What is a Dynasty League and why are you doing it?
I'm taking my enjoyment of baseball and fantasy baseball to a new level this year by joining a Dynasty League. This is where you draft a team and you keep the whole team year after year. As well as the Major League players, you also draft a Minor League team as well made up of prospects who aren't yet playing in the MLB but are potential future stars. It's a new challenge for me from the fantasy perspective, but it also motivates me to learn more about the baseball set-up when you get below the MLB teams. Living in Hoover, I am just about a mile away from Regions Park where the Birmingham Barons play. They are a Minor League team affiliated to the Chicago White Sox. I've been to one of their games but plan to attend more next season.
My team and draft details.
I named my team the Scotlabama Bluenecks - a homage to Scotland and Alabama and a take off of the 'redneck' perception about people from this part of the world. There are 14 members in the league and I was randomly selected to have the 12th pick. We are doing a snake draft, so I pick 12th in the first round, 3rd in the second, 12th in the fourth etc.
Round 1
It's round 1 and I'm watching who those ahead of me are taking with interest. I'm surprised early on to see that Alex Rodriguez has not been picked. I would have taken him with any pick from 2nd onwards. Is it possible he could drop to me in the 12 hole??? That would be one hell of a coup!!! No. He goes to 7th overall. So much for that little flutter of excitement. It gets to me and I know who I want. I take Ian Kinsler who plays 2B with the Texas Rangers. He is the first 2B taken in the draft and this promotes some discussion. 2B is traditionally shallow in baseball - there isn't a huge amount of fantasy impact players out there. The traditional thinking is that Chase Utley is the best 2B in baseball, and there is a lot of merit to that. However, he is injured and not an absolute guarantee to be ready for opening day. I just didn't want to draft an injured player with my first pick - it just didn't feel right.
So Kinsler it is. He's a young stud in the game. Can hit for power, has plate discipline and plenty of good hitting around him in the Texas line up. He can also run and steal a base or two so he should help me in all aspects of my Offence. I'm happy with the pick and quickly start thinking about the 2nd round. Ideally, I'd like to fill another shallow position and decide to target Jimmy Rollins for my SS position. If that doesn't work out, then hopefully the best pitcher in the game, Johan Santana, will be there and I can start building up an awesome rotation...
Round 2
BOOM! Rollins goes two picks before mine So much for that plan.
BOOM BOOM BOOM! Santana goes one pick before mine. My plan is blown to smithereens.
Right, time to get back to the cheat sheets and see who else there is. I don't like the players available in the shallower spots (3B and SS) at this point in the draft, so I expel that tactic from my mind and look toward the best available. Hey, Chase Utley is still out there - I have a Utility spot where I could play him and having the two best 2B in the game on my team gives me enormous trade leverage. But again, do I want to draft an injured player so early in the draft? I dunno, it's tempting. I decide on my other option - Matt Holliday, an outfield player with Oakland. His value has been decreased as he has moved to Oakland and there isn't very many quality players around him. But he has put up excellent numbers over the last few years. Like Kinsler, he can help me in all categories if he gets his season going. And hey, you never know, if Oakland's season really goes down the pan he may even be traded to a better team late in the season. I check his age - always important in a Dynasty League and there is no reason he doesn't have a few good years left.
It's a risk either way. Utley or Holliday.
I plump for Matt Holliday. I'm pretty happy, but there is a nagging doubt in my mind as to whether I did the right thing.
BOOM! The pick right after me is Chase Utley. Too late to worry about it now. There are 18 more picks before I pick again so it's time to relax for a while.
Kinsler and Holliday - it's really not too bad of a start at all.
I'm taking my enjoyment of baseball and fantasy baseball to a new level this year by joining a Dynasty League. This is where you draft a team and you keep the whole team year after year. As well as the Major League players, you also draft a Minor League team as well made up of prospects who aren't yet playing in the MLB but are potential future stars. It's a new challenge for me from the fantasy perspective, but it also motivates me to learn more about the baseball set-up when you get below the MLB teams. Living in Hoover, I am just about a mile away from Regions Park where the Birmingham Barons play. They are a Minor League team affiliated to the Chicago White Sox. I've been to one of their games but plan to attend more next season.
My team and draft details.
I named my team the Scotlabama Bluenecks - a homage to Scotland and Alabama and a take off of the 'redneck' perception about people from this part of the world. There are 14 members in the league and I was randomly selected to have the 12th pick. We are doing a snake draft, so I pick 12th in the first round, 3rd in the second, 12th in the fourth etc.
Round 1
It's round 1 and I'm watching who those ahead of me are taking with interest. I'm surprised early on to see that Alex Rodriguez has not been picked. I would have taken him with any pick from 2nd onwards. Is it possible he could drop to me in the 12 hole??? That would be one hell of a coup!!! No. He goes to 7th overall. So much for that little flutter of excitement. It gets to me and I know who I want. I take Ian Kinsler who plays 2B with the Texas Rangers. He is the first 2B taken in the draft and this promotes some discussion. 2B is traditionally shallow in baseball - there isn't a huge amount of fantasy impact players out there. The traditional thinking is that Chase Utley is the best 2B in baseball, and there is a lot of merit to that. However, he is injured and not an absolute guarantee to be ready for opening day. I just didn't want to draft an injured player with my first pick - it just didn't feel right.
So Kinsler it is. He's a young stud in the game. Can hit for power, has plate discipline and plenty of good hitting around him in the Texas line up. He can also run and steal a base or two so he should help me in all aspects of my Offence. I'm happy with the pick and quickly start thinking about the 2nd round. Ideally, I'd like to fill another shallow position and decide to target Jimmy Rollins for my SS position. If that doesn't work out, then hopefully the best pitcher in the game, Johan Santana, will be there and I can start building up an awesome rotation...
Round 2
BOOM! Rollins goes two picks before mine So much for that plan.
BOOM BOOM BOOM! Santana goes one pick before mine. My plan is blown to smithereens.
Right, time to get back to the cheat sheets and see who else there is. I don't like the players available in the shallower spots (3B and SS) at this point in the draft, so I expel that tactic from my mind and look toward the best available. Hey, Chase Utley is still out there - I have a Utility spot where I could play him and having the two best 2B in the game on my team gives me enormous trade leverage. But again, do I want to draft an injured player so early in the draft? I dunno, it's tempting. I decide on my other option - Matt Holliday, an outfield player with Oakland. His value has been decreased as he has moved to Oakland and there isn't very many quality players around him. But he has put up excellent numbers over the last few years. Like Kinsler, he can help me in all categories if he gets his season going. And hey, you never know, if Oakland's season really goes down the pan he may even be traded to a better team late in the season. I check his age - always important in a Dynasty League and there is no reason he doesn't have a few good years left.
It's a risk either way. Utley or Holliday.
I plump for Matt Holliday. I'm pretty happy, but there is a nagging doubt in my mind as to whether I did the right thing.
BOOM! The pick right after me is Chase Utley. Too late to worry about it now. There are 18 more picks before I pick again so it's time to relax for a while.
Kinsler and Holliday - it's really not too bad of a start at all.
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