2009 Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft: Hitters Rule Round One

Its that time of year again! Get ready for the baseball season the best way by participating in Fantasy Baseball Mock Drafts.

Myself (Prime Nine) and fellow Bleacher Report writer, Derek Coffelt (Derek's Diamond Cutters) participated in this draft on a Mock Draft website with other baseball fans.

All 12 members were active and in the room, which is rare, and the draft with rather smoothly.

I have included some comments about my picks after each round.

This was a Yahoo! style draft with 21 Rounds.

Each team is to have the following: a catcher, first basemen, second basemen, third basemen, three outfielders, a utility, two starters, two relief pitchers, three other pitchers that are either relief or starting, and five bench players.

Alright, here we go...

Round/ Team/ Player/ Pos/ Team
 
R1 P1 Masters of the Fantasy Universe: Rodriguez, Alex 3B NYY
R1 P2 Prime Nine: Pujols, Albert 1B STL
R1 P3 Bravos: Ramirez, Hanley SS FLA
R1 P4 E. Norma Stitz: Cabrera, Miguel 1B DET
R1 P5 letsplay09part8: Wright, David 3B NYM
R1 P6 The Shoes: Sizemore, Grady OF CLE
R1 P7 Van Buren Boys: Kinsler, Ian 2B TEX
R1 P8 GNP: Reyes, Jose SS NYM
R1 P9 Deep Drivers: Braun, Ryan OF MIL
R1 P10 alreadydrinkinginillinois: Rollins, Jimmy SS PHI
R1 P11 brown canoe: Utley, Chase 2B PHI
R1 P12 Derek's Diamond Cutters: Teixeira, Mark 1B NYY

I was pick two and was hoping my boy A-Rod would fall to me, but I settled with "El Hombre" Albert Pujols. I am full aware that a potential 40-40 guy in Hanley Ramirez was out there and I am real high on him, but I wanted a top tier first baseman and with Teixeira out of range for round two, I went with it. 

Pujols is an injury risk of course, but he could easily hit over 130 RBI if he stays healthy.

 
R2 P1 Derek's Diamond Cutters: Hamilton, Josh OF TEX
R2 P2 brown canoe: Howard, Ryan 1B PHI
R2 P3 alreadydrinkinginillinois: Holliday, Matt OF OAK
R2 P4 Deep Drivers: Beltran, Carlos OF NYM
R2 P5 GNP: Ramirez, Manny OF LA
R2 P6 Van Buren Boys: Longoria, Evan 3B TB
R2 P7 The Shoes: Soriano, Alfonso OF CHC
R2 P8 letsplay09part8: Morneau, Justin 1B MIN
R2 P9 E. Norma Stitz: Pedroia, Dustin 2B BOS
R2 P10 Bravos: Berkman, Lance 1B HOU
R2 P11 Prime Nine: Santana, Johan SP NYM
R2 P12 Masters of the Fantasy Universe: Suzuki, Ichiro OF SEA

I really wanted Longoria here but it wasn't to be. I am not a big fan of going with a pitcher in round two, but I can't pass up Santana this late. He is arguably the best pitcher in the league and has settled down in New York and great numbers should come sooner then later.

 
R3 P1 Masters of the Fantasy Universe: Phillips, Brandon 2B CIN
R3 P2 Prime Nine: Lincecum, Tim SP SF
R3 P3 Bravos: Fielder, Prince 1B MIL
R3 P4 E. Norma Stitz: Upton, B.J. OF TB
R3 P5 letsplay09part8: Roberts, Brian 2B BAL
R3 P6 The Shoes: Ramirez, Aramis 3B CHC
R3 P7 Van Buren Boys: Crawford, Carl OF TB
R3 P8 GNP: Youkilis, Kevin 1B BOS
R3 P9 Deep Drivers: Gonzalez, Adrian 1B SD
R3 P10 alreadydrinkinginillinois: Sabathia, CC SP NYY
R3 P11 brown canoe: Lee, Carlos OF HOU
R3 P12 Derek's Diamond Cutters: Hamels, Cole SP PHI 

I am fully ready to be razzed for getting back-to-back pitchers in round two and three.  I now realize that if Pujols was to go down, I would be done. Tim Lincecum is a youngster that is for real, but the increased innings from 2007 to 2008 is a concern of mine. 

