Auction Expert Draft Review - Mixed

March 8, 2007 @ 16:00:00

By Nicholas Minnix
Edited by Ryan Dodson

KFFL managing editors Ryan Dodson and Nick Minnix participated in a live mixed league auction draft Thursday, March 1. The league is a typical 5x5 format and consists of 12 teams. Rosters include 23 starters and five reserves. Starters are made up of two catchers, a first baseman, a second baseman, a third baseman, a shortstop, a corner infielder, a middle infielder, five outfielders, a utility player and nine pitchers. Each of the teams had a $260 salary cap, which they would only spend on their starters. Reserve players can be players from any position and have a salary of $0. Teams selected their reserves in a serpentine format at the conclusion of the auction. KFFL was 12th in the pecking order to nominate players, while we were first in the post-auction reserve draft.

This was KFFL's first auction of the 2007 season. Other members included: FOX Sports, Fantasy Auctioneer, RotoChamps, BaseballDoctors, SmartGuySports, Fanball, Sport Fanatics, ESPN, SportsGrumblings, Big Dawg Baseball and Rotopass. The draft didn't go exactly as planned, but KFFL accomplished some of its goals.

Table: KFFL Mixed League Auction Roster - Starters

Pos.	Player	Team	Bid	Avg
C	Joe Mauer	Minnesota Twins	$23	$27
C	Jason Varitek	Boston Red Sox	$2	$3
1B	Paul Konerko	Chicago White Sox	$22	$22
2B	Jeff Kent	Los Angeles Dodgers	$6	$5
3B	Troy Glaus	Toronto Blue Jays	$9	$13
SS	Miguel Tejada	Baltimore Orioles	$24	$27
CI	Edwin Encarnacion	Cincinnati Reds	$4	$4
MI	Chris Burke	Houston Astros	$4	$2
OF	Carl Crawford	Tampa Bay Devil Rays	$39	$37
OF	Andre Ethier	Los Angeles Dodgers	$4	$1
OF	Dave Roberts	San Francisco Giants	$5	$13
OF	Austin Kearns	Washington Nationals	$5	$3
OF	Moises Alou	New York Mets	$3	$8
Util	Jim Thome	Chicago White Sox	$14	$18
P	John Smoltz	Atlanta Braves	$18	$17
P	John Lackey	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	$15	$13
P	Jered Weaver	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	$10	$19
P	Mike Mussina	New York Yankees	$10	$16
P	Roger Clemens	Free Agent	$5	$14
P	Brad Lidge	Houston Astros	$13	$10
P	Joe Borowski	Cleveland Indians	$8	$10
P	Jason Isringhausen	St. Louis Cardinals	$5	$10
P	Salomon Torres	Pittsburgh Pirates	$4	$3

Table: KFFL Mixed League Auction Roster - Reserves

Pos.	Player	Team	Bid	Avg
P	Joel Pineiro	Boston Red Sox	$0	$4
1B	Ryan Shealy	Kansas City Royals	$0	$2
P	Brian Wilson	San Francisco Giants	$0	$2
P	Jeremy Sowers	Cleveland Indians	$0	$1
C	Miguel Montero	Arizona Diamondbacks	$0	$1

We began by landing stud Tampa Bay Devil Rays outfielder Carl Crawford, a player that continues to improve every year and that should contribute across the board, with an emphasis in the steals category. We went a couple of bucks above the norm, but we felt that he would provide a solid foundation now, while later we would find cheap sources of stolen bases to add to it. A career-high 18 homers last year signify his developing power, and with an improved offense, Crawford should please fantasy owners even more this year.

Our goal wasn't to necessarily ignore the outfield after Crawford, although the position is somewhat deep. However, we felt that getting a few of the infielders that we did, at a discount, allowed us to alter a strategy a bit. We had the sense early on that our opponents weren't ready to spend their money, so on a few players we attempted to capitalize. We gladly took Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer, Baltimore Orioles shortstop Miguel Tejada and Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Troy Glaus for a bit below market value. Mauer nor Tejada were in our original plans. However, in a league that starts two catchers, we were comfortable with Mauer, given that Atlanta Braves catcher Brian McCann, who's not as proven, went for $20. These players together with Chicago White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko and Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Jeff Kent give us a very formidable infield - perhaps the best in the league. We gladly paid an extra dollar for Kent, for a couple of reasons. We snagged him in the latter stages of the draft, when most of the top second baseman had been taken. KFFL maintains that Kent is undervalued; despite his age (39 in May), he has batted close to or above .300 in every season since 1998, with 20-plus homers in every season but last year, in which he was limited to 115 games. At a position where top performers are considered scarce, we like the value that Kent should provide.

KFFL was also happy to supplement our infield with Cincinnati Reds third baseman Edwin Encarnacion at the corner and Houston Astros outfielder Chris Burke in the middle. After a solid 2006 campaign and a good winter, Encarnacion is a prime breakout candidate, especially because he's expected to bat cleanup in Cincinnati. With good protection in that ballpark, he should hit 20 to 25 home runs and steal 10 bases. Burke retains his second base eligibility this year, although he's expected to play every day in center field. At the top of a lineup with first baseman Lance Berkman and outfielder Carlos Lee, he should score runs. With a full season of at-bats, he should approach 20 stolen bases too. A couple of extra dollars for a player we expect good things from was not a negative, especially when we saved money elsewhere. Chicago White Sox designated hitter Jim Thome, a proven power source in an excellent lineup, supplements our power numbers nicely. Landing the Boston Red Sox's Jason Varitek as our second catcher, for $2, was a no-risk situation, considering that before last year, he was considered a proven fantasy commodity and averaged about 20 homers in the three previous seasons. One could do worse than a second catcher in the Red Sox offense.

