Scott Rolen (I need an explanation)

[fantasyfiend]

Can somebody explain to me why Scott Rolen is going early 2nd round (and no later then the 2nd round) in just about every draft/mock im seeing?

He's a career 285 hitter with about 30 HR power and 100RBI

Which is great, makes him a top 3b easy...but there seems to be plenty of 3b who can put up identical #'s this year that you can get 2-4 rounds later.

Hank Blalock, Aubrey Huff, Eric Chavez, Aramis Ramirez

All are younger with still some untapped potential as well. Adrian Beltre's crazy SLG% last year was impressive, he's still young which shows this could be the start of something greater then Rolen could ever touch....(his early 2nd round spot is warranted)

Rolen has 7 seasons of about .285 25-30HR 75-100RBI His obp seems to be on a steady rise which is good, 100R shouldn't be out of the question.

He'll also be 30 by opening day so you pretty much know what to expect from him.

While guys like Blalock, Huff, Chavez, Ramirez all seem to be cheaper, younger, and already just as good (with upside)

I dont know if im overlooking something, maybe somebody can help me out, I just dont see what warrants Rolen such a high draft pick.

[CubsFan7724]

He should put up numbers close to last year. He was bordering first round pick before he got hurt last year and had to take a break or too. His offense is stacked and that really helps his numbers. When he was with the Phillies the offenses weren't so great.

[slomo007]

I agree with you completely..and I don't understand it. I guess it's because of his first half last year, but hoping that he can repeat that for an entire year is just crazy talk. I'll be taking someone else when my draft comes around.

[CameronCrazy]

yeah, go w/ someone besides rolen, just because he is going a round or two too early.

[CubsFan7724]

Well I got him with the 3.3 pick in a 12 round keeper so I guess I got a bit of a bargain on him.

[metsfan05]

Well, last year he was going early too, and he performed well enough last year.

Besides A-Rod and Rolen, I don't think any other third baseman is guaranteed to put up excellent numbers. Last year, if you passed over Rolen in the 2nd round and nabbed Beltre in the 21st, you had a better team for it. So I guess you're right. If you can grab a guy you think will put up similar numbers in the 5th round, go with it. But I would certainly like my 3rd base spot better with Rolen in it than Blalock or Ramirez. By the way, out of the players you mentioned, only Blalock made it out of the 4th.

[curious_george_43545]

Well, last year he was going early too, and he performed well enough last year.

Besides A-Rod and Rolen, I don't think any other third baseman is guaranteed to put up excellent numbers. Last year, if you passed over Rolen in the 2nd round and nabbed Beltre in the 21st, you had a better team for it. So I guess you're right. If you can grab a guy you think will put up similar numbers in the 5th round, go with it. But I would certainly like my 3rd base spot better with Rolen in it than Blalock or Ramirez. By the way, out of the players you mentioned, only Blalock made it out of the 4th.

Exactly Aramis in the 4th or Mora in the 5-6th is a better value pick the Rolen in the early second. I have Rolen in the last second at the earlist.

[fantasyfiend]

Ive been checking up on different mock sites...like the ones going on ESPN right now. (this early in the season its safe to say most people 'drafting' are pretty hardcore) anyway ive been seeing chavez, ramirez, blalock, huff, slipping into the 5th, and even into the 6th quite regularly, while i haven't seen one list with Rolen past the 2nd. (Update: moe's tavern has rolen falling to the 4th, actually caught me off guard)

check it out for yourself: http://flbdraft.espn.go.com/livedraft/draftmonitor

[mtarail]

I agree. But I'm not complaining. People who are gonna take Rolen that early are just gonna let another better player fall to me. The talent at 3B runs really deep this year. You can get a stud 3B in the 4th or 5th round easy this year. Heck, if you want to take a chance on Chipper you can wait even longer.

[metsfan05]

My league drafted:

A-Rod 1.1
Rolen 2.6
Beltre 2.10
Ramirez 2.11
Chavez 4.1
Mora 4.3
Huff 4.12
C Jones 5.2
Blalock 5.3
Wright 8.12
Lowell 9.1

In my opinion, the only two picks that were not too early were Rolen and Blalock. I've been in two drafts so far, and for whatever reason, third base is going very fast. In this league, I took Rolen. In the other, I somehow ended up with Casey Blake. At that time, I thought he wasn't even going to be a starter this year.