Team Name: WSS Hurlers
Owner Name: James J. Cotter
Home State: Mahopac, NY
Baseball Web Site: Wall Street Sports.com
Personal Bio
Originally from Mahopac, NY, which also happens to be the home of the one and only Dave Fleming, pitcher for the Seattle Mariners in the mid 90's. I live and die with the Yankee pinstripes.Pre-Draft Strategy
My ideal team would have a solid starting pitching core and two above average closers. However, pitching is always there and I feel you should pass on pitching in the first two rounds, unless you're assured of a stud pitcher. This year I have the 4th pick. This most likely will rule out P. Martinez or R. Johnson. So I will either draft a shortstop or a catcher. These two positions have the least amount of depth of any position. I will with my fourth pick be taking D. Jeter, NYA. Yes, I said Derek Jeter, the reason being is he is a top notch SS, and you are always assured of a solid season from him. This has always worked for me in the past. It will also be the only pick I will make with my heart as a Yankee fan.I have always felt that your most important picks you have are in the rounds 2-4. This will be the core of your team. If all things fall into place I feel pretty confident that there will be an abundance of top talent still on the board.
When you sit back and compare the 2001 fantasy draft to 2000, it will a lot different than you think. You will see the impact that many young stars had last year. J. Damon, KC; D. Erstad, Ana; T. Helton, Col and T. Hudson, Oak. Don't get me wrong. There are still some proven vets worth taking early like B. Bonds, SF; R. Alomar, Clev and C. Jones, Atl.
The deepest positions this year will be SP and OF along with 1B. My feelings are you can hold off a few rounds before grabbing these players. Besides having the top two pitchers there isn't much of a difference between the next tier of pitchers. If you look at OF, you will only see a 140-point difference between the top rated outfielder and 15th rated outfielder. At first base if you have the chance, grab T. Helton, Col early, if you're not able to, I would wait a few rounds before taking one.
A few positions that you may want to grab early are C, 2B and 3B along with your SS. These are in my opinion the weaker positions in the draft. The difference in talent is amazing when looking at #1 and #10. My thoughts are if I can get certain guys these four positions will be my first four picks.
Every year I feel that my strategy changes, but I always feel that you have to make sure that your team is balanced. Also, it is important to scan the waiver wires and make the trade that will put you over the top.
Post-Draft Analysis
Did you get the team you envisioned?
Yes. It might not have worked out as I hoped it would, but it sure came together in the end. I feel that my team is balanced with a top-flight pitching staff. It's always tough to win with hitting.What worked and didn't work in your strategy?
I was able to sure up some of the weaker positions with star players. Example being D. Jeter, NY at SS and T. Batista, Tor at 3B. I was also able to draft good players later on for the OF. K. Griffey, Cin in the 5th, D. Erstad, Ana in the 6th and R. Hidalgo, Hou in the 8th. I could also have the steal of the draft if A. Belle, Bal can stay healthy, I grabbed him in the 16th round. The one thing that I wish I could change was my picking of closers. I liked getting Izzy, Oak with a 10th round pick, but I wish I had taken one earlier or grabbed another one right away.What were your best picks?
I have 5 picks that I feel stick out on my team. T. Hudson, Oak 2nd, B. Colon, Clev 3rd, R. Clemens, NYA 4th, K. Griffey, Cin 5th, and M. Lowell, Fla 19th round. These three pitchers are considered the ace of their respective staffs and all three can win 20 this year. How could I go wrong by taking Griffey in the 5th round? He will rebound with a monster year. As for Lowell, I wish the Yanks never traded him. I would not be shocked if hits .300 30 hr and 115 RBI.What were your worst picks?
J. Wright, Clev with the 22nd round pick. Not sure why I even felt this guy has it in him. I guess we all think back to the '97 playoffs. If I thought like that long I would have drafted S. Avery, Atl also.Who did you forget about?
R. Greer, Tex and M. Williams, Ari. Don't know how it happens. I would love to have taken Greer especially with A-Rod in that lineup. He is one of the most underrated players in baseball. As for Williams look for him to improve his horrific numbers of 2000 and rebound closer to his '99 season totals.Who were your sleepers?
T. Armas Jr., Mon and R. Sexson, Mil. Armas showed ace-like potential while Sexson seemed to blossom after being traded from the Indians to the Brewers.What was the strangest pick you saw?
K. Wood, ChiN Round 2. I was amazed at this pick, yeah he has pitched one great game in his life but for him go in the second round before the likes of Ramirez, Guerrero and Bagwell is just plain crazy. But hey, that's what makes fantasy baseball so much fun.What do you wish you could have done differently?
I would have drafted my closers earlier in the draft.If you could swap teams with one person, who would it be?
To be honest I wouldn't swap teams with anyone. I feel very confident with the team I have and I'm not sure I see a team that is much better than mine.What's the one player in the draft that "got away"?
M. Ordonez, ChiA. I was hoping he would slip to me in the 8th round. I got greedy and thought he would fall. Looks like someone else had the same thoughts and grabbed him.