With a strong infield, we gambled on a few outfielders. Last year Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier displayed his second-round talent, and we felt that the consistency he showed last year, save September, meant that he stood a good chance to avoid the dreaded sophomore slump. We wanted a young player with upside, so we gladly went a couple of bucks more for him. Washington Nationals outfielder Austin Kearns doesn't play in a stacked lineup, but he demonstrated a return to form last year. Spacious RFK wasn't a problem, either, because four of the eight homers he hit after joining Washington were at his new home park. He has raw power. We didn't mind gambling on him after landing San Francisco Giants outfielder Dave Roberts at a cheap price. We targeted him to supplement our stolen bases, knowing that he's capable of swiping 40-plus. Saving more than a handful of dollars on him and New York Mets outfielder Moises Alou was pleasing. Alou joined one of the best lineups in the NL, and last year he was on pace to hit close to .300 with 30-plus home runs. We suspect, if he stays healthy, he'll do more than enough to please fantasy owners and give them Draft Day value.

For pitchers, we didn't target one of the top four or five "aces." Someone brought up free-agent starting pitcher Roger Clemens fairly early, and while we didn't target him, we figured he would go for more than $5. We'll take it, especially because if he does return, we don't suspect the Houston Astros will be in contention by the time he does. An upper-echelon team with the bucks to bring him in (like the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox) makes him more attractive this year. That salary means little risk for Clemens. We gladly paid for Atlanta Braves starter John Smoltz, whose fantastic ratios and strikeout rate from the past two years are great. His 16 wins are good, but throw in that much improved bullpen, and he's hard to beat. We admittedly may have overpaid for Los Angeles of Angels starter John Lackey, but we wanted to add another pitcher with solid strikeout potential at the time. We were fortunate to add solid mid-level starters for below value later on. Angels starter Jered Weaver was another player that we didn't necessarily target, but he came at a big bargain.

For relievers, KFFL went after quantity for sure. We would've liked to have come away with a top-tier closer, and that might be our biggest regret. It was a large gamble to spend a couple of extra dollars on Houston Astros closer Brad Lidge, who has had more than his fair share of struggles since St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols essentially ended Game 6 of the NLCS with a moon shot off Lidge in the top of the ninth frame. KFFL expects the 30-year-old to bounce back to his pre-2006 form, though. He certainly has the talent (and strikeout rate) to do it. We were generally pleased to land Cleveland Indians closer Joe Borowski and Cards closer Jason Isringhausen for fairly cheap prices. We landed Borowski on the heels of the news that reliever Keith Foulke was retiring, meaning that Borowski would run unopposed in spring training. There's always the chance that he could yield to another reliever, say Fernando Cabrera, the job is his and he must lose it. Izzy is on schedule to return from hip surgery in September, so we're hoping an investment in him was a steal. We went the extra dollar on Pittsburgh Pirates closer Salomon Torres because he has performed exceptionally well in his limited time in the role, and we felt he was a low-risk add at that price.

With our reserves we took advantage of some oversight by taking the frontrunner for the closer's job with the Boston Red Sox: Joel Pineiro. Not a bad gamble. We added high upside with Kansas City Royals first baseman Ryan Shealy and medium upside with Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Miguel Montero, a solid prospect with a great bat and a chance at the starting backstop job. He would be good insurance should Varitek flame out. Before the Montero pick, though, we added more potential closer help in San Francisco reliever Brian Wilson and starter depth in Cleveland's Jeremy Sowers. If the Giants are successful in trading closer Armando Benitez, Wilson is the leading candidate to be their guy. (Benitez isn't exactly a lock to remain healthy, either.) Sowers has been a top prospect for the Indians who went 7-4 with a 3.57 ERA in 14 starts in the bigs last year. With a career 2.00 ERA in the minors, he has good potential, although his strikeout rate is highly unlikely to translate to the majors. He adds depth with Clemens in the fold.

All in all KFFL came away pleased with the hitting lineup. Our pitching, particularly our relievers, could be a bit stronger, because it lacks that so-called guarantee for saves and strikeouts. We expect our quantity to combat that, and KFFL has had past success in acquiring saves from the waiver wire. That's something that fantasy owners should know is possible. Our rotation, however, is solid, lacking only depth. Should Clemens return at midseason or a trade opportunity develop, we like our chances even better. KFFL feels confident that it has built a contending team, but in-season management will be the key to our success from this point forward.

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Nicholas Minnix

KFFL's baseball editor plays in LABR and Tout Wars and won the FSWA Baseball Industry Insiders League in 2010.

The University of Delaware alum is a regular guest on Sirius/XM Fantasy Sports Radio and Baltimore's WNST AM 1570. Follow him on Twitter.

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