Build an MLB team

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Fairly straightforward concept. Build the best team of current major leaguers that you can, while using only the players drafted from one particular club.

 

For example.

 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/draft/?f...aft_type=junreg

 

To see your team, look at the third option, "Picks by Franchise/Year (& Actives)

 

A list of the Phillies' draft picks. From that we come up with.

 

C: Johnny Estrada

1B: Ryan Howard

2B: Chase Utley

SS: Jimmy Rollins

3B: Scott Rolen

LF: Pat Burrell

CF: Marlon Byrd

RF: J.D. Drew

 

SP: Cole Hamels

SP: Gavin Floyd

SP: Kyle Kendrick

SP: Brett Myers

SP: Randy Wolf

RP: Ryan Madson

 

Pretty similar to what they actually have. Some teams differ though. The D'backs could contain Lyle Overbay, Jack Cust, Dan Uggla, Ian Kinsler, Alex Cintron, Carlos Quentin, and Brad Penny. Let's see what you come up with. Also, try and use their current position, not the one they were drafted at.

[TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe 0]

Interesting topic. Yankees (Link)

 

C - Brad Ausmus

1B - Nick Johnson

2B - Mike Lowell

3B - Casey Blake

SS - Derek Jeter (Jorge Posada was also drafted at SS)

RF - Marcus Thames

CF - Orlando Palmeiro

LF - Ricky Ledee

 

SP - Joba Chamberlain

SP - Mark Prior

SP - Andy Pettitte

SP - Zach Day

SP - Phil Hughes

 

RP - Jason Grilli

RP - Brian Tallet

RP - Aaron Heilman

RP - Russ Springer

[KingPK 0]

Red Sox (link):

 

C - Kelly Shoppach (The best of a putrid bunch)

1B - Kevin Youkilis

2B - Dustin Pedroia

SS - Freddy Sanchez

3B - Mark Texiera

LF - Jacoby Ellisbury

CF - David Murphy

RF - Matt Murton

 

SP - Curt Schilling

SP - Justin Duchscherer

SP - Jon Lester

SP - Clay Buccholz

SP - Kason Gabbard

RP - Jonathan Papelbon

 

Wow, a LOT of those guys really didn't end up doing much; I was scraping the bottom of the barrel in the OF and SP positions.

Edited July 28, 2008 by KingPK

[devo 0]

http://www.baseball-reference.com/draft/?f...aft_type=junreg

 

C: Raul Casanova

1B: Mike Jacobs

2B: Mark Grudzielanek

SS: Ty Wiggington

3B: David Wright

LF: Lastings Milledge

CF: Aaron Rowand

RF: David DeJesus

 

SP: Mike Pelfrey

SP: Brian Bannister

SP: Scott Kazmir

SP: A.J. Burnett

SP: Jeremy Guthrie

RP: Aaron Heilman

 

Not a bad staff but that lineup is a bit sketchy. Kinda had to improvise on the middle of the infield, there.

[Bored 0]

Only taking players who have played in the Majors this season. Also put players where they would best fit on the field for the sake of this exercise and not necessarily where they play regularly now.

 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/draft/?f...aft_type=junreg

 

Athletics

 

C: Kurt Suzuki

1B: Nick Swisher

2B: Freddie Bynum

3B: Mark Teahan

SS: Bobby Crosby

LF: Eric Byrnes

CF: Ryan Ludwick

RF: Andre Ethier

DH: Jason Giambi

 

Bench: Gerald Laird, Dan Johnson, Eric Chavez, Omar Quintanilla, Emil Brown, Travis Buck

 

SP: Rich Harden

SP: Tim Hudson

SP: Jeremy Bonderman

SP: Joe Blanton

SP: Barry Zito

RP: Jonathan Papelbon (kinda cheating since he didn't sign)

RP: Kevin Gregg

RP: Neal Cotts

RP: Tyler Yates

RP: Dallas Braden

[HarleyQuinn 0]

Here's my attempt at the BoSox. Also going with where I'd slot them position wise (based on current or past MLB history)

 

C: Scott Hatteberg

1B: Kevin Youkilis

2B: David Eckstein

3B: Mark Teixeira

SS: Nomar Garciaparra

OF: Pat Burrell

OF: Matt Murton

OF: Trot Nixon

Bench: Jacoby Ellsbury, Shea Hillenbrand, Freddy Sanchez, Dustin Pedroia, Kelly Shoppach

 

SP: Curt Schilling

SP: Aaron Harang

SP: Brian Bannister

SP: Jeff Suppan

SP: Aaron Sele

MR: Chris Reitsma

MR: Manny Delcarmen

MR: Justin Duscherer

MR: Casey Fossum

MR: Mike Maroth

MR: Jon Lester

CL: Jonathan Papelbon

 

Not as horrible as I expected although I'd have very little hope for that pitching group. Offensively, surprisingly solid up and down for the most part with a somewhat deep enough bench.

