2012 Champions Club fantasy baseball draft

My draft plan going in was to wait at 1B, and take Dunn in the 11^th, and Morales in the 13^th, but those plans ended early when I went 1B. I still wanted one of them, but Dunn went in the 10^th, and Morales in 12^th surprisingly. I wanted 2 stud pitchers, and wanted to beat the runs (take OF when others were grabbing P’s, etc…)

1^st – Tulo – I had Kemp #1 on my board, but thought that was overpaying for last years production. Felt Tulo’s position was the key.

2^nd – Sabathia – A bit of a tilt pick, my wish list here was Kinsler then Granderson…..both were gone. Arc screwed me over a few times. Went with my top rated P. Guess he is a safe pick if nothing else.

3^rd - Teixiera – Original plan was P here, but after going P in the 2^nd, took best hitter available. Tex was that by a longshot, and there was a big dropoff after him at 1B on my board.

4^th – Shields – This one makes me a bit nauseous, was always high on him, but hate paying 4^th round for him. He was next on my board, so I stuck to my pre-season work.

5^th – Wright – I planned on waiting at 3B. But I didn’t like any OF’s or P’s for this spot. Was hoping for Uggla here…maybe I should have grabbed him in the 4^th.

6^th – Hudson – Was planning OF here, but didn’t really like anyone. Des Jennings was tops on my list, but thought he might last until the 8^th. I do potentially have 3 great P’s, but two of them are at risk of regression.

7^th – Bourne – I hated this spot. I had Werth queued up, but I just don’t like the guy. Almost went Mauer, but was targeting Wieters in the 8^th/9^th slot. At least SB’s don’t slump.

8^th – Mauer – Was very surprised he was still here. Like Wieters but had Mauer way above him. First pick since the 3^rd round that I actually felt good about.

9^th – Darvish – Have him very high on the board. He is a risk…the good news is that these guys tend to do very well early as hitters aren’t used to them. Hopefully the mystery lasts a whole season.

10^th – Gardner – Well, Dunn just went a few picks before. I need an OF, and Gardner is really underrated in this format. A ton of steals and 100 runs is likely. I had Upton highest, but with his injury I figure I’ll hope I can grab him later, but not really counting on it.

11^th – Walden – Not a fan of closers early, but this isn’t really early. I had him 5^th at RP, with the Angels winning a lot more games this year, more S opps are possible.

12^th – Morrison – An injury risk for the opening week. Think he’s in for a big jump in production this year with a season of experience, a new ballpark, and improved lineup.

13^th – Upton – Said it in the draft, he is a headache, and almost never performs to his expectations. But he is still only 27, and again SB’s don’t typically slump. Can have some explosive weeks as well. DL early again, so not counting on him first month.

14^th – McCarthy – Had him last year in other league. Maybe he is finally putting it together. Pitching in Oakland will help as well.

15^th – Espinosa – Might as well grab my 2B now. Decided to wait after Uggla went off the board. He almost went 20/20 last year, and his average should improve. Thinking he may be a steal.

16^th – Howard – As I said in the draft room….pure lottery ticket. If he hits like last year, he’s probably 4^th-5^th round material. They still claim early May target, though I think that’s optimistic. Either way could be a real sweet addition to my lineup when he gets healthy.

17^th – Lilly – Meh….At least he is in LA. Had a down year last year and still had an ERA of 3.98.

18^th – Bedard – When healthy he can still be really good. Hope I get 130 innings out of him. Probably a 2 start guy.

19^th – Johan Santana – Surprising that he could pitch opening day, and has looked decent early on. Probably only for 2 start weeks, unless he somehow is the Johan of old.

20^th – Stauffer – Strictly a 2 start guy, or pitching at home. Depth.

21^st – Sale – Getting a chance in the rotation, with great K numbers in the pen. Young and could be a HR pick….or waiver wire.

22^nd – Duffy – Another young HR type guy.

23^rd – Burnett – Hate the guy, but he somehow still K’s a ton of people. Think being out of NY will be good for him (except his win totals). Also is apparently way ahead in his rehab from the broken face.

24^th – Thornton – Seems a worthy risk for a potential closer.

25^th – Rasmus – Need another OF with upside. Also may need a week 1 starter with injury concerns.

26^th – Fowler – Had Quentin queued up, but Arc took him. Probably for the best since I have to use roster spots on Howard and Upton. Strictly OF depth.