1st Pick - Manny , Peavy or A. Ramirez ?

[ucf1956]

I play in a 5x5 keeper league - We can keep 4 players each year and I'm starting with:

J. Rollins
R. Howard
C. Hamels
J. Bruce

I can choose from Manny Ramirez, Jake Peavy or Aramis Ramirez for my first pick.

Which way do I go?

[dave knight]

Manny being Manny seems like a good deal there.

[Johnny Tuttle]

The other poster is right thinking Manny in the fifth is a good idea, but I'd check to see who got kept at 3B first though.

If A-Rod, Longoria, Cabrera, and Wright were all kept (and really, if they weren't, I'd like to join your league), you're facing a steep, steep decline to the next 3B--Chipper "Samuel L. Jackson in Unbreakable" Jones. After him is, I'd guess, Atkins? It gets scary in a hurry here.

You'd be scrambling at 3B all year if you didn't get Aramis there, and you could get another OF. Not Manny, but not EE or Mora either.

[Geek]

Good point about Aramis, but Youkilis and Chris Davis are also valid options there.

I'd probably still go Manny, just because his numbers will be so huge.

[dave knight]

Laugh all you want about Chipper, but if he falls to the sixth round it's a no-brainer. Chipper for 120 games and EE for 40 is just as good as A-Ram for the whole year.

Manny was a beast after getting traded.

[The Artful Dodger]

I'd go with Manny by a good bit, followed by A-Ram and Peavy in that order.

[Johnny Tuttle]

Chipper and EE cost two roster spots, and depending on weekly/daily lineups, can create some headaches. And as much as Chipper's always performed well despite the boo-boos, he's 37 in April. We're getting spoiled by what may very have been a HoF career, but there's some concern about him moving forward, I'd think, no?

Youklis is a decent option, for sure, but I'm not as convinced on Davis as some. I do like him, mind, but I wouldnt' consider him $ in the bank yet. These are extra options for 3B for sure if you do take Manny. Zimmerman's maybe not done evolving yet--he's surprisingly young given his service time. (Is he 24? I think so.)

With a variable player pool, I'm just very cautious about watching the tiers going in. Manny wouldn't a wrong choice by any stretch.

Is there a way to sell one of your nonkeepers for an extra first rounder to get Manny and A-Ram? I think we'd all like that.

[HOOTIE]

I'd go with Manny by a good bit, followed by A-Ram and Peavy in that order.

[dave knight]

Chipper and EE cost two roster spots, and depending on weekly/daily lineups, can create some headaches. And as much as Chipper's always performed well despite the boo-boos, he's 37 in April. We're getting spoiled by what may very have been a HoF career, but there's some concern about him moving forward, I'd think, no?

Of course there are concerns, but if you can get 3rd round talent in the 6th round then you do it and then work around it, whether it be EE or Alex Gordon or Kouzmanoff or whatever to take over for those few games he will miss. Let's not forget he hit .360 last year.

Now if you're really in a league without bench spots or Util spots, that's a different matter. Maybe don't pick him with weekly lineups (which I dont have a ton of experience with).

[Johnny Tuttle]

And that he's 37 in May.

Edit: Chipper's 37 in April. Manny's 37 in May. My bad.

I've seen Aramis in the third this year, too.