He pitched 49.9 more innings in 2008, that's a nice increased workload which increased injury risks, but with a stud like Lincecum, I'll take that risk everyday. 

R4 P1 Derek's Diamond Cutters: Martin, Russell C LA
R4 P2 brown canoe: Ortiz, David DH BOS
R4 P3 alreadydrinkinginillinois: Bay, Jason OF BOS
R4 P4 Deep Drivers: Rios, Alex OF TOR
R4 P5 GNP: Ramirez, Alexei 2B CHW
R4 P6 Van Buren Boys: McCann, Brian C ATL
R4 P7 The Shoes: Peavy, Jake SP SD
R4 P8 letsplay09part8: Quentin, Carlos OF CHW
R4 P9 E. Norma Stitz: Kemp, Matt OF LA
R4 P10 Bravos: Webb, Brandon SP ARI
R4 P11 Prime Nine: Markakis, Nick OF BAL
R4 P12 Masters of the Fantasy Universe: Halladay, Roy SP TOR

The franchise boy in Baltimore, Nick Markakis was my selection in round four. His .OPS and .SLG has increased each season. I look for him to hit .300 with 20-25 home runs and around 100 RBI.

 
R5 P1 Masters of the Fantasy Universe: Victorino, Shane OF PHI
R5 P2 Prime Nine: Guerrero, Vladimir OF ANA
R5 P3 Bravos: Papelbon, Jonathan RP BOS
R5 P4 E. Norma Stitz: Mauer, Joe C MIN
R5 P5 letsplay09part8: McLouth, Nate OF PIT
R5 P6 The Shoes: Soto, Geovany C CHC
R5 P7 Van Buren Boys: Lidge, Brad RP PHI
R5 P8 GNP: Haren, Dan SP ARI
R5 P9 Deep Drivers: Granderson, Curtis OF DET
R5 P10 alreadydrinkinginillinois: Jones, Chipper 3B ATL
R5 P11 brown canoe: Dunn, Adam OF ARI
R5 P12 Derek's Diamond Cutters: Uggla, Dan 2B FLA

I think Vladimir Guerrero was a steal here, so did some of the others in the draft room. I wanted Markakis over Guerrero and was willing to let him go, but he came back to me anyways. With two 25-plus HR guys in my outfield, I was done with that category for a few rounds.

 
R6 P1 Derek's Diamond Cutters: Atkins, Garrett 3B COL
R6 P2 brown canoe: Davis, Chris 1B TEX
R6 P3 alreadydrinkinginillinois: Pena, Carlos 1B TB
R6 P4 Deep Drivers: Ellsbury, Jacoby OF BOS
R6 P5 GNP: Lee, Cliff SP CLE
R6 P6 Van Buren Boys: Nathan, Joe RP MIN
R6 P7 The Shoes: Liriano, Francisco SP MIN
R6 P8 letsplay09part8: Shields, James SP TB
R6 P9 E. Norma Stitz: Oswalt, Roy SP HOU
R6 P10 Bravos: Hart, Corey OF MIL
R6 P11 Prime Nine: Rivera, Mariano RP NYY
R6 P12 Masters of the Fantasy Universe: Santana, Ervin SP ANA

Wanted to get a solid closer once I saw Nathan go, I knew it was going to be a chain reaction. How much more solid can you get then Sandman? He had 39 saves last season and the lowest walk total of his career with only six base on balls.

