Now, at this point in the season I am in first place, but it is quite close…actually too close to call.  My weak points:  RBI, W, SV.  My lead:  1/2 point!  It is not pretty.  Here is where a great draft can carry you, but if your guy falls off the earth, you need to get rid of him.  I held onto Alexis Rios for far too long and finally dropped him in August in favor of Marlon Byrd.  Byrd is really coming through for me at this point…hopefully he’ll carry his power streak and lead me to first!

As for the second standard league I am in, it is over…I actually have that one wrapped up.  Honestly, that one came through pretty easy because a lot of the other teams lost their top picks to injury and I got lucky with some later picks.  I have an OF of Kemp/Abreu/Ibanez & Markakis is my UTIL guy…sometimes you just get lucky and I certainly did in this league.

The third league is a Winner’s League and I absolutely died in this league…so for as much as i’m proud of two first place finishes, I am going to finish near the bottom of the Winner’s League (which really irks me bad!).  This league I drafted Alfonso Soriano/Aramis Ramirez/Alexei Ramirez/Chris Davis/Ryan Ludwick…all of which flopped in fantasy circles this year.  I was very disappointed but sometimes you have an epic fail…and unfortunately I failed in that league!

Anyways, that is the update on the leagues I was in this year.  I’m happy with two firsts (IF I can hold on in League #1)…I will let you know and we’ll be going into the contract guesses in the next month!

This is where I see my team’s stats heading…i absolutely love my team WHIP & ERA…It is near the bottom (But above Bay & Lester’s stats).  The Team Hitting and Pitching are underneath the player stats…Sorry I did not label it better but I wasn’t trying to do a masterpiece.  My HR total was higher than I thought it would be, but I love the addition of Bay & Lester…it makes my team championship worthy for certain…hopefully no one vetoes it!

Yahoo Draft Stats.xlsx

Works version:

 
Yahoo Fantasy Draft.xlr

Here are my picks: 1 MCab, 2 Chase Utley, 3 Matt Kemp, 4 Alexis Rios, 5 Dan Haren, 6 Adrian Gonzalez, 7 Joey Votto, 8 Derek Jeter, 9 Johnny Damon, 10 Zack Greinke, 11 Ted Lilly, 12 Trevor Hoffman, 13 Pablo Sandoval, 14 Chad Qualls, 15 Jorge Cantu, 16 Mike Napoli, 17 Jayson Werth, 18 Kevin Slowey, 19 Gil Meche, 20 Wandy Rodriguez, 21 Jose Arredondo.

This is the way my roster looks:

C – Pablo Sandoval/Mike Napoli
1B - Miguel Cabrera/Adrian Gonzalez/Joey Votto/Jorge Cantu/Pablo Sandoval
2B – Chase Utley
3B – Miguel Cabrera/Jorge Cantu/Pablo Sandoval
SS – Derek Jeter
OF – Matt Kemp/Alexis Rios/Johnny Damon/Jayson Werth
SP – Dan Haren/Zack Greinke/Ted Lilly/Kevin Slowey/Gil Meche/Wandy Rodriguez
RP – Trevor Hoffman/Chad Qualls/Jose Arredondo

Here is how I feel about this team:  My OF power is weaker than normal (a lot of decent HR/good SB guys).  I am extremely overdone at 1B.  I have three guys who could start on just about any fantasy team.  I like my SP, I asked a buddy and he thought it was weak but we looked at previous stats from these guys and they are proven grabbers of the cats that matter most for pitchers:  K’s, ERA, & WHIP.  I got crushed right before pick 15 because I had two RP in mind and both Matt Lindstrom & Frank Francisco were grabbed before I could go again.  But that is okay, I am always weak at RP when the season starts…and by the way, I am quite possibly going to get weaker at the position!  

After the draft, i posted that I wanted an OF who could bring in the power numbers I desire, I told them all my 1B were on the market (You should be like the Billy Beane of fantasy baseball, every player is a set of stats, who cares who they are!).  I got an offer shortly thereafter that was giving me Jason Bay & Jon Lester for Adrian Gonzalez & Jose Arredondo.  Let me say this: I am not a fan of the Red Sox, and could care less how they do (not to be offensive, just being realistic), but when a guy says he’ll give you a hitter better than the hitter you are giving up (Look at what Bay will do in a full season in Boston!), and he offers you an upper tiered starting pitcher for a reliever who is not a closer you take it in a heartbeat!  If this trade goes through (there is a period where the other owners can reject it) than i would have Votto at first, MCab at third, and all four OF playing (with the fourth at the Util position).  This trade completely solidifies my SP to a point that I am in love with them.  I will show you my projections for this team on the next post…very satisfied I am (woah, a magic the gathering and Yoda quote in the same post – and I like neither – I think I am in some sort of dork purgatory or eighth layer of hell).

