I Need A Dollar - Houston Astros Fantasy Draft (MLB 2K12)

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Hey everyone, I am starting a Houston Astros fantasy draft franchise. I'll be playing on Pro, with budgets ON and I will be controlling all aspects of the majors and the minors. I wanted a challenge so I picked the lowly 'Stros because they have the lowest budget in the game by far. I have drafted a lot of young guns with small but lengthy contracts. I have done a franchise for NHL 12 on the site and I've had a lot of fun doing it, so baseball seemed like a good idea to follow that up. I'll be posting the fantasy draft results next.

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2012 Houston Astros Fantasy Draft Results:

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FIELDERS:

OF-G. Stanton (94)*
OF/IF – M. Trumbo(92)*
OF- J. Reddick(90)*
IF- F. Freeman(84)*
IF-D.Ackley(79)*
IF- R. Doumit (79)
OF-A. Jones (74)
OF/IF- E. Nunez (70)
IF-F. Rivera (70)
IF – C. Jackson (69)
OF – M. Taylor (68)*

PITCHERS:

K. Jansen (90)*
D. Storen (84)
A. Pettitte (85)
T. Lilly (83)
R. Ross (83)
T. Collins (82)
D. Fister (81)
D. Gee (81)
D. Hudson (79)*
D. Duffy (79)*
K. Drabek (73)*
M. Minor (68)*
B. Matusz (67)*
Z. Britton (67)*
A. White (65)*

Total Budget: 33.93M
Available: -3.95M

*Denotes 5 Star Potential

Draft Analysis:

This is the first MLB 2K fantasy draft that I've done since 2K7 and I'm actually sort of impressed with the CPU's drafting strategy. Guys like Bautista hung around on the board for too long but the CPU teams tended to look for youth over experience and high salaries. A lot of young guys like Mike Trout, Jarrod Parker, Trevor Bauer, etc... disappeared a lot more quickly than I had expected. I personally drafted the first 25 picks and let the cpu fill out the roster after that.

I think this is a strong team. The outfield looks solid and there is a lot of potential in the pitching staff. Since I did not have a lot of money to play with, I had to be careful with who I drafted. Almost all of the players on this team have 4+ year deals worth less than $10M. Unfortunately, they are all front loaded, so by year year 3, guys like Reddick and Stanton will be making 3-4M versus the 300-400K they are making now. I drafted Ted Lilly and Andy P. late in the game and I plan to use them as trade bait closer to the deadline.

Trade:
HOU trades C. Jackson, Z. Lutz, E. Kratz to LAD for T. Bauer
Analysis: Not the most fair deal but I wanted Bauer and the Dodgers wouldn't take Lilly straight up. This adds even more depth to our pitching staff.

2012 Houston Astros Depth Chart:

Houston Astros Depth Chart - 2012

• Catcher
• F. Rivera (70)
• R. Hammock (66)

• First Base
• F. Freeman
• B. Hawpe
• T. McCormick

• Second Base
• D, Ackley
• K. Hairston
• D. Solano

• Third Base
• C. Gillaspie
• J. Wilson
• P. Hunter

• Shortstop
• R. Brignac
• B. Crawford
• J. Bianchi

• Left Field
• M. Trumbo (92)
• A. Jones
• E. Nunez

• Center Field
• A. Rowand (65)
• R. Sullivan
• D, Owens

• Right Field
• G. Stanton (94)
• J. Reddick
• R. Doumit

• Starting Pitcher
• T. Lilly (83)
• D. Gee
• D. Fister
• D. Duffy
• D. Hudson

• Relief Pitcher
• A. Pettitte (85)
• D. Storen
• R. Ross
• T. Collins
• C. Gaudin
• A. Varvaro

• Closer
• K. Jansen (90)

Analysis: This depth chart is based on the players' primary positions in-game. I'll be moving Trumbo to 3rd, Nunez to short, Reddick to centre and Doumit to Catcher.

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Well, in typical 2K fashion, the game glitched at the end of the season and increased my budget from 33M to 65M. Since this is on par with some other small market teams, I decided to change it up and pick and AL club since they also require a DH.

The premise is the same, so I'll keep this thread instead of creating a new one.I completed a new fantasy draft with the Rays, allowed myself 3 picks over the age of 30 and I completed the first 30 rounds then simmed the rest. Considering Tampa has the lowest budget in the AL East, this should provide a challenge. I'm also hoping to bring the team its first World Series title. Here's the post-draft depth chart:

2012 Tampa Bay Rays Depth Chart

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Tampa Bay Rays Depth Chart - 2012

• Catcher
• L. Marson (69)
• J. Molina

• First Base
• A. Craig (84)
• M. Reynolds
• E. Chavez

• Second Base
• M. Young (83)*

• Third Base
• B. Lawrie (89)*

• Shortstop
• T. Plouffe (84)

• Left Field
• A. Gose (72)
• J. Guzman

• Center Field
• J. Reddick (90)*

• Right Field
• B. Abreu (69)

