Need opinions on who to keep at the price

[Sean_C]

Hey gang.

I'm in a 14+ (can go up to 16) owner keeper league that has a $300 salary cap, 5 categories, and a twist where it comes to keepers. You can keep one player on your roster from last year (and only for this year, next he is a free agent), but you have to pay $5 more for him than the price he sold for last year. As a result, I have to try to pick 1 guy to keep on my roster for this season only at the following prices. What guy would you keep at the prices listed below (I've removed ones that obviously wouldn't be kept):

Russell Martin - $12
Robinson Cano - $40
Evan Longoria - $42
Starlin Castro - $15
Jed Lowrie - $7
Michael Bourn - $25
Austin Jackson - $21
Jose Tabata - $17
Aroldis Chapman - $6
Gio Gonzalez - $11
Javy Guerra - $10
Derek Holland - $10
Stephen Strasburg - $9
Jordan Zimmerman - $6

The one that would probably stick out to most is Strasburg for $9, but Zimmerman at $6 and Castro at $15 look mighty tempting. I'd go with Chapman at $6 if I knew what his role was as well. The good news is that I can add 4 of the other guys from the list (or my roster that also has Cano, CarGo, and Posey) and keep them for $1 more than whatever the high bid is during a pre-draft sealed bid process, so I have some room to work with, but any opinions as to who I should keep at the prices listed above would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Coachman35]

Strasburg $9, a no brainer for me...

 

[Jenkinssssss]

Starlin Castro - $15 and I'm a huge Strasburg fan. Castro simply has a better chance to earn $30+ than Strasburg because of his rumored IP limit. A true stud SP earns in the $30s and Strasburg will likely throw 30%+ less innings than the $30+ guys.

 

[Huffamaniac]

These look all like solid values

Starlin Castro - $15
Aroldis Chapman - $6
Gio Gonzalez - $11
Derek Holland - $10
Stephen Strasburg - $9
Jordan Zimmerman - $6

Castro, Strasburg and Holland are must keeps

 

[Archie Graham]

I echo the Strasburg and Starlin keeper comments but I would like a little clarification on the pre draft bid process.

Can someone artificially drive up the price on say, Cano and force your hand to not keep him at all? Or, does the high bidder have to purchase the player at that price?

 

[Sean_C]

The way our keeper selections work goes is as follows:

1st guy: you keep him at his last year salary + $5 (the reason for my question)
guys 2 through 5: everyone in the league gets to make one sealed bid sent to the commish for your player. On draft day, the commish announces your protected player, and the highest sealed bid for him (but not who made the bid). You have to decide right then and there (30 seconds) if you want to keep that protected player by spending $1 more than the highest sealed bid or not. If you don't, the highest sealed bid wins (with ties determined by coin flip).

For example: if I had Cano on my 2-5 list, everyone in the league gets to send one bid in on him. On draft day, the commish says "Robinson Cano, the high bid is $40 (if that was the highest bid on him). I can either keep him for $41, or let him go to the sealed bidder for $40. It adds a sense of continuity for the league, wipes out 50+ names from the draft board really quickly, and adds an additional element of strategy to the draft, as you don't necessarily want to go spending all of your budget too soon, but you may feel the need to not let guys go cheap while protecting the guys you want to go for cheap or allowing crazy bid prices to screw over a fellow owner.

I echo the Strasburg and Starlin keeper comments but I would like a little clarification on the pre draft bid process.

Can someone artificially drive up the price on say, Cano and force your hand to not keep him at all? Or, does the high bidder have to purchase the player at that price?

 

[lisu]

Starlin Castro - $15
Jed Lowrie - $7
Jose Tabata - $17
Gio Gonzalez - $11
Derek Holland - $10
Stephen Strasburg - $9
Jordan Zimmerman - $6

All of these look like ones you should keep at the price.

 

[Sean_C]

Can only keep one at those prices.

Starlin Castro - $15
Jed Lowrie - $7
Jose Tabata - $17
Gio Gonzalez - $11
Derek Holland - $10
Stephen Strasburg - $9
Jordan Zimmerman - $6

All of these look like ones you should keep at the price.