Prospect Draft on a Lazy Sunday

Francisco Lindor

True confessions time…I did not anticipate posting a Lazy Sunday today. Without going into too much detail, I’m in the midst of the craziest travel month of my life, one that sees me waking up on this Lazy Sunday from the (almost) Highlands of Scotland, in beautiful Stirling. If that city name sounds familiar, it’s because it’s the site of the famous (or infamous if you’re English, I suppose) Stirling Bridge, the site of William Wallace’s first major victory over English forces in his war for Scottish independence. It was portrayed (inaccurately of course) in the movie Braveheart, in which they somehow omitted the bridge entirely, but that’s a story for another day. Anyway, with an insane international travel schedule that will have me in every corner of her Majesty’s United Kingdom for a week and a half, I didn’t really think I’d have a chance to put up an article this week. And with the Winter Meetings full of sound and fury but ultimately signifying nothing, there wasn't a lot of actual Tribe news this week. No, I don't count being "linked" to a free agent real news. But we were all bailed out by a brilliant idea from esteemed colleague Adam Van Arsdale, formerly of LetsGoTribe.com.

Adam e-mailed me early this week with an idea; the two of us would have a “draft” consisting solely of Indians prospects, assembling our own 25-man rosters out of the organization. No MLB experience allowed (sorry Cody Allen). We conducted the draft this past week over e-mail, and I had more fun with this than any human being really should have. I built a draft board. I went to a war room to call in picks. I called the picks in to my own desk at work and then listened to the voice mails. I started designing uniforms for my fake team. OK, I didn’t really go quite that far, but I really did have a blast with this process, and I’m extremely grateful that Adam was smart and creative enough to come up with it, because I never would have. Please let us know in the comments what you think of the premise, and feel free to break down our teams and offer up your opinion as to who’s squad would win a 7 game series and who’s would be better over the course of 162 games. For the purposes of the article, we’ll pick up our e-mail chain right after I graciously offered Adam the choice between picking first or taking picks 2/3…

Adam Van Arsdale (AVA)

I think the 2nd and 3rd pick are more interesting...but for simplicity, I'll go first.

#1) Francisco Lindor - The Tribe's consensus top pick, a potential blue-chip shortstop, is an easy choice to start off my squad.

AL (AL)

That sound you hear is my heart breaking at the thought of not having Francisco Lindor on my fictional Indians prospect team. That's how much I love him. Anyway, moving on to the #2 and #3 picks...

The Office of the Fake Commissioner is proud to announce that Al selects RHPs Danny Salazar and Mitch Brown. While not the #2/3 prospects in the organization, the Indians lack of quality SP depth in the minors causes me to try and lock down two of the better arms right off the bat to anchor my rotation. Salazar was outstanding last year for AA Akron, helping the Aeros win the Eastern League championship. Brown is young and has no experience outside of the complex leagues, but he's an advanced HS arm with a deep arsenal and a chance to move quickly through the system (think a very poor man's Dylan Bundy). While I considered taking a bat with at least one of these picks, the lack of SP depth caused me to double-dip and snatch the top two arms on my board. And yes, I have a draft board...I'm almost embarrassed about how much time I've spent on this fictional draft already and we're barely out of the 1st round.

Ronny Rodriguez

AVA

Those were the top two pitchers off my not quite fully existent draft board...

(A quick rule update...in filling out the rosters, a player can be assigned any position in the field that he spent time at in the previous two seasons, but you can't assign him to a new position. In other words, even though I am about to select Paulino, who I might like to put at 3B, since he has only logged time in the field at SS as a pro, it is either SS or DH for him.)

With my top two pitcher choices off the table, I think I'm going to have to go heavy for offense with picks 4 and 5.

#4) Dorssys Paulino - He is probably not going to be a SS in the long run, but he has only logged time there in his career so far, so I'm taking him strictly for his bat and putting him at DH (also to prevent you from grabbing him).