• Starting Pitcher
• C. Kershaw (92)*
• T. Wood
• J. Hellickson*
• A.J. Griffin
• K. Drabek
• H. Alverez

• Relief Pitcher
• K. Jansen (90)*
• D. Storen
• R. Ross
• T. Collins
• B. Mills
• H. Rodriguez

• Designated Hitter
• R. Raburn

*Denotes 5 Star Potential

Total Budget: 67.63M
Available: 11.57M

Analysis:We drafted 8th in the first round, so we were lucky enough to get Clayton Kershaw. He's a little pricey but I expect he'll be the foundation of the team and ace of the rotation for years to come (he's only 24). All in all, the draft turned out alright. I'm very pleased with the infield, as it is young and filled with players who can play multiple positions. The relief corps looks strong as well, but the outfield is a little weak and lacking depth. I'll be looking to acquire another OF and young starter.

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All-Star Break Update:

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Team Record:43-43 (2 GB of Blue Jays)
Trade: TB trades Hellickson, Rzepcynski, Bourgeois to BOS for T. Bauer and P. Hughes

All-Stars:
C. Kershaw
B. Lawrie
J. Hellickson (BOS)

American League wins 5-1 over National League

Analysis: Not a bad start. We had a losing record for April and May but went on a tear throughout June and July. It took us from 7GB to 2GB. Hopefully the rest of the season is an improvement.

Next Update: Season Stats

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2012 Season Recap:

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MLB Standings - Updated: Jan 1,
AL WILD CARD RACE	W	L	GB
Orioles	89	73	0
Tigers	85	77	4
Rangers	83	79	6
Twins	80	82	9
White Sox	80	82	9
Rays	79	83	10
Mariners	77	85	12
Indians	76	86	13
Athletics	73	89	16
Red Sox	71	91	18
Yankees	68	94	21
NL WILD CARD RACE	W	L	GB
Reds	85	77	0
Cardinals	84	78	1
Padres	83	79	2
Nationals	82	80	3
Diamonbacks	81	81	4
Giants	79	83	6
Phillies	76	86	9
Pirates	76	86	9
Dodgers	74	88	11
Astros	73	89	12
Marlins	73	89	12
Brewers	72	90	13
Mets	66	96	19

Thoughts: Things kind of fell of the rails in the second half of the season. Lawrie went down with an injury for a month and a half and the team just did not have enough depth to fill the void. The strangest thing is how unkind the fantasy draft was to the Yankees and Sox as their right at the bottom of the AL.

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2012 2012 Tampa Rays Stats Stats - Hitting
NAME	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	BA	OBP	SLG
M. Young	691	80	209	40	6	9	61	40	130	5	3	.302	.345	.417
T. Plouffe	632	70	159	33	6	16	63	54	134	1	0	.252	.312	.399
J. Reddick	631	84	178	28	2	24	90	65	121	6	0	.282	.352	.447
A. Craig	550	61	123	26	2	14	73	45	125	3	0	.224	.283	.355
M. Reynolds	547	67	126	24	5	27	87	41	153	3	1	.230	.286	.441
B. Lawrie	470	66	141	26	7	16	77	43	100	15	8	.300	.358	.487
J. Guzman	396	50	110	222	2	9	38	46	86	3	0	.278	.352	.412
B. Abreu	393	31	88	19	4	3	19	40	87	9	11	.224	.301	.316
R. Raburn	388	36	91	20	1	7	40	31	101	3	0	.235	.293	.345
L. Marson	316	26	67	13	3	3	31	29	63	1	0	.212	.278	.301
J. Molina	216	27	51	10	2	4	26	20	42	2	0	.236	.302	.356
E. Chavez	214	28	57	10	0	7	19	24	48	1	0	.266	.343	.411

2012 2012 Tampa Rays Stats Stats - Pitching
NAME	GP	GS	W	L	SV	QS	HLD	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	WHIP	ERA
C. Kershaw	34	34	13	11				209.1					185	1.22	3.14
P. Hughes	32	32	6	6				161.2					151	1.08	1.73
T. Wood	32	32	12	3				154.1					131	1.06	2.62
H. Alvarez	32	32	7	14				143					92	1.60	4.53
B. Mills	49	1	11	4				129					129	1.34	4.53
K. Drabek	13	12	0	3				62.2					48	1.47	4.31
D. Storen	44	0	2	4	34			49					44	1.14	2.57
K. Jansen	50	0	1	3			29	55.1					55	1.59	3.74

Thoughts: Pitching was the strongest part of this team. Kershaw didn't get a ton of wins but he had a low ERA and was helped a lot by great performances by Phil Hughes and Travis Wood. Wood was actually undefeated through August. Our hitting could use some work, but that's something I'll have to address after the off-season.

2012 results mlb.jpg

We'll need to get a winning record next season, otherwise we'll have an even more difficult time keeping our key guys.