2009 Cafe Mock Draft Results

[horatio]

Aviles was taken too soon, IMHO. Too many equal to better options available who were still available 5+ rounds later.

I don't know, I like Aviles were I got him, I think he'll do better than the 6 shortstops drafted after him, none of which I"d feel to happy to have as my SS.

13.6 Yunel Escobar
15.4 Orlando Cabrera
19.12 Edgar Renteria
20.4 Felipe Lopez
20.6 Ryan Theriot
22.6 Clint Barmes

[jlm53089]

Aviles was taken too soon, IMHO. Too many equal to better options available who were still available 5+ rounds later.

I don't know, I like Aviles were I got him, I think he'll do better than the 6 shortstops drafted after him, none of which I"d feel to happy to have as my SS.

13.6 Yunel Escobar
15.4 Orlando Cabrera
19.12 Edgar Renteria
20.4 Felipe Lopez
20.6 Ryan Theriot
22.6 Clint Barmes

I brather have Aviles and his ceiling than any of them.
Yunel and Orlando are the only ones I consider over him but even then Aviles is going to be the better player.

[ayebatter]

Aviles was taken too soon, IMHO. Too many equal to better options available who were still available 5+ rounds later.

I don't know, I like Aviles were I got him, I think he'll do better than the 6 shortstops drafted after him, none of which I"d feel to happy to have as my SS.

13.6 Yunel Escobar
15.4 Orlando Cabrera
19.12 Edgar Renteria
20.4 Felipe Lopez
20.6 Ryan Theriot
22.6 Clint Barmes

I'm in agreement here, don't see how Aviles is any better than the six taken after him, in fact I'd probably have taken any of the 6 before him.

[AquaMan2342]

Aviles was taken too soon, IMHO. Too many equal to better options available who were still available 5+ rounds later.

I don't know, I like Aviles were I got him, I think he'll do better than the 6 shortstops drafted after him, none of which I"d feel to happy to have as my SS.

13.6 Yunel Escobar
15.4 Orlando Cabrera
19.12 Edgar Renteria
20.4 Felipe Lopez
20.6 Ryan Theriot
22.6 Clint Barmes

The next three, yes......but certainly not the next six. I'd gamble with Aviles way before I'd take Lopez, Theriot or Barmes.

I'm in agreement here, don't see how Aviles is any better than the six taken after him, in fact I'd probably have taken any of the 6 before him.

[J35J]

Aviles was taken too soon, IMHO. Too many equal to better options available who were still available 5+ rounds later.

I don't know, I like Aviles were I got him, I think he'll do better than the 6 shortstops drafted after him, none of which I"d feel to happy to have as my SS.

13.6 Yunel Escobar
15.4 Orlando Cabrera
19.12 Edgar Renteria
20.4 Felipe Lopez
20.6 Ryan Theriot
22.6 Clint Barmes

I was actually looking at Aviles as a 2B...where Jose Lopez, Kelly Johnson, etc were still available. I wasn't really thinking about SS...even though he's still not really any better those listed above.

[Yoda]

