What fantasy baseball may look like in 2010 by Eriq Gardner August 18, 2009 Two weeks ago, I got the idea to hold a mock auction for the 2010 fantasy baseball season. Although it may seem early to begin contemplating next season when we have about six weeks left in the current one, many people who play fantasy baseball have already started to think about next year. In many keeper leagues, the trade deadline has just passed or will be coming soon, and many teams are trying to position themselves for success in 2010. Sometimes, it’s hard to sort through values when so many things can happen between now and next April, but I figured the best way to get started was to take the “wisdom of crowds” by recruiting a bunch of smart fantasy baseball enthusiasts and conducting a mock draft on my blog. To add to this crowd-sourcing project, I told all of the participants they would be competing for a prize. The masses—that means you—will be voting on the team that did the best job in drafting. So what players’ stock has risen this year? What players’ stock has fallen? Where will breakouts like Mark Reynolds, Ben Zobrist, Aaron Hill, Justin Upton, Zach Greinke, Wandy Rodriguez and Ubaldo Jimenez be picked next season? Our first mock draft of 2010 may hold some clues. We conducted two rounds daily. Each day, I asked the participants to give me a list of the 20 best players remaining, sorted by draft priority. As a result, I was able to not only administer this draft, but also to get inside the participants’ heads and measure variation in their valuations. For example, on day one, all participants would have drafted Pujols, Hanley, Braun, and Utley in the first round. These guys are solid bets to be there next year. Will Mark Reynolds also be in the cream of the crop? Right now, it’s too early to tell. A couple of drafters had him high. But many others didn’t have him listed as a top 20 player. From the looks of the draft and into the minds of the participants involved, players whose stock has risen for 2010 and who could escalate higher in the coming months include: Carl Crawford, Justin Upton, Matt Kemp, Joe Mauer, Ryan Zimmerman, Kendry Morales, Pablo Sandoval, Jayson Werth, Jon Lester, and Javier Vazquez. In turn, here are some players on the wane whose stock could fall much further than what you see below: David Wright, Jose Reyes, Manny Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano, Alex Rios, Jake Peavy, Brandon Webb, and Francisco Rodriguez. It’s also clear by this draft that second base is experiencing a bit of a renaissance. By round five of this draft, most of the teams had already lined up their second baseman. In contrast, talent at shortstop seems meager, especially with Jose Reyes and Jimmy Rollins falling to second/third round territory. What are your thoughts? Who was over-drafted and who deserves the newfound respect? Also, please vote in the poll of who had the best draft. I’ve sorted the draft by rosters. Plus, a prize is on the line. Round 1 1. The Sports Banter – Albert Pujols 2. Hamboners – Hanley Ramirez 3. The Devil Wears Prado – Ryan Braun 4. Dan’s Dukie Blasters – Chase UtleyA Hardball Times Updateby RJ McDanielGoodbye for now. 5. Evil Empire – Mark Reynolds 6. Unruhlies – Alex Rodriguez 7. .Beyond the Box Score – Tim Lincecum 8. He Thrills B. Mills – Carl Crawford 9. The Fat and the Furious – David Wright 10. The Juicy Danglers — Matt Holliday Round 2 11. The Juicy Danglers — Justin Upton 12. The Fat and the Furious — Prince Fielder 13. He Thrills B. Mills — Miguel Cabrera 14. Beyond the Box Score —Matt Kemp 15. Unruhlies — Ian Kinsler 16. Evil Empire — Evan Longoria 17. Dan’s Dukie Blasters — Mark Teixeira 18. The Devil Wears Prado — Jose Reyes 19. Hamboners — Grady Sizemore 20. The Sports Banter — Justin Morneau Round 3 21. The Sports Banter – Ichiro Suzuki 22. Hamboners – Ryan Howard 23. The Devil Wears Prado – Joe Mauer 24. Dan’s Dukie Blasters – Derek Jeter 25. Evil Empire – Brandon Phillips 26. Unruhlies – Johan Santana 27. Beyond the Box Score – Dan Haren 28. He Thrills B. Mills – Manny Ramirez 29. The Fat and the Furious – Brian Roberts 30. The Juicy Danglers — Jimmy Rollins Round 4 31. The Juicy Danglers — Ryan Zimmerman 32. The Fat and the Furious — Jason Bay 33. He Thrills B. Mills — Carlos Beltran 34. Beyond the Box Score — Zach Greinke 35. Unruhlies — Roy Halladay 36. Evil Empire — Troy Tulowitzki 37. Dan’s Dukie Blasters — Bobby Abreu 38. The Devil Wears Prado — Kevin Youkilis 39. Hamboners — Adrian Gonzalez 40. The Sports Banter — Dustin Pedroia Round 5 41. The Sports Banter – Josh Hamilton 42. Hamboners – Javier Vazquez 43. The Devil Wears Prado – B.J. Upton 44. Dan’s Dukie Blasters – CC Sabathia 45. Evil Empire – Curtis Granderson 46. Unruhlies – Brian McCann 47. Beyond the Box Score – Ben Zobrist 48. He Thrills B. Mills – Aaron Hill 49. The Fat and the Furious – Lance Berkman 50. The Juicy Danglers — Robinson Cano Round 6 51. The Juicy Danglers — Joey Votto 52. The Fat and the Furious — Felix Hernandez 53. He Thrills B. Mills — Carlos Lee 54. Beyond the Box Score — Jacoby Ellsbury 55. Unruhlies — Nick Markakis 56. Evil Empire — Victor Martinez 57. Dan’s Dukie Blasters — Justin Verlander 58. The Devil Wears Prado — Aramis Ramirez 59. Hamboners — Adam Dunn 60. The Sports Banter — Alfonso Soriano Round 7 61. The Sports Banter – Alexei Ramirez 62. Hamboners – Cliff Lee 63. The Devil Wears Prado – Josh Beckett 64. Dan’s Dukie Blasters – Nelson Cruz 65. Evil Empire – Adam Jones 66. Unruhlies – Jonathan Papelbon 67. Beyond the Box Score – Nate McLouth 68. He Thrills B. Mills – Yovani Gallardo 69. The Fat and the Furious – Adam Lind 70. The Juicy Danglers — Jayson Werth Round 8 71. The Juicy Danglers — Matt Cain 72. The Fat and the Furious — Raul Ibanez 73. He Thrills B. Mills — Michael Young 74. Beyond the Box Score — Andrew McCutchen 75. Unruhlies — Kendry Morales 76. Evil Empire — Hunter Pence 77. Dan’s Dukie Blasters — Shane Victorino 78. The Devil Wears Prado — Josh Johnson 79. Hamboners — Andre Ethier 80. The Sports Banter — Jon Lester Round 9 81. The Sports Banter – Adam Wainwright 82. Hamboners – Pablo Sandoval 83. The Devil Wears Prado – Torii Hunter 84. Dan’s Dukie Blasters – Johnny Damon 85. Evil Empire – Mariano Rivera 86. Unruhlies – Alex Rios 87. Beyond the Box Score – Joe Nathan 88. He Thrills B. Mills – Jake Peavy 89. The Fat and the Furious – Chris Carpenter 90. The Juicy Danglers — Shin Soo Choo Round 10 91. The Juicy Danglers — AJ Burnett 92. The Fat and the Furious — Clayton Kershaw 93. He Thrills B. Mills — Geovany Soto 94. Beyond the Box Score — Ryan Doumit 95. Unruhlies — Cole Hamels 96. Evil Empire — Derrek Lee 97. Dan’s Dukie Blasters — Chad Billingsley 98. The Devil Wears Prado — Carlos Quentin 99. Hamboners — Howie Kendrick 100. The Sports Banter — Tommy Hanson Round 11 101. The Sports Banter – Matt Wieters 102. Hamboners – Russell Martin 103. The Devil Wears Prado – Asdrubal Cabrera 104. Dan’s Dukie Blasters – James Shields 105. Evil Empire – Joba Chamberlain 106. Unruhlies – Vladimir Guerrero 107. Beyond the Box Score – Chipper Jones 108. He Thrills B. Mills – Gordon Beckham 109. The Fat and the Furious – Jason Bartlett 110. The Juicy Danglers — Jered Weaver Round 12 111. The Juicy Danglers — Wandy Rodriguez 112. The Fat and the Furious — John Lackey 113. He Thrills B. Mills — Jonathan Broxton 114. Beyond the Box Score — Ricky Nolasco 115. Unruhlies — Stephen Drew 116. Evil Empire — Roy Oswalt 117. Dan’s Dukie Blasters — Chone Figgins 118. The Devil Wears Prado — Max Scherzer 119. Hamboners — Jarrod Washburn 120. The Sports Banter — Matt Garza Round 13 121. The Sports Banter – Mark DeRosa 122. Hamboners – Brandon Webb 123. The Devil Wears Prado – Ubaldo Jimenez 124. Dan’s Dukie Blasters – Mike Napoli 125. Evil Empire – Rich Harden 126. Unruhlies – John Danks 127. Beyond the Box Score – Carlos Pena 128. He Thrills B. Mills – Scott Baker 129. The Fat and the Furious – Francisco Rodriguez 130. The Juicy Danglers — Miguel Montero Round 14 131. The Juicy Danglers — Jose Valverde 132. The Fat and the Furious — Jorge Posada 133. He Thrills B. Mills — Jair Jurrjens 134. Beyond the Box Score — Jhonny Peralta 135. Unruhlies — Dexter Fowler 136. Evil Empire — David Price 137. Dan’s Dukie Blasters — Heath Bell 138. The Devil Wears Prado — Joakim Soria 139. Hamboners — Andrew Bailey 140. The Sports Banter — Brian Fuentes