[treble 0]

Blue Jays: http://www.baseball-reference.com/draft/?f...aft_type=junreg

 

C - Curtis Thigpen

1B - Casey Blake

2B - Orlando Hudson

3B - Ryan Freel

SS - Michael Young

LF - Adam Lind

CF - Vernon Wells

RF - Alex Rios

DH - Jeff Kent

 

 

SP - Roy Halladay

SP - Chris Carpenter

SP - Dustin McGowan

SP - Shaun Marcum

SP - Dave Bush

RP - Mike Timlin

RP - Casey Janssen

RP - Jesse Litsch

RP - Brandon League

RP - Mark Hendrickson

 

1B, 3B, and C were slim pickings. I don't even think Thigpen's been in the majors this season, but he was the best pick, I think. Blake and Freel were basically the only ones there at those postions, even if they don't really play those positions most days. 2B was stacked, so I think Aaron Hill is the odd man out behind Hudson (or Kent). I also like that the outfield is the regular starting outfield for the team now (injuries not withstanding). The starting rotation is sick, but the bullpen is mostly just made of leftover parts.

[MFer 0]

Tigers

 

C-Doug Mirabelli

1B-Tony Clark

2B-Frank Catalanotto (plays more OF now but was drafted at 2B)

SS-Chris Gomez

3B-Brandon Inge

LF-Dave Roberts

CF-Curtis Granderson

RF-Gabe Kapler

 

SP-John Smoltz

SP-Justin Verlander

SP-Mark Mulder (drafted as a 1B and didn't sign)

SP-Mark Redman

SP-Jeff Weaver

RP-Joel Zumaya

CL-Keith Foulke

 

Pitching looks pretty good, position players...meh for the most part.

 

[Broward83 0]

C: Jason Varitek

1B: Lance Berkman

2B: Aaron Miles

3B: Morgan Endsberg

LF: Eric Byrnes

CF: Luis Gonzalez

RF: Kenny Lofton

 

SP: Roy Oswalt

SP: Wade Miller

SP: Tim Wedding

SP: Scott Elarton

SP: John Halama

Set-Up: Brad Lidge

Closer: Billy Wagner

[Dandy 0]

Reds

 

C-Jason LaRue

1B-Joey Votto

2B-Rob Mackowiak

3B-Aaron Boone

SS-German Duran (WHO?)

LF-Adam Dunn

CF-Jay Bruce (not listed here, but he is active)

RF-Austin Kearns

 

 

Bench

Paul Bako, Reggie Sanders

 

 

 

Pitchers

 

SP-Paul Byrd

SP-Homer Bailey

SP-???

SP-???

SP-???

 

 

RP-Todd Coffey

RP-Ryan Wagner

RP-B.J. Ryan

RP-Scott Williamson

CL-Trevor Hoffman

 

 

No wonder the Reds struggle year in and year out. They have had horrible luck (and skill) drafting.

[jwest27 0]

Cardinals

 

C: Yadier Molina

1B: Albert Pujols

2B: Placido Polanco

SS: Jack Wilson

3B: Ryan Freel (not a third baseman per se, but no one else has as much experience at third)

LF: Xavier Nady

CF: Rick Ankiel

RF: J.D. Drew

 

SP: Danny Haren

SP: Braden Looper

SP: Kevin Correia

SP: Anthony Reyes

SP: Matt Morris (oh god)

RP: Brad Thompson

 

Woof. Decent line up I guess, but with the notable exception of Danny Haren, that is a pretty brutal pitching staff. Also, me and Al are J.D. Drew buddies!

[Guest Vitamin X]

Not easy to do with the Rockies since they have a much shorter draft history than most of the teams around here..

 

C- Josh Bard

1B- Todd Helton

2B- OH COME ON! Brandon Knight?! That's the only 2nd baseman the Rockies have drafted, so I'm just going with another infielder and putting in Chone Figgins

SS- Troy Tulowitzki (Chone could go here as well)

3B- Matt Holliday (Moved to LF after, but interesting to know)

OF- Juan Pierre

OF- Jody Gerut

OF- Brad Hawpe

 

SP- Aaron Cook

SP- Jeff Francis

 

And that's about it. There was pretty much only pitching drafted in the 90's (when I pretty much quit watching baseball) and every single one of them sucked. The only one with a winning record besides Cook is Justin Miller. Jake Westbrook is close, though! 63-64.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

Treble beat me to it, but I'm drunk, and I probably would have drafted most of Mr. Burns' ringers.

