Final Fantasy Baseball Projections Update for Cheatsheet Compiler & Draft Buddy

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Mike MacGregor

I am away for some rest and relaxation right now, but constantly connected and still updating ye ole website as possible and as needed. Today we were due for an update. I received a final fantasy baseball projections update from Steamer Projections Blog for the Steamer-Razzball projections. FantasyPros also updated their Zeile Consensus projections, and with Opening Day now officially in the books yesterday, I’m putting a cap on that and calling those the final projections as well.

The update is now available for the Cheatsheet Compiler & Draft Buddy. Each set of projections are updated, plus Average Draft Position (ADP) data from each of FantasyPros, Mock Draft Central and National Fantasy Baseball Championship.

The depth charts are taking a little more time than I’d like with all the final week changes, and my desire to not mess up the available players we already have in the Compiler & Draft Buddy. I updated the AL East so far, plus the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim so I could get Vernon Wells on the New York Yankees, and I’ll work away at the rest as time allows (and to not annoy the wife while on vacation).

Thanks once again to all the guys at FantasyPros, Steamer, MDC and NFBC for their contributions to the Compiler & Draft Buddy this fantasy baseball season. It is very much appreciated.

Thanks to all of you, our members, for continuing to use the CC/DB, or trying it for the first time this season. I hope you liked it, and will remember us again next year. Or, even better, if you play fantasy football make sure to try out the fantasy football version of the CC/DB.

Have a great season. Go Blue Jays!

Projections, ADP and Depth Charts Update

Status

The Cheatsheet Compiler & Draft Buddy update is now available! That was quite a chore, starting yesterday and finally finishing today, but we have updated projections from each of FantasyPros and Steamer-Razzball, Average Draft Position (ADP) data from each of Pros, Mock Draft Central and NFBC, plus updated depth charts. These updates also helped create updated fantasy baseball cheatsheets, for those who want to quickly print and run to their draft instead of downloading and setting up the CC/DB.

If I could mention the depth charts (and accompanying rosters) for a moment, I’m still not entirely happy with how they are presented on the website. The 25-man rosters are in good shape, as that is what I’m concentrating on mostly because those are most relevant for fantasy purposes, and they feed into the Cheatsheet Compiler (well, it all does). It is the remaining 40-man roster players and non-roster players that are tougher to keep straight.

As time allows, I can see I’m still going to continue to fuss around with the depth chart and roster pages to provide as much information, in a clean and organized format, as possible. What isn’t helping entirely is the roster data purchased from our stats provider. It gives me all the players, but in terms of identifying what roster a player is currently on, and whether he is injured or not, the data falls short in places.

Anyway, something for me to continue to work at and improve. If you are still drafting this week and Easter weekend leading to Opening Day, grab the update and good luck!

Steamer-Razzball and Zeile Projections Updates

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Mike MacGregor

Welcome to a new week, another week closer to the start of baseball season. I know a bunch of our members drafted this past weekend and I’m sure there are still plenty of fantasy baseball drafts scheduled the next couple weeks. That, coupled with March Madness* kicking off this week, and we’ve got a pretty darn exciting sports calendar ahead of us.

To start the new week, we have an update to both sets of projections available in the Cheatsheet Compiler & Draft Buddy. The Steamer-Razzball projections from Steamer Projections Blog and Razzball, plus the Zeile Consensus Projections from FantasyPros, each updated on Sunday.

Those are now updated on our side, so you need to open your copy of the Cheatsheet Compiler, go to the setup tab, select which one you want to update, and hit Update Projections. Remember, if you want to update both sets of projections, select one, click Update Projections, then click the button to move it from Site A to Site B. Once that is done, select the other set and click Update Projections again.

The Average Draft Position (ADP) data from each of Mock Draft Central, FantasyPros and National Fantasy Baseball Championship also received an update. Select the one you prefer on the ADP tab in the Compiler and it will update when you update projections.

Last but not least, in terms of update news, new projections meant the Compiler kicked out new baseball cheatsheets for us, if you simply want to print the player rankings from the website and go.

I received a note from member btscot7 this morning wondering why he was getting an error opening Draft Buddy… something to do with the TimerModule. From that he reminded me that the countdown timer does not work in 64-bit versions of Excel. This happened last year too, I just forgot exactly what the issue was.

As of this morning there is a new alternate version of Draft Buddy available from our download page for 64-bit Excel users. You won’t be able to use the countdown timer, as I simply had to remove it (sorry), but better to get 100% of the core features of Draft Buddy and lose one frill feature than not be able to use it at all.

* Are you a college basketball fan, or even March Madness bandwagon fan this time of year (like me)? Over at one of my other websites, MyOfficePool.ca, I run a unique March Madness Survivor Pool that has steadily grown in popularity. If you want to try it out, sign up over there and give it a shot. It is a lot of fun and frustration trying to pick winners each round of the tourney to move on – survivor style. And you can’t pick the same team twice, so plan ahead!

