I had my first draft of the season a week ago and it seems no matter how well you prepare for a draft you can never quite envision how it will play out.
Even after reviewing many different ADP reports for my 10-team H2H league it still shocked me how the first round went. I ended up with the 10th overall pick and while I was initially not pleased I certainly made the most of it.
While it might not be enough to win the league I think I built a solid core and if some mid-round pitchers pan out I could make some noise. Without further delay, here are my top three shocking moments from Round One.
1. Prince Fielder first overall?
While I am as big a Prince fan as any I still cannot believe he went first pick over the likes of Fat Albert and even Hanley. The 45+ HR power surge two of the last three years was impressive even after shifting to a vegetarian diet but I still think he lacks the consistency of a true number one pick and doesn't contribute in enough other categories to make up for that.
He is the heart and soul of the Brew Crew as well as the spark that can ignite them into the playoffs but to be picked number one is just wrong, this told me right away that this was going to be an unusual draft to say the least.
2. Tim Lincecum third overall?
Another shocker which made me grin as I knew that this meant some valuable players would inevitably fall to me with my back to back picks at the end of the round. This draft seemed like there were many owners who just wanted their favorite players rather than drafting a sensible team built to win, drafting with you heart instead of your brain normally causes this at times but this draft was full of it.
Talk all you want about the back to back Cy Youngs and the Giants improved offense but nothing warrants any SP going this early unless you're a die hard Giants fan or in a league which favors pitching more than offense which are rare.
3. Tulo Ninth Overall?
By this point of the first round I wasn't sure what was going to happen, not knowing any of the owners tends to make drafts more difficult but the rest of these owners made all the tough first round decisions for me especially with this one.
Tulo's widely accepted ADP puts him somewhere mid-second round but this was just crazy. As I've documented in my other article I do like Troy and think he will have another big season in the Rocky Mountains if he can stay healthy but taking him over Braun and Teixeira is way too risky.
You might argue that his ceiling is still high, which I think has some element of truth to it, but in the first round you need a cornerstone of your team and I just don't see Tulo as that just yet.
All in all my picks at the end of round one/start of round two (Braun and Teixeira) have put me in a great position to start the season but it does make you wonder whether draft day jitters got to the rest of the owners in round one or my perception of a player's ability is wildly different than the rest.
This draft proves more than ever that you need to be ready for just about anything in a draft and even the first round (which should be the easiest to predict) doesn't always go according to plan so be ready. Here's the full first round results for those who are interested.
First Round Results
1. Fielder
2. Pujols
3. Lincecum
4. Mauer
5. Halladay
6. Hanley
7. ARod
8. Utley
9. Tulowitzki
10. Braun
Until next time..happy drafting
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