#5) Ronny Rodriguez - Make it 3 for 3 for me and shortstops. But in Ronny's case, he logged 45 games at 2B last year, so he is my double play partner with Lindor for now.

AL

Aaaaah! My strategy was just blown out of the water. After you took Lindor at 1-1, I was positive that I could get at least one of those two. Time to completely readjust my board. You know what they say, no battle plan ever survives the first contact with the enemy.

Our little exercise here has already made me realize one thing; there's a complete lack of power bats in the system right now. I wanted to use this pick on a middle of the order bopper, but I can't really think of one. So instead I'm going with a high-ceiling, high-risk outfielder...that's right, it's #WASHTIME!

#WASHTIME

#6 pick: Washington, LeVon-OF

If he's healthy, it's a steal. If not, I just wasted a really good pick. Washington has as much upside as anyone in the system, save possibly Lindor. He’s the fastest player in the system and has more than just gap power. The issue with Wash is health of course, as he’s been unable to play more than 79 games in a season so far in his brief career.

And now to make sure that there's someone to move Washington around the bases, I'm going to select the guy with the prettiest swing in the organization not named Chisenhall.

#7 pick: Smith, Jordan-OF

I'm not sure how I'm going to fit both of these guys in the same OF, as Washington's arm is Sizemore-esque and Smith is more of a DH than an OF, but we'll burn that bridge when we get there.

AVA

I think Washtime could be a good pick. I'll be interested to see how Smith does this season. You are certainly right about the total deficit of power across the system, as well. I'm optimistic there will be more power in Lake County this coming season, but it is likely to take a while to trickle up the system.

I don't want you to pull too far ahead of me on the pitching front, but...I'll instead go with:

#8 - OF: Tyler Naquin - I was underwhelmed by his 2012 performance, but scouts still seem high on his long-term hit ability. Couple that with passable defense and a strong arm at any of the three OF positions, and I've got another up-the-middle roster spot taken. 

#9 - CF: Luigi Rodriguez - Once again I have selected two guys that play (or can play) the same position. Rodriguez has approach issues to work on at the plate, but showed improvements last year as a teenager in Lake County while flashing interesting power/speed numbers. If Naquin and Rodriguez both pan out, Naquin has the arm to be a satisfactory corner OFer on the defensive side, and hopefully enough of a hit tool to be average at the plate. Rodriguez, meanwhile, could be a nice top of the order, CFer down the road.

Your move...

AL

You're killing me. I was debating on selecting one of those two, and ultimately decided that I'd wait and take whichever one you didn't. Now I'm regretting the Smith pick. Very few balls are going to touch the grass in your OF, especially with Naquin in RF. So now that you've gone and done that, I'm coming right back at you and taking the top lefthanded starter off the board with my first pick.

T.J. House

Pick #10: T.J. House, LHP

House was nails down the stretch for Akron, and the Indians clearly value him ahead of other guys in the org as evidenced by his inclusion on the 40-man roster this offseason. He's an athletic strike thrower who has the ability to pitch deep into games, and really took a big leap for me last year when he lost 25lbs in the offseason and started throwing from his old 3/4 delivery.

With my next pick I'm going to reach a little bit to secure the best available bat in the system. I'm not sure where I'm going to play him in the field, but again, we'll worry about that later.

Pick #11: Jorge Martinez-3B/DH

Martinez posted a .957 OPS in the Arizona League as a 19-year old, and if not for the superstar profile that Dorssys Paulino flashed at an even younger age, would be getting a lot more publicity right now. Well, that and the fact he plays 3B like he's wearing a frying pan on his left hand instead of a glove.

AVA

I was having the same debate...but then I decided I liked both of them to a greater degree that I could settle on a pitching choice.

But at #12 and #13 I'll go with....