Fantasy Baseball Projections, ADP and Depth Chart Update

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Mike MacGregor

That took some time – longer than I expected (per usual) – but the projections, average draft position and depth charts are now updated for the Cheatsheet Compiler & Draft Buddy. Open your copy of the Cheatsheet Compiler, go to the update tab, make sure the Zeile (FantasyPros) option is selected for projections source, and click Update Projections.

No update to the Steamer-Razzball projections this week, only the Zeile projections. I updated the ADP from all three of our sources, FantasyPros, Mock Draft Central and National Fantasy Baseball Championship. Thanks once again to each of our partners for their contributions to the CC/DB.

I also ran through every team to update our depth charts too. In terms of other online features, the projections update creates new updated player rankings for our cheatsheets and player pages, like Bryce Harper.

We had some questions the last few days about the projections, including a discussion on our Facebook page when member smackie1970 noticed there are way too many at-bats going to the Tampa Bay shortstops. Make sure to check that out to understand the reasoning behind it.

Commenting on a previous blog post, member prnichols7807 asked why Holds (and I noticed, Quality Starts too) aren’t included in our Steamer-Razzball projections when they are over at Razzball. It seems that Razzball adds those to Steamer, and they want to keep them proprietary, which is certainly understandable considering HLD and QS are not as commonly projected by fantasy baseball prognosticators across the inter webs. My suggestion if you really want these in your copy of the Cheatsheet Compiler would be to do so using Projection Pal. If I have time then I will revisit that topic next week to show how I would do it.

Okay, that is it for the update. Have a good one, and good luck if your draft is on this weekend.

Projections and ADP Update Ready for the Cheatsheet Compiler

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Mike MacGregor

I posted this morning on our Facebook page and Twitter account that I was going to work on updating the fantasy baseball projections, Average Draft Position (ADP) and depth charts today for the Cheatsheet Compiler & Draft Buddy. That took some time, but the update is ready!

Both sets of projections, the Zeile Consensus Projections from FantasyPros, and the Steamer-Razzball projections from Steamer Projections Blog, were updated. Plus, I updated ADP from each of Mock Draft Central, FantasyPros and National Fantasy Baseball Championship.

I ran out of time to do the depth charts, so if a few people could look through them and let me know if there are any glaring changes that should be made, I’d appreciate it.

As a result of this update, we now have much deeper Zeile projections. Previously, I grabbed the Excel export file from FantasyPros, but member mjfhokie noticed that didn’t include the complete Zeile projections. Now I’m pulling them direct from FantasyPros’ API, resulting in much deeper projections. Our Zeile import used to include projections for 245 hitters and 181 pitchers, but is now at 358 hitters and 249 pitchers. Good stuff!

Note since this is a projections update, you do not need to download the Cheatsheet Compiler again. You can get the new data using the built in features. To update both sets of projections, perform the following steps:

1. Open your copy of the Cheatsheet Compiler, go to the update tab, and use the drop-down to choose Steamer-Razzball projections. Click the Update Projections button. You should see an indication that Steamer projections now are in Site A.

2. After that runs through the update, go back to the update tab and click the Move to Site B button, which will do just what it sounds like. It moves the now updated Steamer projections from section A to B on each of the hitters and pitchers tabs.

3. Now change the drop-down from Steamer-Razzball to Zeile (FantasyPros). Click the Update Projections button again.

4. Your ADP is already updated from the above steps. If you want to switch to a different source for your ADP, go to the adp tab, change the drop-down, and click the Update ADP button.

One final note that I did make some very minor changes to the Compiler and Draft Buddy download files, even though I didn’t change the version number. In the Compiler, the Check for Update button didn’t work properly. I fixed that.

In Draft Buddy, I noticed a problem on my Mac that threw an error near the end of the Setup Draft Buddy process. This was a curious one that happened because while running one macro (Setup Draft Buddy), Buddy tried to run another macro (recalculate the by pos tab), but ended up getting bungled up because the first task didn’t think the second task finished fast enough. I never noticed this issue on my PC, only the Mac.

Like I said, these are very minor issues, but if you do notice them and want to download a fresh copy of the Compiler or Draft Buddy, then you can certainly do that.

Enjoy the update, and again, let me know if you notice any significant depth chart changes that should be made, particularly those impacting the starting lineup, rotation and closers as shown on our summary depth chart in the Compiler.

Change to NFBC ADP in the Cheatsheet Compiler

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Mike MacGregor

I wasn’t planning to do another video this week, but late Friday I noticed a tweet from RotoSaurus slagging the Average Draft Position (ADP) data from Mock Draft Central (MDC), which of course is what we use in the Cheatsheet Compiler & Draft Buddy. The guys at RotoSaurus use the ADP from the National Fantasy Baseball Championship (NFBC), because that is where they play, and that is where the pro or more experienced fantasy players, play.

