The first thing that comes to mind when asked to name “The 2009 First Half All-Surprise Team” is to look at those individuals that have out-performed their predicted performance numbers.  Another logical approach is to evaluate those players that have significantly under-performed their expectations.  A third category would be to simply list the “bust” players that have greatly missed their mark largely due to injury.

So, in this article I will honor one of my favorite movies of all time: “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”.  Below is a list of the three types of surprise teams.

Since I’m more of a Clint Eastwood fan, I’m not going to spend any time discussing the bad and the ugly.  Just take a good look at those lists and it will make your eyes water worse than a sack of seven year old kimchee.

While I was looking at “Eastwood’s Best”, several positions were hands-down no contests, while others took a little consideration.

When choosing a surprise team, I think “Value” is more important than sheer numbers.  A player that was drafted in the 4^th or 5^th round and is delivering 2^nd round value is a great help to your team.  However, a player drafted in rounds 16 or later that is providing upper tier value will catapult you to the top of the league.  Therefore, my approach was to look at players based on their Average Draft Position (ADP) and the round selected to find the players with the greatest productivity compared to where they may have been drafted.

That’s it for the surprises for the first third of the season.  There’s still a long way to go.  Enjoy the pickled pig’s feet and kimchee the rest of the way.

Who has the best First-Half All-Surprise Team?
Currently no polls available to vote