#12 - Dylan Baker

#13 - Kieran Lovegrove

These are choices grounded in optimism. Optimism that some of our newest pitching acquisitions (Baker, 5th round, 2012 draft; Lovegrove, 3rd round, 2012 draft) will have better luck than some of our older pitching prospects. Lovegrove and Baker both got some attention from scouts during their short-season debuts and both flashed potential in brief stints. I am hoping they find their way to Lake County to start the 2013 season and rack up Ks while keeping runners off base for the Captains. Not an inspiring #1 and #2 pitcher for my squad, but it is what it is.

AL

Well done. More upside than current production, but that's what this is all about. I'm going to stick with offense here, and use picks #14 and 15 on Jesus Aguilar and Tim Fedroff. The fact that Aguilar has lasted this long tells you everything you need to know about how we feel about him; his power is more BP than in-game at this stage of his career. He can really turn around a fastball, as he had a few hits off of uber-prospect Dylan Bundy last year to include one in the futures game. But he struggles to recognize and hit offspeed stuff and there are real questions about how he'll hit at the next level. But considering he'll be hitting off of inexperienced guys like Lovegrove and Baker, I'm a little more comfortable with the selection :)

Fedroff is the grizzled old vet of my group, and while he doesn't offer the dazzling potential of a Paulino or Washington, he's a steady producer who you can count on to put the bat on the ball and get on base consistently, and he can play all three OF positions if I need him to.

Dillon Howard

AVA

Hmm...I think I am going to stick with the pitching upside candidates.

I'll go:

#16 - Elvis Araujo. He underperformed last season in Lake County, but 6'6" lefties do not grow on trees, and I am willing to give him something of a pass as a developmental year. Despite his struggles at times, I like that he kept the ball in the park.

#17 - Dillon Howard. Speaking of giving a prospect a pass, Dillon Howard was dreadful in his pro debut last season. This, after having been highly touted and paid above slot money in the 2011 draft. Scouting reports were nearly as bad as the actual result, with reports on his velocity being way down. I am hoping for something of a rebound in his second full pro season, given the potential that was recognized by many others not too long ago.

AL

I was really high on both of those guys prior to last season. Not sure what happened with Araujo, as I expected him to have a breakout season. Howard was even worse, and if that velo drop is permanent, it was a wasted pick by the Indians in the 2^nd round. That much of a drop though has to have an explanation, and hopefully one that can be fixed.

As far as my picks, I'm going to (finally) lock down the middle of my infield. Neither of these guys should have made it this long in the draft, and they only did because of our funky little 2-person league here, so I'm going to pull the trigger on Tony Wolters and Jose Ramirez with picks #17 and 18. Wolters will play SS for me and Ramirez will be at 2B, and I'm thrilled to get both of these guys. It's a step below your Lindor/Rodriguez middle infield, but I'm still pretty excited for my guys.

Eric Haase

AVA

The 2-person/25-man roster draft definitely has some quirks. I am going to follow your lead and move towards finishing my infield. 

#20 - Eric Haase, C: Yet another high-risk, (maybe) high reward pick from me. The Indians have been slow with Haase as a high school pick out of a Northern state, but scouts have been impressed with his plate approach and power potential. I would like to see him start the year in Lake County and get into real action this season.

#21 - Giovanny Urshela, 3B: Scouts seem to universally praise Urshela's defense and universally believe his plate approach is going to be brutally exploited at the AA level by better breaking stuff. I like the idea of a strong defense corner infielder and was impressed by his second half adjustments in pitching-friendly Carolina last year. He actually put up equivalent power numbers to Aguilar in the same environment.

AL

Ok, my heart is officially broken. Haase is one of my favorite players in the org, and I was counting on stealing him in one of the later rounds. I fell in love with him during spring training last year watching him smoke balls off the RF fence with a simple, compact swing that generated more opposite field power than I thought possible out of a kid his size. Really, really, really excited about this kid. I love catchers regardless, but his offense/defense profile has me drooling. Let's move on before he decides to take a restraining order out on me.

I knew you'd take Urshela. Love the glove, cautiously optimistic on the bat after (as you said) last year's improvement in a pitcher-friendly environment.

