Pick 5.11 - 107th Overall

Garret Anderson - ANA OF
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/anderga01.shtml


And the hits just keep on a coming, this time in the form of Garret Anderson.  Thought I was gonna luck into Carlos Beltran, who I've had my eye on since the 2nd round, but he went a few picks ahead of me.  In the end, it may be a blessing.  Anderson matches up perfectly for me with Lance Berkman.  Both can play both LF and CF.  When Fat Elvis moves to CF in a couple years, I can just slot Anderson over to LF no problem.

Anderson is one of the more underrated hitters, in my estimation, in recent MLB history.  And 2000 marks the beginning of the best stretch of his career.  His four highest HR totals come between 2000 and 2003.  His only four seasons with over 100 RBI were the 2000-2003 seasons, years where he only missed 11 games combined.  He received MVP votes three times in his career - the 2001, 2002 and 2003 seasons.  Anderson led the AL in doubles in 2002 with 56.  He followed that up by leading the league in that category again in 2003 with 49.  He also won Silver Slugger awards in those two seasons.  Needless to say, this guy was raking at the beginning of the decade.  It always seemed the Angels were constantly trying to replace him.  Not sure why?  All this guy ever did for them was hit.

So my OF is set now with Berkman, Anderson and Green.  Add them to I-Rod and Helton and the lineup is shaping up to be monstrous.  Good thing because I've completely ignored pitching up to this point while everyone else has at least 2/3 of their rotation in place.  Gonna continue rolling with this strategy though as no SP knocks my socks off.  Gonna fill out the rotation with one year guys probably.

Pick 4.14 - 86th Overall

Shawn Green - LAD RF
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/greensh01.shtml


Continuing along the same strategy, waited for the best available hitter and selected Shawn Green.  Big run on pitchers at the beginning of the round let a guy like this slip to my benefit.  I mean, to each his own, and I know starting pitching is a valuable commodity, but why take guys like Robert Person or Jon Leiber ahead of some of the big name offensive players available is questionable in my book.  Oh well.  While Green may not be the sexiest pick available, you can't argue with his production over an extended period of time.

The year 2000 was about smack dab in the middle of Green's All-Star career.  It was also his first in Los Angelas after five years in Toronto.  In 1999, he had the best season of his career.  He had 45 2B, 42 HR, 20 SB, hit .309, was an All-Star, won a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger.  Signing with the Dodgers that off-season, a lot was expected of him in Chavez Ravine.  He didn't disappoint.  His first year in LA, he played in every game, knocked 44 2B, 24 HR and 24 SB.  Not quite his 1999 year, but not too shabby,  He was just getting started.

In 2001, Green smacked 49 homers, stole 20 bases and knocked in 125 runs.  He finished 6th in the MVP voting.  He followed that production up in 2002 by hitting 42 homers and finishing 5th in the MVP vote.  In both years, his OPS+ was 164 and his WAR was 6.9.  He'll slot nicely into the middle of the lineup for several years.

Pick 3.11 - 59th Overall

Lance Berkman - HOU OF
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/berkmla01.shtml
 
I've decided to adopt a strategy of ignoring pitching and selecting the best available hitters when it's my turn to pick.  Thankfully, a guy of Berkman's caliber slid to me in this spot.  I had eyes on him last round.  Basically drafting him at the beginning of his long, All-Star career (he played  34 games in 1999).  In 2000, he finished 6th in the rookie-of-the-year voting, behind a pretty good crop of youngsters like Rafael Furcal, Rick Ankiel (as a pitcher), Pat Burrell, Jay Payton and Mitch Melusky (from his own team no less?).  He followed his good start by finishing 5th in the NL MVP voting in 2001 and 3rd in 2002.  Not too shabby to kickoff a career.

Berkman is a guy who just rakes.  He retired with a career OPS of .943 (Helton was .953).  Three of his first seven season he finished with an OPS over 1.0.  He was also very versatile in the field, playing all three OF positions adeptly as well as 1B.  Big Puma finished in the top-5 in MVP voting four times, and finished 7th two other times.

I couldn't be happier with the way the first three rounds has went.  Three big bats, all of whom could have arguably went in the 1st round.  Will be looking to add to the offensive firepower in round four.

PICK 2.14 - 38th Overall

Ivan Rodriguez, TEX C
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/rodriiv01.shtml

A run on pitchers ensued in round two as 10 of the first 13 picks in the round were hurlers.  The only exceptions were big bats Miguel Tejada, Andruw Jones and Nomar Garciaparra.  While the thought of snagging a pitcher (Pettitte) crossed my mind, I decided to resist the temptation.  Instead, I selected a player I had on my short list in round one - Ivan Rodriguez.

