kinsler.

Round 7

Round Highlights: The smörgåsbord round. Forget trends, this round was messy.

Best Pick: Brian McCann (7.11). Drafted exactly three rounds after Joe Mauer, I expect the seventh-rounder to have a better year than the fourth. At only 24, I think McCann is capable of 25 home runs and 100 RBIs in the very near future.

Worst Pick: Nick Swisher (7.07). Many fantasy owners seem to be enamored with Swisher’s recent trade to the White Sox and while his stats could very well improve in the hitter friendly U.S. Cellular Field, he will likely never hit for a good average (.251 in three plus seasons) and his walk ratio, his bread and butter, dropped nearly 100% in the second half of last season.

Round 8

Round Highlights: Second-tier closers began going off the board in this round, as three of the twelve picks were well known ninth-inning pitchers.

Best Pick: Joe Nathan (8.02). While 2007 was Nathan’s first season in Minnesota in which he posted a WHIP over one, he is still a top tier closer and should be drafted similarly to the likes of Jonathan Papelbon, Francisco Rodriguez and JJ Putz; rather than Mariano Rivera and Billy Wagner.

Worst Pick: Gary Sheffield (8.03). While Sheffield seemed untouchable for three months in 2007, he will be 39 this season and needs to be downgraded in keeper leagues because of this. It should also be noted that Sheffield hasn’t topped 500 at bats in a season since 2005.

Round 9

Round Highlights: A mix of older and younger players went off the board in this round, as well as another slew of infielders (5).

Best Pick: Rafael Furcal (9.01). Many fantasy owners forget that Furcal was injured early last season and really never quite recovered. He will be healthy for 2008 and will add a nice bit of power and a considerable amount of speed to your roster.

Worst Pick: Ben Sheets (9.03). Sheets has always been a high risk/high reward-type pitcher and this is no less the case here in a keeper. I think the risk is higher than the reward when you pass up young pitchers like Fausto Carmona (9.08) and Yovani Gallardo (10.01).

Round 10

Round Highlights: This round seemed like a good time for five of our drafters to take a closer. A couple former top prospects left the board in this round as well – Alex Gordon and Delmon Young.

Best Pick: Delmon Young (10.08). One of the better steals in this draft, it’s beyond me how Young slipped to the mid-tenth round. This former top prospect maintained a quality batting average in 2007 and batted in over 90 runners with Tampa Bay. He’s in Minnesota now, a team rebuilding with young talent, and he is an important piece of that puzzle.

Worst Pick: Brad Penny (10.11). Two young pitchers, Yovani Gallardo (10.01) and Rich Hill (10.02) went earlier than Penny in this round, so I can’t give jcobb79 too hard of a time for grabbing a starting pitcher here, but I feel as if he could have continued the young trend instead of taking a pitcher he’ll love for the first three months of the season and then wonder where he went after the All-Star Break.

Round 11

Round Highlights: Four young pitchers left the board in this round, as well as a handful of older players like Trevor Hoffman (11.05) and Todd Helton (11.12).

Best Pick: Trevor Hoffman (11.05). Yeah, he’s 40, but that’s also how many saves you’re basically guaranteed to get year in and year out. An image of consistency, the only knock on Hoffman in this draft, is his age. While he’s not the flashy closer many of us would like to have on our staff, Guzman24 got a steal in the 11th.

Worst Pick: Chad Cordero (11.03). Keep in mind my vote for best pick in this round and it’ll shed light on why I thought Cordero was the worst pick. The only advantage Cordero has on Hoffman is his age. His ERA and WHIP are going to be higher and his save opportunities will be fewer with the Nationals.

Round 12

Round Highlights: Another round where closers seemed to be the trend as half of the players picked came from the bullpen.

Best Pick: Edwin Encarnacion (12.07). A great value this late, Encarnacion has improved each season in the majors, and that should continue.

Worst Pick: Placido Polanco (12.02). I like any player in Detroit’s lineup, but I think I took too long to take my second baseman and ended up reaching a bit for Polanco – I could have waited another round.

Round 13

Round Highlights: Round 13 looked to be a good time to take some risk,s as injury prone players and perennial underachievers went off the board here.

Best Pick: Jim Thome (13.03). Could have gone with Francisco Liriano here too, but both of these players are in the same risk category. If either of these are able to stay healthy and perform even close to what we’ve come to expect in recent years, they will be steals. Snakes Gould might have gotten 40 home runs in the 13th round.

Worst Pick: Joba Chamberlain (13.07). Yes it’s a keeper, and yes Chamberlain is a top prospect on one of the best teams in the league, but his position in the rotation is still up in the air and it appears as if he’ll start the season in the bullpen. This pick may pay off for Third Day when August rolls around, but his value will be very little when he constantly takes the mound in the 8th inning.

Round 14

Round Highlights: Quite of bit of optimism was displayed in round 14 as young players with loads of potential (but little experience) and players hoping to bounce back in 2008 went off the board.