With the 22nd pick, I'm going to try and steal another guy you like and select OF Carlos Moncrief. Love the power/speed combo and the cannon throwing arm in RF, and he's another guy that can play all three OF positions.

With #23, I'm going to take a guy expressly to counter your team and select catcher Roberto Perez. You've got a ton of speed on your roster, and I need a guy who can shut down your running game. Plus I'm getting sick of losing my favorite guys to you, and want to ensure I get my boy 'Berto. His offensive profile is below-average, but he can take a walk and his defense makes up for the offensive shortcomings. He may never be a starter in the show, but he’s got a chance to have a long career as a defense-oriented backup.

AVA

Argh....Carlos Moncrief is my Eric Haase. I recognize he's got significant holes that stack the odds against him....but I love his tools. I was hoping to take him as my RF. Ok...calming my nerves. I am going to go with the following:

Austin Adams

#24: Austin Adams, RHP - Following a minor breakout season in 2011, in which Adams transitioned into a full-time starter and struck out nearly a batter an inning (with the help of a mid-90s fastball), Adams 2012 season was derailed by a shoulder impingement that required surgery. That is obviously not a good sign for a converted starting pitcher, but I am willing to make the gamble on the strength of his raw stuff as a 5th starter or potential bullpen role.

#25: Anthony Santander, OF - My team is going to need a Spanish-speaking coach (and possibly a high school guidance counselor) given the heavy dose of young, international free agents I am filling the roster with. Santander was not an unknown coming out of Venezuela, having signed a six-figure bonus, but nevertheless he showed better potential than scouts anticipated last year with the Indians Arizona rookie-league squad. As a 17-year old, Santander's .305/.381/.494 batting line revealed a potentially strong set of fundamentals. It will be interesting to see how much the Indians challenge Santander with their placement this coming season and whether he is able to continue his 2012 caliber of play.

AL

Ha! I'd be lying if I said I didn't do that on purpose. What are the rules for post-draft trading? I'll give you Moncrief and a PTBNL for Haase.

Like them both. Adams can always play SS for you in a pinch, if all of your 15 shortstops get hurt (still bitter). The only thing that scares me about him is that it was a shoulder, not an elbow, and shoulders are much more difficult to come back from (I know from experience). Santander was another guy I really wanted, love his potential and approach as a 17 year old.

I'm going to make another move to shore up my rotation here first and use the #26 pick to select lefty T.J. McFarland* with the 26th pick. Another guy who pounds the strike zone and does a nice job keeping the ball on the ground and in the ballpark, he had a solid year at AAA Columbus and was (for me) a surprise non-add to the 40-man roster. If anyone gets selected in the Rule 5 draft from the Indians, I think it's McFarland.

*Edit: McFarland was in fact selected by the Orioles in the Rule 5 Draft earlier this week. There's still a chance he's returned to the Indians at some point this year though, so for now I'm going to keep him on my squad.

With pick #27, I'm going to take 1B/C Chun Chen. His HR power fell off last year, but he hit plenty of doubles and gets on base. As catchers go, he's a decent first baseman, but that's why I have Roberto 

Perez. Chen can DH or play 1B to give Aguilar a rest, and it gets another bat in my lineup.

Bryce Stowell

AVA

Ooh...this seems to be getting personal. And I don't seem to have a 1B. Much like the real organization, first base will just have to wait.

#28: CC Lee, RHP - Another pitcher coming off an injury, Lee has averaged 11Ks per 9 innings throughout his minor league career. Once healthy, I imagine it will take little time for him to find his way into Cleveland's bullpen rotation, particularly if part of Cleveland's backend gets traded this off-season.

#29: Bryce Stowell, RHP - Stowell has been less consistent than CC Lee, but has put up even bigger strikeout numbers. Coming back from injury last season, Stowell struck out 44 batters in just 29 innings for Akron, giving him the highest K-rate of any pitcher in the organization.

