Help Me Pick My Keepers!

Jersey by Senior Analyst Written on February 11, 2009
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I'm in a fantasy baseball keeper league, and the time has come for me to select my keepers. Here's how the process works:

Each owner must select 10 keepers, and has a budget of $100 "dollars" to keep them. Player values are determined by which round they were drafted in the previous year.

There are 22 rounds. Players selected in the first round cost $22 to keep, second rounders cost $21, etc., all the way down to 22nd rounders and free agent pickups that cost one measly buck to retain.

If a player is claimed off of waivers, he loses $10 from his original value. (So if a first rounder is dropped and someone claims him, he can be kept for $12 instead of $22. If no one claims him and he hits the free agent pool, his value becomes one dollar).

We will be having "rollover," so that if our kept players cost under $100, the remaining value gets transferred over to the next year. So if my 10 players cost me $95, I'll have $105 to spend for next season.

If I could keep more then the 10 allotted players, I would. Instead, I have some tough decisions to make, and I'd like the readers of Bleacher Report to help me out.

Here are my definite keepers, with their price in parentheses.

Ryan Braun (22). He's still first round caliber, and young, so he retains his high value and will be very good for a long time. Plus, he's one of my favorite players, so there's no way I'd let him go.

Josh Hamilton (11) and Adam Wainwright (10). I drafted both players in the middle rounds, and both exceeded their draft position. Hamilton is a no-brainer, and is being drafted in the first couple of rounds this year. Excellent value for $11. Wainwright isn't quite as valuable, but he's a great young pitcher at a good value.

Rafael Furcal (7) and Carlos Lee (10). These players were both waived, and I pounced. They both lost $10 from their original price, making them great bargains.

Lee is obvious: a consistent threat across the board at middle round price. Furcal is a very solid shortstop (a tough position to draft), and comes at great value. Especially considering most good shortstops will be kept, Furcal becomes a necessity.

Francisco Liriano (1). Best free agent pickup of the year. An ace at clearance prices. Liriano is the most untouchable player on my team, more so than my boy Braun.

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Vote Now! - Author Poll

Which of my potential keepers is the absolute best?

  • Alfonso Soriano
  • Aramis Ramirez
  • Nate McLouth
  • James Shields
  • Ervin Santana
  • Matt Wieters
  • David Price
  • Carlos Marmol
vote to see results
Results - Author Poll

Which of my potential keepers is the absolute best?

  • Alfonso Soriano

    20.0%
  • Aramis Ramirez

    0.0%
  • Nate McLouth

    6.7%
  • James Shields

    10.0%
  • Ervin Santana

    13.3%
  • Matt Wieters

    16.7%
  • David Price

    23.3%
  • Carlos Marmol

    10.0%
  • Total votes: 30
(0)
...
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written on February 11, 2009 Sports

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