BY ROB SHAW

Twitter: @RobShawSports

 

Bloomberg Sports Host Julie Alexandria is joined by Bloomberg Sports Analyst Rob Shaw to break down an expert’s fantasy baseball draft. The draft, which included fantasy experts from CBS, Yahoo!, and ESPN was a 28-round draft that consisted of additional positions such as Middle Infielder, Corner Infielder, and five outfielder positions.  Additionally, the league includes more advanced statistics such as OBP and slugging rather than the typical batting average.

 

Here’s a look at the first nine picks by Shaw:

1) Jose Bautista, Blue Jays

2) Roy Halladay, Phillies

3) Cliff Lee, Phillies

4) Eric Hosmer, Royals

5) Stephen Strasburg, Nationals

6) Adam Jones, Orioles

7) Howie Kendrick, Angels

8) Drew Stubbs, Reds

9) Derek Jeter, Yankees

 

Picking up with the 10th round pick, I drafted Josh Johnson, who similar to Stephen Strasburg has the ability to dominate on the hill, while also carrying serious health concerns.  Again, having both Halladay and Lee as durable aces on his staff allows for these high upside gambles.  The best case scenario would be incredible with Halladay, Lee, Strasburg, and Johnson all on the team. 

 

Speaking of gambles, in the 11th round I took a chance that Adam Dunn will bounce back from one of the worst all-time seasons in fantasy baseball.  Dunn has extra upside in this league as he is known for his high on base percentage as well as his slugging.  Immediately after the draft I even received two offers for Dunn.

 

In the 12th round I drafted Danny Espinosa.  There are concerns that he’s a free swinger who lacks consistency and will hit for a low average.  On the other hand, he has a great combination of power and speed for a middle infielder.  Plus, as a sophomore, it is rational to expect significant improvement this season. 

 

I opted for a steady option in the 13th round drafting Nick Markakis.  It is clear that his power will never materialize into 30-plus home runs, but he does reach base consistently and has some speed and pop too.  Considering all the risks I’ve taken, this is a pick I had

 

The 14th round was a disaster for me.  This league requires that we start two catchers and I thought Salvador Perez was a fine hitter with decent run production.  Alas, he is injured and is expected to miss the first few months of the season.  I will have to find an option off the waiver wire.  Josh Thole, though limited in power, may be the safe bet since he will start and does have a respectable OBP. 

 

I finally deployed by strategy to pick up closers in the later rounds with the selection of Sergio Santos.  The hard-thrower gets a ton of strikeouts and should pick up 30-plus saves in Toronto.  I followed with Joe Nathan in the following round.  He dominated late last season and should have plenty of save opportunities with the Rangers.

 

I picked up my second catcher in the following round with Chris Iannetta.  I see him as a potential Mike Napoli-type slugger who at best can slam 20 bombs with a .250 average.  He does offer a nice OBP, which is rare for a catcher.  Maybe he’ll even surprise me the way Napoli did last season on my fantasy team. 

 

I grabbed another power bat in the 18th round with Edwin Encarnacion.  He was tremendous in the second half of last season, seemingly changing his approach at the plate to become more of a patient hitter.  The Blue Jays likely won’t tolerate another one of his trademark slow starts, so hopefully, this is the year that he puts it all together. 

 

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