Who would you keep?

[Erik]

10-team league that draws from 17 MLB teams (some AL, some NL). 5x5 with OBP and net steals instead of AVG and SB.

We have some unusual rules, including a $75 cap instead of $260, a $.25 minimum bid instead of $1, and no long-term contracts, but year-to-year raises instead. To keep someone, you pay him $1 or 150% of his previous year's salary, whichever is greater.

We can keep up to 6.

I am likely to keep these four for sure: (multiply by 3.5 to get a sense of what salary would be in $260 cap)

1B Butler $3.75
1B Howard $2.25
OF Kemp $8
P Cueto $1.50

Which two do you like from this list?

1B/2B/3B Keppinger $1.25
2B/SS/OF Zobrist $5
1B Olt $1
SS E. Aybar $1.50
OF Dirks $1.25
OF David Murphy $1
DH Scott $1
2B Profar $1
3B Rendon $1
P Archer $1
P Axford $3
P Cobb $1.50
P Hanrahan $2.25
P Hellickson $2.25
P Turner $1
P Delgado $1
P Smyly $1

[Stephen]

I'd keep Zobrist and Aybar and throw Howard back.

[Erik]

In a $260 cap league, Howard's keeper price would be $8. You really don't think he's gonna earn that? Even though we don't use AVG?

[Stephen]

He might. I just think that Zobrist is a definite at that price given his flexibility and Aybar is more likely to bring in profit at his price than Howard is.

I also think that unless you in a league of hardcore Phillies fans that Aybar and Zobrist go for a good bit more than than Howard if you toss them back into the draft.

It's tough to know who will available and depth in your league because of the unusual player pool, but even with just a 17 team player pool you have a lot of strong options at 1B in a 10 team league.

[joncarlos]

Zobrist and Howard are not guys I would normally like but in an OBP league that's relatively shallow, I think you have to do it.

1B Butler $3.75
1B Howard $2.25
OF Kemp $8
P Cueto $1.50
P Axford $3
SS E. Aybar $1.50

I really like David Murphy too. I could be talked into keeping him over Zorilla.

[Erik]

You like Axford at $3 better than Hanrahan at $2.25?

[joncarlos]

You like Axford at $3 better than Hanrahan at $2.25?

I'm so not on the Hammer Train it's not funny.

If that's a representative price for closers (ie they go super cheap) then I would throw back Axford and keep Murphy or Profar. But in a 10 out of 17 team situation I would expect closers are fairly scarce.

[Erik]

Closers tend not to go for a whole lot. Most of the guys in the Axford/Hanrahan tier will be in the $3-4 range. Kimbrel will go for about $6, the Papelbon tier around $5.

[Erik]

Auctioned today. Here's what I ended up with. I usually don't go in with a preordained strategy, preferring to grab value where it falls, but I wasn't expecting it to look anything like this at all.

C Napoli $2.75
1B Butler $3.75 (k)
3B Beltre $6.25
CI Howard $2.25 (k)
2B Pedroia $7.25
SS Aybar $1.50 (k)
MI Peralta $1.50
OF Kemp $8 (k)
OF Choo $4
OF Markakis $3.50
OF Span $.50
OF Stubbs $.75
UT Reynolds $.50
P Cueto $1.50 (k)
P Verlander $10
P F. Hernandez $8
P Minor $2
P Beckett $.75
P Hanrahan $2.25 (k)
P Papelbon $4.50
P Frieri $2

Bench:

OF/1B Hart $.25
P Madson $.50
C Ruiz $.25
OF Puig $.50

Another one of our quirky rules is that as part of your $75 auction dollars, you can buy anywhere from 0 to 9 bench players (no distinction between major leaguers and minor leaguers). You can then fill out your bench in FAAB (budget is $10 for the whole year.) So I have 5 more bench players/prospects to buy. Will need at least one more starter so I can sit Beckett when needed. Will also bid on A. Bailey, who went undrafted, as hedge for Hanrahan. And I could use an extra body at MI.

Bought much more pitching than I expected to, but certainly have enough to work with to pull off a deal for hitting if I need to.