auction keeper league with $1000 cap

Just finished my second year and have tried to build and acquire as many prospects as possible with the goal of being competitive in 2009. We have a 30 man roster with no minors, and we can keep 15 players or $500 in a 10 team league. We can sign players for up to three years after the draft year, with a $10 increase to salary in the 1st year and $5 each in 2nd and 3rd. Here is my roster with current rosters and contracts.

C Ryan Doumit PIT 1/1 11.00
1B James Loney LAD 1/1 6.00
2B Howie Kendrick LAA 1/1 36.00
3B Alex Gordon KC 1/1 14.00
SS Troy Tulowitzki COL 1/3 11.00
OF Matt Holliday COL 1/3 105.00
OF Hunter Pence HOU 1/3 11.00
OF Jay Bruce CIN 1/1 13.00
UT Adam Lind TOR 1/1 11.00
SP Scott Kazmir TB 1/1 75.00
SP Dan Haren ARZ 1/1 58.00
SP Tim Lincecum SF 1/3 35.00
SP Johnny Cueto CIN 1/1 4.00
RP Jon Rauch ARZ 1/1 45.00
RP Joel Zumaya DET 1/1 10.00
RP Billy Wagner NYM 1/1 85.00
SP Livan Hernandez COL 1/1 18.00
2B, SS, OF Felipe Lopez STL 1/1 10.00
2B Orlando Hudson ARZ 1/1 7.00
RP Rafael Soriano ATL 1/3 11.00
OF Justin Upton ARZ 1/1 10.00
1B Joey Votto CIN 1/1 18.00
OF Josh Willingham FLA 1/1 1.00
SP Sean Gallagher OAK 1/1 10.00
OF Cameron Maybin FLA 1/1 13.00
OF Andrew McCutchen PIT 1/1 10.00
OF Colby Rasmus STL 1/1 12.00
SP/RP Joba Chamberlain NYY 1/1 10.00
SP David Price TB 1/1 10.00
3B Mat Gamel MLW 1/1 10.00

Next year's contract are:
OF Holliday 110 2/3
SP Lincecum 40 2/3
RP R Soriano 16 2/3
SS Tulo 16 2/3
OF Pence 16 2/3

My plan is to sign for sure
OF Bruce 23 1/3
OF Maybin 23 1/3
OF Upton 20 1/3
SP Cueto 14 1/2
SP Price 20 1/3
SP Joba 20 1/3
SP Haren 68 2/3
SP Kazmir 85 1/0(only 1 year)

Uncertain about Doumit, Gamel, McCutchen, Rasmus, Willingham(at 11 is a bargain as a backup but I am so OF deep already), Votto, Lind, Loney, Gordon? Maybe package some together for un upgrade? Not currently signing and corner IF but my pitching and OF are strong.

Any opinion you guys have would be appreciated. Just joined but the site looks good so far. Thanks for the help

Tough question with a lot of variables but Gordon at 14 dollars already seems pretty expensive. Willingham seems like a decent price but I also assume his level of production could be easy to find in even cheaper players. I like the signing of Doumit. Hard to find catchers that can do what he did this season in average and pop. I'd invest in the cheaper McCutchen before Rasmus right now. Rasmus has been a bit disappointing and his route to the bigs isn't as clear as McCutchens. I think I'd pay the price on Votto because his power and great average already are a very good sign. Trust him before unproven prospects as we all know baseball (Gordon) is extremely hard for prospect projections.

Finally, you always have to look to consolidate that talent, so if you can, do it! If you can find IF help that way, you'd be good to go.

Not sure how much that helped, but it is a start I think!

Thanks for the reply I should have mentioned that it is a H2H league with HR=4, hits,r and RBI =1, SB=3(so HR is really worth 7) and pitching is 10 for W and SV, 5 for hold and 1 for IP and K. My real problem is having to decide because of limits of cap for keepers - should I keep Votto or McCutchen - is signing Price and Joba for 3 years smart, or too risky? Being a Reds fan I love Votto but I don't think the others in the league do and I might get him for close to 28 in the auction. When we drop a guy on contract we pay 75%, but a drafted guy can be dropped free of charge. I am trying to maximize my value. WIth 18 OF and 12 Pitching spots a guy like Rasmus who might not even start in the bigs might go for a reasonable price. And at 2B Phillips, Cano and Uggla will be out there for sure(Utley, Pedroia and Kinlser will be signed) so I can draft a star there. Doumit at his price is a steal but the guy that owns Braun or Kinsler covets him so if I can roll a package with Doumit, Rasmus and a couple others I will probably do it.

I don't think Price and Joba are that risky and I do think Votto over McCutchen makes sense despite the prices. In baseball, you really have to go with the proven guy. Votto is young and much farther along in showing what he can do. A great start to his career no doubt. Still, if you are confident you can redraft him... go for it. Finally, Doumit is awesome but also has a small trackrecord of success so if you can package for Braun or Kinsler, by all means. Rasmus is a big question mark still anyway.