CyberZahm Roto Baseball Grades for 2000 by Professor Leathernuts B I had no problem whatsoever with Pedro being the first pick. If he repeats his performance of last year he is worth it, he could carry you to first place in three categories. Then again, it will be difficult to repeat and pitchers are so fragile. Alverez was taken a little early. Mid to lower division. Pinstripes B Looks like Lofton might have been a steal at pick 218! Rest of OF might surprise. Pitching looks decent although Hampton was a reach at that spot. Middle division. Ballbusters A- I like this team. But that's what scares me. I always like Gabes' teams and they always stink. Could this be the year they play up to potential. Saw that Klesko went deep twice yesterday off of LHers. That's a good sign. Speed and power throughout. Pitching isn't any uglier than a lot of other teams. Upper division. Hogmen C Burrell pick was premature. Martin is leading the league in number of wives, but that's not one of our categories. Hunter was just released and is bitching about unfair labor practices. Petrick was just sent down (I almost took him but decided to play it safe). Three relievers all questionable. It is a long season which might help the Hogmen - but it also might just prolong the misery. Lower division - might be picking first next year. Mazins B- Like the ex-Nuzzahs Tatis and Giles. Snaked me with Martinez. Woods was a reach and the pitching does not impress me. Caminiti is a reserve move waiting to happen. Can McGriff be productive one more year? Lots of ?'s but might not be as terrible as many have stated. Still - lower division. Muckrats A- I think this team is going to surprise, but probably not contend in the end. I like the fact that there was a "plan" and that John stuck to it. But maybe stuck to it too much, picking players that fit the plan earlier than necessary (Kendall, Abreau, Casey). Mid to upper division. Invincibles A- I like this team. Liked the timing on many of the picks: Everett (why did Houston let this kid go?), T. Nixon, the Youngs, Vina, Hundley. Pitching might be hurting, seeing now how Johnson and Glavine are faring in ST. But that's just ST and not for real yet. Upper division. Tamales B+ Coming up the line my draft buddy snaked me a few times - Alfonso being the one that hurt the most as I wanted to take him in round 2 but it was too early and he made it back through 15 picks but was snagged with the 16th. I love Andruw Jones - he's gonna explode one of these years. But the rest of the OF doesn't impress, I thought Rolen was a little bit of a stretch given his injury potential. Looks like the Tamales put together a nice little pitching staff. Might contend. Red Foxes B+ Love the offense, the pitching ?????. Pitching is such a crapshoot anyway. Screwed up a few times. I wanted Hammonds but got snaked by Albert when I decided to wait just one more round before taking him (so I could claim AFernandez who undoubtably would have been available 7 picks later when Hammonds wasn't). Coming down the stretch there were two pitchers I had thought about taking and had even handed over to draft buddies as my selections - but when it came down to it I decided to "play it safe" and ended up with Dempster and Bottalico. The other two guys are looking brilliant in ST. Still, I gotta predict: Champ! Jack's Team B Liked some of the picks, but too many stretches and ?'s: Anderson (old), Bichette (at sea level), Green (in a pitchers park) etc. But I do like the pitching staff, considering where they were taken, and that could mean a lot of points. A good job by the rookie. Middle division. Panzas B+ Speed and power. Snaked me on Hammonds, Castillo. Pitching is decent. Too bad about Smoltz but Al will probably be able to replace him with some pitching phenom at the end of April. I guess Albert was hoping to start a pitching run with his Atlanta pitchers in rounds 3 and 4 but it didn't work. Gutsy move though. Kudos for keeping the draft moving while on the road (same to Hans and myself too, while I'm at it). Galarraga at UT might turn out to be a good gamble - I hope it does - you gotta like that guy. Upper division. Nuzzahs B Nice balanced team. Could be great if Walker stays healthy and Gwynn stays productive. Lieberthal and Duraziel taken a little early. Lots of gambles in the outfield. Pitching a crapshoot, like it is for many of us. Mid to upper division. All in all a great job by all. The season starts sometime after midnight tonight. Boxscores tomorrow! Good luck and have fun.