Crooked Pitch

We’re into round eight now. Take a look back and read the write-ups for round 1, round 2,  round 3, round 4, round 5, round 6, and round 7.

• Round 8 : Pick 1(85) - @seniorcircuit - Torii Hunter - After filling two scarce infield positions and one of the catcher spots I was looking for more 20/20 outfielders. I think Hunter will get comfortable and come close to his numbers of 2007. I think 90/23/85/20/.280 is a reasonable projection for him in 2009.
• Round 8 : Pick 2(86) - @jasoncollette - Roy Oswalt - Hopefully the Oswalt we saw from April to June is gone forever. From July 1 on last year, 10 wins, a 2.22 ERA is the Roy we all know and love. Last year’s 3.54 ERA was the highest of his entire career; quite impressive considering his home ballpark. Oswalt continues to go later than I think he should in drafts.
• Round 8 : Pick 3(87) - @dowdyism - Chad Billingsley - A low 3’s ERA and in the neighborhood of 200 strikeouts - I’ll take that for my number two starter any day of the week.  Billingsley did tack on over 50 more innings in 2008 than in 2007, but his numbers stayed consistent across the board.  The broken leg he suffered is the offseason is reportedly completely healed, so I am looking for a repeat of 2008.
• Round 8: Pick 4(88) - @therotofeed - Ervin Santana - Most people don’t know this, but his given name is also Johan Santana.  For reals. He didn’t want to get mixed up with the original Johan so he chose Ervin on the basis that he thought it sounded cool. I think another season like last year sounds cool, and that he’ll do it. He’s not yet 26 years old and he was flat out dominant in 08.
• Round 8 : Pick 5(89) - @sporer - John Lackey - A draft day value last year thanks to starting the season the shelf for six weeks, Lackey was elite upon arrival due in large part to a 91% strand rate. However, the wheels fell off in the 2nd half of the season again tied to strand rate which was merely 69%. On the whole, he remains an upper crust starting pitcher that can be counted on for 200+ innings with good ratios and enough strikeouts to remain effective and help your fantasy team’s bottom line.
• Round 8 : Pick 6(90) - @tommystv - Scott Kazmir - I don’t go pitcher early, but when I do go I go hard. Took Kazmir as best pitcher on the board. For the longest time he was a legit pitcher that just couldn’t get Ws, well the Rays win now.
• Round 8 : Pick 7(91) - @xxldaddyo - Troy Tulowitzki - After seeing the run on pitchers, we were tempted to continue the streak by taking Dice-K, but there were far more #2 pitchers still available than there were quality shortstops. Tulo will be back in 09. He hit .321 in the 2H last year and should be good for .290 / 100 R / 15+ HR.
• Round8 : Pick 8(92) - @jefeboy - Aubrey Huff -I guess most folks don’t expect him to repeat his 2008 numbers. I don’t either, but if he comes close he’ll earn this spot easily. I need some power, and while he may not get 32 again, he’s got to be good for 25+.
• Round 8 : Pick 9(93) - @fakebaseball - Jay Bruce - Since I’ve taken mostly older, steadier players (which isn’t how I usually draft, but younger players have been flying off the board in this particular draft), at the end of the 8th I went with a higher-risk upside pick in Bruce. I don’t think .275/27+ HR/10 SB is unreasonable in’09, and runs and RBIs should be good as well, hitting in the middle of the order as he’s projected. Best-case, he’ll put up Jason Bay-like numbers, which would make him a steal late in the 8th round.
• Round 8 : Pick 10(94) - @TheRoundtable - Daisuke Matsuzaka - When you select Dice-K, you need to know that your WHIP is going to take a hit. He gives you a heart attack on the mound every five days, but you can’t argue with the ultimate results. 18 wins last season and he could have had three or four more had he not missed a month. Batters don’t hit well against him, and he’s adjusted to the MLB better than anyone could have expected. If I’m only sacrificing WHIP, the other stats certainly make up for it at this point. Plus, the run on starting pitching had me thinking that Webb looked lonely.
• Round 8 : Pick 11(95) - @Angels2717 - Rich Harden - The only thing that worried me about this pick was the chance of injury. But a healthy Harden is a monster pitcher. With run support from the Cubs, if stayed healthy, he should produce some great numbers. I usually wouldn’t go for a second pitcher at this point, but there wasn’t much options and I wanted another solid pitcher.
• Round 8 : Pick 12(96) - @crookedpitch - Chone Figgins - If healthy, this guy could play in 150+ games. If he sees 150+ games he’ll steal 50+, bank on it. I am with this pick.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 28th, 2009 at 10:51 pm and is filed under Draft Strategy, Fantasy Baseball. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.