gos·pel noun - something regarded as true and implicitly believed:
to take his
report for gospel. a doctrine regarded as of
prime importance:
political
gospel.
On March 5th, 2008 I participated in my first
Expert League Fantasy Baseball draft. Like many of the
other participants I prepared for this draft with the greatest
of care and put more time into its preparations then any other
draft I've ever done. I had strategies setup for each and
every circumstance that would come about. The only thing I
knew for sure going into the draft was my selection at #3 and
that it was a 5x5 rotisserie league. Whether you are a
novice or an expert, draft preparation is key to drafting the
best possible team. Nearly everyone can have a different
strategy going into the draft. Some managers want nothing
but power, others want speed and pitching, and some focus on a
unbeatable bullpen. All of us hope to come out with the
most balanced team covering all 10 categories, but only the
perfect strategy can pull that off.
That was my strategy going into this expert
draft. I didn't want to merely cover a few categories and
hope for the best. I wanted to draft a team
that would indeed give me a fighting chance in every category
every week. A team that other managers look at and simply
cannot find a weakness. So there you have it, Todd "The
True GURU" Farino's expert league strategy was to go into the
draft and try to pull out a 100% balanced team. The
code name for my draft strategy, Team Juggernaut.
I want to make clear that not all my picks are
great picks. Like all experts some picks will bomb and
many will shine. This document is intended to show you a
LIVE example of how an expert thinks when he is drafting for a
5x5 Rotisserie league. This document will get you inside
my mind as to the selections I made and when I made them.
For the novice and intermediate fantasy baseball managers out
there examine this draft strategy closely. Its definitely
a winner.
Below I will go through all of my picks. I
will give you the reason why I took them and what factors guided
that decision. I will give you their positives and
negatives along with projected stats and my thoughts on why I
picked them where I did pick them. I will stress that even
know I studied the average draft position of each player and
participated in many mock drafts part of my strategy that was
crucial was taking the player when I felt I had too.
Whether it was earlier than expected according to the players
ADP or waiting on him. My strategy was only guided by the
rules of engagement.
So here we go, buckle up and get ready for
the draft experience of a lifetime>>>>>>>>>
Primary Roto Skills:
Power Hitting, Speed, Batting Average, Run Scoring
Positives:
Young, fast and carries all the skills of a top
draft pick. He can only get better.
Bats leadoff in a Marlins lineup with
nothing to lose or prove.
Negatives:
None.
The True GURU
Thoughts: To open the draft I
couldn't think of a better #1 draft pick.
Hanley has all the skills, but most importantly
power and speed. I wanted to get a
power/speed guy in the first 2 rounds and getting
Ramirez was perfect. 30 Home run and 50
stolen base potential is what I was looking for
and got. He also filled the hard to get
Shortstop position solidifying a great #1 draft
pick.
The True GURU Projected
Stats: 31 HRs, 83
RB1, 115 Runs, 54 SB, .335 BA
2nd Round Draft Pick -TARGET
Carlos Beltran
- New York Mets
Position(s):
CF
Last Season:
HR: 33
RBI: 112
Run: 93
SB: 23
Avg: .276
Primary Roto Skills:
Power Hitting, RBI producer, Speed, and can score
runs.
Positives:
Has all the skills to be a top notch fantasy
player. Can steal bases, and hit 30+ Hrs.
Bats cleanup in a great Mets lineup. Has
unlimited potential.
Negatives:
Battles Confidence issues, coming off double knee
surgery, and hasn't batted above .300 in awhile.
The True GURU
Thoughts: Like many, I've always
liked Beltran. I admit he wasn't my first
player I wanted in the second round, but when he
fell to me I was quite happy. He brings #1 draft
pick potential and has the Power/Speed skills I
wanted in my #2 draft pick to go along with Hanley
Ramirez as a powerful 1-2 punch. He will
start slow, but heat up.
The True GURU Projected
Stats: 32
HRs, 118 RBI, 93 Runs, 25 SB, .294 BA
3rd Round Draft Pick -
TARGET
Robinson
Cano - New York Yankees
Position(s):
2B
Last Season:
HR: 19
RBI: 97
Run: 93
SB: 4
Avg .306
Primary Roto Skills:
Medium Power, RBI Producer, and Batting Average.
