Rounds 11 - 14 Picks

My original 11th round pick was wasted on Joe Kennedy in last year's supplemental draft. I gained one back in the trade with the former Yoopers. With said pick, I snatched up Mike Timlin, the setup man for the Red Sox. Timlin has been nails the last few years. He will get plenty of holds and might get the closer role if Foulke can't handle it.
In the 12th round I collected some depth with Rob Mackowiak. He qualifies at second, third and outfield. He has some decent offensive numbers but needs to get more at-bats.
I took a flyer on Brandon McCarthy in the 13th round. McCarthy would be starting for almost every other team in the majors but will have to wait for a job on the defending champs. Perhaps an early injury or trade will give him a starting gig.
For my latest pick, I gambled on Joey Devine, reliever for the Braves. Chris Reitsema has a shaky hold on the closer spot and Devine should be next line if he continues to blow opportunities.

Slow draft

The draft always seems to slow down around this point. I guess guys lose a little interest trying to figure out who will be the left-handed seventh reliever for the Pirates.

Round 10 Pick

This is deep sleeper and middle relief territory now. I went with Juan Rivera here. The guy can hit as evidenced by his .275/15/59 line last year. Hopefully he will get enough playing time but it looks like Garrett Anderson is on the downslope and Erstad might get traded or play first, opening up the outfield for Rivera.

Round 9 Picks

In the 9th round, I finally got around to filling the holes in my roster.
With my first pick, I got underachieving third baseman Joe Crede. He should be hit 20+ homers but probably not much more. I will probably be watching the waiver wire for 3B throughout the year.
I then picked up young catcher Ryan Doumit of the Pirates. He is highly rated and should provide some upside.

Round 8 Picks

I went into round 8 with openings at third and catcher so I pick an aging starter and a middle reliever.
Tim Wakefield is a solid but unspectacular pitcher. I will expect the usual 15+ wins, 140+ K's, ~4.00 ERA, and ~1.20 WHIP.
I was ready to pick Barajas or Kotchman with my second pick, but they both went before me. Still some decent catchers around but third baseman is barren.
I took my first holds guy in Politte. He will be 8th inning guy for a team that could win 100 games. I see 30 holds with a 2.50 ERA and 1.00 WHIP.

Round 7 Pick

With my single pick for the seventh round, I went with another closer in Dave Weathers. He finished the year as the Reds closer and will start the year that way. If he lasts all year, he should be good for 25-30 saves with decent ERA and WHIP. If he doesn't, then he could get plenty of holds. I was ready to pick a catcher or another starter, but there are plenty of backstops available (only 5 selected so far) and plenty of middle tier starters.

Sixth Round Pick

These are the toughest rounds to pick, IMHO. The stars and obvious everday players are all gone. Now you are looking for veterans with one more year left in the tank, breakout youngster and the ever popular "sleeper." I went into the round still needed a catcher and third baseman and some more outfielders would be nice. The 3B market is dry as a bone and there are still plenty of average catchers available. I was considering taking a strong setup guy as well. In the end I went with outfielder David DeJesus of the Royals. DeJesus numbers last year (.293/9/56/69/5) were nice considering he missing 40 games. I expect more stolen bases (considering that is the only way the Royals will score this year) and runs plus a bit more dingers. May give him a 2 year contract just to have some OF slots filled for next year.

Round 5 Picks

Round 5 was my last with two picks. I really wanted a third baseman. My short list had Garrett Atkins, Ryan Zimmerman and Pedro Feliz on it. Atkins went in the middle of the last round and Feliz went two spots before me (by Sluggers, no less). I thought Zimmerman might be a stretch here due to his inexperience so I didn't bite. Desperate for an OF, I grabbed Mark Kotsay. Kotsay will put up stats if he can stay healthy. He hit .280/15/82/75 139 games last year. In the A's improved offense, I would expect a nice bump to .285/22/95/82 in 2006.
My second saw all my short listers go: Zimmerman, Jones, MacDougal, and Ray. I decided to gamble a bit on Chris Young. He has all kinds of potential going 12-7 with 137 K's in his first full season. In Petco Park, I would expect an improved ERA, WHIP and more K's but probably not many more wins.
These guys might both get 2 year contracts to open the season.

Round 4 Picks

Round 4 had me looking to solidify my infield and pick up some outfields. I filled one of those needs with my second pick of the round in Chris Shelton, first baseman for the Tigers. I didn't follow him too closely last year, but his numbers are very nice. A full year could be 20 homers and 90 RBI's with a nice average. I may give him a 2 year contract to start the season.
My first pick of the round was another smoke-throwing closer in Jose Valverde. Jose reclaimed the starting closer spot for the Diamondbacks and I don't seem giving it up. I expect 30-40 saves with 80+ K's.

Third Round Picks - Clint Barmes, SS & Brian Fuentes, CL

With my trade during the Winter Meetings, I have 2 picks for the 3 rounds. Both of my third round picks turned out to be Rockies.
My first pick of the third round was Clint Barmes, the young shortstop. Most of the top shortstops were already under contract so the pickings were slim. Lugo and Eckstein went ahead and most of the rest were promising but injury prone (Bobby Crosby and Khalil Greene) or fading (Omar Vizquel). Barmes has the chance to become a stud, especially in Coors Field with all the good hitting around him. He should get a contract to start the season.
Closers were going fast and furious with very few guys left that were going into the season as their team's undisputed closer. Tom Gordon and Brian Fuentes were the top two on my list. Fuentes has better stats but plays in a terrible park for a so-so club while Gordon will get plenty of oppurtunties with the Phillies. In this case I am glad Flash went to the Heat. He isn't getting younger while Fuentes could be closing for years to come.