I absolutely know there are a ton of sharp fantasy baseball players in the NFBC, so I agree the NFBC ADP is good data. I guess which you prefer could depend on who you are playing against. Do the owners in your league draft more like your average Joe MDC member, or your average Joe NFBC player?

Always one to give you guys choices, I created an HTML page with ADP from the NFBC that you can import into your copy of the Compiler, in case you’d rather use that instead of the default MDC ADP. The only thing you need to know, is how to change it. And that is why I created another video, to show how it is done.

DB.com Competing in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship

Posted on April 1, 2011 by Mike MacGregor

Last year, Rick represented DraftBuddy.com in his first ever foray into the National Fantasy Baseball Championship (NFBC). He did a great job fighting back from a wave of injuries early on to finally finish just out of the money in fourth place in his 15-team league.

This year we have four representatives. Long-time Cheatsheet Compiler & Draft Buddy (football and baseball versions) user cgod won a free entry last year to a 2011 NFBC satellite league in our giveaway contest, and another long-time CC/DB user BeanTown won a similar entry for a most excellent showing in our inaugural DraftBuddy.com Whitey Herzog league in 2010.

These two, along with Rick again, and myself, each drafted our teams in separate NFBC satellite leagues in the past few weeks. With the season underway, here are the rosters of our teams for everyone to cheer for all-season long. The rosters are shown with the starting lineup for the first week, followed by the seven bench spots, including who the top five picks were for each team.

Good luck cgod, BeanTown, Rick and, well, good luck to me too. Come on Ian Stewart, stay healthy and keep your job.

Rick’s Team
Drafted March 16 (14th pick)
C	John Buck	FLA
C	A.J. Pierzynski	CHW
1B	Ryan Howard (2.02)	PHI
2B	Aaron Hill	TOR
3B	David Wright (1.14)	NYM
SS	Ryan Theriot	STL
OF	David DeJesus	OAK
OF	Jason Heyward (4.02)	ATL
OF	Nate McLouth	ATL
OF	Vernon Wells	LAA
OF	Delmon Young	MIN
MI	Cliff Pennington	OAK
CI	Garrett Jones	PIT
UT	Danny Valencia	MIN
P	Jonathan Broxton	LAD
P	Ian Kennedy	ARI
P	Jon Lester (3.14)	BOS
P	Daisuke Matsuzaka	BOS
P	Roy Oswalt	PHI
P	Mike Pelfrey	NYM
P	Clayton Richard	SD
P	Jose Valverde	DET
P	Javier Vazquez	FLA
BN	Phil Coke	DET
BN	Jon Garland	LAD
BN	Tommy Hunter	TEX
BN	Kendrys Morales (5.14)	LAA
BN	Scott Podsednik	TOR
BN	Joe Saunders	ARI
BN	Grady Sizemore	CLE

Mike’s Team
Drafted March 21 (1st pick)
C	J.P. Arencibia	TOR
C	Russell Martin	NYY
1B	Albert Pujols (1.01)	STL
2B	Ben Zobrist	TB
3B	Ian Stewart	COL
SS	Stephen Drew	ARI
OF	Peter Bourjos	LAA
OF	Andre Ethier (4.15)	LAD
OF	Cameron Maybin	SD
OF	Hunter Pence (5.01)	HOU
OF	Jose Tabata	PIT
MI	Ryan Theriot	STL
CI	Adam Dunn (2.15)	CHW
UT	Brent Morel	CHW
P	Daniel Bard	BOS
P	Ryan Franklin	STL
P	Yovani Gallardo	MIL
P	Gio Gonzalez	OAK
P	Daniel Hudson	ARI
P	Clayton Kershaw (3.01)	LAD
P	Jon Rauch	TOR
P	Clayton Richard	SD
P	Jason Vargas	SEA
BN	Jason Bay	NYM
BN	David DeJesus	OAK
BN	Aaron Harang	SD
BN	Derek Holland	TEX
BN	Cory Luebke	SD
BN	Jesus Montero	NYY
BN	Joel Pineiro	LAA

