Mixed League Keeper Help

[MagSeven]

12 team mixed..$300 draft day budget..5x5...can keep up to 8...one catcher..I can make one trade before the draft and have to keep whoever i get in the trade.

Same league as Mith and Madducks.

2B - Dustin Ackley $1
SS - Elvis Andrus $20 * *
C - Alex Avila $1
1B-OF - Lance Berkman $4
1B - Ike Davis $2
1B - Freddie Freeman $7
2B-SS - Maicer Izturis $1
2B - Jason Kipnis $1
C-1B - Victor Martinez $21
C - Jesus Montero $1
OF - Nyjer Morgan $1
1B-OF - Logan Morrison $1
SS - Alexei Ramirez $21
OF - Colby Rasmus $12 *
1B-OF - Nick Swisher $10 *
OF - Chris Young $6 *
SP - Scott Baker $1
SP - Trevor Cahill $6 *
RP - Aroldis Chapman $8
RP - Frank Francisco $1
SP - Matt Garza $11
SP - Daniel Hudson $6 *
SP - Colby Lewis $6 *
SP - Francisco Liriano $20 *
RP - Mariano Rivera $28 *
RP - Jonny Venters $3
SP - Adam Wainwright $7
SP - Jordan Zimmermann $6

I'm leaning towards the 7 in bold, but Kipnis, Davis, Freeman, Swisher and Morrison are all tempting. Any thoughts? Thanks

[Gregg]

I think I like Ike Davis for the 8th pick.

[Sour Masher]

I like Kipnis at $1 for the final pick the most, but since you have Ackley, maybe Davis makes more sense. He's not a great choice, since you can get him back cheap, but I like Scott Baker to finally put it all together this year. He was great until his arm started acting up again. But if he can stay healthy, it won't surprise me if he outperformed Wainwright this year.

[Todd Zola]

Are you sure Jesus Montero is catcher eligible? Even if he is, I prefer Avila for 2012 and might look to package Montero and one of the $1 second baseman for a more established, even if more pricey keeper. I have Kipnis a tick higher than Ackley, but the difference is small.

My eight...

C - Alex Avila $1
1B - Freddie Freeman $7
2B - Jason Kipnis $1
OF - Chris Young $6 *
SP - Daniel Hudson $6 *
SP - Adam Wainwright $7
SP - Jordan Zimmermann $6
PLAYER ACQUIRED AFTER DEALING MONTERO AND ACKLEY

[DJBeasties]

My eight would be:

C - Alex Avila - $1
1B-OF - Logan Morrison $1
1B - Ike Davis $2
OF - Chris Young $6
SP - Daniel Hudson $6 *
SP - Adam Wainwright $7
SP - Jordan Zimmermann $6
RP - Jonny Venters $3

[willthethrill]

I like Logan Morrison more than Ike. Kipnis should have some trade value.

[cardboardbox]

out of that list I like Kipnis the best as the 8th keeper.

[Pauly]

call me crazy, but I'd rather have Zimmermann (pretty good idea of what he will do) than Wainwright (not really sure what he's gonna do at all)...and you save a buck in the process.

I also like Morrison over Ike davis.

[DMT]

You definitely have more than 8 solid keepers-13 by my count-so I'd echo what others have said about upgrading in multiplayer deal. In a 12-team mixed, closers aren't that valuable so Francisco should be in your trade group. Also, 1 of your 2 Cs. I think I'd rather keep Avila so Montero goes in the trade group. Berkman had a great bounce back but you have better and cheaper options. Ackley and Kipnis are a coin flip but depending on how the league values rookies not sure either are all that great as keepers. Of the 3 remaining 1B, I like Ike and Freeman. I would be looking at the teams that finished high last year and target their best players who are good value. Chances are one of them dumped and so is low on keeper options. Even something like a $35 Kemp or Longoria would be #1 on my target list since your hitters might be cheap but you'll need some stars to go along with them.

C - Alex Avila $1
1B - Ike Davis $2
1B - Freddie Freeman $7
OF - Chris Young $6
SP - Daniel Hudson $6
SP - Adam Wainwright $7
SP - Jordan Zimmermann $6
~~~~~~
C - Jesus Montero $1
1B-OF - Lance Berkman $4
1B-OF - Logan Morrison $1
2B - Jason Kipnis $1
2B - Dustin Ackley $1
RP - Frank Francisco $1

[Todd Zola]

In a 12-team league with a $300 cap, I personally don't quibble over a couple of bucks. Especially with the extra $40 cap over your standard $260 league, what usually happens is you budget "X" dollars for the end game and get a couple of players for $1 that you were prepared to pay more. So you either leave a couple bucks on the table or you spend the full remainder on a guy because someone else was in the same boat and your $5 left trumped his $4 left. The fact is, you could have gotten someone else exactly like that $5 player for $1.

All this is a set-up for pimping Freddie Freeman. Perhaps you disagree with my player evaluation, but in a vacuum, with no salary implication, who do you prefer, Freeman, Ike or LoMo? For me it Freeman and it isn't really that close -- at least not close enough to lose sleep over $5 or $6 in a league of this format.

[madducks]

I like these 8 +1

C - Jesus Montero $1
C - Alex Avila $1
1B-OF - Lance Berkman $4
1B - Ike Davis $2
2B - Dustin Ackley $1
OF - Chris Young $6
SP - Daniel Hudson $6
SP - Adam Wainwright $7
SP - Jordan Zimmermann $6

Since you only need one catcher, i would then try to make a 2 for 1 trade with a combination of Montero or Avila and Davis or Young. If you need to land a bigger star, you can sweeten the offer by throwing in Kipnis, Freeman, or Baker to make a 3 for 1 deal. Lots of trade combinations here.

[chancellor]

Hmmm...$300 mixed league? I'm going to toss out a different combo:

C - Avila
1B - Freeman
SS - Andrus
OF - CY
SP - Hudson, Wainwright, Zimmerman

If no trade, keep Ackley at 1, even in Seattle.

You'll still have plenty of cash, and a premier R/SB guy with a good BA at SS. And many trade chips. With a $300 starting point, try and find as close to a sure thing big stick in the OF you can get in a trade, even if he'd cost in the 20s or low 30s.

[joncarlos]

If Montero is really C-eligible then I'd take him over Avila, but it's close.

If you're spending $300 then you must have a MI position, so I am definitely keeping Kipnis for #8, the question is whether I'd change any of the first 7. I think I'd keep LoMo over Young but that's a toss-up.

[MagSeven]

Thanks for the thoughts; I figured that they would be varied and I was right. Well I do know that I have some studying to do to see which team or teams is in need of some cheap keepers, although they have to keep whoever I trade to them.