Back For Another Season

I am back to the blog after a short off season from fantasy baseball. First I would like to congratulate myself on three 1^st place finishes in the five leagues I participated in last season. I had a repeat 1^st place in my Dynasty League, a 3-Peat in my big money league, and a 1^st in a local league.

At the moment I am currently participating in the 4^th annual Slow Mock Draft with the guys at Fantasy Game Day.  The criteria of the league/draft is as follows:  The stats will consist of the standard 5x5 stats plus the addition of Walks and Holds.  The lineups will consist of the following positions: C,1B,2B,3B,SS,MI,CI,OF(5),Util, SP(3),RP(4),P(3). Position eligibility will be based on 20 games.

We will play out this league with no pick-ups throughout the year, it is strictly a draft and play league. Injuries will be a major factor on outcomes and league standings. I will try and shy away from those position players coming back off injury i.e. Grady Sizemore types. SP coming off injury I will consider if available late.

I had the 12^th pick in a large 16 team field. My strategy going in was to draft the best OF on the board with my 1^st pick due to the 5 OF format (that will be 80 OF being drafted, not including possible Util spots fielding an OF) From there I wanted to get the best possible player on the board at my open positions.  I was going to shy away from SP until I would be squeezed from getting a possible 200K+ SP. To date here is what my team looks like.

Round 1: Jacoby Ellsbury

Round 2: Justin Pedroia

Round 3: Dan Uggla

I had these 3 all of these players ranked in my top 32 so I was happy to fill my MI spot with Uggla this early. I should dominate stats from the 3 MI positions. I am going to target Hardy at SS for additional power or Gee for SB.  Have to see how this pans out around the 9^th round.

Round 4: Victor Martinez

McCann was taken just ahead of me but I wanted Martinez in this spot. .300+ BA and 90+ RBI from my C position who will play 148 games this year.

I am thinking of taking Mauer for my Util spot if he falls to the 10^th round. Not just because of his production but to block another team at the weak C position.

Round 5: Yovani Gallardo

With around 15 SP off the board at this point I though Gallardo was a solid pick to anchor my team. 200+ IP and 200+ K. Will probably wait for many rounds to pick another SP. SP I would like to target in the late rounds at Moore TB, Johnson MIA, Wainwright STL, and Zimmerman WAS. Cross my fingers.

Round 6: Lance Berkman

I took Berkman due to his multi position eligibility and that he was the highest ranked position player on my board (Ranked 56^th). I will be targeting Goldschmidt later for my 1B slot and also Mark Reynolds at 3^rd or CI.

Strategy going forward will be to get any OF with 20/20 potential or even 15/15 who take lots of BB. I will also look to lock up as many Closers as I can. If you know me you know my Closer Strategy. The hold category will take my last 2 picks. Targeting Marshal from the Cubs, but any set up man that gets numerous appearances will do.

I will keep you updated on the draft and also bring back some logos from the past in honor of the new Toronto and Miami logos. From there we will run through each team and I will target 2 players on each 40 man roster to either target come draft day or avoid.

Glad to be back!! Only 122 days until opening day.