Thome was about the only guy I wanted that got drafted before I got a chance to take him, waited one turn too long. He was a great pick that late, I had Thome and Blalock set in my queue and was going to pull the trigger on either of them
I always look for that guy too. Last year, Richie Sexson was coming off a year where he was out for the Brewers all year long with a shoulder injury, signed the money deal with the Mariners in the offseason, and I stole him in the late rounds where he went on to produce 39 HR 121 RBI. Sexson had always been good for 40 HR/100 RBI. The similarities between him and Thome are striking. Last year Thome was out all year for the Phils, and he too had always been a 40 HR (5 straight years) 100 RBI guy. Then he signed the deal with the Sox and now he's coming charging out of the box off to a great start.
Zod and I were talking about how I predicted he'd finish in the top 3 last year when I saw how he drafted Soriano, Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome as his first 3. Well, much like the forecasts I made this year, it's contingent on players not getting injured, and unfortunately, losing a high-round player like Thome is basically irreplaceable.