GSI Mock Draft: Round 9

18. February 2008  - Published by Jim Humbert

The ninth round is complete and it looks as if most owners favored the veterans. The majority of players in this group have been around for a few years including a couple who hope to bounce back in 2008. Take a look:

ROUND 1 | ROUND 2 | ROUND 3 | ROUND 4 | ROUND 5 | ROUND 6 | ROUND 7
ROUND 8

97) CLASGENS - Matt Cain, SP, SF

98) SIMONS - Ted Lilly, SP, CHC

99) MURDICO - Bobby Jenks, RP, CHW

100) HUMBERT #1 - Adrian Beltre, 3B, SEA

101) FISCHER - Andruw Jones, OF, LAD

102) MUEHLENKAMP - Jeff Franceour, OF, ATL

103) DINSMORE - Kenji Johjima, C, SEA

104) BARTEL - Mariano Rivera, RP, NYY

105) BOLTON - Jason Bay, OF, PIT 

106) WETZEL - Gary Sheffield, OF, DET

107) POLKING - Javier Vazquez, SP, CHW

108) HUMBERT #2 - Brett Myers, SP, PHI

Fantasy Baseball

Comments

2/18/2008 8:28:41 PM #
Humbert #1 filled an important position with Beltre. Although it looks like the 48 HR he hit in 2004 was truly a fluke, he has 25 and 26 in the last two years. He should be there again along with 90+ RBI.

Team #2 had been eying Vazquez for most of the round only to see him go with the last pick. ARGH! Myers should still be serviceable as long as the team doesn't put him back in the bullpen - which is doubtful. It is important to note that Myers only made three starts last season and may only be eligible at RP in some leagues to begin the year.
2/18/2008 8:57:03 PM #
I was pretty stoked to pick up Rivera.  2nd half he was off the charts good, and having Joba as a setup man is only going to help him.  Maybe he'll take a few saves away, but I think it'll just keep Rivera's 38 year old arm fresher.

Absolutely love the Francoeur pick, I was eyeballing him.  If he keeps his batting eye in check I think .280-30-100 is a possibility.  Bay scares the everlovin' crap out of me, and I'm a fan of his.  But something just doesn't smell right from last year.  All his skills fell off really badly, I don't know what to read into him for 2008.
2/18/2008 10:22:12 PM #
This is definitely the part of the draft where pretty much every player has some sort of flaw to worry about.  Maybe it's age and injury risk, maybe it's a weak batting average, no speed or no power, or a starter on a bad team that won't get the run support to get many wins.

Whatever it is, it's something, and every owner is taking on risk with these guys.  Skilled drafting plays a big part at this point, but so does dumb luck.
2/19/2008 7:24:51 AM #
there wasn't a pick in this round that I didn't think was good. Obviously, it's late so you can reach or take a chance at this point. I took Johjima because I had no catcher and he was the last of the second tier catchers (he's the last of the second tier everything except the plentiful closers). So at this point I drafted for need over best available. I thought about adding Vazquez who I really liked at this point, but obviously went need over want.
2/19/2008 7:53:06 AM #
Baseball's unluckiest pitcher last season, Cain had 22 quality starts to go along with his 7-16 record. The other 46 pitchers with 18 or more quality starts all had at least nine victories. Cain was even particularly unlucky in that his relievers did a poor job of stranding baserunners, and he allowed just three unearned runs, another sign that he pitched a little better than his ERA indicated. He's a nice find here and a great No. 2 fantasy starting pitcher in any format.
2/19/2008 9:16:20 AM #
I needed power pure and simple.  I thought Andruw was a great value pick here.  Obviously his horrible season last year has dropped his stock even lower than I expected.

But here's the thing with A. Jones.  I think he was hurt last year and wasn't letting on because it was a contract year.  

I watched a ton of Braves games last season.  He had a ton of strikeouts.  But upon further examination, the majority of those K's were on pitches that were on the outer half of the plate.

He also missed time here and there for an elbow issue.  I started to put one-and-one together, and sure enough, when I began to watch his ABs closer, I noticed that he couldn't extend his arms the way he always did.  That had to be because of the elbow.

But because he was in a contract year and staring at potentially big money, he couldn't afford (at least in his agent's eyes) to sit.  So he tried to play through and it backfired on him.

I think that elbow will be healthy this season.  I think he has a shot at 35/100 or better, even in Dodger stadium.

The one caveat with Jones that you have to remember is that he will drain your average category.  Even when he's good, he's still only going to hit in the .250-.260 range.  You have to have other high average guys to absorb that.

With Ichiro, Martin, Kinsler, Manny, etc., I have that.
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