Anatomy of a Startup Draft
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by Lou Bloss

I received an invitation a couple months ago. The Cyberspace Baseball Association was forming with 24 teams and a month-long start-up draft. Pick your players, your stadium, and create your own team persona. The CBA web page (located at http://alize.ere.umontreal.ca/lamarrcl/CBA/) would feature your own team logo! What a deal! I replied, “Count me in!”

Since I was now in, I needed a plan. First, a team name and location: The Parma (Ohio) Flamingos. Parma is my hometown, located on the country’s North Coast near Lake Erie. Plastic pink flamingos are the dominant lawn and garden ornament in my hometown. I created my own logo for the web page, and even designed team uniforms with an offer to do the same for anyone else in the league. I was asked to be a conference president. I accepted. I was really in. All I needed was my position in the draft order.

That came a couple days later. I picked 14 out of 24 in round one. In rounds two and three I pick 11th. Then 14th in round four and five, and so on through 33 rounds. I was picking in the middle of the pack throughout the draft. I needed to plan my strategy accordingly.

What I decided on was determined by the talent pool. There are few “super-star” players at 2B, SS, 3B and catcher. There are also precious few bona-fide leadoff hitters. So my first five rounds would focus on getting a second baseman, shortstop, leadoff centerfielder, third baseman and catcher in that order. Then I would fill the other nine positions (including DH) through the first nine rounds. Here’s how things went:

Round 1: My top-rated player was SS Alex Rodriguez, who became the first pick overall. No surprise there. When it was my turn, Roberto Alomar was available, so I nabbed him. I started with one of the three best secondbasemen in the major leagues. He can hit second or third, has great range and good speed. A great start.

Round 2: My preferred shortstop selections were taken in round 1 and the early part of round 2, so I decided to get a quality third baseman before they were all taken. Chipper Jones was my first preference, Ken Caminiti was my second, and they were both chosen before I picked. I went to my third choice, Vinnie Castilla of Colorado. He’s got a good glove and hit 40 home runs. But more importantly, his clutch average is .308. He will be my No. 5 hitter in the lineup.

Round 3: I need that leadoff hitter. Kenny Lofton was chosen in the first round, but Marquis Grissom is still available. He is my first choice this round and he is available. I pick him and pencil in Alomar behind him in the batting order. So far, so good.

Round 4: Quality catchers are going fast. Jason Kendall is still available, but I want to draft as many power hitters as possible before they are scattered throughout the league. I make Benito Santiago my selection this round. With decent defense and 30 home runs, I could do much worse. He will bat eighth.

Round 5: After looking over the available shortstops, I decided to wait to fill that position. Instead I will draft a first baseman next, then my outfield positions. Most of the shortstops should still be available three rounds from now. Jeff King is my choice. With another 30 home runs and 2e4 defense, I’ve got close to 150 home runs with my first five draft picks and nobody rated worse than 2 on defense.

Round 6: I need someone to be my No. 3 hitter. Paul O’Neill fits and is available. Right field is set defensively as O’Neill is rated 3e0(-3), has a .300+ batting average and 19 home runs. His .411 on base average will mean he will move runners along the basepaths. Next, I need a cleanup hitter.

Round 7: Greg Vaughn’s 41 home runs are waiting for me when I pick in round seven. I now have an average left fielder defensively and someone who will not be pitched around with Castilla’s 40 home runs following him in the order. If there is only one out or less when he bats, his clutch average won’t be a factor.

Round 8: Time to get that elusive shortstop. I was hoping Jay Bell would last another round so I could put his defense between Alomar and Castilla. Alas, he was nabbed in round seven. Of the remaining shortstops, they are in the 2e25 range with .250 averages and less than 10 home runs. One-year wonder Kevin Elster, however, is still available. Average defense (3e14), a .252 average and 24 home runs. I nab him and place him at the bottom of the order. All that’s left to get is my designated hitter.

Round 9: I’ve targeted four sluggers as possible designated hitters. Chili Davis, Cecil Fielder, Joe Carter and Ron Gant are the quartet. While Davis has the fewest home runs of the four, he has the highest batting average, best clutch hitting average and best walks-to-strikeouts ratio. He will bat sixth behind Castilla.

Round 10: I was initially set to pick my ballpark, but in round 9 four of my top 10 rated pitchers were drafted by other teams, so I decide I’d better set about getting my pitching staff together. In the next seven rounds I hope to get my five starters, setup and closer. That will fill 16 of my 25 major league roster spots.

I begin by getting Bob Tewksbury as my first starter. In 206 innings pitched, he gave up only 17 home runs. HR/9IP will be big factor in considering what pitchers I draft. I don’t want my edge in power to be nullified by a homer-happy pitching corps.

PROGRESS REPORT

I have my starting nine and my first starting pitcher selected. The lineup will look like this: Roberto Alomar (2b) leading off, followed by Marquis Grisson (cf), Paul O’Neill (rf), Greg Vaughn (lf), Vinny Castilla (3b), Chili Davis (DH), Jeff King (1b), Benito Sanitago (c) and Kevin Elster (ss). It’s a lineup heavy with right-handed hitters, with Alomar and Davis as switch hitters. O’Neill is the only lefty.

