Pat Burrell

[Pete O]

In a keeper league, is he worth a roster spot?

[Transmogrifier]

Over whom?

[gypsyspot]

Unless you are keeping 15+ I would say not.

[Pete O]

Over another end of the draft type OF. I have to decide whether to keep him or put him back to the draft pool.

[kentx12]

I believe he will produce some pretty good numbers. Not knowing who would be available it would be hard to give you advise on him.

[stumpak]

Why would you keep him? He will be available at the bottom of the draft if you want him back.

[trevisc]

I agree. No one should be drafting him in the first 20 rounds. Just pick him up later

[KolbSaves]

yeah last year he got off to a horrid start, after a month or so I had to kick him to the wire and pick up Byrnes

[Erboes]

I strongly suggest you ignore the Burrell types in baseball and here's why:

If Burrell bounces back to hit .265-85-35-110-0 he'll still only be worth $19, or the same amount that types like Wilkerson, Alou, and Rondell White put up last season, and those were pretty mediocre and much below average for an OF. Even if he hits .275-90-40-125-0, that is only worth $24, which is, at best, average for an OF. Only if he gets his average up to somewhere in the .280's does he become slightly above average, and I wouldn't count on it.

I'll also tell you this, Sosa's the same way. If his average continues to drop even if he hits 50 HR's and knocks in 125 he'll be nothing more than an average OF. The fact is, any gains you'll have from Sosa or Burrell's HR's and RBI's will be negated by their lack of average and SB's. I practically scream every time I see Sosa going in the second round in these mock drafts. You're practically throwing away your pick is you ask me. You'll probably be hardly no worse off in overall numbers taking Burnitz late in the draft than you'd be taking Sosa. HR's and RBI's are way over valued. Stay away from these types I tell you. Stay away.

[stumpak]

I agree--I make this point in rergard to guys like Derrick Lee all the time. People get all ga-ga because he COULD hit 5-10 more HRs and a few more RBI now that he is playing at Wrigley, but in terms of total value, I believe this will be completely off-set by the fact that he will steel 10 fewer bases than last year, meaning that in terms of overall value, he could actually be worth less or at best the same this season, even if fulfills the HR potential that people project him having.