Fantasy Baseball 2012: Live Auction Draft Cues

Here are the results from my live, mixed-league auction draft on Saturday morning, where each owner (10-team league) had to fill 25 spots on a $260 budget. With only 10 teams (compared to the usual 12), I felt no pressure to spend too much or too little early on. But I did stick to the five auction rules below:

1. Don't spend more than $32 on two elite players.
2. If you're going to spend like a drunken sailor, do it with power-hitting corner infielders.
3. Don't pay exorbitantly for saves, unless you're on firm financial footing.
4. Always 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 Miguel Cabrera, Tigers: $40
OF Matt Kemp, Dodgers: $37
3B Brett Lawrie, Blue Jays: $26

Phase II—Restrained, Yet Jubilant Spending

1B Eric Hosmer, Royals: $17
OF Alex Gordon, Royals: $13
SP Mat Latos, Reds: $13
SP Jeremy Hellickson, Rays: $11
OF Cameron Maybin, Padres: $11
OF Shin-Soo Choo, Indians: $10
SP Gio Gonzalez, Nationals: $8
OF Jason Heyward, Braves: $7

Phase III—Guilty Pleasures

SP Cory Luebke, Padres: $7
SP Max Scherzer, Tigers: $6
RP Andrew Bailey, Red Sox: $6
RP Jason Motte, Cardinals: $6
RP Carlos Marmol, Cubs: $5

Phase IV—Smart Shopping

OF Melky Cabrera, Giants: $6
SP Vance Worley, Phillies: $4
C Wilson Ramos, Nationals: $3

Phase V—Extremely Smart Shopping

SS Jhonny Peralta, Tigers: $4
2B/3B Ryan Roberts, Diamondbacks: $3
3B Mat Gamel, Brewers: $2
SP Chris Sale, White Sox: $2

Phase VI—Bargain Bins

2B Dustin Ackley, Mariners: $1
1B Ike Davis, Mets: $1

(Here's the link to the actual draft.)

Verdict: Cabrera and Kemp were among the first eight purchases of the morning auction. After that, I took a 45-minute break from the action—save the occasional phony bid to drive up the price of certain players—until Lawrie fell into my lap ($26). After that, I took another 30-minute break, allowing for all but one owner to drop below the $100 mark. That's when I pounced on Gordon, Latos, Hosmer, Heyward, Scherzer, Bailey, Melky Cabrera and Ryan Roberts, to name a few.

All in all, a good draft; although with $18 remaining and $23 spent on closers, I could have finagled another star pitcher (Matt Cain, Stephen Strasburg, Ian Kennedy) earlier in the event.

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