OF Rankings.xlsx

And Works users:

OF Rankings Works.xlr

Here is where I get controversial to say the least.  Not that I am saying something like a political party stinks or anything, certainly not doing that, but if you look at my Rafael Furcal rankings…go look everywhere else and see where they rank him.  I apparently know nothing when it comes to Furcal .

SS Rankings.xlsx

Here’s the Works file:

SS Rankings Works.xlr

AL East

Derek Jeter – I just noticed that Matthew Berry has released a hot/not column of his own, which is sort of disappointing for me because I thought I was the first one out with these…apparently I stink.  But he has Jeter on his “hate” list…because 8 had more HR, and 11 had more SB.  Here’s the problem with his listing: HR: T-9^th.  SB: T-11^th.  R: 8^th. RBI: 4^th. AVG: 5^th.  That is consistently good to okay in every cat…that is actual VALUE!

Xavier Nady – The quiestest .300/25/100 Hitter out there.  You get him in the 15^th, you get a fantasy steal…people will offer you their 7-8^th round picks for him later in the season…keep him and be happy!

Johnny Damon – Yep, a 2^nd City fan of the Yankees fantasy players this year!  Damon in the 10^th is awesome by all standards.  He does everything well (low on RBIs but that’s what you get from a top of the order hitter).

Mike Lowell – He’s healthy again and now he is going in the post 20^th round.  Fantastic value for a solid 3B.

Alexis Rios – He’s going in the 3^rd, sometimes 4^th and he is good in all 5 categories.

Dioner Navarro – I like him as your #2 in a 2-C league.

AL West

Torii Hunter – He is consistently good in 5 cats and the 20/18 potential sounds great.  You can get him in the 10^th Round?  Sounds good to me too.

Jack Cust – Do you need 30 HR power and can take a big hit in AVG/SB?  You can buy him for a $1 in an auction league or take him with your last pick in a draft.

Sean Gallagher – I like him as a person you don’t draft but watch the first two weeks of the year.  I am sold on Billy Beane’s evaluation (I know, I am in the minority here…he’s terrible! Yuk yuk).  Not to mention Gallagher is in a pitcher’s park for the entire year.

Rajai Davis – SB machine, but worried about playing time.  Another “Watch” him guy.  You can draft him late if you need him.

Jose Lopez – 2B eligible who scored well in four categories?  Not to mention ½ a roster spot worth of steals on top of that…hmm, sounds like a 9^th round pick…you can get him in the 15^th.  Yep, that’s value.

Russell Branyan – Has all the potential to smack 30 HR; all the while batting .240-.260!  Yea, not a great average…but he should have a starting spot.

David Murphy – The Rangers not using any spare money to go after another OF (Andruw Jones does not count) was the best thing that could happen to this guy.  Murphy is a potential 25 HR sleeper guy in a killer lineup!  Sometimes players are fantasy giants by osmosis (or by Ranger Stadium).

Frank Francisco – About the only Rangers P I would ever have considered here.  He seems to have really come around since throwing the chair at the fan in Oakland.  Good for him to turn the corner.

AL Central

Minnesota Pitching – Dag Gum they meet the requisite ERA/WHIP type of pitchers you and I ought to like!  Not to mention pitching at home helps…some of these guys should be “Home” Starters.

Carlos Gomez/Denard Span – In that order, I love them for steals.  I really like Gomez, he may be more valuable next year, but I think he’s an asset this year.

Mike Aviles – A MI candidate who can hit for power and steal a base, sign me up in the 14^th or later!!!

Coco Crisp – He is a fantasy guy to watch now that he has a full time gig.  He could go for 13/30.

Jose Guillen – Don’t be surprised by this, he is consistent, look at the past couple of years, and you will get that this year.

Gil Meche/Zack Greinke – Meche did basically the same thing that Greinke did last year with no hoopla.  He’s a value for sure.

Kelly Shoppach – How do you not love a 20 homer catcher?  Especially one drafted late!

Mark Buehrle – He has been one of the better Sox pitchers for a while now, yet no one is giving him the love.  What gives?