Best Pick: Ian Snell (14.12). Other than wins, Snell bettered all of his relevant statistics from 2006 to 2007. I see this trend continuing and sportsguy138 got another gem in this 26-year-old.

Worst Pick: Dontrelle Willis (14.05). Willis seems to have fallen off the face of the earth. This once promising prospect and young stud pitcher, achieved highs in ERA and WHIP while tallying career lows in strikeouts and wins last season.

Round 15

Round Highlights: As in round 14, this became a round of hope and promise, as young players and bounce back candidates dominated.

Best Pick: JR Towles (15.12). I like Towles potential to be a top 6 catcher and I think Fade2White12 made a great pick here to fill that position.

Worst Pick: Jered Weaver (15.01). Weaver needs to show fantasy owners that he can stay healthy before I take a gamble on him in this spot.

Round 16

Round Highlights: Two young outfielders (Jeremy Hermida and Josh Hamilton) and popular fantasy names (Troy Glaus, Ken Griffey Jr., and Jeff Kent) went off the board in this round.

Best Pick: Jeremy Hermida (16.02). Hermida showed what the hype is about when he ended the 2007 season strong, batting .340 after the All-Star Break with 10 home runs.

Worst Pick: Derek Lowe (16.07). Two pitchers followed deerayfan072’s Lowe pick here, Jeff Francis (16.09) and Ted Lilly (17.01), both of whom will outperform Lowe this season.

Round 17

Round Highlights: A former ace (Curt Schilling) and a former slugger (Carlos Delgado) found fantasy owners who wanted them in this round.

Best Pick: Ted Lilly (17.01). What’s not to love about 15 wins and a sub-four ERA? Getting Lilly in the 17th was another great grab for sportsguy138.

Worst Pick: Carlos Delgado (17.03). Delgado’s average and power seemed to fall of the table in 2007, posting his worst stats in 11 years.

Round 18

Round Highlights: Well-known sleepers for 2008 were the trend of the 18th round, as Joey Votto, Zach Greinke, Stephen Drew and Shaun Marcum highlighted the picks in this group.

Best Pick: Stephen Drew (18.07). Drew is just too good to continue to post a poor batting average. If he hits near the top of the order in Arizona, Drew could put up some very good numbers as early as 2008.

Worst Pick: Todd Jones (18.12). Sure, Jones had nearly 40 saves in 2007, but it was absolutely ugly at times. I have to wonder how long Jones will keep his job when Joel Zumaya gets/stays healthy.

Round 19

Round Highlights: Our drafters seemed intent on filling out their respective rotations in this round, selecting seven pitchers.

Best Pick: George Sherrill (19.06). Sherrill seems to have been given the closer’s job in Baltimore and if he can maintain the strikeout rate that we’ve come to expect, deerayfan072 found a late-round steal.

Worst Pick: Bill Hall (19.11). I’m hoping Hall finds the stroke he had in 2006 when he moves back to the infield this season, but he’s got a long way to climb back from an abysmal 2007.

Round 20

Round Highlights: This is the time you begin filling out your roster, as these drafters began doing in the 20th.

Best Pick: Bengie Molina (20.08). I like the Kelly Johnson (20.05) pick by CadensDad as well, but I couldn’t ignore a catcher who can belt 20 home runs and drive in 80 in the 20th round.

Worst Pick: Matt Wieters (20.01). I have no doubt that Wieters will be a top catcher in the majors soon, but I don’t see him getting the call this season. In a keeper with no minor league roster, Wieters has very little (if any) value.

Round 21

Round Highlights: Some lesser known players were taken as the draft draws to a close, and it’s becoming more difficult to find trends as most fantasy owners have filled their rosters and are simply going to take the best players available to fill their remaining bench spots.

Best Pick: Hideki Okajima (21.06). While he won’t give you instant results like your starters and closers will, Okajima will help your team’s ratios over the course of the season, and you’re losing very little by taking him this late.

Worst Pick: Clayton Kershaw (21.12). Kershaw is certainly one of the best pitching prospects in the game today, but in a limited keeper, a fantasy owner will likely never be able to utilize a player who will spend all or most of 2008 in the minors (much like Wieters).

Round 22

Round Highlights: The final round is where you take a chance on a player no one else has on their radar or a vet everyone else has forgotten about.

Best Pick: Bob Howry (22.02). I’ll go ahead and pat myself on the back in this round. The Cubs closer situation is very unclear, but if Howry is given the role, I got a steal in the final round.

Worst Pick: Jon Rauch (22.09). Tough to pinpoint a worst pick in the final round, but I’ll go with Rauch because his value lies solely on the possibility of him replacing Chad Cordero as closer – which is unlikely.

 
I though it would be helpful to get a few more opinions from participants of the mock, so below are some comments regarding the best and worst picks, as seen by those who may have made them.

Fade2White12 comments:

-Atkins over Aramis
In the third round, WaCougMBS chose Garrett Atkins over Aramis Ramirez. I find this somewhat puzzling. There hasn’t been as consistent of 3B as ARam over the past few seasons, ARam is virtually the same age, and in 100 less ABs last season Ramirez had very similar numbers to Atkins. Other than his multiple position eligibility, I think that was the wrong pick there.

