Battle of The Fantasy Gods Expert League Auction Draft Review Pt 4/4

On Wednesday night I had the opportunity to participate in The Fantasy Man's expert league auction draft.  I played in the league last year and faired all right, but this year has a new batch of experts, analysts, and reporters duking it out in 2010.  The participants are:
Todd Farino, RC Rizza, Rhett Oldham - Fantasy Baseball Tonight
Tim McCleod - Rotorob.com
Mike Kuchera - The Fantasy Man
Scott White - CBS Sports
Scott Swanay - Fantasy Baseball Sherpa
Lenny Melnick, Paul Greco FantasyPros 911 
Fantasy Sports Empires - Jeff Boggis
Grey Albright, Rudy Gamble - Razzball.com
Tony Cincotta - Blog Talk Radio Podcaster

Overall I thought it was a great draft and all the managers drafted well.  There were some big surprises and some bad moves.  I'll share them all with you team by team and then grade the overall team. I am basing scores on my 2010 projections for the players drafted.

Definitions:

Best Buys - These are players who the manager got a great deal on and includes
steals.

Bad Buys - These are players that I feel based on my 2010 projections that the
manager overpaid for.

Click here for our expert team-by-team draft results

Fanball,   Ray Flowers

HR/RBI- 7	SB/Run- 10	Avg- 10	51/60
Win/SO- 8	ERA/WHIP- 7	Saves- 9

Great Buys

Yadier Molina, C - $3

Michael Young, 3B $9

Stephen Drew, SS - $7

Johnny Damon, OF - $5

Bad Buys

Lance Berkman, 1B - $18

Chad Qualls, RP - $8

Overall:

Ray drafted one of the more balanced offensive teams in the league.  He has
tremendous batting average potential, and could end up with more home runs then
expected.  I think he overpaid for only two players, that will likely haunt
him in 2010, Berkman and Qualls.  On the pitching front, he went with Josh
Beckett to lead his staff with James Shields and Tim Hudson to follow.  I'm
not impressed with his starting staff, but if Max Scherzer plays to his
potential that changes the dynamic of his rotation.  He drafted three closers
(Nathan, Wilson, Qualls) and then Matt Thornton. Wilson and Nathan are great picks and make his bullpen an instant contender. Qualls is a candidate to
lose the job and Thornton is a candidate to get the job at some point this year. 
He could end up with two true closers or possibly four.

Click here for our expert team-by-team draft results

FantasyPros911.com, Paul Greco, Lenny Melnick

HR/RBI- 8	SB/Run- 8	Avg- 5	40/60
Win/SO- 7	ERA/WHIP- 7	Saves- 5

Best Buys

Chris Young, OF - $3

Martin Prado, SS,2B - $1

Bad Buys

Adam LaRoche, 1B - $11

Overall:

This was a balanced team by any means.  It was drafted on the foundation of
a strong outfield that should produce heavily for this team.  Most of the
picks were good ones and their offense should keep them in it all season, except
for average.  They'll need to find help there during the season.  The
pitching staff is very good, but will depend on the health of Brandon Webb. 
If he is healthy and pitches well, they will have Cliff Lee and Adam Wainwright
to add for a dominant starting staff.  The bullpen will need help. 
Francisco, Lindstrom, and Capps all have risks, but all could also pay off. 
There are allot of question marks on this team, but a well constructed team
overall.

Click here for our expert team-by-team draft results

CBS Sports, Scott White

HR/RBI- 10	SB/Run- 7	Avg- 7	42/60
Win/SO- 8	ERA/WHIP- 7	Saves- 3

Best Buys



Chris Coghlan, OF $2

Edwin Jackson, SP $5

Nick Swisher, OF/1B - $2

Ervin Santana, SP - $1

Leo Nunez, RP - $4

J.A. Happ, SP - $1

Bad Buys



Ryan Howard, 1B - $38

Joe Mauer, C $29

Overall:

Scott had a all or nothing draft strategy and it worked out solid for him. 
He put the mass of his money into his offense, which is very good with purchases
of Troy Tulowitzki, Hanley Ramirez, Ryan Howard, Victor Martinez, and Joe Mauer. 
I don't think it was wise to spend $53 on catchers, but he couldn't ask for two
better ones.  He spent all of $22 on his pitching staff, but drafted a
solid one.  His most expensive pitcher was A.J. Burnett at $7, but I liked
Edwin Jackson and J.A. Happ the best.  His bullpen has one closer, Leo
Nunez.  That is a weak position to start from, but he will likely attempt
to improve it during the season.

 

To get more from Todd Farino, RC Rizza, and Rhett Oldham. Listen to our weekly podcast at www.blogtalkradio.com/fantasy-baseball-tonight. Listen to us LIVE every Wednesday at 10pm EST for 90 minutes of pure fantasy baseball talk.