2010 Keeper Choices: Round 1

So the 10 returning teams announced our first 5 keepers. Then the 2 new teams will each pick 5 guys in an expansion draft - but no returning team can lose more than 1 player. So each returning team will lose 1 guy.

In keeper leagues like this - where 10 teams keep 5 players - there are bound to be some sketchy choices. And this league was no different. Here are some of the iffy plays by other teams:

Kept Jake Peavy over Joey Votto
Kept Johan Santana over Pablo Sandoval (despite already protecting Wainwright and Carpenter)
Kept Papelbon over Aaron Hill (this is mostly curious because this owner traded Holliday for Hill last May and his team is named after Hill. He's a bad trader though, because the year before, he traded Pujols for Holliday and Papelbon.)
Kept Carlos Beltran and Carlos Pena over Dan Haren

The last one to me is indefensible. When I asked the owner about this, he offered the following thoughts:
1. Because of his second half struggles, Haren is way overrated and not very valuable.
2. Beltran will only miss 2 weeks and be 30-30 this year
3. Pena would be hard to replace in the draft
4. Haren would be easy to replace in the draft
5. Haren won't even be picked from my team in the expansion draft (next highest ranked player on his team - Bobby Abreu)

I protected:
Teixeira
Longoria
Wright
J. Upton
Crawford

I expect to lose Rollins in the draft, which will hurt, because SS is shallow but I had to do it.

I was surprised at how many starting pitchers were kept. 14 of 50 keepers were starting pitchers. That really thins out the upper ranks. Our league is a weekly head to head, where we start 4 SP's and 4 RP's. So you can even get away with a thinner starting staff. Only one other team besides me didn't keep a starter and most kept 2.

Now, here comes the expansion draft.