Going over ADPs this morning and my own rankings for the draft set to begin at 10:30am CST. 10 team, 5X5, 21-man rosters.  Hoping to pick mid to late first round, as I like to cluster 2 picks together and it gives me time to adjust rankings during the down periods.  Check back for updates and pick analysis as I get them posted.

RD1#9 Carlos Beltran – Whats not to like in a power/speed combo late in the first round.  Love his consistency. Picks in 1st round included Lincecum at #5 and Utley at #8.

RD2#2 Prince Fielder – Power bat and expect a rebound from last season, Braun was taken in the beginning of the second round, plenty of worry about his injury.

RD3#9 Shane Victorino – Nice speed and a little power in a great line-up. Furcal and Atkins taken right before.

RD4#2 Dan Uggla – Come on 25+ homers from a 2nd baseman, gotta go for him, hopefully his average doesn’t hurt me too much. Chipper Jones and Lidge (first closer off the board) taken this round.

RD5#9 Edwin Encarnacion – One of the last of power 3rd basemen, I expect big things from him this year.

RD6#2 Chris Iannetta – A hard hitting catcher that plays in Colorado, just hope he is not Chris Torrealba.

RD7#9 Francisco Cordero – Plenty of save opportunities from a team that is full of young talent and very under-rated.

RD8#2 Cameron Maybin – One of my favorite prospects and round 8 is pretty nice for Victorino-Lite.

RD9#9 Brett Myers – Pretty solid as my first starter, not elite, but should have a solid season.

RD10#2 Trevor Hoffman – Not really worried about the injury in the long run, one of the last closers on the board.

RD11#9 Johnny Cueto – Should see an improvement from last year, hoping he keeps the ball in the park. Sheets was autopicked right before my pick.

RD12#2 Matt Lindstrom – I know, I know, 2 injured closers, but they will be solid once healthy and love the ratios to help my team.

RD13#9 Khalil Greene – He is hitting the cover off the ball, of course that is now, but should be a rebound candidate in a better park and better lineup.

RD14#2 Jair Jurrjens – Surprised he was still on the board. Like his stuff and ratios, should build on last year.

RD15#9 Jordan Zimmerman – Lighting it up in spring training right now, but has one of the worst offenses behind him.

RD16#2 Tommy Hanson – Reached for one of my favorite prospects may only be in the minors for a month or two. Maybe pulled the trigger early but could pay off.

RD17#9 Dallas McPherson – Hoping he gets a starting job soon and puts up some of the ridiculous numbers he put up in the minors. Could be a good risk or my worst pick of the draft.

RD18#2 Ryan Church – When the Mets figure out how awful Castillo is hitting 2nd in the order he should be replaced by Church, could of had a monster season if not for injuries last year.

RD19#9 Ryan Spilborghs – Back-to-back Ryans. Only this one could put up 15/15 in Colorado.

RD20#2 Randy Wolf – Nice peripherals and pitching with a good line-up and pitchers park.

RD21#9 Jamie Moyer – Not a bad pick-up for my last selection, good line-up and should win 12+ games.

I almost feel dirty posting about myself participating in a fantasy league that included the dreaded American League, but I thought it would be a challenge.  Plus it made me use some of my free time during my extended layoff from employment (anybody need a personal chef in the Chicagoland area?) studying up on ADPs and players from the AL.  Most of the picks have some analysis (through round 13) and it can be found at the Crooked Pitch.  Let me know how I did through the comment section below or you can find me on twitter at @seniorcircuit.  This is a 26-man roster, including 2 C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, CI, MI, 5 OF, UT, 9 P, 3 BN, 5X5 scoring categories.

Yesterday afternoon I was fortunate enough to participate in a live National League only draft which consisted of 10 teams, standard 5X5 scoring categories, and 29 man rosters including 2 C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, 1 MI, 1 CI, 5 OF, 1 Util, 9 P, 6 Reserves.  I randomly was put in the 10th position of the draft.  Here is the outcome with only a few surprises in certain rounds and I may have reached for sleepers too early or just wanted to make sure I got players that would produce if called up or put into starting positions.

I feel that some people are counting Utley out for a significant portion of 2009 or are predicting him to not produce up to his usual level after this injury.  I am not one of these people, even if he starts the season on the DL through the first two weeks of the season, his value as the best 2nd baseman in the National League outweighs the risk.  I was more than happy to take Johan Santana & Chase Utley in the 1st and 2nd rounds.  I waited forever to draft a catcher but I think Ramon Hernandez may have a decent season with his power and the move to Great American Ballpark.  I may lack a true power hitter but feel I have a balance over all the hitting categories.  My pitching will be high on strikeouts and wins, but some of those wins will harm my ERA and WHIP.  Overall this is not bad beginning to the 2009 fantasy baseball season.