arod, pujols, vlad, tex, manny, big papi....then who's next?

[curious_george_43545]

tejada
wright
mcab
santana
m. young
bay
crawford
d. lee
abreu

[TheRock]

Santana
Bay
Young
Wright
Cabrera
Tejada
Abreu
Lee
Crawford

Those guys are pretty tightly bunched. I'd rather pick 10-12 this year and grab two of them.

[ramble2]

Good topic. I always find the back end of round 1 the most difficult to rank. Some good names out there so far.

In no particular order, I think a good first round would certainly include Crawford, Santana, M. Cabrera. After that Bay, Wright, Tejada, D. Lee and Young are good candidates. Depends, in part, on your draft strategy.

I'd put Abreu in there, but he seemed to tire at the end of last year. Not bad at the end of the 1st round, I suppose, and could be a real steal. Really, though, you want your 1st pick to be as safe as possible.

Interesting that nobody's mentioned Hafner. If you put Ortiz at #6, then Hafner will be an absolute steal at number 13 or 14 (or wherever he might get drafted in the 2nd round).

2nd and 3rd rounds are going to present some great (albeit risky) picks. But that's for a different thread. The relevance to this thread is that is all the more reason to make your 1st pick as safe as possible.

[hoosier1032]

Thank you everyone. You have provided some great information. Does anyone else have anything to add to this thread. The more the better. Like the previous person said you want your first round pick to be solid as a rock!

[AcidRock23]

Good thread to keep around, that is a tricky spot. To me, the trickiest part isn't figuring out what guys I want, it's going to be sweating it out after I pick the first one waiting to see if I'll be lucky enough to get #2 as well!! I had the #2 pick the first year I played and have been #7 or #8 in every draft since then and, after the first round I'll calm down but those pics in the between the #1 and #2 will be on pins and needles.

[BronXBombers51]

I think the moral of this thread is...pick whoever the hell you want. There seems to be no pattern in the rankings of these players. I guess it's all personal preference.

[slomo007]

I've got the 5th pick this year in my money league and am completely clueless who I'm going to pick at this point. Ideally I would hope that there is a big Boston fan in 1-4 that will pick Manny or Ortiz for some reason, letting Teixeira or Vlad fall to me. But, if that doesn't happen then I really don't know who I will pick.

I think Cabrera is by FAR the most talented of that bunch. It's really not even close when we're talking talent. Unfortunately, he also plays on what should be a terrible team, so I don't know if he's worth the risk of having a player who will be lucky to see 10 hittable pitches all season. That's what makes this decision so difficult for me.

[diesel99xx]

This topic is one I will be debating for the next month.
In my CBS league, I traded the 5 pick for the 7th. Now many have called me crazy so far, for passing on Manny and Ortiz, I have boiled it down to 4 players at the 7 spot.
Wright
Tejada
Crawford
Santana

I traded this pick because the 2nd round pick is much different at 17 then 19(12 team snake draft)
I was opposed to Manny /c I have a funny feeling he will get hurt ......

But those 4 are the ones I am deciding between, it will probably come down to the latest literature I read the week prior to the draft.

[thomasps3]

[quote="diesel99xx"]
I was opposed to Manny /c I have a funny feeling he will get hurt ......
quote]

I guess that is a reason not to draft a certain player...

But in all seriouseness, I think the more troublesome thing to worry about is Crawford. The reason he pulled out of the WBC is b/c of a wrist injury that has been bothering him all winter.

Crawford's speed is a main part of his value, so I would stay away from him entirely.

[ramble2]

Another thought. When you are picking in the second half of round 1 in a snake draft, I think it's a mistake NOT to consider who you think will fall to you in round 2. That is, don't think about round 1 in isolation.

If you are sitting at pick 7-12 in a 12-team league (for example) you really should be trying to figure out how to round off the top 20 players, and which two you'd like to end up with after two rounds. Enough names have been listed here that a good 1-2 strategy can be mapped out.