 
R7 P1 Masters of the Fantasy Universe: Napoli, Mike C ANA
R7 P2 Prime Nine: Cano, Robinson 2B NYY
R7 P3 Bravos: Kazmir, Scott SP TB
R7 P4 E. Norma Stitz: Soria, Joakim RP KC
R7 P5 letsplay09part8: Billingsley, Chad SP LA
R7 P6 The Shoes: Lee, Derrek 1B CHC
R7 P7 Van Buren Boys: Broxton, Jonathan RP LA
R7 P8 GNP: Rodriguez, Francisco RP NYM
R7 P9 Deep Drivers: Hernandez, Felix SP SEA
R7 P10 alreadydrinkinginillinois: Abreu, Bobby OF NYY
R7 P11 brown canoe: Tulowitzki, Troy SS COL
R7 P12 Derek's Diamond Cutters: Ordonez, Magglio OF DET

With weight lifted off of his shoulders with the Mark Teixeira signing, I had to get Cano here. I can handle the slipping of his average with some nice pop at the bottom of that Yankees lineup.

 
R8 P1 Derek's Diamond Cutters Lackey, John SP ANA
R8 P2 brown canoe Votto, Joey 1B CIN
R8 P3 alreadydrinkinginillinois Beckett, Josh SP BOS
R8 P4 Deep Drivers Young, Michael SS TEX
R8 P5 GNP Delgado, Carlos 1B NYM
R8 P6 Van Buren Boys Drew, Stephen SS ARI
R8 P7 The Shoes Furcal, Rafael SS LA
R8 P8 letsplay09part8 Huff, Aubrey 3B BAL
R8 P9 E. Norma Stitz Volquez, Edinson SP CIN
R8 P10 Bravos Dye, Jermaine OF CHW
R8 P11 Prime Nine Jeter, Derek SS NYY
R8 P12 Masters of the Fantasy Universe Cantu, Jorge 3B FLA

I believe overpaid here, but I didn't like what was going on in the shortstop category. I wanted to get a name brand guy and I did. He ain't what he used to be but he hasn't hit under .300, so I'll take it.

 
R9 P1 Masters of the Fantasy Universe Valverde, Jose RP HOU
R9 P2 Prime Nine Capps, Matt RP PIT
R9 P3 Bravos Fuentes, Brian RP ANA
R9 P4 E. Norma Stitz Hardy, J.J. SS MIL
R9 P5 letsplay09part8 Peralta, Jhonny SS CLE
R9 P6 The Shoes Marmol, Carlos RP CHC
R9 P7 Van Buren Boys Pence, Hunter OF HOU
R9 P8 GNP Ludwick, Ryan OF STL
R9 P9 Deep Drivers Zimmerman, Ryan 3B WAS
R9 P10 alreadydrinkinginillinois Figgins, Chone 3B ANA
R9 P11 brown canoe Damon, Johnny OF NYY
R9 P12 Derek's Diamond Cutters Jenks, Bobby RP CHW

With Rivera and now Capps, I am set at closer.  I looked at Bobby Jenks but I like Capps' upside a little more. With 21 saves last season and only five blown saves, he pretty much has the Pirates job locked in.

 
R10 P1 Derek's Diamond Cutters Matsuzaka, Daisuke SP BOS
R10 P2 brown canoe Chamberlain, Joba RP NYY
R10 P3 alreadydrinkinginillinois Zambrano, Carlos SP CHC
R10 P4 Deep Drivers Ryan, B.J. RP TOR
R10 P5 GNP Lester, Jon SP BOS
R10 P6 Van Buren Boys Price, David RP TB
R10 P7 The Shoes Gallardo, Yovani SP MIL
R10 P8 letsplay09part8 Wood, Kerry RP CLE
R10 P9 E. Norma Stitz Mora, Melvin 3B BAL
R10 P10 Bravos Encarnacion, Edwin 3B CIN
R10 P11 Prime Nine Wieters, Matt  C BAL
R10 P12 Masters of the Fantasy Universe Aviles, Mike SS KC

One of my favorites left the board with Van Buren Boys nabbing David Price. I did get another player that I have had my eyes on, Matt Wieters, the youngster from Georgia Tech who should see plenty of time in Baltimore behind the plate. He is probably the best prospect in the league and could easily win the AL Rookie of the Year award.  He has some scary power for a 22 year old. 

