9 Guys That Will Give you a Complete Lineup

You want Robinson Cano? He’ll cost you a first round pick.

As we continue our countdown to our 2013 Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit, I researched 9 guys who will provide you a competitive, well-rounded fantasy baseball starting roster, plus pitchers and bench you finish off your team.

I wrote a post like this last year and apparently I did well enough to be handed it again this year. Last year was my rookie year, I was relatively unknown and expectations were low. Now, just like Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Wilin Rosario, and Yoenis Cespedes, I face higher expectations in my sophomore year. People know me more, so they can attack my weaknesses and avoid my strengths.

The key to creating a lineup is balance, you need a good mixture of power and speed production, old and young, sleepers and solid players and don’t go too heavy on one or two teams. If you were to load up on a bunch of young guns, you may be fine with the guys listed above, BUT if even half of those guys hit Sophomore slumps, you will be dead in the water. So again I say, draft for balance.

Just to be clear, this is the best team that I would draft based on realistic projections (10 team). It would be nice, but you’d have a hard time fielding a team with Ryan Braun, Mike Trout, and Miguel Cabrera.

Listed below is my lineup, along with what round I would take them in:

Now for the pitchers:

I might be a little heavy on California Bay Area guys, so sue me. The teams are good, they are all legit options, and don’t act like you fans of poor teams like the Royals, Astros and Twins don’t make fan boy picks, too!

Nevertheless, I have tried to draft a team on balance and I believe this team is a contender. You have a solid group of bankable guys at your core with Cano, Wright and Reyes. You have some young studs like Cespedes and Trumbo, and a couple real nice picks on bounce-back guys such as Hosmer and Ellsbury. The offensive bench is a little deeper than I would draft, but that was for you guys trying to field more active hitters than just the nine spots we typically go with. Lastly, know many of you have extra CI and MI positions to worry about, so the bench is also for you guys.

Also I like this pitching staff very much. It may not look as nice on draft day when you see other squads with Justin Verlander and Clayton Kershaw as their aces, but I assure you, Weaver and Bumgarner will be as terrific 1-2 starting pitching punch as anyone else in your league has!  The real coup in this lineup is Rizzo on the bench, I have noted previously in our team by team projections that I am all in on Rizzo. He would make Hosmer expendable on this team, so you find the KC fan in your league, trade him Hosmer for another pitcher or something.

What is also important is that in the early rounds you should not reach, just take the guys who will be available and are towards the top of the list, they are all bankable so do not out-think yourself.

Past the tenth round is where you should reach, fill in for roster need, or take a chance on a breakout guy. It is important that you get the guys that you want because otherwise you will end up like the aforementioned KC fan impulsively trading for their favorite player midseason (I promise last joke about KC Royals fans).

All in all, it is smart to map out your picks before the draft, it can be as simple as writing your favorite players on a napkin, or it can be printed out sheets with tiers of players by position. However you choose to do it, just make sure to go into your draft prepared!

This is number 9, so here’s what you may have missed as we count down to our 2013 Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit:

13 Dollar Players
12 Bargain Bin Outfielders
11 Pitchers You Shouldn’t Touch with a 60’6″ Pole
10 Spot Starters Ready to Jump to the Next Level