BeanTown’s Team
Drafted March 29 (14th pick)
C	Yadier Molina	STL
C	Geovany Soto	CHC
1B	Mark Teixeira (1.14)	NYY
2B	Mike Aviles	KC
3B	Ryan Zimmerman (2.02)	WAS
SS	Elvis Andrus	TEX
OF	Aubrey Huff	SF
OF	Hunter Pence (3.14)	HOU
OF	Scott Podsednik	TOR
OF	Manny Ramirez	TB
OF	Andres Torres	SF
MI	Asdrubal Cabrera	CLE
CI	Danny Valencia	MIN
UT	Julio Borbon	TEX
P	Chris Carpenter	STL
P	Brett Cecil	TOR
P	Derek Holland	TEX
P	Edwin Jackson	CHW
P	Jon Lester (4.02)	BOS
P	Ted Lilly	LAD
P	J.J. Putz	ARI
P	Wandy Rodriguez	HOU
P	Jonny Venters	ATL
BN	Carlos Carrasco	CLE
BN	David DeJesus	OAK
BN	Scott Downs	LAA
BN	Luke Gregerson	SD
BN	Corey Hart (5.14)	MIL
BN	Jesus Montero	NYY
BN	Placido Polanco	PHI

cgod’s Team
Drafted March 29 (1st pick)
C	Ryan Doumit	PIT
C	John Jaso	TB
1B	Albert Pujols (1.01)	STL
2B	Ian Kinsler (3.01)	TEX
3B	Martin Prado	ATL
SS	Jimmy Rollins (4.15)	PHI
OF	Marlon Byrd	CHC
OF	Nelson Cruz (2.15)	TEX
OF	Johnny Damon	TB
OF	Nick Markakis	BAL
OF	Denard Span	MIN
MI	Asdrubal Cabrera	CLE
CI	Derrek Lee	BAL
UT	Gaby Sanchez	FLA
P	Scott Baker	MIN
P	Ryan Dempster	CHC
P	Dan Haren (5.01)	LAA
P	Daniel Hudson	ARI
P	Chris Perez	CLE
P	Rafael Perez	CLE
P	Ryan Perry	DET
P	Huston Street	COL
P	Randy Wells	CHC
BN	Lorenzo Cain	KC
BN	Johnny Cueto	CIN
BN	Jon Garland	LAD
BN	J.A. Happ	HOU
BN	Kevin Kouzmanoff	OAK
BN	Cody Ross	SF
BN	Freddy Sanchez	SF

NFBC Post-Draft Recap

Posted on March 21, 2011 by Rick Milleman

I completed my National Fantasy Baseball Championship (NFBC) satellite league draft last Wednesday night, and I have to say it was a rather painful affair – not the team I drafted but the draft itself.

I participated in five mock drafts at Mock Draft Central to prepare for this draft, and was expecting to finish in the same two to two and half hour session it usually took for the mocks. For this draft we needed more than four hours to complete 30 rounds. With a 9:00pm start time, I was still awake after 1:00am. The draft was definitely cutting into my beauty sleep.

We had too many owners who seemed unprepared to make their selections when it was their turn, which was surprising. There also seemed to be too many times when owners would hold their pick to the last of the 90 second clock, trying to create some sort of drama. Hopefully that experience is not normal for other NFBC drafts. Now that the draft is over though, it is time to evaluate my squad.

NFBC uses the Kentucky Derby Style of selecting draft positions, which means each owner ranks what draft pick they would like, and a random selection runs through the preferences of each owner to determine the draft order.

I was hopeful I would end up with a draft slot in the middle of the pack to get a pick every 20 choices or so. Unfortunately I had some bad luck and I found myself at #14, maybe the hardest draft slot of them all.

The only good thing about the 14th slot is that I can watch the team selecting 15th, and make my choices based on what they are likely to do (or not do) with their back-to-back picks. For instance, since he selected Jimmy Rollins in the fourth round, he was very unlikely to select a SS with any pick until at least the middle of the draft. Knowing this, when I was ready to select a SS, I could do it on the second of my two picks after the short turn rather than have to move with the first.

Here is my roster, including the 7 reserve picks:

Draft Results By Round
Round	Pos	Player
1	3B	David Wright
2	1B	Ryan Howard
3	SP	Jon Lester
4	OF	Jason Heyward
5	1B	Kendrys Morales
6	SP	Roy Oswalt
7	2B	Aaron Hill
8	OF	Delmon Young
9	RP	Jonathan Broxton
10	OF	Vernon Wells
11	OF	Grady Sizemore
12	RP	Jose Valverde
13	SP	Javier Vazquez
14	2B	Ryan Theriot
15	SP	Ian Kennedy
16	C	John Buck
17	C	A.J. Pierzynski
18	OF	Nate McLouth
19	SP	Clayton Richard
20	SS	Cliff Pennington
21	1B	Garrett Jones
22	SP	Jon Garland
23	OF	David DeJesus
24	SP	Tommy Hunter
25	SP	Mike Pelfrey
26	SP	Daisuke Matsuzaka
27	SP	Phil Coke
28	3B	Danny Valencia
29	SP	Joe Saunders
30	OF	Scott Podsednik

