OBSESSED BALLERS FANTASY BASEBALL LEAGUE

As we prepare for the 2012 OBFBL RK draft, let’s take a look back at the 8 previous years.

The goal for everyone entering the RK draft is to select the next superstar that’s going to be the cornerstone of your franchise for years to come.
We arm ourselves with as much Top Prospect information we can find and go into the RK draft with the belief that we’re going to land the next BIG thing.

In this article we’ll look back and analyze the past 8 RK drafts by Year. Part 2 of the article will take a close look at RK draft results by player position, by draft position and success ratios per OBFBL team.

Refer to the RK Draft page for a link to spreadsheet containing all the draft’s history and additional data.

OBFBL RK Draft by Year:

2004
Summary: The RK system – a concept initiated by departed owner Damon Hawkey – seemed like a great addition to the OBFBL, but most of us didn’t have a clue about what to do for it, or who to take. We searched for whatever information we could find on prospects and/or rookie of the year candidates. The end result was that no superstars were taken, but several good players, and a few definitive busts. This was the only time that every team in the league made an RK pick as trading of RK picks became increasing popular each year.

Draft Results:
Superstars (was a star during their 3-year RK contract and for several years after)  [0 players]:  N/A
Studs (consistent success during and/or post their RK contract)  [3 players]: Joe Mauer (#1 overall – Whitby Poo Dogs), Justin Morneau (#5 – Ajax Super Sods), Jason Bay (#6 – Brooklin Legacy)
Moderate success (during and/or post their RK contract) [3 players]: B.J. Upton (#8 – Frankford Fury), Edwin Jackson (#7 – Beaverton Gaping Gash), Rickie Weeks (#9 – Durham Dick Dogs)
Busts (limited or no success in their MLB career) [4 players]: Kaz Matsui (#2 – London Tribe), Khalil Greene (#3 NYMD – now TMB), Bobby Crosby (#4 – Nomads – now BBB), Jeremy Reed (#12 – Etobicoke Crackheads)

2005
Summary: Prior to this RK draft, the Pickering Dynasty (then known as the Port Delhousie High Tops) joined the league and made trades to end up with 3 picks, including #1 & #2. The 2005 draft yielded 4 superstar RKs (the highest of any RK draft), but unfortunately for the Dynasty none of their 3 picks resulted in much success. The draft also had 4 of the biggest RK busts ever

Draft Results:
Superstars (was a star during their 3-year RK contract and for several years after) [4 players]: Ryan Howard (#3 – Crackheads), Felix Hernandez (#4 – Fury), Prince Fielder (#8 – Nomads / BBB), Grady Sizemore (#12 – Dick Dogs)
Studs (consistent success during and/or post their RK contract) [0 players]: N/A
Moderate success (during and/or post their RK contract) [4 players]: Delmon Young (#2 – Dynasty), Scott Kazmir (#6 – Super Sods), Tadahito Iguchi (#9 – Dynasty), Gavin Floyd (#11 – NYMD / TMB)
Busts (limited or no success in their MLB career) [4 players]: Dallas McPherson (#1 – Dynasty), JD Closser (#4 – Legacy), Chris Burke (#7 – Tribe), Andy Marte (#10 – Fury)

2006
Summary: The prize of the 2006 draft was top prospect Jeremy Hermida, who appeared to be a can’t-miss, but ended up being the 2nd consecutive #1 RK pick to be a massive bust. This draft did yield one superstar player (Verlander) and a couple studs, but the rest of the draft contained either a few players with some limited success during the RK contract and then fizzled out, or several all-out busts. Looking back, the RK class of 2006 is arguably the worst overall in the 8-year RK history

Draft Results:
Superstars (was a star during their 3-year RK contract and for several years after) [1 player]: Justin Verlander (#6 – Dynasty)
Studs (consistent success during and/or post their RK contract) [2 players]: Matt Cain (#5 – Poo Dogs), Ryan Zimmerman (#8 – NYMD/TMB)
Moderate success (during and/or post their RK contract) [3 players]: Francisco Liriano (#2 – Legacy), Bobby Jenks (#3 – Poo Dogs), Chris Ray (#12 – Fury)
Busts (limited or no success in their MLB career) [5 players]: Jeremy Hermida (#1 – Nomads / BBB), Brandon Wood (#4 – Legacy), Lastings Milledge (#7 – Legacy), Mike Jacobs (#9 – Super Sods), Kenji Johjima (#10 – Nomads/BBB)

2007
Summary: A quick glance at the results of the 2007 RK draft and there is an obvious trend that stands out. Remarkably, the first half of the draft is quite weak, while the second half was incredible, thus proving that often it doesn’t matter where in the draft your pick is as long as you have one. Overall, this draft rivals 2005 as the two strongest. The #1 pick – Alex Gordon – was a definite bust during his RK contract (for the 3rd straight year), but his value is rising after a strong 2011 season

Draft Results:
Superstars (was a star during their 3-year RK contract and for several years after) [3 players]: Ryan Braun (#6 – Poo Dogs), Troy Tulowitzki (#9 – Super Sods), Joey Votto (#11 – Legacy)
Studs (consistent success during and/or post their RK contract) [1 player]: Justin Upton (#11 – Super Sods)
Moderate success (during and/or post their RK contract) [4 players]: Alex Gordon (#1 – Fury), Daisuke Matsuzaka (#2 – NYMD/TMB), Chris Young (#5 – Fury), Billy Butler (#7 – Nomads/BBB)
Busts (limited or no success in their MLB career) [3 players]: Phil Hughes (#3 – NYMD/TMB), Homer Bailey (#4 – Tribe), Mike Pelfrey (#8 – Tribe)

