I was recently asked how I would rank the first round in a 12-team mixed league draft. I have been subjected to endless expert opinion and have come-up with the following baker's dozen. The most obvious adjustment is a return to the top five by last year's sexy top five pick Carl Crawford. What exactly did the 25-year-old do last year the would merit a drop to the bottom of the first round? Nothing. He hit a few more HRs, a little bit more AVG and more SBs.
Chase Utley is also dropping a bit. Previously, I had considered him a Top 6 player, but I am becoming more comfortable with Howie Kendrick, Ian Kinsler and Josh Barfield in the middle rounds. As such, grabbing a Dave Ortiz is more attractive than Chase Utley.
There is phenomenal depth at 3B. I wanted to incorporate that into these ranking by dropping ARod, Wright and Cabrera but couldn't envision passing any of them at their assigned ranks.
A player that has gone from the mid-20s to a late first round pick is Grady Sizemore. Given his better AV and better Runs, he compares more favorably to Alphonso Soriano than you may realize.
| Rank | Player | Team | Pos | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Albert Pujols | STL | 1B | |
| 2 | Jose Reyes | NYM | SS | |
| 3 | Ryan Howard | PHI | 1B | |
| 4 | Alphonso Soriano | CHC | OF | |
| 5 | Carl Crawford | TB | OF | |
| 6 | Alex Rodriguez | NYY | 3B | |
| 7 | Johan Santana | MIN | SP | |
| 8 | Dave Ortiz | BOS | DH | |
| 9 | Chase Utley | PHI | 2B | |
| 10 | Carlos Beltran | NYM | OF | |
| 11 | David Wright | NYM | 3B | |
| 12A | Grady Sizemore | CLE | OF | |
| 12B | Miguel Cabrera | FLA | 3B | |