[Tiger Fan]

SOME THOUGHTS ON MY DRAFT PHILOSPHY
Stats only made the draft extremely challenging but I hope my game plan will prove to be sound but, like in real baseball, it will be a few game years before I know for sure. I knew I was desperate for pitching but I also knew Rube Carter (my scouting director) felt there was little pitching talent. Carter is rated good in scouting amateurs so I felt it best to trust him - at least for now. I decided I would take the best player available with my first round pick and one of my second rounders. The other second rounder was used on the best pitcher I could find. I figured doing it that way if the pitcher flamed out at least the draft would not be a total bust.

I also went in with the goal of getting 5 or 6 starting pitchers with the idea that perhaps one or two will pan out but I really felt blind on ranking them thanks to Carter. On the flip side, I really like and felt the stats backed up most of his guidance towards position players. I have some good talent in the outfield and behind the plate at the major league level but I still drafted 5 outfielders and 3 catchers. I felt they were too good to bypass for a position of need at the spots they were taken and I believe the idea of collecting pieces that perhaps I can trade and solve a need down the road. As the draft wore on I then started to focus a little more on need to be able to fill out my new Class B affiliate that I am getting.

I tried to rely on a balance between what Carter's scouting reports said and what the stats told me and for the most part I think the two alligned pretty well.

Was my strategy the right one? I guess time will tell. It will be interesting to see the next prospect ranking on opening day as that will be our first indication of how our draft picks panned out.

The draft itself was a lot of fun and a great way to both start my online experience and to help me get to 'know' my organization and the league in this fictional world.