By waiting until round 10 to start drafting pitchers, I’ve surrendered any chances of drafting the top-flight pitchers. Smoltz, Maddux, Clemens, Appier and the like are all long gone. But I have a power-packed lineup, so all I need are pitchers who can keep me close and a solid closer to shut the door. I still need to build my pitching staff and fill in my bench.

With the regular position players picked, my next task is to fill out the starting rotation, the bullpen, the bench, non-roster prospects and the minor-league roster, in that order.

THE STARTING ROTATION

Tewksbury was taken with my round 10 pick. I’m looking for pitchers with close to 200 IP and who have an IP/HR allowed ratio of about 10-to-1. Most of the pitchers fitting that criteria allowed more hits than innings pitched, have ERAs hovering between 4.50 and 5.00, but have decent walk-to-strikeout ratios.

I’m able to get Terry Mulholland in round 11, and Scott Erickson in round 12. Both are close to what I am looking for. William VanLandingham is my round 13 pick, even though there are other pitchers with more than 200 IP. VanLandingham is young, so he can improve over his 1996 numbers, which were acceptable by last season’s yardstick.

I need a fifth arm, so Paul Wagner is selected in round 14. My starting five is set, until I learn that Wagner is injured and out for the rest of 1997. He will be useless to me next year, so I take Rheal Cormier in round 15 as insurance. Wagner will spend much of the year in the minor leagues, replacing pitchers who are injured during the year. Though they are an unspectacular lot, my starters should keep me in the ball game until I can turn it over to the bullpen.

THE BULLPEN

I aim for closers, setup and long relief, in that order. Jose Mesa’s fate is still up in the air at this time, so I pick John Franco as my left-handed closer. Word comes in over the Internet that evening that Mesa will be able to play in 1997, so he is my next choice. Now I have a lefty/righty closer combination.

Dan Plesac becomes my LH setup man, and Lee Smith is picked in round 19 to be my RH setup man. I noticed that Smith is closing for the Expos this year, so he may be possible trade bait for a team that needs a closer next year. Middle relief roles go the lefty Arthur Rhodes and righty Jeff Nelson. My bullpen is balanced with three southpaws and three righthanders.

THE BENCH

First priority off the bench is left-handed hitting. Cliff Floyd is my pick. He is young, shows some power and could become a star if he is traded from Florida. He is worth my 20th pick. Catchers are becoming sparse, so Charlie O’Brien is my next pick. He gives me some right-handed power off the bench. Youthful Tomas Perez (IF) and Kim Bartee (OF) are selected for their defense, switch-hitting abilities and potential. Veteran Luis Sojo’s (IF) glove can replace Elster at SS if he gets injured, though there will be a severe dropoff in offense in the No. 9 position if that happens. All the field positions are now covered with backups and bench players, and I have started my youth movement for the future, too.

PROSPECTS

I would really like a hot prospect at shortstop, if at all possible. Unfortunately, this late in the draft, it’s not. So I’m going to draft three pitchers and hope one or two break into the big leagues this year. I’m able to put together a youthful trio of Danny Graves, Dario Veras and Felix Heredia. Veras and Heredia started on major-league rosters this year, so they should be carded players next year. Graves, one of Cleveland 2's top prospects, could be called up after the All-Star break. In any case, they should be tradeable for draft picks or plugging holes that develop during the off-season.

THE TRADE

I’ve been in contact with several owners during the draft, talking trade, possible trade and commenting on trades (“Can you believe that one?”).

I’m asked if I’m interested in Charles Nagy. I am. Nagy would give me a young, bona-fide ace for several years. The other owner is interested in Mesa, VanLandingham, draft picks, or a combination of them. I offer Vanlandingham and my number one pick next year (which I hope will be close to last in the draft order) for Nagy and his No. 5 pick. He agrees, and the deal is done.

My rotation now is Nagy, Tewksbury, Mulholland, Erickson, with Cormier spot starting and helping in the bullpen as needed. Rhodes also can spot start. I feel this is a much more competitive rotation. Having Mulholland go up against guys like Glavine, Kile, Leiter and Andy Benes regularly wasn’t exactly ideal. Now he will go up gainst guys like Karl, Trachsel, Ritz and Chris Haney. Tewksbury should be fine in the No. 2 spot.

MINOR LEAGUERS

The first of the five minor league spots is occupied by Wagner. I’m going to go for pure potential here, with attention paid to the player’s position, so I nab Tony Graffinino (IF), John Marzano (c), Luis Andujar (P) and Dax Jones (OF). Andujar was something like my 12th option in round 33, but he could prove useful if he is needed to be called up during the season. The others are young guys who could either end up playing another year of AAA or break into the big leagues this year.

THE PROCESS

As I was making my draft choices, I kept a close eye on the daily stats and what others were writing about players as the season started, especially young starters.

Paul White’s analysis of young talent this year in the April 16-22 Baseball Weekly helped me find Veras and Graffinino. Checking Stats Inc. on the Internet helped me pick bench players and middle-relief artists. With the major league season starting while we were drafting, I was able to watch for young players making an early impression. The result is I think I made some wise choices for the future, given my position in the draft order, and am able to field a very competitive team.

Only time will determine the wisdom of my decisions. When I report next for November, you’ll learn how the Flamingos are doing, showing W-L, Pct, GB and also Dingers — guys having outstanding seasons — and Doinks — guys who should be bowling this year.

Gamers may contact Lou Bloss directly by e-mail at: BlossSF@aol.com