RADIO
The following article was written by RotoBaller.com's team of expert analysts, in response to a question asked by one of our RotoBaller readers. You can click here for more info if you're interested in having RotoBaller's experts review your 2013 fantasy baseball draft.
General Draft Summary:
In a 3 OF league, you splurged a little bit by taking 3 OF in the first 3 rounds. That said, I think you got very good value on Hamilton at 20, and Heyward at 25 could also work out very well for you. You waited to draft starting pitchers, which is a strategy we recommend, and you still managed to get 3 top end starters and a top end closer. All in all, it's a nice team that will put up at least decent numbers in all categories. You have a very good mix of guys in their prime and players who could be on the verge of busting out and taking it to the next level. I'd give your draft an 8/10.
Areas of Weakness & How to Improve Your Team:
There are a few areas where your team has weaknesses. First is power: aside from Hamilton, you don't have any 30 HR guys on your roster. That's definitely an issue and it wouldn't surprise me if your team, as currently constructed, finished in the lower half of the standings in HR, and in the middle of the pack for RBI. If you're counting on Heyward, Craig and Trout all hitting 30, that's definitely possible, but they've never done it before and that's a big expectation.
The second area is your SS. In an 11 team league, Rutledge is not a great starting SS. He's gotten off to a decent 5/18 start, but if I were you I would look to upgrade there soon. Either go with the hot hand from the waiver wire if Rutledge cools down, or make a trade and use one of your OF chips to bring back a top SS plus a pitcher. Hamilton for Tulo is a nice deal I would explore.
The third area is the back-end of your rotation. Scherzer, Bumgarner and Zimmerman will provide a really solid combo of Wins, K's ERA and WHIP, and Wilson is a very nice upside pick at 135 overall. Same with Estrada at 152. VERY nice balance in your first 5 starters. That said, if Wilson underachieves again and Estrada takes a small step back, the back end of your rotation (McDonald and Tillman) will be hard pressed to pick up the slack. McDonald was great last night, so ride him out as long as you can, but he really fell apart last year. Tillman I am not a believer in at all - he overachieved last year in a huge way, and you should look at him as someone that you can drop after one bad start, if not sooner.
To improve your team, I would try and upgrade your SS (as mentioned, through trade or hot waiver wire pick up). I would also look to trade for a low-key guy who could pop 30 HR (Carpenter for Chris Carter, or someone like that). I would also keep a keen lookout for hot waiver wire pitchers. Overall your league is pretty shallow and you should be able to find very nice Starting Pitchers on the waiver wire. Check out our Daily Waiver Wire piece for some good candidates. One that comes to mind of the bat is Iwakuma, who I would take in a heartbeat over Tillman.
Who You Can Drop from Your Team:
In order to pick up a SS, hot pitcher, or cheap power bat, I would be comfortable dropping Carpenter, Tillman, Rutledge (give him another week to see how he performs though), and Benoit if he finds himself on the outside looking in (you should know within a week how the Tigers' closer situation plays out.
Who You Can Pick Up:
Here is RotoBaller's Daily Waiver Wire Watch List. Some Power guys I would look at: Chris Young (if he gets playing every day), Vernon Wells, Cody Ross (once he gets healthy), Garret Jones, Mitch Moreland, Chris Carter, Mark Reynolds, Jason Kubel. Some starters to keep an eye on: Capuano, Straily (if he gets called up soon), Jose Fernandez, Vance Worley, Iwakuma, Chacin, Shelby Miller, Dillon Gee, Julio Teheran.
