DRAFT ANALYSIS
2. Roy Halladay, Blue Jays starter: Wanted Miguel Cabrera, David Wright or even Joe Mauer, but they were long gone. The recurring theme to my draft was that the pitching available represented the best value when it was my turn to pick.
3. Robinson Cano, Yankees second baseman: There isn't a ton of talent at second base, but Robbie is a stud. And I'm a Yankee's fan — that didn’t hurt.
4. Roy Oswalt, Astros starter: You can never have enough Roy's on your team. If only Roy Smalley was still around.
5. Jake Peavey, Padres starter: Oswalt and Peavey are young studs that are good in almost every category. The value here was too good to pass up. Peavey wasn't as good last year as I thought he would be — but he'll bounce back even bigger this year.
6. Alex Gordon, Royals third baseman: Future star? Nope — He will shine this year. He's too good not to. I watched a lot of offensive talents get taken off the board. My second reoccurring theme is that I loaded up on young talent that slipped a little. Hopefully, they’ll be on my team when they break out.
7. Scott Kazmir, Devil Rays starter: I'm banking on 200 strikeouts this year. And so many of them will come against the hated Red Sox.
8. Felix Hernandez, Mariners starter: King Felix. I just can't help myself with all this pitching. In the last two spots I also considered Jared Weaver and Justin Verlander.
9. Bobby Jenks, White Sox closer: — Heat! And, I couldn't wait too much longer to land a closer.
10. Delmon Young, Devil Rays outfielder: I waited so long to land an outfielder, where a lot of offensive production comes from. So, I had to bank on another youngster breaking out. If he can keep his temper in check, Young has as much talent as just about anyone.
11. Barry Bonds, Giants outfielder: I don't even want to root for him. I really don't. But again, I waited on outfielders and I felt like this was a value pick for the 11th round.
12. Nick Markakis, Orioles outfielder: This guy is a string bean, but he can flat out hit. Because he just came on the scene last year, I think he went a bit unnoticed.
13. Matt Cain, Giants starter: Another stud young pitcher. I have too many to even talk about. I really like this guy, but if I have to trade for offense, he could be a good chip to dangle.
14. Ivan Rodriguez, Tigers catcher: I wanted Mauer early on in the draft. It's smart to get a player at a position where there aren't a lot of top producers. I-Rod isn't his old self, but he'll put up respectable numbers.
15. Stephen Drew, Diamondbacks shortstop: Back to the youth movement. Talent wins out. Hopefully, things will click for him right away. And hopefully, he gets inserted somewhere into the top of the batting order.
16. Eric Chavez, A's third baseman: Pure value pick. Chavez is better than a 16th round draft choice.
17. Bob Wickman, Braves closer: He's not great. In fact, he flirts with blowing a save in just about every appearance, but hopefully he'll get those opportunities. There weren't too many other options for me.
18. Scott Podsednik, White Sox outfielder: He slowed down during the second half of last year, but I don't have too many people that can steal a base.
19. Willy Taveras, Rockies outfielder: To ensure that I wouldn't come in last in the stolen base category, I drafted Podsednik and Taveras back-to-back. I can insert them both into the lineup every once in a while and climb the charts in that category in a hurry.
20. Mark Prior, Cubs starter: I know he's hurt and I know he hasn't been productive in a while. But his stuff is too good to pass up in the 20th round. This was another value pick.
21. A.J. Pierzynski, White Sox catcher: I drafted him purely on personality. He's everyone’s favorite player, so I've heard. Actually, that's not true. I drafted him because he's a decent second catcher. And you draft decent second catchers in the 21st round.
22. Freddy Sanchez, Pirates third baseman: Hits for average and is eligible at three or four positions. Decent last pick.
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