Draft Results By Position
Pos	Player (Round)
1B	Ryan Howard (2)
1B	Kendrys Morales (5)
1B	Garrett Jones (21)
2B	Aaron Hill (7)
2B	Ryan Theriot (14)
3B	David Wright (1)
3B	Danny Valencia (28)
SS	Cliff Pennington (20)
OF	Jason Heyward (4)
OF	Delmon Young (8)
OF	Vernon Wells (10)
OF	Grady Sizemore (11)
OF	Nate McLouth (18)
OF	David DeJesus (23)
OF	Scott Podsednik (30)
C	John Buck (16)
C	A.J. Pierzynski (17)
SP	Jon Lester (3)
SP	Roy Oswalt (6)
SP	Javier Vazquez (13)
SP	Ian Kennedy (15)
SP	Clayton Richard (19)
SP	Jon Garland (22)
SP	Tommy Hunter (24)
SP	Mike Pelfrey (25)
SP	Daisuke Matsuzaka (26)
SP	Phil Coke (27)
SP	Joe Saunders (29)
RP	Jonathan Broxton (9)
RP	Jose Valverde (12)

It is a very solid lineup, deep in power hitting and power arms. My team lacks speed, saves, and ratios, which might end up being the difference between first and second in this league. No trading is allowed (to prevent collusion), so I will have to hope my team stays healthier than others and make any adjustments from the waiver wire.

I’m not going to go through all 30 rounds, because you would find something else to read before we hit Aaron Hill, but I will hit some of the highlights and some of the lowlights.

After five mock drafts, I found the eight elite first basemen (Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, Joey Votto, Adrian Gonzalez, Mark Teixeira, Ryan Howard, Prince Fielder, and Adam Dunn) and the four elite third basemen (David Wright, Alex Rodriguez, Evan Longoria, and Ryan Zimmerman) went fast and the drop off was substantial afterwards.

Seeing what was realistic, I figured that if I could nab Ryan Howard and David Wright with those first two picks I would be in an optimum position, but it was all up to the rest of the league. When they fell to me at picks 14 and 17 overall, I knew I was well on my way to a great team. They both provide good power while Wright will give me stolen bases from an unusual position.

When all the power arms were disappearing as I helplessly watched 26 players fly off the board from my second to third pick, I was thrilled to see that one of my top three choices was still waiting for me: Jon Lester. Following the wrap around, I saw that Jason Heyward was still available and I jumped on that like nobody’s business.

As the draft progressed, I didn’t take as many pitchers early as I had planned to, but I did get Roy Oswalt in the sixth round. Since I participated in a mock draft the night before, I saw that some real pitching bargains developed in the teens and more could be found in the twenties. I did add a top starter in Javier Vazquez and closer in Jonathan Broxton, but I mostly concentrated on building a stout offense.

When Kendrys Morales and his still-healing leg fell to the fifth round, I saw a chance to separate myself from the pack and add a second power hitting first baseman to cover my corner infield slot. When I grabbed Hill in the seventh round and Delmon Young in the eighth, I was well on my way to dominating the league in homers and RBI.

Hitting bargains that I found included Vernon Wells in the 10th, Grady Sizemore in the 11th, Nate McLouth in the 18th and Garrett Jones in the 21st round. Pitching bargains really didn’t fall into my lap quite as much, but I do like some of my end-game pitching grabs which included Jon Garland in the 22nd, Tommy Hunter in the 24th, Mike Pelfrey in the 25th, Daisuke Matsuzaka in the 26th, and Joe Saunders in the 29th rounds. None will be superstars this season, but all will be good plays in the right matchup.

My secret weapon for the catcher position was Russell Martin who was selected right before I was about to pick him for myself. I did end up with John Buck and A.J. Pierzynski in the 16th and 17th rounds.

The last ten rounds were filled with bargain picks and depth chart filler. I found David DeJesus waiting for me at 23 to help with my batting average, and Scott Podsednik at 30 to give me a boost in steals if he comes back healthy.

The draft didn’t go exactly as I planned, but I like my team and my chances. I didn’t want to punt saves and steals, while not overpaying for each category either. I have enough guys to get a few points in each. If my guys stay healthy and the risks pay off, I should have a say in the league title at the end.