 

Why can Treble do that, but not his hockey picks? I don't wanna lump him with EMHE, but....well, that should be enough motivation.

[treble 0]

Oh yeah. I'll do that in the morning, sorry.

[Guest]

Chase Utley was drafted by us in 1997, but didn't sign. I'm going to use him anyway.

 

C: Russell Martin

1B: I'll go with James Loney instead of Paul Konerko.

2B: Chase Utley

SS: Eric Bruntlett

3B: Andy LaRoche (I know I could put LoDuca at catcher and Russell Martin at 3rd, but that's cheating)

LF: Eric Byrnes (yeah, he fell pretty fuckin' far back down to earth)

CF: Shane Victorino

RF: Matt Kemp

 

Bench: Paul LoDuca, Delwyn Young, Brad Wilkerson, Paul Konerko, Jason Repko

 

SP: Chad Billingsley

SP: Ted Lilly

SP: Doug Davis

SP: Clayton Kershaw

SP: Edwin Jackson

 

RP: Randy Wolf (long relief)

RP: Joel Hanrahan

RP: Scott Proctor

RP: Cory Wade

RP: Jonathan Broxton

 

That lineup isn't too good, but it's better than I thought it would be. I'd take it over a few others, but not many. I'd put Clayton Kershaw in the lineup, but, you know, I wanted to pick players who've played more than just a handful of games. Oh fuck it, I did anyway.

 

I think this says quite a bit about the organization.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Couple notes:

 

-You see some players show up on several teams. When push comes to shove, first choice is the team that signs them. JD Drew is a stretch for the Phillies, I admit. Guys who were drafted and went to college instead muddles things.

 

-If you look for second basemen based on drafted position, you may struggle. Second basemen are almost NEVER drafted out of high school.

 

-This doesn't account for international signees, so if you were doing an original teams league, those guys would make a few bad teams look a hair better.

[CanadianChris 0]

Expos/Team That Shall Not Be Named:

 

C Michael Barrett (Russell Martin was originally drafted by the Expos, but went to college instead)

1B Cliff Floyd

2B Jose Vidro

SS Brandon Phillips

3B Geoff Blum

LF Milton Bradley

CF Grady Sizemore

RF Jason Bay

 

SP Randy Johnson

SP Cliff Lee

SP Javier Vazquez

SP John Patterson

SP Darrell Rasner

RP Chad Cordero

 

That's not terrible. They really let a lot of guys get away, though.

[Cuban Linx 0]

Rangers:

 

C- Mike Lamb (only ever played 3 games at catcher but he's all they have)

1B- Mark Teixeira

2B- Ian Kinsler

SS- Rich Aurilia

3B- Edwin Encarnacion

LF- Craig Monroe

CF- Scott Podsednik

RF- Kevin Mench

DH- Travis Hafner

 

Bench- Carlos Pena, Hank Blalock

 

SP- Aaron Harang

SP- John Danks

SP- Noah Lowry

SP- Ryan Dempster

SP- Kenny Rogers

RP- CJ Wilson

 

1st, 2nd & 3rd base are good but the rest of the offense is garbage, while the pitching is actually half decent considering how bad the Rangers actual pitching usually is. Would look even better if you counted amateur free agent signings like Edinson Volquez.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Orioles!

 

SP Mike Mussina (1987/1990)

SP Erik Bedard (1999)

SP Garrett Olson (2005)

SP John Maine (2002)

SP Hayden Penn (2002)

Closer Chris Ray (2003)

 

C Jayson Werth (1997)

1B I dont like either of my 2 options

2B Brian Roberts (1999)

SS Micheal Young (1994) (I know he signed in 95 with Toronto but I dont want to use Jerry Hairston)

3B Brandon Fahey (2002) (He can play all positions though he's currently at SS)

OF Nick Markakis (2003)

OF Larry Bigbie (1999)

OF Luis Matos (1996)

 

The rotation reads like a greatest list of departures from the Orioles (Mussina/Bedard/Maine).

I picked Werth for catcher cause his first year was with Delmarva Shorebirds and I saw him play a lot. Its also sad that 2/3 of the OF were regular starters back 5 years ago..ugh.