AL

I wonder if the Indians haven't picked up a legit 1B/LF prospect because they assume that's easy to do, and they've concentrated on up the middle talent which is traditionally more difficult to procure. They have a nice stable of MI, CF and C, but not much in the corners. Anyway, I digress.

You and I think very much alike. Those are my two favorite relievers in the system, but with the position being as deep as it is I was willing to wait. Now that you've broken the seal now though, allow me to select RP Shawn Armstrong with pick #30. Armstrong impressed across three levels last year, posting a 1.55 ERA in 67 2/3 IP with 78 K. I'll be happy to call him my closer.

Jordan Cooper

Pick #31 is another personal fav, a guy I might be higher on than some. Jordan Cooper, RHP out of Wichita State. He went 9-7 with a 3.54 ERA for Carolina last year, and he's my sleeper pick for breakout player of the year in the system in 2013. Again, probably higher than he is on your board, but he's one of those guys I'd really kick myself for if I missed out on him.

AVA

I'm glad to hear you are high on Cooper. We could use a few more pitching prospects. I feel it is getting unfair of me to go on without someone at 1B. And yet...I don't like my options.

So I will go:

#32: Alex Monsalve, C - Monsalve has nice size and showed progress in 2012 both behind the plate (21>26 CS%, 20>10 PB) and at the plate. He has done well in the AFL this off-season, hopefully setting him up for something of a real breakout in 2013. As it stands, he'll be my backup catcher.

#33: D'Vone McClure, OF - You took my other toolsy OF choice, so I'll take 2012 draftee McClure to serve as my 4th OF. I imagine he won't see action till Mahoning Valley gets started, but he could be interesting to follow late in the summer.

AL

I'm irrationally low on Monsalve. I just don't see what some people see on him, especially Jonathan Mayo who consistently ranks him in the top-10 in the organization. He's too lackadaisical behind the plate for my taste, and I admit that is a personal bias. Love McClure though, and he was definitely a target of mine.

Continuing to build my bullpen, I'm going to take righty Tyler Sturdevant with pick #34, and lefty Eric Berger with pick #35. Sturdevant came back healthy last season to finish at AAA, and his cutter is a legit strikeout pitch. There are several relievers in the system I like more than Berger, but he has the distinct advantage of being able to deliver a baseball with his left hand. None of the other relievers I like are able to do that, so in order to play a matchup game that Mike Hargarove would love, I'm going to need at least one southpaw in the pen.

Trey Haley

AVA

I was hoping to nab Berger for the back of my pen/swing-starter later in the draft. I would like to see him in Cleveland this year to see what he can do.

#36 - Robel Garcia, MI - Continuing my trend of stockpiling young, international middle infielders, I'll go with Garcia, despite his terrible 2012 campaign. After mashing the ball in the AZL in 2011, Garcia was outmatched throughout the entire season in Lake County. The placement was aggressive, though, and I'm hoping for a rebound in 2013. 

#37 - Trey Haley, RHP - It is hard to know what to make of Haley given his inconsistency, injuries, periodic dreadfulness and impressive raw stuff. Last season he finally seemed to be putting some of it together, though, with 49Ks in 38 innings. And he is still just 22.

AL

If I didn't take Berger, I was going to take Haley. The lefty thing trumped the 100 MPH fastball thing, but barely.

#38 - Tyler Holt, OF - Another guy with the defensive chops to play CF, and a burner off the bench. He stole 29 bases last year and posted a .340 OBP. He's a hard worker and had a solid AFL campaign as well.

#39 - Alex Lavisky, C - With Roberto Perez as my starter, I need a hitter as my backup C. Lavisky has prodigious power, but it hasn't shown up in game situations yet because he simply strikes out too much. The raw tools are there for him to be an impact catcher on both sides of the dish, but his hit tool needs to take a big step forward for that to happen. Still, I like the tools and the intangibles, and I plan on hiring Dave Wallace as part of my coaching staff to help him along.

