Mocking the Draft

Shelby says, "Rox Rule!"

Deals may still go down in the next couple days but I wanted to get this
out. So everyone is aware, the draft will be through the site like last
year and is scheduled to start on Monday at 6am. Each team has an unlimited
amount of time to pick but as usual let's keep it moving. We tend to do
that well though so it's not really a concern. You'll get an email through
the site when your pick is up.

Without further adieu, here is the 2010 Woco mock draft.

*Round 1*

1.) The H Tree - *Steven Strasburg, SP, WAS* – Duh. Some say Strasburg is
the best SP prospect to come out in the draft in nearly 30 years. Even Kyle
Pinkerton & AC Slater couldn’t screw this one up. Barring injury this
should be a terrific add for the Trees in their rebuilding process.



2.) Snapdragons - *Dustin Ackley, 2B/OF, SEA* – The order of #2-4 might be
wrong but the players will likely be correct. Ackley was the top bat
available in the 2009 draft. His power upside is limited but his bat is
advanced enough that he should be MLB ready soon. If he can stick at 2B
he’s got loads of potential.



3.) Snapdragons - *Starlin Castro, SS/2B, CHI-N* – A new darling prospect,
Castro seemingly came out of nowhere to appear quite high on many top
prospect lists. The most common MLB comp given is Edgar Renteria who was a
good fantasy SS in his prime and an outcome the Snappers would be happy
with. Erick Aybar isn’t exactly a player you guarantee a position to long
term.



4.) Snapdragons - *Adolis Chapman, SP, CIN* – Chuck is all about motivating
his players and that’s why he goes Chapman at #4. Largely viewed as the #2
choice behind Strasburg with his blazing 100mph fastball, Chuck will let
Chapman know he’s still got work to do by letting him slip to #4. Will the
motivation work or backfire on the sensitive Cuban?



5.) The H Tree - *Tyler Matzek, SP, COL* – Here’s where things begin to get
interesting. The Trees could go a number of different ways here after
getting Strasburg at #1. Top pitching is hard to come by though so Matzek
is getting tabbed here. The most polished high school arm of the 2009
draft, Matzek has a chance to move quickly. Yes, he would pitch in Colorado
but Udalbo Jiminez proved last year that great pitchers can succeed there.



6.) Rockbusters - *Ryan Westmoreland, OF, BOS* – Many question the method
behind the madness that is John Stevenson Breig but despite those questions
he has done a fine job of getting his team back to where it was before
getting T-Bagged in the offseason whose name cannot be said. Even though
the Rockbusters just acquired Dom Brown, upside is the word here and
Westmoreland has the most of any bat available.



7.) The H Tree - *Mike Leake, SP, CIN* – The Trees continue their effort to
build a staff by going with the polished college arm of Leake. His upside
is considered to be somewhat limited but he shouldn’t need much time in the
minors and #2-3 MLB starters do have good value in this league.



8.) Rockbusters - *Shelby Miller, SP, STL* – Call it a hunch but Miller
seems like a good bet here. The ‘Busters could use help at 3B and SS but
love the upside of Miller and don’t want to risk him not making it to #13
with the Satanists and DLB lurking.



9.) Elephant Balls - *Brad Penny, SP, STL* – If George is anything it’s
consistent. He makes use of the supplemental draft to help fill needs on
his active roster. Penny is arguably the best SP available and is in St
Louis where Cards pitching coach Dave Duncan has turned around the careers
of many has been starters like Loshe, Pinerio and Jeff Weaver.



10.) Bashful Satanists - *Josh Bell, 3B, BAL* – The move of Brett Wallace to
1B on a permanent basis threw a wrench in the Satanists plans and they look
to fill that gap with Bell. Miguel Tejada is only keeping 3B warm for him
in Baltimore and Bell should be ready to take over the everyday job by 2011
if not sooner.



11.) Daddy's Little Boys - *Kyle Gibson, SP, MIN* – Most active offseason
goes hands down to the DLB. A lot of pitching depth was traded away so
they’ll take a chance on Gibson here. Once considered a sure fire top 10
pick, Gibson got injured last season and fell to the bottom of the 1st
round.



12.) Limerick Lynchmob - *Jason Castro, C, HOU* – Closer is a need but this
is too early for Dotel. Soto is coming off a down year that have some
questioning if 2008 was a mirage and Castro is doing his best to win the
starting job with the Astros this year. The former 1st round pick gives the
Lynchmob some good insurance at a tough position to fill should Soto again
falter.



13.) Rockbusters - *Dee Gordon, SS, LAD* – Phew. Breig gets his man here
and nabs the heir apparent at SS for the Dodgers. Tom’s son is close to MLB
ready and could get time in L.A. this year if Furcal continues to fall off
the proverbial cliff. Adding Gordon also lessens the need for Andrus to
develop into a top fantasy SS which many believe is not possible.



14.) Rockbusters – *Jacob Turner, SP, DET* – The high school arm with the
highest upside in the 2009 draft goes at #14. With so many pitching
prospects, Breig has the luxury of taking this chance here with all the SP
prospect depth he has accumulated. Turner sports an electric fastball but
little else at this time. He’ll need to develop his other pitches to be an
impact major leaguer, but if he does, watch out.