 
R11 P1 Masters of the Fantasy Universe Cordero, Francisco RP CIN
R11 P2 Prime Nine Burnett, A.J. SP NYY
R11 P3 Bravos Hunter, Torii OF ANA
R11 P4 E. Norma Stitz Saito, Takashi RP BOS
R11 P5 letsplay09part8 Nolasco, Ricky SP FLA
R11 P6 The Shoes Bell, Heath RP SD
R11 P7 Van Buren Boys Cain, Matt SP SF
R11 P8 GNP Martinez, Victor C CLE
R11 P9 Deep Drivers Vazquez, Javier SP ATL
R11 P10 alreadydrinkinginillinois Tejada, Miguel SS HOU
R11 P11 brown canoe Iannetta, Chris C COL
R11 P12 Derek's Diamond Cutters Wells, Vernon OF TOR

Why not grab the strikeout leader of last season as my third starter. Burnett, now with the Yankees should improve in the wins category with the Yankees offense behind him now.

 
R12 P1 Derek's Diamond Cutters Bradley, Milton OF CHC
R12 P2 brown canoe Harden, Rich SP CHC
R12 P3 alreadydrinkinginillinois Ibanez, Raul OF PHI
R12 P4 Deep Drivers Devine, Joey RP OAK
R12 P5 GNP Verlander, Justin SP DET
R12 P6 Van Buren Boys Ethier, Andre OF LA
R12 P7 The Shoes Lopez, Jose 2B SEA
R12 P8 letsplay09part8 Hanrahan, Joel RP WAS
R12 P9 E. Norma Stitz Greinke, Zack SP KC
R12 P10 Bravos Molina, Bengie C SF
R12 P11 Prime Nine Werth, Jayson OF PHI
R12 P12 Masters of the Fantasy Universe Dempster, Ryan SP CHC

Wrist injuries make Werth, worth the risk but a 20-20 guy this late is worth any kind of risk. He has exceeded his expectations of a once platoon player of the Brewers to a starter for the Phillies.

 
R13 P1 Masters of the Fantasy Universe Nady, Xavier OF NYY
R13 P2 Prime Nine Kouzmanoff, Kevin 3B SD
R13 P3 Bravos Lowe, Derek SP ATL
R13 P4 E. Norma Stitz Danks, John SP CHW
R13 P5 letsplay09part8 Myers, Brett SP PHI
R13 P6 The Shoes Duchscherer, Justin SP OAK
R13 P7 Van Buren Boys Sheets, Ben SP MIL
R13 P8 GNP Hawpe, Brad OF COL
R13 P9 Deep Drivers Baker, Scott SP MIN
R13 P10 alreadydrinkinginillinois Gonzalez, Mike RP ATL
R13 P11 brown canoe Johnson, Randy SP SF
R13 P12 Derek's Diamond Cutters Wilson, Brian RP SF

I waited a while on third base, probably too long, but many fantasy players will find out that if you don't get one of the top five third base guys, it is very slim pickings afterwards.

Kouzmanoff is a decent player though, hitting 23 home runs last season playing for a team in a pitchers park, but his average can kill you.

 
R14 P1 Derek's Diamond Cutters Cabrera, Orlando SS CHW
R14 P2 brown canoe Gordon, Alex 3B KC
R14 P3 alreadydrinkinginillinois Doumit, Ryan C PIT
R14 P4 Deep Drivers Francisco, Frank RP TEX
R14 P5 GNP Floyd, Gavin SP CHW
R14 P6 Van Buren Boys Bruce, Jay OF CIN
R14 P7 The Shoes Young, Delmon OF MIN
R14 P8 letsplay09part8 Burrell, Pat OF TB
R14 P9 E. Norma Stitz Gomez, Carlos OF MIN
R14 P10 Bravos DeRosa, Mark 2B CLE
R14 P11 Prime Nine Garza, Matt SP TB
R14 P12 Masters of the Fantasy Universe Giambi, Jason 1B OAK

With Santana, Lincecum, Burnett and now Garza, I have gone strikeout happy, which is something I love doing when I get starters. Batters can't hit these guys if they don't make contact with the ball. 