-Mauer in the 4th
I don’t buy into the “catchers are interchangeable so don’t draft them until the last round” mumbo jumbo. I’ll take a stud C anytime as long as the value is there. However, Mauer in the 4th wasn’t much value.

-Bay in the 5th
I’m a Bay fan and supporter, but Deeray picking him in the 5th was a bit too optimistic for my taste. I expect him to rebound very well from his poor season last year, but he probably would have been available 1, 2, or maybe even more rounds later.

-The New Tiger
With this being a keeper league, I was dumbfounded to watch MCab slip to 9th overall. It’s hard to be critical in the 1st round, but here he was great value. As a Fish, he was deserving of this spot, but as a Tiger in that lineup, I don’t know how this happened.

CadensDad comments:

Like
BJ Upton 2B/OF 3.01 to me this was a steal, Upton is a stud and in a keeper draft his value should go up, how he slipped this far is beyond me.

Dislike
Miguel Tejada SS 6.08 to me this is a bit too early for a guy who’s HR numbers fell, and AVG fell also for a guy who possibly might end up in jail at some point in the season

Like
Derek Lee 5.01 1B A full year removed from his wrist surgery, a lot of people don’t realize he hit 16 of his 22 home runs came after the all star break where he hit .302 16 hr 40 RBI, his Hits and 2B’s fell some but with the HR total nearly tripling in 50 less at bats leads me to think his power will be back in a big way.

Dislike
Jason Bay 5.06 He’s one of my sleepers but not at this price .247 21/84/78 isn’t what I want with my 5th round pick, Francoeur went .293/19/105/84 and went 2 rounds later and is 6 years younger.

deerayfan072 comments:

Least Favorite Pick
Jason Bay in the 5th. Reached for a guy when I did not have to. I think he will have a nice year this year, but he can be had 3-4 rounds later and I could have done better.

Favorite Pick
D. Young in the 10th. He was by far the best OF left at the time and in a keeper I am not sure how he went that late.

sportsguy138 comments:

Bad

Braun: Even though he’s a good young player that can put up great numbers, the risk over taking him over proven guys such as Soriano/Guerrero/Ortiz/C.Lee, etc. isn’t worth it. He could end up putting good enough number up where he has good value there, but I’d rather not take the risk at 2.01. The most I would reach at him is around round 3, so I probably won’t be owning him this year.

Bay: He’s not the 5 tool stud he once was. He’s lost his speed and after having that brutal year last year I think it’s way too early to gamble on him at 5.06. I’d much rather have a couple young guys such as Pence, C.B.Young, Kinsler, etc.

Good

C. Jones: I’m not just saying this because I made the pick, but it really was great value where I got him. I didn’t mind locking up my UT spot that early at all. Even after missing about 30 games he put up great numbers: 29 HR 102 RBI with an average of .337 and 108 runs. Even though this does kind of take away from his value if you’re in a H2H league, I couldn’t pass him up there.

jake_harv88 comments:

The Good

Rich Hill (pick 110, Omaha Red Sox) – This is a perfect example as to why I do not worry about drafting pitchers early. Hill is a fantastic pitcher with a good ability to strike batters out. While playing for a solid Cubs team this year it would not be totally outrageous to expect 15 wins and 180 Ks. All this from a player outside the top 100 picks.

Delmon Young (pick 116, Guzman24) – Expectations were set pretty high last year for this young outfielder. He finished with respectable numbers in his first full season (13 HRs, 93 RBIs, 10 SBs) but he struggled through much of the first half of the season (.278 AVE pre-All Star break). With a season under his belt and a much needed change of scenery I think you can expect a decent improvement from Young this year. I have ranked along the likes of CB Young and Pence this year yet Young went four rounds later.

The Bad

Vladimir Guerrero (pick 16, jake_harv88) – I have to pick on myself here. This free swinger continues to put up numbers but appears to be a very “old” 32. It will most likely be worth my while to keep him this year, but after that who knows. Bottom line is in any style of keeper you have to knock him down a few pegs, and this was certainly too early. In hindsight I would have taken Teixeira instead and locked up my corner infield spots.

Chone Figgins (pick 51, Snakes Gould) – Personally I have a hard time drafting a player whose value is solely dependent upon steals in the first 5 rounds. I have Chone as the 8th best at his position, while this pick made him the 4th two-bagger off the board. It will be interesting to see how his off-season wrist surgery affects his numbers, but considering he does not have much power to lose we should not see much change. However, his usual numbers do not warrant a fifth round pick.

 
Josh Milczski is one of a growing number of fantasy experts who write for the Cafe. You can catch up with Josh in the Cafe's forums where he posts under the name of Omaha Red Sox. Josh would like to thank Bryan Freilich for his contributions as an alternate for this mock and an enormous contributor to this article. You can find him around the Cafe's forums posting under the name of rookies and cream.
 

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