#1 overall (points league) - Pujols or Hanley???

[jason_boris]

In a 12-team yahoo fantasy points league (NOT ROTO), who would you choose if you had the #1 overall pick (which is the position I'm in right now)? We do not use corner or middle infielders, so you basically have a daily starting lineup of (C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OF, OF, OF, UTL). Here is the league point system:

R 1
1B 1
2B 2
3B 3
HR 4
RBI 1
SB 2
CS -1
BB 1
HBP 1
K -0.5

I can really make a case for either player. I think over the course of the season, Pujols might get more total points than Hanley, but 1st base is such a deep position. If you take position scarcity into account, I would think that would propel Hanley (and perhaps even Wright to a certain extent) above Pujols.

I think the way you have to attack this issue is to look at your first three rounds of the draft and see what kind of "top 3" you can put together (3 picks in the top 25). By taking Pujols first, you can probably combine that with a stud OF and a second tier 2B/SS/3B. If you take Hanley first, you probably open yourself up for better options of taking two of the following three (a stud 1B, a stud OF, or a second-tier 2B/3B).

Any input/discussion would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[mkultra]

I'd go with Hanley. I've got Pujols slightly ahead of him by points, but the second-tier SS guys will earn about as much as the third-tier first basemen.

[MaudDib]

Pujols. He is the most consistent player in the game. Yes it would be nice to shore up SS but Pujols is the best pick here. I play in a number of points leagues and pujols averaged about 4.2 points a game where Hanley scored 3.5 a game. I know that numbers can be different every where but you get the picture. In our league Pujols scored 100 more points that Hanley.

[Hit Factory]

I'm gonna go with Hanley for the simple reason of position depth. If you wait on Pujols you could still land Howard, Berkman, Fielder, Teixeira, etc. Obviously Pujols is amazing and is the best 1st baseman in all of the baseball, but the dropoff isnt as severe as it would be if you waited on picking a great shortstop. Once Hanley, Reyes, and Rollins are off the board the second tier of shortstops is a HUGE downgrade!

[the izzy]

I would go Pujols - and I did go Pujols #1 in my 10 team league last night.

However, when my second rd pick came up (#20 overall) Hanley, J. Reyes and Rollins were all off the board (of course) and P. Fielder was sitting there. I went ahead and took him, as I couldn't pass up 40+ HR, even though I'll have to start him at UTIL until I work out a trade. However, it made me wonder how good I could have been w/ Hanley at SS and Fielder at 1B. This league has OPS though, so Pujols + Fielder = awesome.

[jason_boris]

Thanks, lots of good insights.....keep them coming!!