Help w/ keeper pick

[MGD]

I'm in a 10 team espn 5x5 3 yr keeper draft and I have the 10th/11th picks and the 30th/31st picks. Here are my thoughts for 10/11: if any of the following fall, I have to take them: Pedro, Schilling, or Bonds.

Realistically I think they will be gone. So, I was leaning toward picking Nomar and Zito. Others I would consider would be Berkman, Pujols, Ordonez, Helton, Oswalt and Giambi.

I like Nomar over Tejada and Jeter b/c he will bat 4th this year and I'm thinking his avg will climb back to the .330 range plus he should at least hit 10-15 steals since Ramirez will be batting in front of him.

For the 30th/31st picks, it's hard to tell who will be around but I would think I could get Prior, Morris, Wood, Hunter, Lowe or Ichiro if he slips that far.

What are your thoughts?

[timkell]

In your second list I'd go Pujols all the way, as long as he has 1B/3B elgibility. He's young, and he'll serve you well for many years. I'd take either Nomar or Tejada as well, as they'll both be gone later, and it seems almost impossible to get into the Nomar/Arod/Tejada/Jeter camp through trades. It seems no one will consider trading any of those four without getting one back. Jeter would just be too high at 10 or 11. That's coming from a Yankee fan!

I wouldn't take Zito at 10 or 11. I'd rather have Giambi or Pujols than Zito. He's great, but he's not Johnson. I prefer to get offense in the top 15 picks, unless it's one of the big three pitchers.

Tough to advise on the 30/31 picks. I would say you should spend a lot of time ranking your first 50 players. You can't really draft by position, except for SS, which you'll have to take in either 10 or 11 if you want someone worthwhile. If one of your top 20 players is still available at 30, you have to grab them. Usually one of them is.

Good luck!