Seeking Your Advice

[The Jury]

I've got the 7th and 14th picks in the usual 5x5 mixed league draft with 10 teams.

With my 14th pick, should I take a power guy or one of the big shortstops? I'm pretty sure that neither Nomar/Tejada/Jeter will be available with my third pick.

What should I do? Power or SS? And if power, which shortstops should I plan on getting later?

[mikeg]

if tejada is still there at 14, grab him. he's got power at a position where power is a rarity. In all the listings i've seen Tejada is usually ranked between 10 and 15 (13th in the most recent ESPN Player Rankings) so i think you're on the right track.

[MikeeDee]

I'd take a SS too, I prefer Nomar over Tejada though.

[ramble2]

I'd go with a SS. I'd rank them as Tejada, Nomar then Jeter. Tejada will hit 5-10 more HRs than Nomar, though his BA might be a little lower. In the third round you might be able to grab Manny - I got him there in a 12 team Yahoo league (31st pick).

Another option is to grab Kent with your second pick. 2B is also a shallow position, and Kent will give you very good power numbers (better than any of the SS you mentioned). You could then try and grab a Renteria, Rollins or Furcal later in the draft. Also keep your eye on Jose Hernandez. He strikes out so much that people tend to underrate him - but he's got a lot of power and isn't a bad choice (especially now that he's at Coors).