Fantasy Baseball 2012: Auction Draft Cues

Here are the results from my live, mixed-league auction draft on Tuesday, where each owner had to fill 24 spots on a $260 budget. While it's true that no two auction drafts are alike (just like snowflakes), I faithfully adhered to five time-tested philosophies of spender conduct:

1. Don't invest more than $27 on two elite players.
2. If you're going to spend like a drunken sailor, do it with power-hitting corner infielders.
3. Never pay exorbitantly for saves.
4. Be the last (or second-to-last) owner to go below the $100 threshold.
5. And don't ever be afraid to call a fellow owner's bluff at the end of the draft.

Lights, Camera, Auction...

Phase I—Early Spending Spree
1B Joey Votto, Reds - $42 (my No. 3 first baseman)
OF Josh Hamilton, Rangers - $26
SP Dan Haren, Angels - $27 (a top-12 pitcher)
OF Hunter Pence, Phillies - $21
SS Elvis Andrus, Rangers - $24 (my No. 4 shortstop)

Phase II—Restrained, Yet Jubilant Spending
2B Dan Uggla, Braves - $18
OF Shin-Soo Choo, Indians - $14
1B Eric Hosmer, Royals - $13

Phase III—Guilty Pleasures
SP Stephen Strasburg, Nationals -- $19
2B Rickie Weeks, Brewers - $12
OF Cameron Maybin, Padres - $8

Phase IV—Smart Shopping
OF Melky Cabrera, Giants - $6
SP Shaun Marcum, Brewers - $4 (the 'missed-starts panic' discount)
2B Jason Kipnis, Indians - $4
SP Wandy Rodriguez, Astros - $4

Phase V—Extremely Smart Shopping
1B/OF Carlos Lee, Astros - $2
3B Mike Moustakas, Royals - $2 (stud-in-waiting)
3B/2B Ryan Roberts, Diamondbacks - $2
RP Chris Perez, Indians - $2

Phase VI—Bargain Bins
OF Lorenzo Cain, Royals - $1
SP Ricky Nolasco, Marlins - $1
C Jonathan Lucroy, Brewers - $1
SP Colby Lewis, Rangers - $1
RP Javy Guerra, Dodgers - $1

Verdict: Owning nine players at $1 or $2 would usually be cause for great concern, but the bargain-bin steals—Nolasco, Lucroy, Lewis, Guerra (hopefully the Dodgers' closer) and Cain, the Spring Training leader in OPS (1.507) and a poor man's Andrew McCutchen—surprisingly capped a balanced roster that's full of power, speed, athleticism, upside and potentially prolific pitching, with a focus on strikeouts, ERA and WHIP. Not a bad group.

Jay Clemons can be reached on Twitter, day or night, at @ATL_JayClemons.