Thanks again to everyone for helping me to pick my fantasy baseball Keepers. As a reminder, I ended up keeping Hanley Ramirez, SS Florida Marlins, Carlos Lee, OF Houston Astros, and Russell Martin, C LA Dodgers. Now, with the official draft only a few days away, I need your help again.

I’ve got the #3 overall pick, and I’m having a hell of a time trying to decide. The problem is that we made a major change in the team structures this year, in that we went to pitching staffs rather than individual pitchers. It’s fun to mix things up, but this throws a monkey wrench in the otherwise predictable drafting tendencies of my league mates.

Here are the highlights of the league rules: 1) daily transactions, 2) you get points for all pitchers on a team each day, 3) you must start a player in every position, two pitching staffs and one utility batter, 4) elite pitching staffs score enough points to triple your best batter, while the average pitching staff is worth about double an average batter, 5) there are a total of 10 teams in the league, and 6) it’s head-to-head with two divisions.

OK. So, here’s where it gets tricky. Do I draft an elite pitching staff first or go for a top available batter (remember, most of the top bats were Keepers for other teams – we weren’t allowed to keep pitchers/staffs).

Here’s a list of the Top 5 Batters available, based on our league’s scoring projections:

1. Lance Berkman, 1B HOU – projected scoring 623
2. Alex Rios, OF TOR – projected scoring 587
3. Nick Markakis, OF BAL – projected scoring 567
4. Manny Ramirez, OF BOS – projected scoring 567
5. Derek Jeter, SS NYY – projected scoring 561

Here’s a list of the Top 5 Pitching Staffs, based on our league’s scoring projections:

1. New York Mets – projected scoring 1959
2. Boston Red Sox – projected scoring 1920
3. Chicago Cubs – projected scoring 1874
4. New York Yankees – projected scoring 1853
5. Arizona Diamondbacks – projected scoring 1826

My gut tells me to go with the best available batter first because the spread in point differentials between the top remaining players and ones in the middle is bigger than those in pitching staffs; however, I think there will be a run on pitching staffs starting at the #5 or #6 pick. My second pick isn’t until #18, and my third is #23. If I wait too long on a pitching staff, then I’m screwed!

The draft night is a ton of fun. You’ve got a bunch of dads heckling each other, laughing, smoking cigars and drinking Guinness. It doesn’t get much better.

Let me know what you think. I need your help with my first pick in the draft, which is this Friday. Please leave a comment with your thoughts. My team is in your hands!

*Note: A few people have asked why my team name is the “Coasties.” The first year I played fantasy baseball was the first year after I got out of the Coast Guard, so the name has stuck with me ever since for the past 16 years.

Related Posts:

Fantasy Baseball Fun Activity for Dads
Pick My Fantasy Baseball Keepers – Batters Only

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