Early Mock Draft Prepping for the NFBC

Posted on February 17, 2011 by Rick Milleman

Mock Draft, First 5 Rounds
Pick	Team	Player
1.01	Team 1	1B Albert Pujols, STL
1.02	Team 2	SS Hanley Ramirez, FLA
1.03	Team 3	1B Miguel Cabrera, DET
1.04	Team 4	3B David Wright, NYM
1.05	Team 5	1B Joey Votto, CIN
1.06	Team 6	3B Evan Longoria, TB
1.07	Team 7	1B Adrian Gonzalez, BOS
1.08	Rick	SS Troy Tulowitzki, COL
1.09	Team 9	OF Carl Crawford, BOS
1.10	Team 10	OF Carlos Gonzalez, COL
1.11	Team 11	2B Robinson Cano, NYY
1.12	Team 12	OF Ryan Braun, MIL
1.13	Team 13	3B Alex Rodriguez, NYY
1.14	Team 14	OF Josh Hamilton, TEX
1.15	Team 15	2B Chase Utley, PHI
2.01	Team 15	SS Jose Reyes, NYM
2.02	Team 14	1B Mark Teixeira, NYY
2.03	Team 13	3B Ryan Zimmerman, WAS
2.04	Team 12	OF Matt Kemp, LA
2.05	Team 11	1B Prince Fielder, MIL
2.06	Team 10	OF Matt Holliday, STL
2.07	Team 9	1B Ryan Howard, PHI
2.08	Rick	SP Roy Halladay, PHI
2.09	Team 7	SP Felix Hernandez, SEA
2.10	Team 6	C Joe Mauer, MIN
2.11	Team 5	OF Jayson Werth, WAS
2.12	Team 4	SP Tim Lincecum, SF
2.13	Team 3	OF Shin-Soo Choo, CLE
2.14	Team 2	C Brian McCann, ATL
2.15	Team 1	1B Kevin Youkilis, BOS
3.01	Team 1	1B Adam Dunn, CHW
3.02	Team 2	C Victor Martinez, DET
3.03	Team 3	OF Nelson Cruz, TEX
3.04	Team 4	SP Adam Wainwright, STL
3.05	Team 5	OF Jose Bautista, TOR
3.06	Team 6	2B Dustin Pedroia, BOS
3.07	Team 7	1B Kendry Morales, ANA
3.08	Rick	2B Brandon Phillips, CIN
3.09	Team 9	3B Adrian Beltre, TEX
3.10	Team 10	C Buster Posey, SF
3.11	Team 11	OF Andre Ethier, LA
3.12	Team 12	OF Andrew McCutchen, PIT
3.13	Team 13	OF Justin Upton, ARI
3.14	Team 14	SP Cliff Lee, PHI
3.15	Team 15	SP Justin Verlander, DET
4.01	Team 15	SP Josh Johnson, FLA
4.02	Team 14	SP Jon Lester, BOS
4.03	Team 13	2B Rickie Weeks, MIL
4.04	Team 12	SP Clayton Kershaw, LA
4.05	Team 11	SP Zack Greinke, MIL
4.06	Team 10	2B Ian Kinsler, TEX
4.07	Team 9	SS Derek Jeter, NYY
4.08	Rick	1B Justin Morneau, MIN
4.09	Team 7	OF Jason Heyward, ATL
4.10	Team 6	OF Ichiro Suzuki, SEA
4.11	Team 5	SP C.C. Sabathia, NYY
4.12	Team 4	OF B.J. Upton, TB
4.13	Team 3	SP Jered Weaver, ANA
4.14	Team 2	2B Martin Prado, ATL
4.15	Team 1	2B Dan Uggla, ATL
5.01	Team 1	SS Jimmy Rollins, PHI
5.02	Team 2	OF Jacoby Ellsbury, BOS
5.03	Team 3	SP Cole Hamels, PHI
5.04	Team 4	RP Brian Wilson, SF
5.05	Team 5	OF Alex Rios, CHW
5.06	Team 6	SP David Price, TB
5.07	Team 7	SP Ubaldo Jimenez, COL
5.08	Rick	OF Jay Bruce, CIN
5.09	Team 9	SP Roy Oswalt, PHI
5.10	Team 10	1B Paul Konerko, CHW
5.11	Team 11	OF Colby Rasmus, STL
5.12	Team 12	OF Hunter Pence, HOU
5.13	Team 13	1B Billy Butler, KC
5.14	Team 14	SP Mat Latos, SD
5.15	Team 15	3B Aramis Ramirez, CHC

Tuesday night I participated in a mock draft at Mock Draft Central to prepare for the National Fantasy Baseball Championship (NFBC). Last year was my first experience with the NFBC, and after a slow start out of the gate I scrapped and clawed my way up in contention for a top three finish in my league, but fell a bit short. With a year of experience under my belt, I feel good about my chances this year to be more competitive, and hopefully avoid some of the injury bug that plagued me in the early going (fingers crossed).

NFBC leagues are 15-teams with 30-man rosters, so they are very deep drafts. Since drafting for “real” is something we usually only do a couple of times in March, and then not again all year, it is good to get some mock draft practice ahead of time. Knowing where players are usually going in drafts helps to make sure you don’t pick a player too early or wait too long if you want him on your squad. You can practice different strategies and target certain players to see how the rest of the team shapes up.