If the following players get picked at their spot in other drafts then I won't get them for sure:
2.11 Quentin - there were safer players available: Upton, Manny, Lee, Vlad, etc
3.8 Kemp - I wouldn't take him over Vlad, Crawford, Markakis. Maybe a round or two early.
3.11 Pedroia - Too much risk. I'd rather have a player prove me wrong this early in the draft.
4.11 Dunn - never liked him and never will. To me, there is not much more upside compared to Delgado, Thome, Reynolds, etc.
5.2 Billingsley - would have been there in rounds 7, 8.
5.11 Stephen Drew - Tulo was taken in the next round (also too early for my taste) but there is just too much risk to take him this early.
6.2 Alexei Ramirez - I'm not a believer. See Pedroia.
7.3 Aubery Huff - coming off a monster season and I won't pay for it. He can easily finish below other 3B: Zimmerman, Figgins, Cantu, Beltre, etc who were picked after round 9.
7.7 John Lackey - pitched well after coming back from his injuries but still a lot of risk. Has a ton of mileage on his 29 yo arm.
7.11 Vernon Wells - you are paying for his name and not much else at this point. Much better options were available in the next 3-4 rounds.
8.2 Bruce - at this point of the draft people take some chances but I won't.
8.12 Davis - see Bruce.
9.7 Milledge - Finished great but he also finished great in 07. Flashes of brilliance reminds me of Rickey Weeks.
10.6 Joba - uncertain role and his IP will most definitely be limited in 09. Ridiculous upside but there were better options. The team took him as a #2 pitcher and that is way too risky.
10.11 Yovani - will also be limited in 09. There were better options available.
11.9 Price - see Joba. But I expect all these guys to go too early.
12.10 Aviles - reasons have been covered by others already.
13.4 Alex Gordon - probably would have been available a few rounds later.
13.6 Y. Escobar - not sure how he is 2 rounds better than OCab for instance. No power and no speed from MI is pretty useless to me.

I'll try to do picks I liked later.

[dryice]

pedroia is easily the class of 2nd baseman and well worth a 2nd round. What would call a opto-instincto. Waitin for the guy to fall on his face and dissapoint? won't happen. 320 360 450 in the bag. unless he gets run over by a truck on the way to the ballpark, 600 ab on dynamite offensive team in core of action in the bag. Just knows more about baseball in his little pinkie than anyone else. Just knows how to play a full force 2nd base without getting injured. Hey, the guy is slow as molasses and steals 20. Like Gretzky in hockey, he just knows.

[Yoda]

pedroia is easily the class of 2nd baseman and well worth a 2nd round. What would call a opto-instincto. Waitin for the guy to fall on his face and dissapoint? won't happen. 320 360 450 in the bag. unless he gets run over by a truck on the way to the ballpark, 600 ab on dynamite offensive team in core of action in the bag. Just knows more about baseball in his little pinkie than anyone else. Just knows how to play a full force 2nd base without getting injured. Hey, the guy is slow as molasses and steals 20. Like Gretzky in hockey, he just knows.

The guy has been in the league for 2 years so whether his body holds up with his all-out-style remains to be seen.

He could be the best player in the league right now and I still wouldn't take him in the 2nd or 3rd round. Just doesn't have the power or the speed to justify the cost.

[Big Pimpin]

If the following players get picked at their spot in other drafts then I won't get them for sure:
2.11 Quentin - there were safer players available: Upton, Manny, Lee, Vlad, etc
3.8 Kemp - I wouldn't take him over Vlad, Crawford, Markakis. Maybe a round or two early.
3.11 Pedroia - Too much risk. I'd rather have a player prove me wrong this early in the draft.
4.11 Dunn - never liked him and never will. To me, there is not much more upside compared to Delgado, Thome, Reynolds, etc.
5.2 Billingsley - would have been there in rounds 7, 8.
5.11 Stephen Drew - Tulo was taken in the next round (also too early for my taste) but there is just too much risk to take him this early.
6.2 Alexei Ramirez - I'm not a believer. See Pedroia.
7.3 Aubery Huff - coming off a monster season and I won't pay for it. He can easily finish below other 3B: Zimmerman, Figgins, Cantu, Beltre, etc who were picked after round 9.
7.7 John Lackey - pitched well after coming back from his injuries but still a lot of risk. Has a ton of mileage on his 29 yo arm.
7.11 Vernon Wells - you are paying for his name and not much else at this point. Much better options were available in the next 3-4 rounds.
8.2 Bruce - at this point of the draft people take some chances but I won't.
8.12 Davis - see Bruce.
9.7 Milledge - Finished great but he also finished great in 07. Flashes of brilliance reminds me of Rickey Weeks.
10.6 Joba - uncertain role and his IP will most definitely be limited in 09. Ridiculous upside but there were better options. The team took him as a #2 pitcher and that is way too risky.
10.11 Yovani - will also be limited in 09. There were better options available.
11.9 Price - see Joba. But I expect all these guys to go too early.
12.10 Aviles - reasons have been covered by others already.
13.4 Alex Gordon - probably would have been available a few rounds later.
13.6 Y. Escobar - not sure how he is 2 rounds better than OCab for instance. No power and no speed from MI is pretty useless to me.

