The consensus No. 2 draft pick in fantasy baseball drafts is one-time Red Sox prospect Hanley Ramirez, right behind Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols.
Yet when it was my turn to pick at No. 2, I went with Prince Fielder. Why?!
No doubt the Marlin is a great player at a position (shortstop) that is scarce of elite options. But my reasoning went like this: If I believe Pujols is the No. 1 pick and Fielder will finish right behind him as the No. 2 overall hitter, I should select him. ESPN, which is hosting our league, has Fielder as the No. 2 hitter, and Baseball Prospectus has Fielder finishing as the most valuable player. It should be noted that my league has an OPS-based scoring system; if it was a traditional 5x5 league, Hanley would have been the pick.
I must admit that I've never been a huge fan of Hanley, despite his stud status. I harbored worries about his lineup and pitcher-friendly home park -- even though those factors haven't detracted him before.
And this brings up a key thing in fantasy: You've got to live with your players. Especially with your early-round studs, you've got to believe in them. Fantasy is suppose to be fun after all, so if you're a Red Sox fan who doesn't want to root for any Yankees on your team -- don't pick 'em.
Another factor in my thinking was who would be available with my next two picks at No. 19 and 22. My plan was to pair Fielder with Troy Tulowitzki, the consensus No. 2 SS whom I coveted more than the available big bats late in the second round. Alas, Tulo was nabbed at No. 13. I settled for a top option at another scarce position (David Wright at 3B) and was pleasantly surprised to have Royals ace Zack Greinke for the taking with my third-rounder.
I'll be posting more on the draft, especially the advantages of doing it offline as we are now.
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As the guy who "settled" on Hanley, I'll add my $.02.
ReplyDeleteHanley is easily the best SS there. I like Tulo, but let's not act like it's close -- Tulo doesn't have the track record of Hanley by any means. And I didnt think Tulo would be there in rd 2, anyway -- which he wasn't.
I saw Hanley as a guy entering his age-27 season, a true superstar with no blips on the resume, and a shortstop. Versus Fielder, who is definitely awesome, but has a mixed track record (he wasn't elite in 2008), and he plays 1B, a position where you can find a stud in later rounds. I got M-Cab in rd 2, for example.
FWIW, here was the top of my board:
1. Albert
2. Hanley
3. A-Rod
4. Utley
5. Braun
6. Fielder
I probably should have pursued a trade down, given that I valued Fielder higher than anybody else. Lesson learned for next year ...
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