2012 Mock Draft, Rounds 3 & 4

As I stated previously, I am participating in a fantasy baseball slow mock draft being coordinated by Jeffrey from BleacherGM, which can be followed on Couch Managers. There are 14 teams and there will be a total of 16 rounds. The draft began on Tuesday, December 13th and was originally anticipated to last until sometime in February.

Four rounds completed in a little more than two days. As this article is published, 64 selections have been made over the first 54 hours. That's an average rate of 1.19 picks per hour or 28.4 picks per day, which means we could expect this draft to be finished in about eight days from when the draft began. Wednesday, December 21st is great compared to February as we will now have Christmas and New Years to ourselves.

It took a very long time for the draft to snake back to me in the third round. I knew I would not be able to stay awake to make my pick when it finally came to me around 3AM CST, so I filled my queue and hit the sack. I woke up this morning to find I had selected Jered Weaver, which is not a bad thing, but the next choice in my queue after him was who I would have really preferred. Mike Napoli would have been the big bat my current lineup needs who also has the ability to maintain a decent batting average and plays a position where those characteristics are unusual, but he was taken at the end of the round.

Round four had looped around quickly as it was time for my pick with the clock ticking when I sat down at the computer this morning. I really wanted to find that big bat, but also wanted to fill in a weak position before it was too late. I decided upon Ben Zobrist whom I have overlooked several years beforehand and only considered him now from what I had read. Rickie Weeks and Howie Kendrick were other options at the position, but I felt that Weeks' consistently low batting average would hurt me and thought it was too early for Kendrick. I would be ecstatic with this pick if the 2012 Zobrist is the same from 2011 or 2009.

Round #3, Pick #38 - Jered Weaver
This pick was a borderline mistake as I set my queue before I hit the sack last night and expected Weaver to be selected by one of the three teams before mine. The second player in my queue was actually my top choice as I hoped to use this round to acquire a big bat at a weak position, but Mike Napoli was taken before the round ended.

Round #4, Pick #47 - Ben Zobrist
I wanted to use round four to fulfill my desire of some power in an otherwise weak position. Rickie Weeks was a possibility, but his batting average would drag the team down. Howie Kendrick could have been another option, but not in round four. Rather than risk waiting, I chose Zobrist who has the power to hit 20-30 homeruns, drive in 80-90 runs, and potentially bat for a decent average.

Rounds 1 & 2
Rounds 3 & 4
Rounds 5 & 6
Rounds 7 & 8
Rounds 9 & 10
Rounds 11 & 12
Rounds 13 - 16

Critiques are welcomed!