Krause Publications hosted a 12-team mixed league experts draft on Tuesday, a shallow format that I've tended to phase out in favor of AL/NL-only leagues over the past few seasons. Here's how things shook out for me beginning with the seventh pick of the first round.
1. Miguel Cabrera, 1B (DET)
2. B.J. Upton, OF (TB)
3. Ichiro Suzuki, OF (SEA)
4. Vladimir Guerrero, OF (ANA)
5. Victor Martinez, C (CLE)
6. Robinson Cano, 2B (NYY)
7. James Shields, SP (TB)
8. Edinson Volquez, SP (CIN)
9. Javier Vazquez, SP (ATL)
10. Felix Hernandez, SP (SEA)
11. Delmon Young, OF (MIN)
12. Brian Fuentes, RP (ANA)
13. Orlando Cabrera, SS (FA)
14. Carlos Guillen, 3B (DET)
15. Alex Gordon, CI (KC)
16. Ted Lilly, SP (CHC)
17. Frank Francisco, RP (TEX)
18. Chris Ray, RP (BAL)
19. Kurt Suzuki, C (OAK)
20. Adam Jones, OF (BAL)
21. Edgar Renteria, MI (SF)
22. Chase Headley, UT (SD)
23. Bronson Arroyo, SP (CIN)
I did not use the RotoWire In-Draft Software while I was putting this team together, but I chose to enter the results afterwards to see what categories I'm going to need to keep a very close eye early in the season.
Without the software, saves are an obvious one given Frank Francisco's very limited history as a closer and Chris Ray coming off of Tommy John surgery. Still, assuming I connect on one of those two and the usual 30-40 percent turnover takes place, it should all come out in the wash provided that I'm aggressive when jobs are moved around this spring. I don't think Manny Corpas will get all of the save opportunities in Colorado (or even the larger share) as long as Huston Street is healthy and on the roster, but Corpas went undrafted and could be a nice preseason pickup.
Jonathan Broxton was plucked from my queue by Mike Kuchera two spots before my selection in the 12th round. In hindsight, I would have waited another round on Delmon Young (the perennial Great Pumpkin of my life), since I consider Broxton to be a top-five closer.
The biggest mistake I made on this side of the roster was overlooking Scott Baker. I'm not quite as high on him as Jeff is, but he would have been a much better option than Ted Lilly for the ERA and WHIP purposes in Round 16. Even with that misstep, I'm feeling very good about my starting pitching, particularly with Volquez, Vazquez and King Felix in the No. 2-4 spots behind "ace" James Shields. Odds are, I'll discard Bronson Arroyo before the season starts and try to speculate on some saves at his expense.
For hitting, I placed an emphasis on guys that will hit for a high average, as it's often overlooked in place of steals and homers. The projected standings in the draft software calculated a .294 average, good for 1st place in the category if the number hold up. With a ton of American League hitters -- not entirely by design -- I'm projected for sixth and eighth in RBI and runs scored, respectively.
Ignoring power during the draft won't look bad as the season progresses, so I'm actually not concerned about being projected as dead last in homers.
Plus, look at some of the younger bats on my roster and their expected home-run totals:
B.J. Upton (21), Delmon Young (14), Alex Gordon (19), Adam Jones (14) and Chase Headley (16)
Jokes about Young side, there's a pretty good chance that a couple of those guys will surprise and hit 5-10 homers more than expected. I don't expect any of the old veteran types (O.Cabrera, C. Guillen, Renteria) too exceed their low-power expectations, but the youngers should surprise enough to close the considerable gap between my spot and the rest of the bottom third.
I'm currently projected for a fifth place finish in the standings, but even if I were dead last, I wouldn't be concerned given the balance and depth of my roster. Chasing saves on the waiver wire in a 12-team mixed league is much easier than a 12-team AL/NL only one, and there's always a healthy supply of Jack Cust/Mike Jacobs types to provide a boost in power if things don't turn out as I'm expecting.