Howard Chen AKA Mr. Fantasy's Blog

Okay... so I'm watching the baseball draft special on ESPN right now, and some viewers might think Mr. Fantasy is absolutely nuts for deviating from the norm, such as the Yahoo default rankings, or the supposed consensus for the second overall pick.

There's no question that Hanley Ramirez is an outstanding talent who will continue to improve.  Yes, he hit for power, and was one of the league's top basestealers last season.  However, his stock dips this season without the services of Miguel Cabrera in the lineup.  Sorry, but without Cabrera in the vicinity behind him in the batting order, the following results happen:

A) Ramirez's runs decrease.

B) Pitchers can try to get Ramirez to chase some pitches, whereas with Cabrera, they'd have to truly challenge him.

C) After A+B, Ramirez's average, runs, stolen bases, and home runs will decrease.

Dan Uggla (average under .250), Jeremy Hermida (Mr. Inconsistent), and Cameron Maybin (great raw talent, but not polished yet) don't instill the same fears just yet.  I still figure Ramirez is good for 20-25 home runs and 45 stolen bases, along with an average of about .285.  Considering what else is around at shortstop this year, he's not worth the first-round pick.

As for Alfonso Soriano, he strikes out a ton, but Mr. Fantasy has faith that Lou Piniella will find the right spot for him in the lineup.  Think about it.  Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez are hitting behind him.  My guess is that Soriano will eventually slide from the 2nd spot to the 3rd spot in the order.  I also think Soriano is fully capable of hitting 40 home runs with 25-30 stolen bases and a .295 average.  Power is essential with that first pick.  Soriano's in a good lineup.  He'll be scoring plenty of runs.

By the way, since my rankings became public, as I look at them now, I'd probably move Carl Crawford up a bit, just ahead of Jimmy Rollins.

For the rankings that I am referring to, check out one of my old blogs labeled as the cheat sheet.

Any other questions, holla at me.