I had already completed one mock draft prior to Tuesday, so I had a few names in mind to target. In fantasy baseball, or practically any fantasy sports draft, you definitely want to hit on your early round picks as best you can, but getting those value players in the mid to late rounds who outperform expectations is what makes or breaks your chances.

I targeted some star players coming off injury-riddled seasons like Carlos Beltran, Josh Beckett and Grady Sizemore as my value plays. Like me, a lot of people are starting to wonder if these guys will ever make it back to top form, but grabbing them while their stock is still down is the way to win in September.

I found that the hitters get thin quickly, especially power hitters. I had several hitters targeted to draft in the late teens, but found myself scrambling for bodies in the spots I thought I could target some sleeper picks such as Beltran, Jose Tabata and Jason Bay. Apparently the hype already caught up to some of these players more than I realized. I did see a number of speedsters with low batting averages floating around, but one-category guys aren’t very useful.

Pitchers get drafted very deep. In this draft, I selected Brandon Webb, Derek Lowe, Mark Buehrle, Joel Pineiro, Jon Garland, Tommy Hunter and Scott Kazmir all in the 21st round or later. Others found in the last third of the draft include Fausto Carmona, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Carlos Zambrano, A.J. Burnett and Carl Pavano. None of these guys is going to strike out 200 batters this season and they all have a few warts on them, but these are quality roster filler and guys that will help out nicely at the back end of the rotation.

As I mentioned before, this was my second mock draft of the season. Eli, my 6-year old son, intently watched me do the first one and even asked if he could help. I allowed him to submit the names for me after I queued them up and we worked as a team.

Last night, I gave him a little more control with a little less supervision and I paid the price. After selecting from my queued list of players for ten rounds, he decided to go off the list for the 11th pick and selected the only current player with the same first name as his. Eli Whiteside doesn’t belong on anyone’s fantasy roster, no matter how deep your league goes.

After Mr. Whiteside became my first catcher selected, I realized my team was in trouble and was glad this was just a mock. When he queued up Eliezer Alfonso, I had to put an end to his “help”.

To sum up, I learned the following lessons thanks to a little mock drafting: power hitters go fast, pitchers last late, and don’t let the kids near your computer while drafting unless their name is Albert, Hanley or Prince.

National Fantasy Baseball Championship Post-Draft Review

Posted on April 1, 2010 by Rick Milleman

I completed the National Fantasy Baseball Championship satellite league draft and I have to say it was a rather painful affair. We needed four hours to complete 30 rounds.

I participated in a mock draft at the NFBC site and was expecting to finish in a similar two hours and 15 minutes that the mock draft took. But, it wasn’t meant to be. One guy lost his internet connection and he had to finish the last 16 rounds using a moderator to submit his picks via phone calls.

Plus many owners seemed unprepared to make their selections when it was their turn. Too many times owners would hold their pick to the last of the 90 second clock, trying to create some sort of drama.

Draft Results and Review

Now that it is over, it is time to evaluate the winners and losers. The draft got started off with an odd twist. In a flashback from 2005, Alex Rodriguez went with the first overall pick.

The guys picking second and third must have been elated when they unexpectedly found themselves with Albert Pujols and Hanley Ramirez. Like many drafts, there were a number of odd picks made, but the A-Rod reach was the strangest.

Here is my roster, consisting of 23 starters and 7 reserves.

Draft Results By Round
1.08 (8)	1B Prince Fielder, MIL
2.08 (23)	OF Justin Upton, ARI
3.08 (38)	3B Pablo Sandoval, SF
4.08 (53)	1B Justin Morneau, MIN
5.08 (68)	3B Chone Figgins, SEA
6.08 (83)	SP Javier Vazquez, NYY
7.08 (98)	SS Alexei Ramirez, CWS
8.08 (113)	RP Rafael Soriano, TB
9.08 (128)	C Kurt Suzuki, OAK
10.08 (143)	OF Carlos Beltran, NYM
11.08 (158)	RP Huston Street, COL
12.08 (173)	SP Tim Hudson, ATL
13.08 (188)	SP Aaron Harang, CIN
14.08 (203)	OF Delmon Young, MIN
15.08 (218)	SP Rick Porcello, DET
16.08 (233)	OF Cody Ross, FLA
17.08 (248)	OF Corey Hart, MIL
18.08 (263)	SP Derek Lowe, ATL
19.08 (278)	RP Neftali Feliz, TEX
20.08 (293)	SP Fausto Carmona, CLE
21.08 (308)	2B Luis Valbuena, CLE
22.08 (323)	SP Bronson Arroyo, CIN
23.08 (338)	C Rod Barajas, NYM
24.08 (353)	SP Kenshin Kawakami, ATL
25.08 (368)	2B Akinori Iwamura, PIT
26.08 (383)	DH Carlos Guillen, DET
27.08 (398)	C Rob Johnson, SEA
28.08 (413)	OF Daniel Murphy, NYM
29.08 (428)	RP LaTroy Hawkins, MIL
30.08 (443)	DH Pat Burrell, TB

