Words can only say so much. Sometimes you need the numbers.
Below you’ll find my corner rankings from today-on, the cheat sheet I’d use if I were walking into a new draft tonight. Every player currently corner eligible in Yahoo’s game is listed, with two exceptions; Victor Martinez(notes) and Jeff Clement(notes) are held off the list since no one would bother slotting them away from catcher.
What’s happened to this point counts as an audition, but this isn’t a ranking of what’s happened – it’s meant to be a ranking of what will happen. Don’t get hung up too much on the individual prices in a vacuum; what matters is how the players relate to each other. Game on.
$40 Albert Pujols(notes)
$38 Alex Rodriguez(notes)
$38 Miguel Cabrera(notes)
$37 Ryan Howard(notes)
$37 Prince Fielder(notes)
$37 Mark Teixeira(notes)
$35 Evan Longoria(notes)
$32 David Wright(notes)
Comments: Cabrera is sitting on a career-high walk rate and I can only see that number going up as teams accept that no one after Cabrera in the Detroit lineup is going to hurt them. … You’re allowed some early-season panic on unproven hitters, but don’t waste any time worrying about Teixeira and Fielder. Ninety percent of your worry should be about pitchers, anyway.
$30 Mark Reynolds(notes)
$29 Ryan Zimmerman(notes)
$28 Justin Morneau(notes)
$27 Pablo Sandoval(notes)
$26 Kendry Morales(notes)
$26 Kevin Youkilis(notes)
$25 Carlos Pena(notes)
$25 Adrian Gonzalez(notes)
$25 Joey Votto(notes)
$25 Billy Butler(notes)
$22 Derrek Lee(notes)
$22 Aramis Ramirez(notes)
Comments: Ramirez is someone I annually give a high ranking too, but I can’t remember the last time I actually purchased him. Maybe I’m starting to believe in goat curses. … The new park in Minnesota certainly isn’t going to hurt left-handed hitters and it might actually give them a push. Good news when you’re sitting on Morneau, Mauer and Kubel for the middle of your order. … It’s hard to believe multiple organizations gave up on Pena and Gonzalez before they merged into stars. I realize San Diego is playing well right now, but I still think there’s a 40-to-50 percent chance that Gonzalez is traded at some point during the year.
$20 Chone Figgins(notes)
$20 Lance Berkman(notes)
$20 Adam Dunn(notes)
$19 Ian Stewart(notes)
$18 Jorge Cantu(notes)
$18 Michael Cuddyer(notes)
$18 Gordon Beckham(notes)
$17 Chase Headley(notes)
$16 Martin Prado(notes)
$15 James Loney(notes)
$15 Chipper Jones(notes)
$15 Adam LaRoche(notes)
Comments: I’m not a Headley owner anywhere but he looks like one of the breakthrough players of the season (don’t overlook the sneaky speed). … Cantu takes an aggressive approach to the plate, but when he makes contact, you almost feel sorry for the baseball. This guy is a rope machine. … Prado picks up some extra value for the multiple positions he covers. And this is another guy squaring the baseball regularly – he’s currently got a ridiculous (and unsustainable) line-drive rate of 31.5 percent.
$14 Michael Young(notes)
$14 Adrian Beltre(notes)
$13 Garrett Jones(notes)
$13 Placido Polanco(notes)
$12 Casey McGehee(notes)
$12 Paul Konerko(notes)
$12 Jose Lopez(notes)
$11 Scott Rolen(notes)
$11 Nick Swisher(notes)
$11 Alex Gordon(notes)
$11 Nick Johnson(notes)
$11 Justin Smoak(notes)
$10 Juan Uribe(notes)
$10 Casey Kotchman(notes)
$10 Daric Barton(notes)
$10 Mark DeRosa(notes)
$10 Ike Davis(notes)
Comments: Barton has that Nick Johnson look to him, rolling up 19 free passes over 18 games. … The rookies are always the hardest to gage; Smoak and Davis could earn double their price, or be back in the minors in a month. If you’ve got a more optimistic projection for them, let’s hear it in the comments. … Kotchman will never get into the Hall of Fame without a ticket, but how can Seattle be batting him seventh regularly? Your lineup isn’t that good, Don Wakamatsu. … I’d go a few bucks higher on Uribe if I knew for sure the Giants would keep him in the lineup all year. The same goes for Wigginton in the next group.
$9 Miguel Tejada(notes)
$8 Ty Wigginton(notes)
$8 Aubrey Huff(notes)
$8 Conor Jackson(notes)
$7 Alberto Callaspo(notes)
$7 Casey Blake(notes)
$7 Kevin Kouzmanoff(notes)
$6 Gaby Sanchez(notes)
$6 Troy Glaus(notes)
$6 David Ortiz(notes)
$5 Blake DeWitt(notes)
$5 David Freese(notes)
$5 Russell Branyan(notes)
$5 Pedro Alvarez(notes)
$5 Brandon Inge(notes)
$5 Eric Chavez(notes)
$5 Jhonny Peralta(notes)
Comments: Ortiz might do a little damage now and then against righties at Fenway, but he’s overmatched against lefties and the production will fall significantly on the road. This won’t be a pretty endgame. … Huff’s value is buoyed by the fact that the Giants let him bat cleanup daily. So long as that sticks, you get a modest floor from the opportunity alone. … Peralta’s fly ball rate has hit a spike early in 2010, but I still don’t see this guy ever becoming a major power factor again.
$4 Jose Bautista(notes)
$4 Mark Teahen(notes)
$4 Todd Helton(notes)
$4 Matt LaPorta(notes)
$3 Edwin Encarnacion(notes)
$2 Ryan Raburn(notes)
$2 Maicer Izturis(notes)
$1 Adam Rosales(notes)
$0 Brandon Wood(notes)
Comments: Wood is out of options, so the Angels will have to suffer through this nightmare a little longer. But he looks completely overmatched right now
. …
Does the Coors Field effect keep Helton out of the Hall of Fame? I respect him as a very good player for many years, but there are scores of very good players who don’t deserve a plaque (Dwight Evans and Graig Nettles are two of my favorites).
I’ve said my piece. Your witness.