March 16, 2006

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

DREAM DRAFT

BA staffers try their hand at team-building

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

Here's how Baseball America's Dream Draft broke down, both pick by pick and team by team. Remember that the entire player universe was available, and each staff member's only charge was to take what he deemed the best 10 players available, regardless of position. As with any BA project, we did it with an eye to the future.

Each participant was also asked to analyze the draft. In the round by round picks, staffers wrote about their thoughts as they made each of their picks. For the team by team, we took a broader look at our own drafts as well as everyone else's. (Numbers in parentheses are players' ages as of April 1.)

We'd like your opinions as well. Read up on our analysis, then do your own and cast your ballot for the person who you thought had the best draft.

ROUND 7
Pick	Team	Player, Position	Skinny
61.	J.J. Cooper	Chris Young, of	His five-tool potential and ability to play center field made it worth taking a flier.
62.	Aaron Fitt	Vernon Wells, of	Power-hitting, 27-year-old center fielder was good value in the seventh round.
63.	Alan Schwarz	Travis Hafner, dh	At 28 he could decline quickly after 2008-9 but still a worthwhile risk for the seventh round.
64.	Will Kimmey	Derek Jeter, ss	Go ahead, hate Jeter and the Yankees. Don't believe in clutch? I'm fine with that. Look for him in center field.
65.	Matt Meyers	Aramis Ramirez, 3b	Coming off three straight 30-homer seasons, he has blossomed in Chicago.
66.	John Manuel	Lance Berkman, of	Have people forgotten what he did last fall? A switch-hitter with power, another good value pick.
67.	Chris Kline	Jimmy Rollins, ss	He turned me down for an autograph (as a fan) in 1999; I was 28 . . . I would have turned me down too.
68.	Will Lingo	Chad Cordero, rhp	In the argument about the best relievers, and among that group his age (24) jumped off my secret charts.
69.	Alan Matthews	Brad Lidge, rhp	Is it a stretch to take a closer in this draft? Lidge is a shut-down arm with plenty of gas in the tank.
70.	Jim Callis	Ian Stewart, 3b	A tremendously gifted hitter who will have a blast whether he plays for me or at Coors Field.

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