[youppi]

Which team do you think is the strongest based on their keeper selections?

TEAM 1 - Dunn, Peavy, Bay, R Howard, Z Duke
TEAM 2 - Sheffield, M Young, Pujols, Crawford, J Reyes
TEAM 3 - M Ramirez, Abreu, Furcal, Teixeira, Cantu
TEAM 4 - Jeter, Zito, Lugo, Buehrle, B Myers
TEAM 5 - Tejada, D Ortiz, M Cabrera, D Wright, J Santana
TEAM 6 - P Martinez, D Lee, Soriano, C Lee, J Rollins
TEAM 7 - Guerrero, Konerko, Suzuki, Figgins, Utley
TEAM 8 - C Jones, A Rodriguez, M Rivera, A Jones, Berkman

[Lefty Noob]

Wow, that's a tougie. I like Team 2 with Seff, Young and Pujols, but then Team 5 with Tejada, Papi, Cabrera and Santana is awful nice too. Then with Team 8, you've got A-Rod, Mariano and a lot of potential in the Joneses. My gut would probably say go with either 2 or 5, but that's just me.

[witter]

I would go Team 8. You get the premier 3rd basemen, a premier closer, and a stud outfielder (Andruw Jones) that still might not have reached his ceiling.

I will explain my reasoning based on the league I play in. In my league we play head to head with 5 offensive categories (BA, RBI, R, SB, and HR) and 5 pitching categories (W, K, ERA, WHIP, and S). There are 12 teams and 3 Divisions. The 3 Division winners and 1 Wild Card make the playoffs.
We start each season with 9 keepers (6 offensive, 3 pitcher). We play with a $300 salary cap and a roster of 14 offensive and 9 pitchers. If you go crazy with the $30 keepers, you are going to be filling out your team with has beens and never will bes. As it stands, your roster has to average $13 a player.

Team 8 Keepers:

• ARod gets you HR, BA, RBI, and Rs across the board.
• Andruw Jones has 50+ homer potential. He does not steal bases any more, like a certain Sammy Sosa did when he became a homer guy and lost the 5 tool label.
• Chipper will get you 25 HRs, a decent BA, and RBIs.
• Berkman = 25-30 HRs, BA, Rs, and decent RBIs. Hopefully he stays healthy.
• Rivera gets you saves, WHIP, ERA, and a few Ks. You don't have to worry about a closer in the first couple of rounds.

In this post (hopefully) juiced era, there are a lot of HRs spread among your keepers and you still get a 1st baseman to add to your totals.

I personally believe you win more titles with BA, stolen bases, runs, saves, and WHIP. These often overlooked categories, along with a team that can ocassionally outhomer or strikeout the opposition, will get you wins week in and week out. In the playoffs, if the situation allows, I try to pick up the best available 2 start pitchers before my opponent can. However, I don't shuffle starters as much during the regular season because I have to pay the pot for each move.

The keeper list for all eight teams did not corner the market on starting pitchers or speed. Johan Santanna, Zito, and Duke are gone, but you still have quality starters available in the draft. A couple of premier speed guys are off the board (Crawford, Suzuki, and Figgins), but there is still a chance to pick up some speed. The light hitting Chicagoans, Podsednik and Pierre would be good fits on team 8. It already has plenty of power. Carlos Beltran would potentially provide the stolen bases and power numbers.

I feel that Team 8 provides the best starting point heading into the draft. Team 7 has a great base for SBs and several offensive categories, but they do not have one pitcher. They would be my 2nd pick.

My keepers in my league:
Sexson, Richie 1B SEA
Figgins, Chone 3B ANA
Lopez, Felipe SS CIN
Kent, Jeff 2B LA
Jones, Andruw CF ATL
Pierre, Juan CF CHC
Buehrle, Mark SP CHW
Duke, Zach SP PIT
Perez, Oliver SP PIT
I have $97 to play with on draft day. Odds are I will not be able to stand having two Pirate starting pitchers at mid-season, but I like these 2 young kids and I hope they can get some run support.

[klosterj]

I'd say Team 2 also. Five studs in their prime. That team should have a chance to compete in all five traditional roto categories without much problem. That being said, all of those teams look pretty good.

[MJHMarc]

Team 2:If Pujols continues what he started...any fantasy team with him on it will win.

Jose Reyes is a great source of speed and stolen bases. Same with Crawford!

Sheffield should send at least 30 balls over the fence.

Michael Young is considerably the best shortstop in the MLB (of last year's CBS rankings)

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by youppi

Which team do you think is the strongest based on their keeper selections?

TEAM 1 - Dunn, Peavy, Bay, R Howard, Z Duke
TEAM 2 - Sheffield, M Young, Pujols, Crawford, J Reyes
TEAM 3 - M Ramirez, Abreu, Furcal, Teixeira, Cantu
TEAM 4 - Jeter, Zito, Lugo, Buehrle, B Myers
TEAM 5 - Tejada, D Ortiz, M Cabrera, D Wright, J Santana
TEAM 6 - P Martinez, D Lee, Soriano, C Lee, J Rollins
TEAM 7 - Guerrero, Konerko, Suzuki, Figgins, Utley
TEAM 8 - C Jones, A Rodriguez, M Rivera, A Jones, Berkman

Team 5 has no weak points...as long as Tejadas returns to past form...I'd take them over the others ...with Team 8 a close second...