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1) Erick Aybar, SS, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Team: Steve Gardner, USA TODAY/Sports Weekly | Roster

My patience in waiting for a starting shortstop paid off when both Aybar and Derek Jeter were available at the start of Round 9. I went back and forth on which one would be a better fit for my team as it's currently constructed and came down on the side of Aybar's youth and speed over Jeter's run production and batting average. I'm banking on Albert Pujols' presence in the Angels lineup making everyone else a bit better, so leadoff man Aybar should get a boost in runs scored. With a .293 xBA last year, he has room for growth there, too, at age 28.

2) Derek Jeter, SS, New York Yankees

Team: Ray Flowers, Baseball Guys/SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio | Roster

Boring? Yes. Old? Yes. Declining skill set? Yes. So why take him? After the selection of Mark Reynolds with my last pick, I need the .290 average that Jeter should bring. There are more exciting options left at shortstop, but I'm looking for some average stability.

Waino can deliver

3) Drew Stubbs, OF, Cincinnati Reds

Team: Joe Hamrahi, Baseball Prospectus | Roster

I drafted Drew Stubbs for his speed, run scoring ability and power potential in that order. With the amount of times Stubbs strikes out, he's never going to hit for a high average. But that's OK. 90 R, 20 HR and 40 SB still make a fantasy baseball resume look impressive.

4) J.P. Arencibia, C, Toronto Blue Jays

Team: Pasko Varnica, Mastersball | Roster

Why two catchers back to back? Because my opponents do not expect it. I must admit that I almost went with a starting pitcher, either Matt Cain or C.J. Wilson. I may end up being sorry, but hey, I wanted to have two decent catchers. It was a tossup with Kurt Suzuki.

5) Matt Cain, SP, San Francisco Giants

Team: Howard Bender, FanGraphs | Roster

Plenty of pitching still available but given the makeup of the teams picking after me, a SP run is coming. It has to. Cain is a workhorse, eats innings, has had a K/BB of nearly 3.00, solid K and fantastic rate stats. As my No. 3, I'll have a great core staff and can focus on hitting again.

6) C.J. Wilson, SP, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Team: Mark Chamberlin, Baseball Sharks | Roster

Ten picks out I wrote down Yovani Gallardo, Matt Cain and Wilson and hoped for one of them. A top-of-the-line No. 2 in the ninth round? Yes, please. He'll have to return to Texas a couple of times throughout the season, but his home confines will be much more pitcher-friendly, too.

7) Tommy Hanson, SP, Atlanta Braves

Team: Nicholas Minnix, KFFL | Roster

My January blog on Hanson states my case: I think this right-hander is a great value pick this season. In fact, for those who abhor drafting pitchers early in mixed leagues, they could wait until around this time (roughly) to begin building their pitching staffs and still be very competitive in those categories.

8) Jonathan Papelbon, RP, Philadelphia Phillies

Team: Bill Macey, Baseball HQ | Roster

I was hoping that C.J. Wilson would fall to me here, but I missed out by a few picks. Instead of taking a different SP, I zagged towards the best closer left on the board. Not only will Papelbon get plenty of save opportunities, he'll also face weaker competition than he did last year.

Old yet still reliable?

9) David Ortiz, DH, Boston Red Sox

Team: Josh Shepardson, The Hardball Times | Roster

How does one compensate for missing out on the big lumber at first base? By selecting Big Papi and treating the utility position as a pseudo first base. He turned back the clock last season and was in vintage form. There is risk of a collapse, but that seems slight. He should help my team batting average and pile up RBI as part of a lineup that lead Major League Baseball in runs scored in 2011.

10) Mike Moustakas, 3B, Kansas City Royals

Team: Doug Anderson, RotoExperts | Roster

I didn't want to go to Moustakas this early, but he was the last third baseman I was comfortable with settling for. He showed late in the year why at times he's been considered a better prospect than Eric Hosmer. If he comes close to what I expect from Hosmer, I'll be delighted.

11) Gio Gonzalez, SP, Washington Nationals

Team: Tim Heaney, KFFL | Roster

Adam Wainwright, Yu Darvish and others were staring me in the face. I instead went with the proven K artist who'll remain in an environment that won't hurt him while moving to a friendlier league. All this talk about how the Oakland foul territory helped him is overblown; the WHIPlash knocks him down a little, but he'll still fan at least eight per nine, which is attractive for a No. 2 SP. The abundance of middle-rounds SP values in industry drafts remains staggering.

12) Adam Wainwright, SP, St. Louis Cardinals

Team: Jeff Paur, RTSports | Roster

Wainwright gives me three straight picks of Cardinals. Yes, I am a Cardinals fan, but I didn't plan on this strategy heading into the draft. I really did feel Wainwright was the best pitcher available at this spot. Sure, he is coming off Tommy John surgery but he is more than a year removed from the surgery and recent history suggests pitchers can bounce back from this surgery better than ever. I expect another big season from Wainwright. He is the staff ace and has the ability to be a top-five fantasy pitcher.

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