Draft Results By Position
C Kurt Suzuki, OAK	9.08 (128)
C Rod Barajas, NYM	23.08 (338)
C Rob Johnson, SEA	27.08 (398)
1B Prince Fielder, MIL	1.08 (8)
1B Justin Morneau, MIN	4.08 (53)
2B Luis Valbuena, CLE	21.08 (308)
2B Akinori Iwamura, PIT	25.08 (368)
3B Pablo Sandoval, SF	3.08 (38)
3B Chone Figgins, SEA	5.08 (68)
SS Alexei Ramirez, CWS	7.08 (98)
OF Justin Upton, ARI	2.08 (23)
OF Carlos Beltran, NYM	10.08 (143)
OF Delmon Young, MIN	14.08 (203)
OF Cody Ross, FLA	16.08 (233)
OF Corey Hart, MIL	17.08 (248)
OF Daniel Murphy, NYM	28.08 (413)
DH Carlos Guillen, DET	26.08 (383)
DH Pat Burrell, TB	30.08 (443)
SP Javier Vazquez, NYY	6.08 (83)
SP Tim Hudson, ATL	12.08 (173)
SP Aaron Harang, CIN	13.08 (188)
SP Rick Porcello, DET	15.08 (218)
SP Derek Lowe, ATL	18.08 (263)
SP Fausto Carmona, CLE	20.08 (293)
SP Bronson Arroyo, CIN	22.08 (323)
SP Kenshin Kawakami, ATL	24.08 (353)
RP Rafael Soriano, TB	8.08 (113)
RP Huston Street, COL	11.08 (158)
RP Neftali Feliz, TEX	19.08 (278)
RP LaTroy Hawkins, MIL	29.08 (428)

It is a very solid lineup, deep in power hitting and power arms. My team lacks speed, saves, and ratios, which might end up being the difference between first and second in this league. Because no trading is allowed (to prevent collusion) I will have to hope my team stays healthier than others and make any adjustments from the waiver wire.

I’m not going to go through all 30 rounds, because you would find something else to read before we hit Chone Figgins, but I will hit some of the highlights and some of the lowlights.

My initial plan for the eighth pick included a short list of Ryan Braun, Matt Kemp and Miguel Cabrera. I altered that slightly not long before the draft. I wanted to take Troy Tulowitzki or Kemp in the first round, to get a good power/speed guy to start me out.

But Tulo he was gobbled up with the sixth pick and Kemp was snatched with the seventh. When the dust settled, I went with Prince Fielder to provide a good average and drive in a lot of runs, but there were no steals to be found here worth mentioning.

In the second round, I was thinking about taking Jimmy Rollins but his speed seems to be disappearing as he ages and the injuries have been mounting in recent years. Justin Upton looked like a good player to offer me power and a little speed as other options like Carl Crawford and Grady Sizemore disappeared before I could get them.

I continued my power run in the next two rounds with Pablo Sandoval and Justin Morneau. These two picks tied me down at the corner infield positions, leaving me little flexibility as the draft progressed, but you cannot deny the power. I found a little speed in the fifth round with Chone Figgins and plan to slot him at second base as soon as he gains eligibility.

As I progressed, I didn’t take as many pitchers early as I had planned to. Since I participated in a mock draft the night before, I saw that some real pitching bargains developed in the teens and more could be found in the twenties. I did add a top starter in Javier Vazquez and closer in Rafael Soriano, but I mostly concentrated on building a stout offense.

Some of the early picks I am happy about are Figgins in the fifth round to play 2B after the top second basemen came off the board, Kurt Suzuki in the ninth round, and Morneau in the fourth round.

In rounds 10 to 20, I grabbed a lot of pitchers and outfielders that I hope will have bounce back seasons: Carlos Beltran, Huston Street, Tim Hudson, Aaron Harang, Delmon Young, Corey Hart, Derek Lowe, and Fausto Carmona. If they produce the way I expect, I should be looking good in September.

The last ten rounds were filled with bargain picks and depth chart filler. I found Luis Valbuena waiting for me at 21 to backup 2B and SS, Rod Barajas in the 23rd to be my second catcher (we start two), Kenshin Kawakami and Bronson Arroyo at 24 and 25 to provide rotation depth, and I took a chance on Carlos Guillen and Pat Burrell making late career surges as designated hitters at 26 and 30.

The draft didn’t go exactly as I planned, but I like my team and my chances. I didn’t want to punt saves and steals, but I have enough guys to get a few points in each category. If my guys stay healthy and the risks pay off, I should have a say in the league title at the end.