I'll try to do picks I liked later.

Good list, and I made the Kemp pick. Honestly I hated that pick. There was no one on the board I felt comfortable taking. I think Kemp has by far the most upside out of the bunch that you mentioned him with and that's why I took him. My plan was to go offense there and then with an ace in the fourth, but that fell apart when the 4 pitchers I wanted one of went off the board. In hindsight, I wish I would have taken a pitcher and then I could have probably drafted Kemp or another OF (or stuck with Phillips) on the way back. Oh well...

Another of my picks that I'm not sure about was Youk. I'm just not sure what to expect next year, but I felt like 3B kind of drops off a bit (not too comfortable with Chipper) so I took him. I really felt like I liked the other side of the draft most of the way through it. The players I wanted all seemed to go 5 picks after me or 5 picks before...

I'll try to go through the draft later, but of my team (#8) the picks I really liked were Posada (could easily be a top 5 catcher), Winn (had him ahead of about 25 OFs that went earlier), and then basically my entire staff, I really like it... Beckett, Sheets, Garza, Hughes, and Gregg especially though. I'm really not crazy about the offense but the more I look at it the more I think it will be very competitive. I'm not sure what it is about the group that I don't like.

[Yoda]

Picks I especially liked:
2.9 Kinsler - 1st round numbers most of 08. 20-20 in the bag and rapidly improving, entering his prime.
4.4 Crawford - never like drafting speed early but a perennial 2nd rounder. This might be the first year I may end up with him.
6.7 Ellsbury - Coco trade opens up a huge opportunity. Could easily be a top 50 player.
7.12 Oswalt - not as sexy as his peers but still very steady. Would be a great #2 starter on any team.
8.3 Pence - I would definitely take him over Ludwick, Wells and Bruce who all went before him.
8.9 Shields - I am predicting a Harenesque breakout. Solid, steady, young and improving. I'd take him over Lackey, DiceK, Sheets and Lee who all went before him.
9.12 Jeter - another guy I may end up with for the first time ever. There is no reason for him to fall this far. Has been declining but still should outperform his draft position.
11.4 Liriano - pitched very well down the stretch. Won't be anything like we saw in 06 but there is a lot of upside still. Could easily be top 15 SP.
11.10 Wood - Put up impressive numbers while staying healthy as expected in the pen. He is better than a lot of guys already off the board.
12.12 Verlander - tough to completely overlook 08 but still should rebound big if healthy.
13.5 Bedard - a lot of people had him top 10 going into 08. Should be huge if he can stay healthy.
14.11 Dukes - another lost season but very productive when playing. Should outperform his draft position easily.
15.7 Scherzer - another guy with a huge upside. I don't see a lot of difference between Joba, Yovani, Kershaw, Price, Scherzer. Definitely someone I will target aggressively this year.
16.5 Garza - No way he should have fallen this far. Should be a top 30 SP easily with a lot of upside.
17.2 Maybin - I like nabbing a speedster late. Willingham trade means that he will start. Love Marlins youngsters.
19.8 Hughes - how the mighty has fallen. Hughes was regarded as the best pitching prospect going into 07. He has lost some zip on his fastball but if he can stay healthy, he should be a good #3 starter.
20.7 Kouzmanoff - I have him ranked around Encarnacion, Reynolds who were take 7 rounds before. Great late pick.
21.1 Smoltz - signs are that he is healthy. Worst case scenario, he goes into the pen and dominates again. Could be huge.
22.8 Buchholz - another fallen high prospect. Did nothing in 08 but pitched relatively well in the AFL. I would expect him to rebound. Great last pick.