My next pick in the early mock draft has yet to sign with anyone this offseason, but Matt Holliday is worthy of a second round pick. I think his agent is smart enough to sign him with a National League team or with the Yankees or Red Sox.
Holliday had a horrendous start to the 2009 season after being traded to the A's. He got hot in June and then was traded to the Cardinals at the trade deadline. All he did after the trade to STL was go 13-55-2-.353-.419-,604-1.023. Hitting behind Albert Pujols has its advantages for sure. Holliday ended the 2009 season with a very respectable 24-109-94-14-.313-.394-.515-.909 slash line.
Should Holliday sign with the Cardinals, he will have plenty of RBI opportunities hitting behind Pujols. Should he sign with the Yankees or Red Sox, which is probably more likely, he could approach his 2007 season performance where he went 36-137-120-11-.340-.405-..607-1.012.
Bill James predicts Holliday to go 27-109-105-14-.316-.391-.531-.922 in 2010.