Time to Draft Catchers

It's that time... When the pool of available players is becoming thin and the long run of catchers begins. After Joe Sheehan took George Kottaras ($2), the backup catcher for the Red Sox, Matthew Berry walked away with the starter, Jason Varitek, for just a buck. Johima and Barajas were taken for $2 each, and if you had those two as your catchers for $4, you're not in bad shape at all. My two favorite AL catchers, Miguel Olivo ($9) and Kelly Shoppach ($7), were not taken at the same bargain price, however they could pay dividends with 20 HR power.

Jason Grey finished his team with Brad Penny ($1), Brett Anderson ($6), and Trevor Cahill ($7). Don't be alarmed, Cahill likely won't cost you that much in your league; it was Grey's last pick and he had $7 left. He built a value staff centered around Scott Kazmir ($17). It's my guess that he'll address pitching depth in the reserve rounds.

Ron Shandler, also building a value staff, his centered around Felix Hernandez ($20), grabbed some cheap starters to finish his team in Kelvim Escobar ($3) and Scott Lewis ($3). I really like these two and have been targeting them in most of my drafts as well. Lewis has a great minor league track record and will be given a rotation spot to start the year.

Often you'll find the players in your league who like to draft off of their favorite teams. Predictable and silly right? Well, when you like a team, you usually like their players too, and there's no shame in drafting players you think will do well. Dean Peterson and Jason Collette have proven that theme, continuously drafting and nominating from their favorite teams, the White Sox and Rays.