Backyard Baseball 2001 Draft: Seventh Round Recap and Analysis

If you are reading this for the first time and you don't know what this is, please refer to my previous article entitled "The Backyard Baseball Project". We then held the Backyard Baseball 2001 Draft Lottery. On Tuesday April 23, we began the draft. Slowly we are getting it done. Our owners have busy schedules with school wrapping up, which is why you might think this is all coming to you slow. Nevertheless, our GMs love  Backyard Baseball and are dedicated to building their franchises. If you aren't all caught up on the draft, here are the links to rounds 1-5:

First Round
Second Round
Third Round
Fourth Round
Fifth Round
Sixth Round
Now let's take a look at the current rosters.

Little 500 All-Stars (managed by Connor Boehm)Home field: Tin Can Alley
1) Pablo Sanchez
2) Mark McGwire
3) Chipper Jones
4) Stephanie Morgan
5) Juan Gonzalez
6) Ashley Webber
7) Sidney Webber

Kingston Bunt Smokers (managed by Will Fitzgerald)
Home field: Dirt Yards
1) Curt Schilling
2) Derek Jeter
3) Carlos Beltran
4) Alex Rodriguez
5) Jeff Bagwell
6) Tony Gwynn

Grand Salamis (managed by Tommy Mantice)
Home field: Steele Stadium
1) Sammy Sosa
2) Frank Thomas
3) Jose Canseco
4) Mike Piazza
5) Barry Larkin
6) Shawn Green

Vinnie the Gooch's All-Stars (managed by Eric Benjamin)
Home field: Cement Gardens
1) Ken Griffey Jr.
2) Achmed Khan
3) Randy Johnson
4) Cal Ripken Jr.
5) Jocinda Smith
6) Jason Giambi

Crazy Fishes (managed by CJ Revis)
Home field: Sandy Flats
1) Pete Wheeler
2) Kiesha Phillips
3) Luanne Lui
4) Angela Delvecchio
5) Mikey Thomas
6) Dante Robinson

Orange Wombats (managed by Grant Smith)
Home field: Playground Commons
1) Barry Bonds
2) Kenny Lofton
3) Vladimir Guerrero
4) Nomar Garciaparra
5) Annie Frazier
6) Sally Dobbs


And now, let's begin the seventh round. NOTE: Connor Boehm's seventh round was shared in the last round, when he drafted the Webber twins together. So we will be starting with Will Fitzgerald's pick.

2) (38 Overall) Kingston Bunt Smokers- Ivan Rodriguez
Pudge is a good option here. He's a good hitter and isn't too slow for a catcher. He can even pitch for you in relief. He's also a Gold Glove catcher, so he can obviously field and throw runners out that dare to steal on him. Good pick.

3) (39 Overall) Grand Salamis- Kenny Kawaguchi
Don't let the fact that Kenny is in a wheelchair deceive you. Kenny is a decent player. While he isn't the best by any means, he's a good pitcher and he's got good speed. Even better, Tommy is drafting his first backyard kid, a good sign. I'm still scratching my head as to why Tony Delvecchio still hasn't been taken yet. Maybe the GMs know something about him that I don't. But Kenny's not a bad late round pickup.

4) (40 Overall) Vinnie the Gooch's All-Stars (Eric Benjamin)- Jason Kendall
Jason Kendall is a very athletic catcher. He's got very good speed, which is good for a catcher to have, especially in the BYBL. Something I've believe is how important speed is to have in Backyard Baseball. Having a fast catcher certainly is a good thing. Jason's not going to hit a lot of homers but he will get on base pretty often. I like this pick, good value in the seventh round.

5) (41) Crazy Fishes (CJ Revis)- Dmitri Petrovic
When CJ picked Dmitri, Eric commented on the move, saying "Kid can't play but he'll raise the team GPA." Yes, Dmitri is a smart kid. Probably the smartest in the league. Dmitri is an absolute beast in Backyard Football, dominating on O and D-line and nailing every field goal attempt he's given. Some might say this isn't his sport. But Dmitri can hold his weight in baseball. He's a good hitter and a surprisingly better runner than you would think. He's not a great fielder. CJ is picking him to play catcher, which isn't a bad spot for him to be. Another good late round pickup.

6) (42 Overall) Orange Wombats (Grant Smith)- Larry Walker
I love this pick. Larry might be the most underrated player in the game. Whenever I watch him play he never fails to impress me. He has a knack for getting on base each game. He's faster than you expect. He's a great outfielder. He'll also clear the bases for you. He hits homers and will always knock runners in. This is a great pick. I expect him to fall, but maybe not this far. Larry's a great addition to any team.


So that concludes our seventh round. Now there are only two rounds left. Who will be Mr. Irrelevant? Or perhaps a better question: who will be the seven that will go undrafted? Who do you guys think? And whose team is looking the best as of right now? Comment and let me know. Or let me hear your thoughts on the Facebook fan page or on Twitter @vellvita7. Thanks so much for reading!