However, Garza pitches in the AL East and his 3.70 ERA of last season could easily go the wrong direction this season.

 
R15 P1 Masters of the Fantasy Universe Taveras, Willy OF CIN
R15 P2 Prime Nine Kershaw, Clayton SP LA
R15 P3 Bravos Wainwright, Adam SP STL
R15 P4 E. Norma Stitz Span, Denard OF MIN
R15 P5 letsplay09part8 Young, Chris SP SD
R15 P6 The Shoes Francoeur, Jeff OF ATL
R15 P7 Van Buren Boys Loney, James 1B LA
R15 P8 GNP Thome, Jim DH CHW
R15 P9 Deep Drivers Beltre, Adrian 3B SEA
R15 P10 alreadydrinkinginillinois Saunders, Joe SP ANA
R15 P11 brown canoe Scherzer, Max RP ARI
R15 P12 Derek's Diamond Cutters Wang, Chien-Ming SP NYY

One of the best left handed youngsters out there, Kershaw managed 100 Ks last season with only 107 innings pitched. Remarkable. I am curious of how he is going to do this year and I don't want to see him succeed on some other team rather then mine.

 
R16 P1 Derek's Diamond Cutters Cruz, Nelson OF TEX
R16 P2 brown canoe Lindstrom, Matt RP FLA
R16 P3 alreadydrinkinginillinois Young, Chris OF ARI
R16 P4 Deep Drivers Slowey, Kevin SP MIN
R16 P5 GNP Bedard, Erik SP SEA
R16 P6 Van Buren Boys Cust, Jack OF OAK
R16 P7 The Shoes Morrow, Brandon RP SEA
R16 P8 letsplay09part8 Sherrill, George RP BAL
R16 P9 E. Norma Stitz Jackson, Conor OF ARI
R16 P10 Bravos Hoffman, Trevor RP MIL
R16 P11 Prime Nine Upton, Justin OF ARI
R16 P12 Masters of the Fantasy Universe Street, Huston RP COL

A youngster that I have become found of in fantasy and could very well be better then his older brother B.J. Upton. He doesn't have the speed or average of his brother B.J. but the power is there.

 
R17 P1 Masters of the Fantasy Universe Lilly, Ted SP CHC
R17 P2 Prime Nine Pettitte, Andy SP NYY
R17 P3 Bravos Ankiel, Rick OF STL
R17 P4 E. Norma Stitz Bourn, Michael OF HOU
R17 P5 letsplay09part8 Dukes, Elijah OF WAS
R17 P6 The Shoes Harang, Aaron SP CIN
R17 P7 Van Buren Boys Sandoval, Pablo 1B SF
R17 P8 GNP Milledge, Lastings OF WAS
R17 P9 Deep Drivers Polanco, Placido 2B DET
R17 P10 alreadydrinkinginillinois Ziegler, Brad RP OAK
R17 P11 brown canoe Johnson, Josh SP FLA
R17 P12 Derek's Diamond Cutters Jurrjens, Jair SP ATL

With the recent signing, I couldn't resist.  Pettitte could be the fourth or fifth starter for the Yankees all year and he will need to do so if he wants more money in his incentives contract.

He most likely wouldn't of signed if he knew he wasn't going to get some chances. Chamberlain could move to the setup role if the Yankees decide to use Hughes. 

