Backyard Baseball 2001 Draft: Fourth Round Recap and Analysis

Earlier in the week began the Backyard Baseball 2001 Draft. If you don't know what I am talking about, refer to my article entitled "The Backyard Baseball Project". Monday night we held our Backyard Baseball 2001 Draft Lottery. If you missed the first round, catch up here: Backyard Baseball 2001 Draft: Round 1 Recap and Analysis. If you missed the second round, catch up here:Backyard Baseball 2001 Draft: Second Round Recap and Analysis. If you missed the third round, you can see that here: Backyard Baseball 2001 Draft: Third Round Recap and Draft Analysis. But before we dive in to the fourth round, let's take a quick look at how our GM's are doing. Teams are shown in order of draft order, and their picks are sorted by draft round.

Little 500 All-Stars (managed by Connor Boehm)
Home field: Tin Can Alley
1) Pablo Sanchez
2) Mark McGwire
3) Chipper Jones

Kingston Bunt Smokers (managed by Will Fitzgerald)
Home field: Dirt Yards
1) Curt Schilling
2) Derek Jeter
3) Carlos Beltran

Grand Salamis (managed by Tommy Mantice)
Home field: Steele Stadium
1) Sammy Sosa
2) Frank Thomas
3) Jose Canseco

Vinnie the Gooch's All-Stars (managed by Eric Benjamin)
Home field: Cement Gardens
1) Ken Griffey Jr.
2) Achmed Khan
3) Randy Johnson

Crazy Fishes (managed by CJ Revis)
Home field: Sandy Flats
1) Pete Wheeler
2) Kiesha Phillips
3) Luanne Lui

Orange Wombats
Home field: Playground Commons
1) Barry Bonds
2) Kenny Lofton
3) Vladimir Guerrero




Now let's recap the fourth round of the draft.

1) (19 Overall) Orange Wombats (Grant Smith)- Nomar Garciaparra
Nomar is very versatile. He can hit, field, he's fast and he's a good pitcher too. It was only a matter of time before he'd be off the board. I like this pick. Wondering if or when Grant is planning to draft some backyard kids and non-pros, but he's building up a good-looking squad so far.

2) (20 Overall) Crazy Fishes (CJ Revis)- Angela Delvecchio
This is the second time where I've said that maybe CJ should have gone with someone else with a pick and then he's gone and nabbed them in the following round. CJ knows what he's doing. He's drafting very well. Very well-rounded team. With Angela and Luanne he has two great pitching options that can do more than pitch. Angela's a great hitter. I recently watched her hit three home runs in a game. One was using an aluminum power bat, but still. The one thing Angela lacks is a good glove. But she won't have to make too many plays when she's on the hill.

3) (21 Overall) Vinnie the Gooch's All-Stars (Eric Benjamin)- Cal Ripken Jr.
Benjamin was amazed that Cal Ripken Jr., the iron man, was still on the board in the fourth round. Cal's never gonna miss a game. He is Mr. Durability. You can count on him day in and day out, and you can count on him in the clutch. He's another great fielder with a bat and good speed. I'm liking this team.

4) (22 Overall) Grand Salamis (Tommy Mantice)- Mike Piazza
Piazza's a good player. And he hits a fair amount of home runs. But this team already has three big power hitters in Thomas, Sosa and Canseco. I was thinking it was time Tommy to get himself some more speed and base runners. Otherwise he'll be hitting a lot of solo home runs and striking out a lot. Piazza's a good player and a good bat but I don't know if he's a good fit or a good pick at this spot for this team.

5) (23 Overall) Kingston Bunt Smokers (Will Fitzgerald)- Alex Rodriguez
A-Rod would have been a perfect pick for Tommy. Instead he goes to Fitz, who is looking to build a team made of speed. I like this pick. Bringing A-Rod and Jeter together won a World Series. It could work to this team's advantage here as well. A-Rod can hit field and run. He's got great fielding range. Watching him and Jeter together will be a lot of fun for us fans at home.

6) (24 Overall) Little 500 All-Stars (Connor Boehm)- Stephanie Morgan
I like this pick here. Stephanie isn't the best at one particular thing. But she's a good all-around player that can play wherever you need her to. She's a great fielder and she's very versatile. Great at shortstop, catcher or centerfield or wherever else she's needed. She has a great attitude and has great passion for the game. No other backyard kid loves baseball as much as she does. She's a hard worker and a good leader. She'll definitely do a good job bringing this team together and being the glue that holds them together. Because of her tough work ethic, she could develop into an even better player. She has a lot of potential and she could get even better over the course of the season. I really like this pick for Boehm's team.

Who were Draft Day Four's winners and losers? Comment below, or hit me up on my Facebook fan page or on Twitter @vellvita7. Thanks guys! Stay tuned for more! Still have another five rounds of this draft left and looking forward to writing about it all for you. Hope you are enjoying your day!