AVA

You are not kidding about the lack of left-handers.

#40 - Giovanni Soto, LHP - Soto will serve the long-man relief/6th starter role for me. Soto's numbers coming back from injury last season were not great, and his raw stuff is not equivalent to some others, but he has had success.

#41 - Matt Packer, LHP - Packer probably bumps Adams out of my rotation and occupies the 5th starter spot. Again, the raw stuff, particularly his fastball, raises doubts. Thus far he has found success by utilizing his changeup against weak competition. This season should be a good test for him. His control gives him the potential to turn into something Tomlin-esque, though.

Justin Toole

AL

I see Soto as a future Raffy Perez. They even look physically similar. The velo just isn't there to consistently miss bats in the show, but I think he can be a two-pitch guy out of the bullpen. Packer never walks anyone and keeps the ball in the ballpark. What's not to like?

#42 - Grant Sides, RP - 2.22 ERA, 75 K and 34 BB in 65 IP between Lake County and Carolina. Allowed just one home run. Yes please.

#43 - Justin Toole, 1B/2B/3B/SS/C/LF/CF/RF/RP - He's a high-character, high-effort guy who's great in the clubhouse and can play any position on the field. Literally, any position on the field. I could not in good conscience field a team without Justin Toole on it. Plus, he won the Bob Feller Award as the top prep pitcher in the state of Iowa. Bob Feller!

AVA

If he hadn't gotten a few ABs in Cleveland last year, I go with yet another SS, Juan Diaz. Instead...

#44 - Claudio Bautista, MI - How can I not select still one more young, Latin, middle-infielder. I actually know very little about Bautista, except that he was 18 all of last season, showed decent fundamentals at the plate, good speed, surprised with 6 HRs. I'll be interested where he gets placed in 2013.

#45 - Mason Radeke, RHP - Another guy who can serve as a bullpen/rotation swing pitcher, Radeke had a sneakily good 2012. In 115 innings (split between 13 starts and 18 relief outings), Radeke struck out 119 batters and had a 4.5:1 K/BB ratio. His hit rate (7.5/9IP) is unlikely to be sustainable, but I expect to hear a bit more about Radeke this season.

Cole Cook

AL

Yeah, I would have taken Diaz off the board by now as well. I don't know much about Bautista either, but I also love Radeke. Specifically, I love Radeke's strikeout ratio.

#46 - Yan Gomes, 1B/C - I'm taking the best remaining bat available (as far as I can tell) with no worry about position because I have Toole Time to play wherever, whenever. Gomes has a career .828 OPS in the minors, and although that was slightly inflated by his Las Vegas numbers last year it's still pretty solid. This also means I'm going with an 11-man pitching staff.

#47 - Cole Cook, RP/SP - Since I am going with the 11 man staff, I need a reliever who can be stretched out if necessary, and that guy is going to be Cook. One of the more entertaining follows on Twitter in the system, Cook had a quietly solid campaign in 2012, posting a 2.64 ERA with 64 K and 26 BB in 78 1/3 IP between four levels, including 12 scoreless innings in AAA.

AVA

I probably should have drafted Gomes earlier to be my first baseman. Oh well. Instead I'll go with:

#48 - Lars Anderson, 1B - It came down to a choice between Adam Abraham and Anderson for this pick. Abraham is the organizational soldier, and though half a year older, has more than 1000 fewer plate appearances in the minors. He is also more versatile and on a better trajectory. But I'll go with Anderson, his pedigree, and his solid fundamentals. Not a great sign that I'm picking my starting 1B 48th in the draft.

#49 - Loek Van Mil, RHP - Guilty pleasure territory here. There are better arms available, but no bigger arms. Van Mil's performance as a 7'1" reclamation project last year was eye-opening. If the Indians can get consistency out of him, he is a real weapon given his size and the different perspective he forces hitters to confront.

