Pick 4 Keepers [WHIR]

[MadDog36]

I meant Rutledge in my post (the one painful to throw back).

[4_Favre]

As others have said - I love Craig at $1 he is set to be the Cards firstbaseman, and with that mindset heading into spring training you can't go wrong at that price.

Ells burned me last year in one league big time with his injury woes. I say go with Craig - not even close here.

[Swept Away]

How much do you guys think Machado will go for on draft day.

Personally I think Hanley goes in the 30's and he is the best SS option in the league, assuming he still qualifies there.

If machado goes for 8-10 its about the same difference but you get a proven player in Hanley.

Sorry, I am not trying to hijack this thread, just trying to learn the rationale here. Seems like Hanram is a great price at 26. At least for this year.

I agree with the other 3 but I would definitely keep Ramirez over machado in this spot.


Edit - actually I see now, if he can keep Machado for the next three years without the price going up and Hanley will go up five dollars a year, then it wouldnt make sense to keep Hanley. I got it now.

Yes, I agree - Sale, Craig, Machado and Stanton

Yeah, our league is a little different because salaries start to go up in year 4. Stanton is now at $6 but honestly I could see myself keeping him for years if he keeps doing his thing. The funny thing about Hanley is that this would be his 8th year as a keeper and he has never actually been in our draft (he was added as a free agent by the guy who eventually traded him to me last offseason). I guess I'm wondering how much he would actually go for in our draft, and if it'd be worth keeping him or paying a little more and drafting him.

Ellsbury is really tempting too because is he's actually healthy this year then I'll get his steals, which are always tough to come by. I'm in a league with lots of Red Sox fans so I think he could go for $30+ just based on his potential.

Craig was one of my favorite players last season and the main reason I didn't have him in the same category is that he had a hard time getting at bats at some point last season. If he's their regular 1B then that could certainly change things.

[Brainstorm]

It's Stanton, Craig, Sale and Machado for me for alot of the same reasons posted before me. This leaves you with the maximum money to go into the draft and bid for a Hanley Ramirez, even though his price is okay here.

And let the Red Sox fans bid over $30 on Ellsbury, he's definetely not worth that cost. Every dollar spent above his value is money in everyone else's pocket, including yours.