Expansion Draft

Going from 10 teams to 12 was probably a little overdue. The ten people drafted (one from each pre-existing team) were:

1. Sabathia
2. Rollins
3. Haren (shockingly, he didn't sneak through)
4. Votto
5. Sandoval
6. Granderson
7. Hill
8. BJ Upton
9. Beckham
10. Edwin Jackson

That last pick looks a little strange, but one returning team in our league is just awful and Jackson was probably the best player left unprotected. It's amazing how bad a team in a keeper league can be after three years. His best players are Beckett, Morales and Ethier. And those last 2 he drafted last year. A lot of bad decisions in a short period of time.

There were better players available than I first expected, and these two teams will have an immediate chance to compete.

So now we each protect 2 more players. As I said before, 14 SP's were kept before the Expansion Draft and 3 more were just drafted. Right now the highest ranking unkept/drafted SP is Gallardo. Luckily, he's on my team. And I'm keeping him. My second keeper was going to be one of the following:
Wieters
Hanson
Hamilton
Hamels

I was originally planning to just keep the guy being drafted the highest. In this case, that would be Hamilton. Unfortunately, Hamilton seems about as healthy as Will Ferrell's bottom teeth. I know Hamels is poised for a bounce back year, but what if he doesn't have it? What if he spent another off-season styling his hair and fucking his reality-show wife instead of working out? And as much I loved listening to my wife talk about how hot he is as he walks off the mound in the fifth inning after getting his ass fucked by the Nationals again, he wasn't fun to own in 2009.

For me, this comes down to Wieters or Hanson. Two young players with tons of upside. The idea of pairing Hanson with Gallardo and having 2 young aces with 200K potential for the next few years gives me the same feeling I get imagining Jessica Biel and Megan Fox just lightly rubbing up against each other in an elevator. I have a problem.

So my 7 keepers for 2010 look like this:
1b - Teixeira
3b - Longoria
OF - J Upton
OF - Crawford
Util - Wright
SP - Gallardo
SP - Hanson

I always feel light on power even when I'm not, but I feel like these guys offer a pretty good balance. Of course, if Wright doesn't bounce back, I could be in trouble. My team showed last year it's hard to win getting only 10 HR from your utility spot.
My middle infield will obviously need to be addressed in the draft and hopefully without idiotic reaching like last year's long forgotten Kelly Johnson debacle. (little hint - I drafted Johnson)

The last 4 Expansion picks were:
1. Ichiro
2. Hamels
3. Brandon Phillips
4. Carlos Quentin

That last pick is a bit of a mystery. Sure he could rebound from injuries, but he's more of a sleeper guy this year and not a cornerstone.

Our draft is in two weeks and I pick 6th, due again because of my bad showing last year.
Note to self: Do not draft Roy Oswalt or Jhonny Perralta againf.

That's a good start.