My Completed Fantasy Baseball Team

Our draft is complete and here is my final drafted roster:

C - Joe Mauer
1B - Mark Teixeira
2B - Howie Kendrick, Jeff Kent
SS - Jhonny Peralta
3B - Hank Blalock, B.J. Upton
OF - Alfonso Soriano, Alex Rios, Jonny Gomes, Chris Young, Jeremy Hermida

SP - Jake Peavy, Brandon Webb, Curt Schilling, John Patterson, Daniel Cabrera, Mark Prior
RP - Joe Nathan, Takashi Saito, Scot Shields, Scott Linebrink

Overall I'm pretty happy with my choices. I have a lot of bounceback candidates on offense (Kent, Peralta, Blalock), but those are the way to go in the later rounds. I believe all 3 of these guys will outperform their draft position. Peralta has reportedly worked on his range in the offseason and is playing better defense, and whenever that happens for a guy who took criticism on that part of his game, he relaxes at the plate more and usually hits better. Blalock is now healthy, and with a great coach guiding him along, he's still young enough to get back to becoming a great 3B. Upton is one of my favorite sleepers this year. Tampa Bay is playing him all over the diamond with the hopes of using him as their super utility man this season, and his offensive potential is amazing. He has 50 steal speed, plus good pop for a middle infielder. He's only eligible at 3B for right now, but he's been playing 2B, SS, and OF as well this spring. They're moving him around because his defense at SS, his drafted position, was dreadful in the minors as he committed a ton of errors. Moving him around might seem stupid, but they want him to play all over to see where he best fits so they can get his bat into the lineup. If he becomes eligible at all of those positions while playing 5-6 times a week, he'll be very valuable. Kendrick is a young hitter whom I look to take a big step forward this year. I think he's the best 2B value in the draft as he has the offensive ability to settle in right behind Utley as fantasy baseball's best offensive 2B.

My starting pitching is very solid, especially with Cabrera having a lights out spring so far. It seems like the laser eye surgery he had this offseason has improved his command (the goggles he doned last year helped him down the stretch), and he's a great breakout candidate. My bullpen is solid too. I only have 2 closers, but that's OK to start with. I was very displeased that Broxton went too early as I would have really liked to pair him with Saito. As it stands now, I own two of the best middle relievers in the game who will soldify my ratios, give me plenty of Ks, and add a few wins (both had 7 last year). I only drafted two closers last year (Gordon, Ray) and ended up winning the saves catagory as teams that fall out of it look to dump their closers in order to improve their keepers. Plus the waiver wire produces great closers seemingly every year as Jon Papelbon, JJ Putz, and Takashi Saito are examples of.

After waivers cleared (I have #1 waiver priority, and I'm definitely saving that), I decided to help my inexperienced OF depth. I don't want to start Hermida right off the bat, so here's what I did:

Dropped Jonny Gomes, Picked Up Aubrey Huff

Gomes has been dreadful so far this spring, flirting with the .100 mark while hitting both of his HRs in the same game. Given he's battling for playing time, I don't need to be potentially starting someone who's fighting to start and get at bats. Huff should have been drafted, and I'm surprised he wasn't. He had a big year for Tampa Bay in 2003, and followed that up with a very solid 2004. He's struggled the last two seasons, but he'll be hitting 5th behind Roberts, Mora, Markakis, and Tejada, so he should have plenty of RBI chances. He's eligible at both OF and 3B, and position eligibility is a nice bonus for offensive players. Their versatility helps fill the gaps when players get a day off.

Dropped Mark Prior, Picked Up Moises Alou

Mark Prior has topped out at 87 MPH on the gun, and will actually be making his next spring training start in the minors while he works out his issues. Given his injury past and his ineffectiveness this spring so far, it's not looking good for him. He's not worth stashing in a mixed league right now. I drafted him late hoping he'd throw well in the spring, but he's been about as bad as possible so far. Alou has remained a very effective hitter despite his age, and he'll be hitting 6th in a loaded Mets lineup. At least one DL stint is guaranteed, but he still has good power and will have lots of RBI chances hitting behind Beltran, Delgado, and Wright. He's hit at least .280 3 years running, so he won't hurt my batting average either.

Let the season begin!