.AL

I can't believe you didn't use his full name. Ludovicus Jacobus Maria Van Mil. I spell the whole thing out in all of my articles, simply because I want my broadcaster to have to call him by his full name when he comes lumbering in from the bullpen. I can just imagine the look on a hitters face when Zydrunas Illgauskus comes in to face him in the 8th inning of a game...priceless.

Options abound here to fill my final bullpen slot, which shows you just how much bullpen depth there is in the system and why you should always trade RP at their peak value. I considered Fabio Martinez, because he throws high-90's heat and his name is almost as cool as Ludovicus Jacobus Maria Van Mil. Thought about Bryan Price and Jeff Johnson, but ultimately narrowed my choice down to either Cody Anderson or Rob Bryson. Drumroll please....

Rob Bryson

#50 - Rob Bryson, RP - He's another guy I like more than most, because I think his control problems last year were an abberation. It jumped more than 2 walks per 9, and I think he has some of the best raw stuff in the system with his fastball/slider combo so if he can start pitching in the strike zone again, this is a solid selection. If he keeps walking more than 5/9, then I wasted my last pick.

Wait, last pick? Hang on just a second, this team needs a manager!

#51 - Dave Wallace, Carolina - Although former Marlins skipper Edwin Rodriguez is tempting, I have too many catchers on my squad not to take Wallace. He's a high-energy, entertaining guy who's fun to listen to in the dugout, and the highlight of my spring training trip is always getting to talk to Wallace about the catchers in the system. Plus, Mudcats radio guy Darren Headrick comes as a package deal, and I very much enjoy his work as well. Headrick is a first-class guy who treats me right every time I see the Mudcats play, even if he is an SEC football fan.

Tony Wolters

So here's my final squad:

1.      Washington-CF*

2.      Wolters-SS*

3.      Chen-DH

4.      Aguilar-1B

5.      Smith-RF*

6.      Martinez-3B

7.      Fedroff-LF*

8.      Ramirez-2B

9.      Perez-C

BN: Moncrief*

BN: Holt

BN: Lavisky

BN: Toole

BN:  Gomes

1.      Salazar

2.      Brown

3.      House

4.      McFarland

5.      Cooper

CL: Armstrong

SU: Berger

SU: Sturdevant

SU: Sides

SU: Bryson

LR: Cook

Manager: Wallace

I'll probably have Moncrief start in RF against some righties, sliding Smith to DH. I have too many C/1B types, and would need to make a move if one of my infielders went down. Other than that, I'm pretty happy with my squad.

AVA

Luigi Rodriguez

So here's my final squad:

1.      L. Rodriguez-CF(s)

2.      D. Paulino -DH

3.      F. Lindor-SS(s)

4.      R. Rodriguez -2B

5.      T. Naquin -RF*

6.      G. Urshela -3B

7.      L. Anderson -1B*

8.      A. Santander-LF(s)

9.      E. Haase -C

4OF: D. McClure

BC: A. Monsalve

UI: R. Garcia

UI: C. Bautista

1.      D. Baker

2.      K. Lovegrove

3.      E. Araujo

4.      D. Howard

5.      M. Packer

6.    A. Adams

CL: C.C. Lee

SU: B. Stowell

SU: T. Haley

SU: M. Radeke

SU:  L. Van Mil

LR: G. Soto

Manager: Albert Belle (that’s right)

My squad is absurdly young. If you leave out the relief pitchers, the average playing age for 2012 was 19. Only Lars Anderson played last season at an official age over 20. That might be hopeful, but it probably is not a great sign.

AL

So there you have it, folks. That’s easily the most enjoyable “article” I’ve ever written, and I hope it was half as much fun to read as it was for me to write. Big thanks again to Adam for not only participating, but for coming up with the idea in the first place. Let us know in the comments below what you think of our squads. Where did we reach for guys? What picks were the best? Or if you don’t already, click below to follow Adam and myself on Twitter and berate us on there instead. 


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