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 8
Pick	Team	Player, Position	Skinny
71.	Jim Callis	Dan Haren, rhp	Still haven't figured out why he lasted until the second round of the real draft in 2001.
72.	Alan Matthews	Jon Garland, rhp	A young, powerful arm with major league experience and he seems to still be improving.
73.	Will Lingo	Brandon McCarthy, rhp	I wanted another starter, and while there were proven guys available, again age (22) and upside won out.
74.	Chris Kline	Andy Marte, 3b	I've also seen Marte at every level. I'm not sold on him being a star, but he will be a solid player for years.
75.	John Manuel	C.C. Sabathia, lhp	Power-armed, young lefty.
76.	Matt Meyers	Bobby Crosby, ss	Shortstops with pop are nice to have, particularly when they are above-average defenders.
77.	Will Kimmey	Carl Crawford, of	He'll get to 25 homers soon. And 50 steals is simple. The on-base isn't great, but we'll take the defense.
78.	Alan Schwarz	Francisco Rodriguez, rhp	Closers can be overvalued but this 24-year-old is scary good. Could be a Mariano Rivera with fewer rings.
79.	Aaron Fitt	Jon Lester, lhp	Hard not to love young lefthanders with power repertoires, and I think he will be even better than projected.
90.	J.J. Cooper	Hank Blalock, 3b	His production has leveled off, but he's still only 25. Even if he never improves, he's quite good.

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