EFB DRAFT RANKINGS

Tuesday April 15th, 2008

The Stock Exchange: Has Alex Gordon Finally Arrived?

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Overall Top 25 Drafts

Top 10 rankings by Scoring Category

League by League Breakdown

by Cory Channell

The Stock Exchange identifies those players whose stock is rising, falling or holding steady in the world of fantasy baseball. Each week, I'll pick nine players whose value looks to be changing in the near future. Feedback is welcome and encouraged as your comments may be used in later articles.

BUY

Alex Gordon, 3B, Kansas City Royals - Gordon has five multi-hit games in his current 8-game hit streak for the Royals. Manager Trey Hillman has moved the slugger down from his ideal No. 3 spot, but Gordon has taken it in stride. He is also starting to show the tendency to run as he is 1-for-2 in stolen bases. His 3 home runs are already one more than he hit all of last April. I'd like to see him take a few more walks (2), and if he could do that, then he might try to use his speed even more.

Rickie Weeks, 2B, Milwaukee Brewers – So far so good for the oft-injured Weeks, who has scored 12 times and is 4-for-4 in stolen bases. Weeks is batting just .213, but he knows how to take a walk and he knows what to do when he gets on first. Weeks should be an above-average asset for walks and stolen bases this season as he eclipses the 100-run mark for the first time in his career.

Troy Tulowitzki, SS, Colorado Rockies - Tulowitzki suffered through a slow start out of the gates last year before bursting onto the scene in May and never looking back. The Rockies are finally starting to swing the bats, but Tulo is frustrated with himself in the field. The fact that Tulo has two errors on the season may be bothering him more than his .159 average and 0 RBI. Tulo will hit, and when he does, the hits will come in bunches.

HOLD

Jeremy Hermida, OF, Florida Marlins - So is THIS the year the 24-year-old puts together a full season? In his third game of the year on April 11, Hermida hit two home runs and now has 6 RBI through five games. Surprisingly, the Marlins are tied with Arizona for the lead in team home runs (21), so maybe there IS life after Miguel Cabrera. Hermida could perform like a top 20 outfielder this season if he stays healthy as he was typically drafted as a top 40 outfielder

Mike Jacobs, 1B, Florida Marlins - Jacobs is another reason for the power spike in Florida. Jacobs has been a nice little bonus for those who picked him up late in drafts or off free agency. His average is bound to dip closer to his 3-year average of .268 soon and he won't knock in near enough runs to be inserted as your first baseman, but 25-28 home runs and around 80 RBI

should do just fine in a corner infield or utility spot.

Justin Upton, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks - The "other" Upton has 5 HR and 11 RBI already. But with 11 strikeouts in 12 games, his .400 average should come back to earth soon. Upton and his Arizona teammates have scored the most runs of any team in the majors this season. The power has been a pleasant surprise for Upton's owners. Will he stay this hot? Probably not. But that doesn't mean he won't be a serviceable outfielder.

SELL

Joe Crede, 3B, Chicago White Sox - Crede is an OK option at a corner infield spot or utility position, but don’t be fooled by the high average, home runs and RBI. Eight of those RBI came on two swings of the bat as the 29-year-old hit two grand slams in the matter of five games. If you can find a

unsuspecting owner who will pay for his 15 RBI this early in the season, do it now.

Cliff Lee, SP, Cleveland Indians – Lee has given up only six hits in 14.7 innings in 2008 with a miniscule ERA and WHIP. Of course, his two victories have come against the light-hitting Athletics, so don't expect these numbers to continue. In fact, his ERA and WHIP have gone up the past two seasons after winning 18 games in 2005.

JD Drew, OF, Boston Red Sox - Drew has approached 100 RBI in even-numbered years (93 in 2004, 100 in 2006) and appears to be gravitating toward that trend in 2008. His 3 HR and 8 RBI might seem that he's on the rebound after hitting 11 dingers in 140 games last season, but don't fall for it. At age 32, he's a little long in the tooth to expect more than 20 HR and 80 RBI.

MAILBAG

Do you have a comment about the players included or excluded in The Stock

Exchange? Send an e-mail with The Stock Exchange in the subject line to

bumpercrumpler@yahoo.com. Include comments along with your name, hometown,

Elite team name and division. Comments may be used in future articles.

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