R18 P1 Derek's Diamond Cutters Kendrick, Howie 2B ANA
R18 P2 brown canoe Jimenez, Ubaldo SP COL
R18 P3 alreadydrinkinginillinois Byrnes, Eric OF ARI
R18 P4 Deep Drivers Hernandez, Ramon C CIN
R18 P5 GNP Meche, Gil SP KC
R18 P6 Van Buren Boys Snider, Travis OF TOR
R18 P7 The Shoes Lyon, Brandon RP ARI
R18 P8 letsplay09part8 Shoppach, Kelly C CLE
R18 P9 E. Norma Stitz LaRoche, Adam 1B PIT
R18 P10 Bravos Pierzynski, A.J. C CHW
R18 P11 Prime Nine Hanson, Tommy RP ATL
R18 P12 Masters of the Fantasy Universe Rodriguez, Wandy SP HOU

I went with the young Atlanta Braves pitching prospect here. Hanson dominated the Arizona Fall League and is probably the best pitching prospect around. The Braves let that be known, not including him in Peavy trade talks, saying he wasn't available.

 
R19 P1 Masters of the Fantasy Universe Parra, Manny SP MIL
R19 P2 Prime Nine Suzuki, Kurt C OAK
R19 P3 Bravos Weaver, Jered SP ANA
R19 P4 E. Norma Stitz Wheeler, Dan RP TB
R19 P5 letsplay09part8 Balfour, Grant RP TB
R19 P6 The Shoes Konerko, Paul 1B CHW
R19 P7 Van Buren Boys Arredondo, Jose RP ANA
R19 P8 GNP Putz, J.J. RP NYM
R19 P9 Deep Drivers Kuroda, Hiroki SP LA
R19 P10 alreadydrinkinginillinois Cook, Aaron SP COL
R19 P11 brown canoe Percival, Troy RP TB
R19 P12 Derek's Diamond Cutters Hafner, Travis DH CLE

Having so much relying on Wieters as my man behind the plate, I needed another catcher. With so many risks on my team already, I didn't want to go Posada here, so I grabbed Suzuki.  He is as solid as it gets for a No. 2 catcher.

 
R20 P1 Derek's Diamond Cutters Qualls, Chad RP ARI
R20 P2 brown canoe Perez, Oliver SP NYM
R20 P3 alreadydrinkinginillinois Matsui, Kaz 2B HOU
R20 P4 Deep Drivers Perez, Rafael RP CLE
R20 P5 GNP Lopez, Felipe 2B ARI
R20 P6 Van Buren Boys Andrus, Elvis SS TEX
R20 P7 The Shoes Hermida, Jeremy OF FLA
R20 P8 letsplay09part8 Theriot, Ryan SS CHC
R20 P9 E. Norma Stitz Guthrie, Jeremy SP BAL
R20 P10 Bravos Drew, J.D. OF BOS
R20 P11 Prime Nine Maybin, Cameron OF FLA
R20 P12 Masters of the Fantasy Universe Matsui, Hideki OF NYY

A very fast and talented player from Detroit that came over to the Marlins during the Dontrelle Willis/Miguel Cabrera trade will see his first full time season this year and could produce 20-20 numbers right out of the gate.

 
R21 P1 Masters of the Fantasy Universe Kotchman, Casey 1B ATL
R21 P2 Prime Nine Greene, Khalil SS STL
R21 P3 Bravos Escobar, Kelvim SP ANA
R21 P4 E. Norma Stitz Jacobs, Mike 1B KC
R21 P5 letsplay09part8 Lind, Adam OF TOR
R21 P6 The Shoes Swisher, Nick OF NYY
R21 P7 Van Buren Boys Sanchez, Jonathan SP SF
R21 P8 GNP Blake, Casey 3B LA
R21 P9 Deep Drivers Shell, Steven RP WAS
R21 P10 alreadydrinkinginillinois Escobar, Yunel SS ATL
R21 P11 brown canoe Carmona, Fausto SP CLE
R21 P12 Derek's Diamond Cutters Posada, Jorge C NYY

With my very last pick, I got a backup to Derek Jeter. You can't expect a lot from Greene, but he is a decent backup. 

So there you have it, what do you think are the highs and lows of the draft? What do you agree with, what do you disagree with?  All feedback is welcome and constructive criticism is always appreciated.

I am looking forward to a real draft now.