Fantasy Baseball Crackerjacks Draft Recap

Mar 22, 2015; Dunedin, FL, USA; Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista (19) hits a sacrifice RBI during the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Florida Auto Exchange Park. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Us writers at Fantasy Baseball Crackerjacks created a fantasy baseball league. We have the six writers and six outside owners. The draft took place last night and the full results can be found here. The league structure is 12 teams, 27-man rosters with head-to-head scoring. The 10 categories are R, HR, RBI, SB, OPS, QS, ERA, WHIP, SV and K/9. I had the 11th pick, so I immediately scrolled down the rankings to see who would fall to me. I like my team, but I want to share it with the rest of you, so here you go.

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The numbers listed represent the round drafted and overall pick.

1.11 OF Jose Bautista

2.14 1B Anthony Rizzo

3.35 SP Madison Bumgarner

4.38 OF Starling Marte

5.59 1B Prince Fielder

6.62 RP Craig Kimbrel

7.83 SP Julio Teheran

8.86 OF Matt Holliday

9.107 OF Leonys Martin

10.110 3B Pablo Sandoval

11.131 SP Chris Archer

12.134 SS Jimmy Rollins

13.155 SP Mat Latos

14.158 C Yadier Molina

15.179 SP Jose Quintana

16.182 2B Rougned Odor

17.203 2B Jedd Gyorko

18.206 OF Lorenzo Cain

19.227 RP Joe Nathan

20.230 SP Matt Cain

21.251 3B Nick Castellanos

22.254 1B Mark Teixeira

23.275 SP Yovani Gallardo

24.278 OF Josh Reddick

25.299 OF Anthony Gose

26.302 RP Sergio Romo

27.323 3B Trevor Plouffe

My roster is construced as such: 1 C, 3 1B, 2 2B, 1 SS, 7 OF, 7 SP, 3 RP. When my first-round pick came around, it was a no brainer. I wasn’t drafting a pitcher and Robinson Cano is, to me, on a decline. As long as Bautista can stay healthy, he is a top-five outfielder. I then went with a first baseman in the second round. Rizzo is a young player with a lot of power and upside. In a league that uses OPS, I needed to go home-run heavy early.

I went against my strategy and drafted Mad Bum in the third round. With seven pitchers already off the board, I didn’t want to miss out on a top-10 guy. Hopefully he brings his 2014 playoff performance to the regular season. I then followed it up with Marte. He can get on base and steal some, too. He was the only steals player I would draft for a while.

In the fifth round, I was eyeing David Ortiz, but he was stolen from me at No. 57. So, I went with the next best thing in Fielder. As my corner infielder, I should expect 25-30 home runs as long as he’s healthy. Kimbrel was one of the best closers last year and can be top three again. I couldn’t pass on a 40 saves guy.

Some other notes:

Martin was my second steals guy. He is battling leadoff for the Texas Rangers and with the lineup behind him should score a lot of runs.
Drafting Rollins in the 12th was a sheer panic pick. I was going back and forth between him and a couple of other players. The clock was beeping and just clicked ‘draft player.’ I like him in Los Angeles, but could have waited.
I will likely platoon second base with Odor and Gyorko. Combined, they can provide top-10 second baseman numbers.
Nathan may lose the closer job at some point this season, but if he can keep the ERA down around 3.50, he should be okay.
Gallardo will start Opening Day for the Rangers. Why not get the season off to a good start? He is a nice pick for my seventh starting pitcher.
Gose was a late-round pick for speed. That’s it. He will likely not start him unless everyone else has an off day.

Well, there you have it. That is my team. I’m happy with most of the picks. There were some that I thought could have waited one more round or drafted a different player completely. I wish I got one more closer, but saves can be found on the waiver wire.

Let me know what you think of my team. What picks did I get right or wrong?

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