While there were other bigger bats out there to snag, none come close to the positional advantage a guy like I-Rod brings to the table.  Offensively, he's the best catcher out there, with the exception of maybe Mike Piazza.  But throw in his defensive prowess and he's a no-brainer selection in this spot.  Coming off his MVP season in 1999, Rodriguez followed it up by hitting .347 with a 1.042 OPS in 91 games.  Both were high marks for him in his 21 year Hall of Fame career.  He continues with OPS numbers in the high 800s for the next four years.  Again, other players available at this spot can match his offensive numbers, but his defense, at a vital position, is what sets him apart.  He led the league in caught stealing percentage in both 2000 and 2001, then again in 2004 and 2005.  Opposing baserunners had little chance against him.  Of course, he only played in a limited amount of games in 2000 so I'll have to address his backup a little sooner than expected.  But since he hit equally well from both sides of the plate, I can target somebody who excels from one or the other.  Not worried about the catcher position at all.

With so many pitchers already gone, I may just wait to address the rotation and continue loading up on the offense.  Still several very good bats left to choose from.  With my pick coming a little sooner next round on the turnaround, I'm hoping at least one makes it to my pick.

PICK 1.11

Todd Helton, COL 1B
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/heltoto01.shtml


The top of the draft went pretty much as expected.  All the good pitchers (Pedro, Maddux, Unit, Mussina) and the big sluggers (ARod, Bonds, Sosa, ManRam) were taken.  I struggled over this pick quite a bit.  It's hard when you're drafting players and you know their future careers in advance.  So many good players were available at this spot.  Jeter went two picks ahead of me so that eliminated one player off my board.  My strategy coming in was to grab guys at the scarce positions (C, 2B, SS, 3B).  Jeff Kent and Chipper Jones were still available and I almost pulled the trigger on both of them.

In the end I couldn't overlook the absolute monstrous numbers Helton put up, not only in the year 2000, but for the next several years.  In 2000 he was an absolute beast.  Not sure how he finished a distant 5th in the MVP voting that year.  He led all of MLB with a .372 batting average, led in slugging at .698, and led with a 1.162 OPS.  His lowest OPS for the next five years was 1.006.  Lowest batting average during that span was .329.  Lowest OBP .429.  Although there are quite a few very good 1B in this draft, Helton just stood out, not only for his awesome 2000 but for his continued excellence.  I'll try to lockup a #1 starter in the next round, or target one of the scarce positions.

YEAR 2000 INAUGURAL MILLENNIUM LEAGUE DRAFT

A little background to begin.  The Millennium League is a simulation baseball league using Dynasty League Online Baseball as its platform.  Dynasty League Baseball is from the designers of the classic baseball board game Pursue the Pennant.  This is the inaugural year of the league.  There are 24 teams in the league from all across the United States, with one team being managed from the UK.  The kicking off point is the year 2000.  All players are eligible to be drafted.  Teams draft 30 players per squad and keep 20 from year-to-year.  Draft is serpentine.  The Baltimore Stouts draft in the 11th spot, meaning in odd number rounds they have the 11th pick, and in even number rounds they select 14th.  Drafting began on Tuesday, May 27, 2014.  I will recap the individual rounds here.  For complete draft results, please visit the league draft page.

ROUND 1 RECAP

#1 Pick Overall

Top of the draft went pretty much as expected.  First four picks go Alex Rodriguez, Randy Johnson, Barry Bonds and Pedro Martinez.  Hard to argue with any of those.  First "surprise" came with the 10th pick when the Pittsburgh Crawfords selected Bernie Williams.  Obviously Bernie Williams is an excellent player, but his 2000 was nothing special, and he only has a couple more "good" years left in him.  To each his own I guess.

Another head scratcher was Mark McGwire by the St. Louis Sliders with the 22nd selection.  Home team pick maybe?  McGwire played in only 89 games in 2000 (albeit with a 1.229 OPS), then another 97 in 2001 before retiring.

2000 NL MVP

The best picks in my estimation were Vlad Guerrero by the Atlanta Stonecutters at 15, Chipper Jones at 18 by the Seattle Lightning, and Jeff Kent to the Arizona Apaches at pick 20.  Kent was MVP in 2000 and has a decided positional advantage at 2B among his peers in this draft.  Guerrero has an OPS above 1.0 for three of the next four years BEFORE winning the MVP award in 2004.  Chipper, coming off his MVP in 1999, has an OPS above 1.0 for four of the next nine years, only dropping below .900 once in that span.

It will be interesting to see how teams come back in round two.  If a team selected a pitcher in round one, will they try to load up their rotation in the second round with another?  Will a team select a couple bashers to stack their lineup?  We shall see.