Mound Talk

1. Jose Reyes. Reyes is going as high as number two overall in early drafts with frequency. He’s a big time contributor in stolen bases and runs.
2. Jimmy Rollins. Rollins is coming off a career year and has the potential to improve. He’s got some big sticks hitting behind him and has the potential for a monster year contributing big in four categories.
3. Derek Jeter. Jeter had a bad power year last year but was still a huge fantasy producer. Expect the average to go down but the power to go up this year.
4. Hanley Ramirez. Stolen bases galore with this guy. He had a huge year last year and might be taken a bit early in some drafts.
5. Michael Young. Young has a great lineup and hit well last year. There isn’t much to not like with him.
6. Miguel Tejada. Tejada saw a resurgance in his average last season but, like Jeter, his power dipped. Baltimore is a bad situation for him with little help around him.
7. Rafael Furcal. There is a big dropoff between Tejada and Furcal but he’s still a good option. Good steals and runs with a moderate average.
8. Bill Hall. Hall will roam center field in Milwaukee this season but will still be eligible at short. He led all SS in home runs last year and with Milwaukee’s young but incredibly talented team, Hall is in store for another good season.
9. Carlos Guillen. Guillen is a very average shortstop. He will only really contribute in average so it’s a good idea to get someone above him on this list.
10. Julio Lugo. The move to Boston will help his runs and rbi totals but it will likely hurt his stolen base chances.
11. Felipe Lopez. Being in washington really hurts his value but he is still a good source of stolen bases.
12. Stephen Drew. The young Diamondback will have plenty of opportunities this season to produce. He hit over .300 in 209 at-bats last season and showed limited power at the major league level. He won’t steal many bases. Depending on his lineup spot, Drew could have great value for his draft position.
13. Edgar Renteria. Renteria is another very average player. He will produce more rbi than the other late picks at short but that’s about all.
14. JJ Hardy. Hardy is of course an injury risk but he’s got good upside. If he finds his way into the #2 spot in Milwaukee’s lineup he’ll have some big sticks hitting behind him.
15. Jason Bartlett. He really only brings average to the table and I doubt he’ll be able to replicate that number again.
16. Orlando Cabrera. Last year was a big year of Cabrera but he’s certainly capability of putting up near position average numbers in all categories. He can be another cheap source of steals late in your draft.
17. Troy Tulowitzki. The Rockies youngster looks to take over the starting job in Colorado and could be a good value pick late in the draft to give some insurance if you don’t get one of the top level players.
18. Jhonny Peralta. Peralta was a hot pick last year and didn’t live up to the billing.
19. David Eckstein. Eckstein just doesn’t have the lineup to give him much fantasy value. He doesn’t steal and has no power. In 500 at-bats last year he racked up only 23 rbi.
20. Juan Uribe. Uribe has some power but suffers from a very low average.