*Round 2*

15.) Norris Slum Lords - *Tony Sanchez, C, PIT* – The Lords have set
themselves up well to compete this season and now look to rebuild a below
average minor league system. Sanchez was the #4 pick in the 2009 draft and
should move quickly through the minors. Kurt Suzuki is a passable starter
but Sanchez offers upside that Suzuki doesn’t possess.



16.) Daddy's Little Boys - *Drew Storen, RP, WAS* – Even with the trade for
Street, the DLB closer situation is a mess. Lidge (injury), Francisco
(Feliz) and Capps (Storen) all carry risks. While the idea of carrying 5
relievers is gut wrenching, grabbing Storen will provide coverage should
Capps lose the job or get traded.



17.) Snapdragons - *Tanner Scheppers, SP, TEX* – The Snappers are happy to
get an arm the quality of Scheppers here. His unorthodox throwing motion
scares some who think he’s going to throw his arm off sooner or later but
still, there’s no denying his stuff. It remains to be seen if he ends up as
a starter or in the pen but for his upside the Snappers will take the risk.



18.) Brooklyn Blunted B – *Aaron Crow, SP, KC* – The Blunted want to rebuild
their dismal farm system and Crow is a good place to start. After not
signing in 2008 he pitched very little in 2009 before going to the Royals. The
ability to be a quality MLB starter is there once he gets his feet back
under him and it’s not like he’s being blocked at the major league
level. They’re
trying out Kyle Farnsworth at starter for goodness sake.



19.) Norris Slum Lords - *Kenshin Kawakami, SP, ATL* – At this point it’s
tough to pass on a solid MLB starter for a team looking to compete. Kawakami
doesn’t offer upside or a ton of K’s but he’ll put out solid outings and is
worth having for those 2-start weeks. With their line-up set and prospects
in place this seems like a logical move for the Lords.



20.) Rockbusters – *Ike Davis, 1B, NYM* – James Loney is a nice placeholder
but barring going on the juice he is not the long term answer at 1B for the
Rockbusters. Davis was a 1st round pick in 2008 who struggled out of the
gate but has slowly begun to put up some impressive numbers. Projected to
be up at some point in 2010 he’s a good low risk play for the Rockbusters
here.



21.) Daddy's Little Boys - *Zach Britton, SP, BAL *– As a sinkerballer,
Britton doesn’t offer huge upside due to low K rates but he’s close to MLB
ready and should be good enough to hold down a rotation spot. A good
sinkerballer can carve out a nice MLB career for himself, just ask Derrick
Lowe.



22.) Limerick Lynchmob – *Octavio Dotel, RP, PIT* – Jeff probably vomits in
his mouth as he makes this pick but it is one done out of necessity. The
Lynchmob have the pieces to compete and need to fill that RP2 spot after
losing Nathan. They could gamble that they pick the right Twins reliever
but that’s a big risk as Guerrier, Mijares, Neshek, Rauch & Crain all have
the potential to close out games. At least Dotel is guaranteed to get
opportunities. **

23.) Elephant Balls - Jeremy Guthrie, SP, BAL – The E-Balls stick with the plan and go for another MLB player in Guthrie. After solid campaigns in 2007 & 2008, Guthrie took a step back in 2009 and struggled to get it going. The fall off can partially be attributed to a tired arm after throwing a lot of innings for the US team in the World Baseball Classic. If Guthrie can find his old form he’ll be a useful depth arm again.

24.) Rockbusters - Josh Vitters, 3B, CHI – It’s no secret that Mat Gamel is a butcher at 3rd base and his eligibility there will only last so long. Vitters has as much offensive upside as any prospect. He almost always makes solid contact and drives the ball well. The downside is that he has Jeff Franceour syndrome and hasn’t met a pitch he doesn’t like. Vitters has 28 walks in 830 plate appearances. If he can improve this or prove to be an elite enough hitter to offset it then good things will surely come.

25.) Daddy's Little Boys - David Ortiz, DH, BOS – Call it nostalgia, call it pity, call it stupidity, call it whatever you want. The DLB have a soft spot for Papi who played on some great teams in the late 2000’s. A roll of the dice here that he can make an Andres Galaraga with the Rockies style comeback is questionable but the heart wants what it wants.

26.) Limerick Lynchmob – Sean Rodriguez, 2B, TB – With Richie Weeks yet to prove he can be a reliable fantasy option the Lynchmob need to get some depth at 2B. While some decent options are out there none offer the upside of Rodriguez who’s forcing his way into the Rays line-up by killing the ball in spring training. An added bonus is that Rodriguez can play SS and OF so chances are he’ll hit multi-position eligibility before too long.

27.) T-Baggers – Grant Green, SS, OAK – You’ve got to give the Baggers credit, they helped their OF deficiency, albeit in the short term only, without doing any damage to the core of their team. SS remains a need however as Rafael Furcal was a shell of his former self last year. With a poor group of MLB free agents Green is a good option here. He’s a good enough defender to stay at SS and a good enough hitter to not need much minor league time. His upside isn’t elite but he does project to a solid MLBer.

28.) Isotopes - Troy Glaus, 1B/3B, ATL – Yes, you’re reading this right, Troy Glaus is back. With question marks at 1B and 3B (Beltre is projected to score less points than Casey Blake and Mark DeRosa), it would behoove the ‘Topes to get some insurance. Glaus will give them a good two way insurance policy if he can remain healthy. Playing 1B for the Braves should limit the stress on his shoulder and he is only 33 and only 2 yrs removed from 27 hrs so the potential is certainly there to be a useful option again.