Comments on: Alex Rodiguez has torpedoed my fantasy draft strategy

By: Jamey Codding

Jamey Codding — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 02:42:50 +0000

Hey Stew, I answered your question over on our Fantasy Baseball Q&A. Feel free to post any of your questions there.

By: Stew

Stew — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 01:54:25 +0000

Question I have A-rod in my keeper league that has 3 keepers, I have someone interested in trading for him. Offer is A-rod and my third pick which is like a sixth rounder in a straight draft for Longoria and their 13th pick which is like a 16th rounder in a straight draft do you think I should make the trade.

By: Jamey Codding

Jamey Codding — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 00:23:00 +0000

“…and even then it all depends on who else is still on the board.”

That’s what makes this tough, because no matter what anyone says now, there’s no way of knowing when the time in your draft will come that you look at the board and say, “Shit, I can’t justify taking any of these scrubs ahead of A-Rod, injury or no injury.” And with each passing round, it will become more and more tempting to draft A-Rod and stash him until he comes back.

I don’t think there’s any way he lasts until the sixth round in most leagues.

By: John Paulsen

John Paulsen — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 23:13:39 +0000

I don’t know much about fantasy baseball, but when dealing with a star that’s injured/suspended at the start of the season, it’s smart not to wait too long on him. If you think you have a great shot for the postseason, then you could conceivably add the #4 or #5 player at a steep discount. Just ask guys who passed on Steve Smith and Brandon Marshall in the third or fourth rounds of fantasy football drafts last season. (Granted, you’d rather have a guy coming off of suspension than coming off of an injury for obvious reasons.)

By: David Medsker

David Medsker — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 22:56:51 +0000

Right now, I’m thinking that I won’t take him any sooner than the sixth round, and even then it all depends on who else is still on the board.

By: Jamey Codding

Jamey Codding — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 20:45:05 +0000

Just when things seem to be a little clearer on the Chase Utley front, A-Rod goes down for who knows how long. I really don’t know what to do with him on draft day either. His Average Draft Position on ESPN is down to 25, and that should continue to plummet. Meanwhile, he’s down to #31 on ESPN’s Top 100 rankings, which still seems too high to me. Would you rather have a full season of Justin Morneau or Brandon Phillips, or 2/3 of a season of A-Rod? And how healthy will he be when he’s actually on the field? Word is this surgery won’t cure the problem, just allow him to play this year. Sounds promising….

Drafts are much more organic than any list of draft results is going to tell you, so it’s tough for me to gauge how high would be too high to take A-Rod. That said, I’d probably look for him in the 40-50 range. The funny thing is, I don’t know if that’s too conservative, too aggressive or just right. I’m not convinced he’ll be the same guy even when he returns, but it’s also tough to pass on that kind of talent in the fourth or fifth round.

Of course, there’s a very real chance he’ll be gone before the fourth or fifth round anyway.