More than a week late, but here it is. Except now I'm tied for 1st and Justin Upton's on the DL, bringing the total to 6 guys in Rehab Land. So much fun.
Round 8, Pick 1 (99) – Troy Glaus, 3B, Cardinals
Three taken before him: Bobby Jenks, RP; Fausto Carmona, SP; J.J. Hardy, SS
Three taken after him: Kelvim Escobar, SP; Andruw Jones, OF; Takashi Saito RP
This "no-stats" thing is quickly going to become a recurrent theme of my draft. I figured I needed a proven power bat in my lineup, since I had speed set (in my mind) with Soriano and Granderson, and Glaus fit the bill. It can't get much better than hitting behind Albert Pujols. Anyways, he started off horribly - he and J.J. must've been sharing tips on how to suck - and when I noticed that Joe Crede was off to a good start and hadn't been picked up, I dropped Glaus and picked up Crede. Glaus eventually warmed up and is now hitting decently, but Crede's been consistent all year.
Grade: D-
Round 9, Pick 14 (126) – Todd Helton, 1B, Rockies (.266, 7 HRs, 29 RBIs, 39 runs, 0 SBs, 79 hits)
Three taken before him: A.J. Burnett, SP; Gary Sheffield, OF; Francisco Cordero, RP Three taken after him: Huston Street, RP; Juan Pierre, OF; Edwin Encarnacion, 3B
Oh boy, where do I start here? My main thought in drafting Todd was the sure bump I'd get in batting average. I knew his power was ebbing, and that he wouldn't run, but hitting in that Rockies lineup at Coors wouldn't hurt with RBIs and runs, would it? Well, let me count the ways he's come up short. His power has ebbed way more than I thought. The Rockies lineup has disintegrated before everyone's eyes, so the protection and scoring opportunities are not as present. But what's hurt most of all the batting average, the one thing I'd been counting on. Maybe his back is to blame, which is what's gotten him on the DL. All I know is that I was lucky to steal Joey Votto off waivers (to take Helton's place) when the girl I'm tied for 1st with dropped him. Sucker. Look, I really like Helton as a player. Enough not to drop him, because I really think he'll turn it around. He'd better, because my offense is my weak point right now.
Grade: C- (because Todd's going to turn it around - he's too good of a hitter not too)
Round 10, Pick 1 (127) – Huston Street, RP, A’s
Three taken before him: Gary Sheffield, OF; Francisco Cordero, RP; Todd Helton, 1B
Three taken after him: Juan Pierre, OF; Edwin Encarnacion, 3B; Johnny Damon, OF
Actually, despite there not being any stats next to Huston's name, that's not because he was a bad pick. The exact opposite really. See, Huston didn't do diddly squat for me stats-wise. I traded him away with Pat Burrell for Shane Victorino (more on that aspect later) and Chien-Ming Wang a couple days after the draft. Looking at my staff, I realized that I needed another ace besides Bedard (owing to me waiting 8 rounds to draft another starter), and when the offer came in I barely thought twice. Well, okay, I did - the trade was originally K-Rod and Burrell, but I told the guy that was way too high a price and asked if he'd take Street instead. Which he did. Although Wing-Wang is no stud ace, he did haul in the wins and threw in a couple gems. Then he got hurt and is probably out the entire year. Those are the breaks I guess. But overall, I'd say Street served his purpose.
Grade: B+ (if only because Wang had to go and hurt himself running the bases)
Round 11, Pick 14 (154) – Ted Lilly, SP, Cubs (9 W's, 4.49 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 114 K's, 122.1 IP)
Three taken before him: Alex Gordon, 3B; Kevin Youkilis, 1B; Chad Billingsley, SP
Three taken after him: Pat Burrell, OF; Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C; Tim Hudson, SP
What you have to realize about Lilly here is that he was actually off my team for a while. He started out horrendously - as in 9.00ish ERA horrendously -, so a few weeks in I dropped him, knowing full well that he'd still be there when I felt he had worked the kinks out, having scared everybody off with his still-high ERA. So I got a few quality starts out of whoever I picked up in his place - might've been the Big Unit - and got Lilly back a week or so later. And it's paid off big-time. Could I have gotten a better second starter earlier on? Sure I could've. But to get one that late of Lilly's caliber is a steal, and that ERA is only high because it takes a lot to come down from around 9.00. And the K's have been absolutely devastating to everybody else.
Grade: B+ (because I can't forget how horrendous he was at the beginning)
Round 12, Pick 1 (155) – Pat Burrell, OF, Phillies
Three taken before him: Kevin Youkilis, 1B; Chad Billingsley, SP; Ted Lilly, SP
Three taken after him: Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C; Tim Hudson, SP; Jason Isringhausen, RP
Like I already said, Burrell served his purpose in the trade for Wang and Victorino. Except I wasn't intent on keeping Victorino. I was exploring the possibility of trading Carlos Silva (waiver pickup) to someone for Tony Pena (the Arizona reliever), and when the Wang/Victorino offer popped up, I immediately began looking into options for trading Victorino away for a better outfielder. Luckily, I was able to package Victorino in to the Silva deal and get the guy to throw in Corey Hart by playing the "I give you a better pitcher, you give me a better outfielder" angle. Except Silva sucks, so I won. Victorino for Hart seems like Grand Theft Roto as they call it, but I actually was indirectly trading Burrell for Hart. And last time I checked, Hart had an overall rank on Yahoo! of 39 to Burrell's 49 - so I still think it's a steal. I prefer the 5-tool players anyways.
Grade: A
Round 13, Pick 14 (182) – Justin Upton, OF, Diamondbacks (.242, 11 HRs, 31 RBIs, 43 runs, 1 SB, 67 hits)
Three taken before him: Jeremy Bonderman, SP; Rafael Betancourt, RP; Willy Taveras, OF
Three taken after him: Kevin Gregg, RP; Hank Blalock, 3B; Derek Lowe, SP
This is one of those cases of picking a future stud a year or two too early. I ignored the problems Upton had with making contact, figuring he'd be a good fourth outfielder and a legitimate speed threat. He was making me look really smart in the first few weeks of the season, and then, well...the best I can say is that I should've sold high. Because Upton has been nothing short of terrible since then. But I won't drop him because his potential's sky-high, and he's better than the waiver as far as a fourth outfielder goes. And that's not even getting to his abominable 1 - 1! - stolen base. Plus now he's on the DL. Oh well. If this were a keeper league, I'd be set. But it's not, so I'll have to settle for waiting for that 484-foot bomb he hit a few weeks ago to land.
Grade: D (because I can't fully discount his amazing start)
Round 14, Pick 1 (183) – Kevin Gregg, RP, Marlins
Three taken before him: Rafael Betancourt, RP; Willy Taveras, OF; Justin Upton, OF
Three taken after him: Hank Blalock, 3B; Derek Lowe, SP; Geovany Soto, C
Yet another guy whose non-stats are the result of a trade before the season. I'd love to say getting Carlos Marmol for him was a steal, but well...Gregg has managed 6 wins and 20 saves. So I'd call it even. I was banking on Florida being no good this year and Gregg's performance last year being a fluke, but I was wrong on both counts. This isn't to say I'm unhappy with the trade. Marmol, besides the shakiness he's had lately, has been lights-out (and will have some save opportunities now with Wood on the DL), and I've got K-Rod rewriting the record books to make up for the lost saves. Plus Jon Rauch has been solid chipping in with 15ish saves, although him being on the trading block in real-life worries me.
Grade: B
So in summation, most of my best picks in this middle third were good because of their trade value. Oh well, whatever works I guess.
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