UPL Baseball Draft Lottery and 2010 Preview - Pick 8

The 8th pick in the 2010 UPL Baseball Draft goes to:

Cheeseheads

History: UPL Regular who seems to always finish right in the middle of the league. One podium finish (3rd place in 2003).

Tendencies: Somewhat of a silent UPL owner. One of two Milwaukee fans in the UPL (really? 2 out of the 20 or so UPL regulars? Strange.)

2009 Result: 6th place

Likely Keepers:
Offense Locks: Miguel Cabrera, Carl Crawford, Curtis Granderson, Adam Lind, Carlos Pena, Troy Tulowitski

Pitching Locks: Matt Cain, Ted Lilly, David Aardsma

Probable Keepers: David Ortiz, Alfonso Soriano, Geovany Soto, Paul Konerko, Adam LaRoche, Randy Wells, Joel Pineiro, Randy Wolf, Mike Gonzalez

Strengths and Question Marks:
Offensive Strengths: This offense looks loaded for the counting stats, complete with speed. Good mix of guys hitting their prime (Lind, Tulo, Miggy, Crawford), and reliable veterans.

Offensive Question Marks: Oddly enough, the rate stats (particularly OBP) could be a concern, which is strange given the emphasis on OBP in the Moneyball-era. Some injury issues w/ Ortiz, Konerko, Soriano could arise. Soto looking for a bounceback year. There is some question about some guys who have only had one great season (Lind) or have been inconsistent (Tulo). And despite his big profile move to NY, Granderson has actually been trending downward as a player the last 2 seasons (though his HR numbers popped last year).

Pitching Strengths: Matt Cain was pretty good last year. Ted Lilly seems to always be solid. Aardsma looks to be the closer for an improved Seattle team. That's about it.

Pitching Question Marks: Many. Lack of depth and quality. The pitching looks as questionable as the offense looks good. Let's just say that you don't want to be looking to keep guys like Randy Wells, Joel Pineiro, and Randy Wolf. Those are the guys you want to find in free agency in July...

2010 Outlook: The offense should be solid, and competitive in the counting stats, though may give away some points in OBP. The pitching will struggle to get to average. A couple smart moves could really change the fortunes of this team, and make this team a podium contender - the offense could be that good. But until then, this feels like a 6th or 7th place team.

Since the initial shakeup with the '90 Reds getting into the top 3, things have moved according to plan. When we come back, we'll announce the 7th pick of the 2010 UPL Baseball Draft.

-Chairman (aka O.N. Thugs)