Positives:
He can hit. Has the capability to hit .350,
and get 20+ HRs and 100 RBI. When he is hot,
he is crazy hot. Still young and growing has
a player.
Negatives:
Starts off slow, and gets into slumps with the
Yankees team.
The True GURU
Thoughts: We love Cano for his
raw skills and the lineup up he's in. When
he is hot, he can be deadly to opposing fantasy
teams. We will need a backup for him, but
getting him extra early was important for us to
establish ourselves with a medium power, RBI
producing second basemen. His ability to hit for
average further stabilizes up in that category.
We think his potential is on the rise in 2008.
The True GURU Projected
Stats: 20 HRs,
99 RBI, 90 Runs, 6 SB, .323 BA
Primary Roto Skills:
Wins, Strikeouts and a solid ERA and WHIP.
Positives:
His is a true staff ace. Rarely gives up the
big inning, and will always have a chance to win.
2007 NL CY Young Winner.
Negatives:
Has fatigue and weight issues that could impact
him late in the season.
The True GURU
Thoughts: I needed to now focus
on pitching and my first selection was Sabathia.
He has 20 win potential and strikeouts over 200
batters a year. We needed to establish
ourselves with a staff ace, and we got our ace.
He will be the cornerstone of what we hope is an
excellent pitching staff. We thought about
closer at this point, but passed.
The True GURU Projected
Stats: 20 W, 205
SO, 3.51 ERA, 1.25 WHIP
5th Round Draft Pick -
TARGET
Chipper
Jones - Atlanta Braves
Positives: Has
exceptional power at the third base position.
Chipper is a model of consistency when he's
playing.
Negatives:
Injury prone.
The True GURU
Thoughts: When it came to the 5th round I
felt Chipper was a great pick if not close to a
steal. After having a stellar season last
year there was no reason to believe he couldn't do
it again and the Braves made several offensive
upgrades and have him in a great lineup with
protection.
The True GURU Projected
Stats: 28 HRs, 107 RBI, 101 Runs, 3 SBs,
.320 BA
Positives:
Great big game pitcher. Match ups well
against every team except the Red Sox. He's
a Cy Young candidate every season.
Negatives:
Has some injury issues. Gives up lots of
hits.
The True GURU
Thoughts: We love this guy and he
was a steal in the 6th round. He will
provide big time strikeout punch and wins all the
time. Put it to you this way, Peavy barely
out pitched Lackey except for strikeouts, and
Peavy was taken in the 2nd round. By taking
Lackey we backed up Sabathia and build a starting
rotation with two high-powered aces.
The True GURU Projected
Stats: 18 W, 185
SO, 3.10 ERA, 1.24 WHIP
7th Round Draft Pick -
TARGET
Jose
Valverde- Houston Astros
Position(s):
RP
Last Season:
SV: 47
SO: 79
ERA: 2.66
WHIP 1.12
Primary Roto Skills:
Strikeouts and Saves
Positives:
Led the NL in saves, and is
a great closer
Negatives:
Loses command of his pitches and can blow up
easily. Plays for Houston.
The True GURU
Thoughts: Well there was a run on
closers and we wanted to get a good closer before
we dug deep in the later rounds. We like
Valverde and he will have tons of save chances in
Houston, but the park is a hitters park and we
fear that. None-the-less our strategy
required a closer and we think we got ourselves
one that can get us 40 saves and 2-3 hear attacks.
The True GURU Projected
Stats: 41
Saves, 73 SO, 2.99 ERA, 1.29 WHIP
Positives:
Great sinker and plays on a winning team.
Negatives:
Can give up the big run games and cost you big.
The True GURU
Thoughts: Last year we were high
on Carmona and with his performance we follow that
up expecting more from him. We take him as
our starting pitcher in 8 rounds. Combing
him with the other two aces makes for a great 3
hole. Now we just need a clean up starting
pitcher. Carmona will get us wins we need
and should make it a category I can't lose.
He will also keep the ERA relatively low, and add
the occasional strikeout burst. He's a solid pick
at #8.
The True GURU Projected
Stats: 20 W, 145
SO,3.21 ERA, 1.20 WHIP
