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Both of my fantasy leagues have drafted (which is good, since the season has started) and now that I’ve had a chance to decompress and recover from one of the busiest weekends I’ve had in a long time, its time to analyze my draft. This is the first post of a two-part; 1 post for each league.

Up first, the WABL. This league is mostly the same group of people (now all male) with some additions and revisions and the like. We’re down to 10 people from 12, and we’ve stopped being a keeper league due to lack of interest. Its an 8×8 league rather than a 5×5, so middle relievers become somewhat more important. Good fun, but the small league size has definitely affected the talent pool.

With that said, my team:

C - Ramon Hernandez, BAL
1B - Lance Berkman, HOU (OF)
2B - Ian Kinsler, TEX
3B - Scott Rolen, STL
SS - Hanley Ramirez, FLA
OF - Carl Crawford, TB
OF - Willy Taveras, COL
OF - Pat Burrell, PHI
Util - Michael Young, TEX (SS)
Util - Jason Giambi, NYY (1B)
Bench - Brandon Phillips, CIN (2B)
Bench - Orlando Cabrera, LAA (SS)
Bench - Brad Hawpe, COL (OF)
Bench - Pedro Feliz, SF (3B)
Bench - Adrian Gonzalez, SD (1B)
Bench - Kevin Youkilis, BOS (1B, 3B, OF)

SP - Roy Halladay, TOR
SP - John Smoltz, ATL
SP - Ben Sheets, MIL
SP - John Lackey, LAA
RP - Armando Benitez, SF
RP - Jason Isringhausen, STL
P - Jorge Julio, FLA
P - Mike Gonzalez, ATL
Bench - Dontrelle Willis, FLA
Bench - Jered Weaver, LAA

Obviously, my main strength is starting pitching. Halladay, Smoltz, Sheets, and Willis are all legitimate number one starters, and Lackey is currently the staff ace for the Angels. Jered Weaver should do well once he’s back from the DL. 5 or 6 upper-tier pitchers is fine by me. The bullpen I’m not as sold on. Benitez and Isringhausen are both injury risks (and I question how many save chances the Giants will have in first place), and Jorge Julio isn’t a lock to hold his job the whole season. Mike Gonzalez I like - he’ll replace Wickman and close in Atlanta by the end of the year. Which will help when Julio loses his job. Notice I only have one middle reliever. Right now, I’m out of the running for holds. May have to address that. Or just punt the category.

Offensively, the first thing I notice is the amount of speed on the team. Crawford and Ramirez are both 60-steal threats, and Willy Taveras is pure speed, no power. Phillips, Cabrera, and Kinsler could all put up decent numbers there too. In terms of power, the only big guns I see are Berkman and Giambi. Gonzalez could be ok, and I have a lot of guys who should put up HRs in the 20s, but another big bat couldn’t hurt. I have 3 solid SSs, so I may try to work a trade there. Pedro Feliz I think I’m going to dump - I like Youkilis better for average and runs, especially if I can find power through the FA pool or a trade. Im not really a huge fan of Pat Burrell, either. I may see if I can package him with an SS (Michael Young, maybe) for a bat and a reliever. We’ll see. Trades in this league are few and far between. No one likes trading, unless they’re letting Sean rip them the hell off.

All things considered, I’m pretty content with the auto-draft here. I have more offensive players than I like to carry, but I’ve got some position flexibility, a fantastic rotation, and a decent pen. I can pick up some free agents to cover the weaknesses I have, and hopefully make a trade or two.

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