First time keeper draft - early thoughts?

[nyrblue2]

12 Team H2H (keep 5) - R, HR, RBI, SB, AVG, TB, OPS ---- W, L, SV, K, ERA, WHIP, K/BB

1B - Konerko
2B - Cano
SS - Peralta
3B - Figgins (2B,OF)
C - Johjima
OF - Soriano, M. Ordonez, Andruw Jones
Util - Wigginton (1B,2B,3B)
Bench - Longoria (3B), Bourn (OF), Adam Jones (OF)

SP - J. Santana, Hill
RP - Putz, CJ Wilson
P - Hudson (SP), Bell (RP), Howry (RP)
Bench - Buchholz (SP), Blanton (SP), Baker (SP)

10 Team H2H (non-keeper) - R, 3B, HR, RBI, SB, AVG, SLG, BB, TB, FPCT ---- IP, CG, W, L, SV, HLD, K, ERA, WHIP, K/BB

1B - Ortiz
2B - Kendrick
SS - Tulowitzki
3B - Wright
C - Johjima
OF - Granderson, Wells, Kemp
Util - Hafner (1B), Hamilton (OF)
Bench - Bourn (OF), Y. Escobar (2B,SS,3B)

SP - Haren, Carmona
RP - F. Rodriguez, Soriano
P - J. Shields (SP), Betancourt (RP), Bell (RP)
Bench - Blanton (SP), Buchholz (SP), Jimenez (SP)

14 Team H2H (non-keeper) - R, H, HR, RBI, SB, AVG, BB, TB, FPCT ---- IP, W, SV, HLD, K, ERA, WHIP, K/BB

1B - Ortiz
2B - Kendrick
SS - Tejada
3B - M. Cabrera
C - Towles
OF - Rios, Byrnes, Taveras, Cuddyer
Util - Loney (1B)
Bench - Wigginton (1B,2B,3B), Adam Jones (OF), A. Cabrera (2B,SS)

SP - Haren, Shields, Maine
RP - Wagner, CJ Wilson, Betancourt
P - Lester (SP), Hampton (SP), Rauch (RP)
Bench - Bannister (SP)

[jake_harv88]

Personally I would have gone Utley then Teixeira. I'm not opposed to taking Santana first, but I would still take Utley over him. After you took Santana you should be looking for a pure masher. Teixeira would have provided that for you nicely. Plus Tex is 4 yrs younger. Tough call though, I think you'll be in good shape as long as you keep your needs in mind. Dont over reach for youth

Sizemore is definitely not worth a second round pick in my opinion. There are so many players that can put up similar numbers who are available many picks later (markakis, Rios, CB Young, Pence, Delmon Young, Hart).

[nyrblue2]

Thanks for the thoughts, man. Yea, I was really torn on Santana/Utley. I realize that one batter can be more of an impact player than one pitcher, but it was real hard to ignore the guy who already arguably the best pitcher in MLB, after he gets traded to a better team in a favorable park, favorable league, favorable division, ya know? I think Utley is a great player, but is probably somewhat overvalued because of the emphasis on 2B being so shallow. Being in a 12 team league, I took a look at the top 12 second basemen to see what I might end up with if I didn't take Utley. I'll probably miss out on Phillips and Upton, but I wouldn't be devestated with someone like Cano, Figgins, Kinsler or even Kendrick.

As far as my 2nd pick, I probably didn't consider Tex as much as I should have, after taking a closer look at his #'s/age. Overall though, I think my general distaste for Atlanta this season (not even a personal bias, just my thoughts on their outcome) factored in a lot. Tex is damn good, but has a fairly weak supporting cast, IMO.

I think my first deciding factor was that I would rather take a multi-tool player than a big basher. My reasoning for this is that if I rely on a pure power guy and a pure speed guy, an injury to one of them could cripple my team. But if I have two 5-tool players, I'll be able to manage better if I lose one. Overall, I tend to lean that way. I'm looking at Granderson, Rios (both stretches) or Russell Martin for my next pick, but I still have a while to wait, so I'll see how it pans out.

As I said before, had I been anywhere but 8th, I think both of picks would have been a lot less taxing on my psyche, lol.