 

I also never knew the Os got Roberts and Bedard as supplemental picks for Palmeiro going back to Texas.

 

 

[Guest Smues]

C- Brian McCann

1B- Adam LaRouche

2B- Kelly Johnson

SS- Yunel Escobar

3B- Chipper Jones (Drafted at SS? Wow)

OF- Jermaine Dye

OF- Jeff Francouer

OF- Ryan Langerhans

 

 

Bench- Jarrod Saltalamaccia, Delwyn Young, Mark Derosa

 

SP- Adam Wainwright

SP- Tom Glavine

SP- Randy Johnson (drafted, did not sign)

SP- Kevin Millwood

SP- Chuck James

RP- Blaine Boyer

 

[Dandy 0]

Chipper Jones was pegged to be their SS of the future for a long time.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

You often see that, guys drafted at shortstop and moved later on. I mentioned second basemen earlier. The reason is that if a guy is good enough to get drafted, he is likely a substantially better athlete than his teammates, and thus playing a more important defensive position. Chipper wouldn't have Jeff Blauser playing shortstop on his high school team, I bet.

[jimmy no nose 0]

You often see that, guys drafted at shortstop and moved later on. I mentioned second basemen earlier. The reason is that if a guy is good enough to get drafted, he is likely a substantially better athlete than his teammates, and thus playing a more important defensive position. Chipper wouldn't have Jeff Blauser playing shortstop on his high school team, I bet.

There are a couple rare exceptions out there though. I believe both Nate McLouth and Coco Crisp were originally drafted as second basemen and turned out to be pretty decent defensive center fielders. Don't know how they wound up being considered second basemen, but I don't think either of them spent any time there professionally.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Teams draft players at their amateur defensive positions. In this case, McLouth played second base in high school. You find a few guys who played second base in college, fewer in high school. I looked over the period from 1993-99. In those years, eight high school second basemen were drafted and reached the majors. Brandon Watson, Willie Harris, Marcus Giles, Aaron Miles, Jerry Hairston, Edwin Diaz, Jose Vidro and Frank Catalanotto. These players have a couple things in common.

 

* They are all short. Watson is the tallest at 6'1". Giles, Miles and Harris are all 5'9" or shorter.

 

* Except for Watson, all of them primarily played second base in their pro careers. When they did not, they usually moved left on the defensive spectrum to either left field or first base.

 

* Only Vidro and Giles made All-Star teams. Most had cups of coffee or spent careers as reserves.

 

I get the feeling high school second basemen who make it are Rudy types. Guys without the raw ability to play short, and not big enough to justify using at the prime offensive positions. Yet they stick it out, work hard and force their way into action.

[A Happy Medium 0]

The Rangers...gah! The outfield is just so awul...I'll do one for the White Sox

 

C Chris Stewart (??)

1B Frank Thomas

2B Ray Durham

SS Scott Hairston

3B Joe Crede

LF Placido Polanco played five games at LF in 2005

CF Aaron Rowand

RF Ryan Sweeney

 

SP Mark Buehrle

SP Brandon McCarthy

SP Jeff Weaver

SP Kip Wells

SP Nate Robertson

RP Bob Wickman

 

 

This team is very old right now.

[TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe 0]

C Chris Stewart (??)

 

He played in 1 game for the Yankees in April this year.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

C Chris Stewart (??)

 

He played in 1 game for the Yankees in April this year.

Stewart's the regular catcher in Scranton. Only thing notable is that he has quite a small head for a 6'5" body.

[DerangedHermit 0]

http://www.baseball-reference.com/draft/?f...aft_type=junreg

 

C: Raul Casanova

1B: Mike Jacobs

2B: Mark Grudzielanek

SS: Ty Wiggington

3B: David Wright

LF: Lastings Milledge

CF: Aaron Rowand

RF: David DeJesus

 

SP: Mike Pelfrey

SP: Brian Bannister

SP: Scott Kazmir

SP: A.J. Burnett

SP: Jeremy Guthrie

RP: Aaron Heilman

 

Not a bad staff but that lineup is a bit sketchy. Kinda had to improvise on the middle of the infield, there.

You could put Garrett Atkins in the infield somewhere.

 

Also have Scott Proctor, Izzy, Todd Jones and Matt Lindstrom in the pen and since Clemens never retired, we could grab him.

 

(Also, the Mets drafted Billy Beane as a player, could we have him as a GM?)

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Lindstrom yes, the other players no. I only count players who signed.

 

Billy Beane is a good pick.