Rankings!

UPDATE: RANKINGS IN EXCEL FORMAT FOR TOP 250 AND POSITIONAL RANKINGS ARE AVAILABLE TO DOWNLOAD BY REQUEST: HERE AND HERE, RESPECTIVLY.

The MLB Front Office top 250 and positional rankings have been released! I was going to release the positional rankings by position, but in favor of time and organization, I have decided to release them all at once. They can be found here on one simple web page that is easy to read and can be printed to best fit your draft day needs. In addition the top 250 can be found here along with the top players from some other blogs all averaged together to get an ultimate rankings list! Remeber to take the overall rankings with a grain of salt. Some people are ranked akwardly when averaged because one person is really high or really low on the person. But it is certainly a good draft tool. Also in that list you can find positional breakdown by clicking the links at the very bottom of your screen as compared to other writers. I hope you find these draft tools helpful and as always, direct all questions and comments to: stew0610@ameritech.net. I always like hearing from readers.

I will continue my top 25 countdown to #1. Hopefully the rest will be up by tomorrow but it may run onto Monday.

#10: D. Ortiz – BOS DH

#10: Big Papi

He’s Big Papi, what else is there to say. What other names could we have for him: Mr. Clutch? BoTown Bomber? God? No matter what you want to call him, he is a machine. He won’t get you any SB and he doesn’t play any position but DH, but the guy can jack ‘em, and that’s all that matters. He's the kind of guy where the opposing catchers are asking for an autograph while hes batting.

Catcher: "Can I have your autograph"

Big Papi: "One second..."

Anouncer: "Going, Going, Gone!"

Big Papi after crossing home plate: "Here you go"

Ok, enough, heres a little bit more about God himself: He's 31 and his HR have been going up since 2000. That makes me wonder: Is 60 HR possible? If he can hit 60 people won't even care that he's only a DH. He will be the #1 pick over pujols. He won't get you any SB but his AVG won't kill you either.

One reason not to take him: No speed and no eligibilty. Sound familiar? I said the same thing for Hafner, and thats because those are the only flaws in the HR slugging DHs.

One reason to take him: He's Big Papi to most of the world and he's God to the city of Boston, because he's Mr. Clutch and he jacks a HR every third game.

#11: L. Berkman – HOU OF

#11: L. Berkman

When Berkman struggles...it usually is the bats fault! (see above) When it comes to NL value, Berkman aka “Mini- Pujols” is always, well, second to only Pujols in almost every category it seems. He is getting older but his numbers haven’t really taken much of a hit. He can provide you top 10 value and is certainly someone to consider if you have a late pick in the first round of any size draft. Berkman will also benefit from the recent acquisition of Carlos Lee.

Here's a little about Lance: 45 Hr, .315 AVG whats not to like? Unfortunatly, it hasn't always been that way. Lance has been fairly inconsistant over the course of his career. I always find it interesting to see how much they are owned on ESPN, in mixed leagues, he is owned in 99.9 percent of leagues. Begging the question: .1% where are you?

One reason not to take him: Inconsistancy. Last year was his first year above 40 HR since 2002. Lack of speed is also a concern: he has never had more than 10 SB. But If he's going to give me 40+ HR I can live with non speed from him.

One reason to take him: His numbers last year were superb and with the aquisition of Carlos Lee he will be hitting in an even better lineup!

#12: C. Lee – HOU OF

#12: C. Lee

C. Lee has always seemed like a misfit, mainly because he can’t really play the OF. After being traded from Milwaukee to Texas last year, he really excelled. Now he has returned to the NL Central so he can beat up on the mediocre Brewers pitching staff. He will offer you speed and power and while he probably won’t be able to repeat last year, he has a shot at it. He isn’t your typical top 15 pick because there isn’t anything to “sexy” about him, but he is worth it.

Here's a little more about Carlos: Last year was easily his career year, only the second time in his career that he has batted over .300. It was also a career high in SB and HR. However, his HR totals have been going up his whole career which begs the question: At age 30 can he break the 40 HR mark for the first time in his career?

One reason not to take him: So many questions! Can he maintain his HR and SB from last year? Can he break the 40 HR rate? Can he stay above .300? If yes, he will be a top 15 pick in EVERY SINGLE EXPERT'S mind next year, if not he will fall out of the top 25.

One reason to take him: Like mentioned before, his HR have been going up his whole career so this may finally be the year he breaks 40 HR. In addition, he is now playing for Houston which has a better lineup than any lineup he ever played with in Milwaukee.

#13: V. Guerrero – LAA OF

#13: V. Guerrero

Guerrero is now on the decline in his career but he is still a force to be reckoned with. It was only last year, after all, that he was a top 5 pick in most leagues. He has now fallen to #13 but he will certainly provide you good value here. But be warned, he doesn’t offer you much upside, so if you want upside you may want to nab Sizemore instead.

Here's a little bit more about Vlad: What he will give you is an AVG over .300, 30+ HR and 10+ SB. Those are very solid numbers. What he won't offer you are numbers much better than that. He is on the downfall of his career at age 31 and it looks like is 40 HR days are over, but you never know.

One reason not to take him: He doesn't have a lot of upside. He hasn't hit over 40 HR since 2000 and he hasn't had more than 20 SB since 2002 when he had 40! He was at one point in his career a 40/40 threat but he never quite reached that mark and those days are long ago.

One reason to take him: Consistancy. You know what you are getting from him and he has a superb average to go along with his decent HR and SB numbers. There is always the chance he could nab you 20 bases as well.

Q&A

I recently had the chance to talk to an old friend I used to play fantasy baseball with. He had a question for me regarding a new league he joined. The league we had played in together was head to head and he had just joined a roto league and wanted to know how to adjust his strategy.

Q: "I just joined a few rotos this year and was wondering if u wanted to give me some advice?"

A: I'd say thats its basically the same as head to head so your drafting strategy shouldnt change that much, but, in head to head leagues, there is an emphisis on getting star power while in roto leagues there is an emphisis on balance. This is why: In head to head leagues you have to beat try to win categories every week in order to beat your opponent, however in roto if you finish third in the league in every category over the course of the season, you will most likely win. So all in all, you're drafting strategy should not change that much but make sure you draft a very balanced team and a deep team. That talent off the bench is going to be very valuable.

I hope that helped! Do you have a question? Email me at: stew0610@ameritech.net and I will be happy to answer it for you!