SEC Showdown League -- Draft Results and Preview

 Happy holidays everyone! Just in time for Christmas, we have a new MLB Showdown league to share with everyone: the SEC Showdown league! Now, the league is not a simple "each teams alumni facing off" or making cards from current SEC players. Instead, we had some fun with players from 2000 to the present, "recruiting" (aka drafting) '01 style cards to SEC schools. Since we are playing as colleges, we didn't have a salary cap; instead, we limited the total OB that could be on a team's lineup and control in a team's rotation and bullpen. Needless to say: it's going to be an All Star league!!

That said - of course I picked player pictures from the college years if a team selected an alumnus!

We've got a 162 game schedule cooked up to play out this 16 team league, much like the 30 for 30 leagues of the past! So now, let's take a look at how the draft played out!

2011 Set - Baltimore Orioles

Remember the 2011 Mets set? (If not, look it up on the blog.) They have a bunch of high-OB, low-power bats. The Orioles are the exact opposite. Only one card is 9 OB; the rest are 7’s with power. Most Showdown players I know prefer higher On Base, but there are draftable cards in this lineup. 

Matt Wieters, for example, is a lock to be picked due to his C+12 defense. J.J. Hardy may get picked up by someone who values infield for a similar reason. Matt Reynolds doesn’t have the defense going for him, but he’s a 7 OB, B-Speed, 15-20 homer card for just 240.

2011 Set - Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays roster will give you whiplash. Jose Bautista may be the best position player in the set. (He’s tied with Mike Napoli for most points with 580.) Ricky Romero is a 520-point, tier-3, no-doubles, 7 IP ace. 

They also have 7 cards worth less than 100 points, including a starter and two closers.

2011 Set - Boston Red Sox

This might be the best squad in the 2011 set. They come in a close second in points to the Rangers overall, but have the top offense. 

The lineup features several draftable cards, from the big names like Jacoby Ellsbury, David Ortiz, and Adrian Gonzalez, to value, above-average bats including Josh Reddick and The Greek God of Walks, Kevin Youkilis. (Yes, he has an alt-foil, but he isn’t the only Red Sox player with one…) 

2011 Set - Tampa Bay Rays

As a small market, low budget team, the Rays don’t really have one big superstar. The closest they get is ace James Shields, a 520-point, tier-3 starter with no double who can pitch 8 innings. He’s the only 8 IP starter in the set. After that, there’s just a variety of cards that make positive contributions.

Ben Zobrist is a versatile, fast player with a nice chart and plus defense at 2B. Evan Longoria is one of just two 3B+4s in the set, and he hits for power. Casey Kotchman is a value 9 OB bat. Sam Fuld is Speed A and a plus defender in all three outfield positions. And Desmond Jennings is a versatile, speedy, 9 OB addition to the team via the Pennant Run. 

2011 Set - New York Yankees

Now this is a good lineup. I expected the pitching to be better – especially the rotation – but none of it is bad, and the lineup offers few breaks for opposing pitchers.

Leading the way is the monster power-hitting, A Speed, center fielder Curtis Granderson. The only thing you don’t like there is his low defense. A-Rod is past his prime, but he’s still a good hitter and defender. I love Derek Jeter as a cheap 9 OB, A Speed shortstop, if you don’t care about infield defense. (Shadows of former teammate Chuck Knoblauch’s OG Showdown cards?)

2011 Set - Minnesota Twins

Minnesota has arguably a worse 2011 team set than the Houston Astros. (They total 80 fewer points despite having one more card.) They have better pitching, but since Houston’s season was more affected by their trade deadline firesale than Minnesota, the Twins lack some of the base set batters that helps the Astros avoid being a complete dumpster fire of a team set.

Starter Scott Baker earned the foil, but it was a tough decision whom to make a foil here.