by Alan Matthews
March 16, 2006

DREAM DRAFT

BA staffers try their hand at team-building

Round-By-Round Round 1 Round 6 Round 2 Round 7 Round 3 Round 8 Round 4 Round 9 Round 5 Round 10

Teams J.J. Cooper John Manuel Aaron Fitt Chris Kline Alan Schwarz Will Lingo Will Kimmey Alan Matthews Matt Meyers Jim Callis

By The Numbers

Vote For Your Favorite Draft

Pick	Player, Position, Organization (Age as of April 1, 2006)
1.	Delmon Young, of, Devil Rays (20)
2.	Vladimir Guerrero, of, Angels (30)
3.	Francisco Liriano, lhp, Twins (22)
4.	Andruw Jones, of, Braves (28)
5.	Barry Zito, lhp, Athletics (27)
6.	Matt Cain, rhp, Giants (21)
7.	Brad Lidge, rhp, Astros (29)
8.	Jon Garland, rhp, White Sox (26)
9.	Nick Markakis, of, Orioles (22)
10.	Chris Volstad, rhp, Marlins (19)

My Philosophy: I emphasized players' ages, and tried to identify players that would perform close to their ceiling during the 2006-11 window.

My Draft: Despite watching Joe Mauer, Jeff Francouer and Mark Buerhle drafted in the same round I had targeted them, I was pleased with the players I wound up with. Because big leaguers went off the board more quickly than prospects, I tried to take advantage of the prospects available.

Best Draft: Will Lingo. I don't think Chad Cordero will be as dominant as Brad Lidge, who was also on the board, and I have doubts about Jorge Cantu's long-term impact in the big leagues, but otherwise his draft had the best nucleus of young, yet proven talent.

Worst Draft: Chris Kline. It's tough to tell what his philosophy was. These 10 players represent the lowest aggregate potential of the 10 drafts.

Best Pick: Mauer. Although we were not strictly building teams in this exercise, here's a lefthanded-hitting catcher with potential to win multiple batting titles and Gold Gloves.

Worst Pick: Ryan Zimmerman. I guess it's the fact that he made it to the majors so quickly, but I believe BA and others are overrating him. He's a peerless defender and has great makeup, but he's a corner infielder with modest power and has slightly more than 300 professional at-bats.

He Wasn't Taken?: Khalil Greene. A year after being named BA's Rookie of the Year, Greene posted modest offensive numbers, but has a good glove, great instincts and feel for the game as well as age on his side.

That Hurt: I was pretty sure Mauer wouldn't be there when I discovered I'd be picking ninth, but when Lingo stepped up to the podium, err, speakerphone, and Mauer was still available, I thought I might get lucky.