2008
Summary: The Aurora Asshats join the league and did their first RK draft, making 3 picks including #1. The 2008 seems to be clearly split between hits and misses, with not much in between. A few of the picks who were headed for Bust status after only minimal success in their RK contracts have since broken out with strong seasons in 2011, their first post RK. A couple superstars have already emerged from the RK draft, with more potentially getting to that status in 2012. The draft also saw the first player to be selected who hadn’t played a single professional baseball game (Price)

Draft Results:
Superstars (was a star during their 3-year RK contract and for several years after) [2 players]: Evan Longoria (#2 – Legacy), Jacoby Ellsbury (#6 – NYMD / TMB)
Studs (consistent success during and/or post their RK contract) [2 players]: David Price (#9 – Crackheads), Clayton Kershaw (#10 – Super Sods)
Moderate success (during and/or post their RK contract) [5 players]: Jay Bruce (#1 – Asshats), Cameron Maybin (#3 – Nomads/BBB), Clay Buchholz (#4 – Asshats), Colby Rasmus (#7 – Fury), Ian Kennedy (#11 – Tribe)
Busts (limited or no success in their MLB career) [5 players]: Joba Chamberlain (#5 – Dick Dogs), Kosuke Fukudome (#8 – Nomads/BBB), Andy Laroche (#12 – Fury), Travis Snider (#13 – Fury), Geovany Soto (#14 – Asshats)

2009
Summary: The class of 2009 just completed their RK contracts, and so far only one stud has emerged (McCutchen) but several others are on the verge. The 2009 draft also set 2 records: most # of picks by one team – Dynasty with 5, including four in a row;  and fewest number of teams that had RK picks: only 6 teams or half the league.  NOTE: The “busts” are solely based on RK performance up to last year, and some players may be late bloomers

Draft Results:
Superstars (was a star during their 3-year RK contract and for several years after) [0 players]: N/A
Studs (consistent success during and/or post their RK contract) [1 players]: Andrew McCutchen (#11 – Nomads/BBB)
Moderate success (during and/or post their RK contract) [6 players]: Matt Wieters (#1 – Crackheads), Jason Heyward (#2 – Super Sods), Pablo Sandoval (#4 – Asshats), Neftali Feliz (#5 – Dynasty), Elvis Andrus (#8 – Dynasty), Madison Bumgarner (#9 – Dynasty)
Busts (limited or no success in their MLB career so far) [5 players]: Dexter Fowler (#3 – NYMD/TMB), Matt LaPorta (Nomads / BBB), Pedro Alvarez (#7 – Dynasty), Justin Smoak (#10 – Dynasty), Mat Gamel (#12 – Super Sods)

2010
Summary: With just 2-years completed for their RK contracts, the class of 2010 already looks to be a strong one. One Stud has already emerged out of the group (Stanton), and it looks like several more might reach that status this year or next. The 2010 RK draft was the final one for founder of the RK draft – Damon Hawkey / Nomads.  NOTE: The “busts” are solely based on RK performance so far in the first two years on the RK contract, and will be subject to change based on performance in the 2012 season and upcoming. A new category “Undetermined yet” was added for those players who can’t be fairly categorized yet

Draft Results:
Superstars (was a star during their 3-year RK contract and for several years after) [0 players]: N/A
Studs (consistent success during and/or post their RK contract) [1 players]: Mike Stanton (#2 – Tribe)
Moderate success (during and/or post their RK contract) [6 players]: Stephen Strasburg (#1 – Crackheads), Desmond Jennings (#3 – Crackheads), Buster Posey (#9 – Legacy), Carlos Santana (#10 – Nomads / BBB)
Busts (limited or no success in their MLB career so far) [4 players]: Brian Matusz (#4 – Super Sods), Kyle Blanks (#6 – Super Sods), Wade Davis (#7 – TCD / TMB), Brett Wallace (#12 – TCD / TMB)
Undetermined yet (could go either way, depending on success in 2012) [3 players]: Alcides Escobar (#5 – Crackheads), Jesus Montero (#8 – Fury), Dustin Ackley (#11 – Crackheads)

2011
Summary: The most recent RK draft was a very interesting one with 2 supposed “can’t-miss” prospects on top (Harper / Trout), and a lot of interesting picks mixed in, including a dynamic closer (Kimbrel) and a player that is projected to be a stud but was potentially far away from making the majors (Machado). This was the first RK draft for the two new expansion teams – Brampton Blue Balls and Toronto Motorboats – who each acquired additional RK picks and had 5 picks between them.  NOTE: The “Undetermined yet” category is used for those players who can’t be fairly categorized yet

Draft Results:
Superstars (was a star during their 3-year RK contract and for several years after) [0 players]: N/A
Studs (consistent success during and/or post their RK contract) [1 players]: Craig Kimbrel (#5 – Blue Balls)
Moderate success (during and/or post their RK contract) [3 players]: Jeremy Hellickson (#4 – Fury), Eric Hosmer (#7 – Blue Balls), Michael Pineda (#12 – Tribe)
Busts (limited or no success in their MLB career so far) [0 players]: N/A
Undetermined yet (could go either way, depending on success in 2012/2013) [8 players]: Bryce Harper (#1 – Asshats), Mike Trout (#2 – Super Sods), Domonic Brown (#3 – Poo Dogs), Mike Moustakas (#6 – Motorboats), Aroldis Chapman (#8 – Asshats), Julio Teheran (#9 – Blue Balls), Wil Myers (#10 – Motorboats), Manny Machado (#11 – Poo Dogs)

Next:
Stay tuned for Part 2 of the article coming in about a week, as we get closer to the 2012 RK draft