San Francisco Giants: DOs and DON'Ts

• DO use your first round draft pick on SP Tim Lincecum with confidence if you prefer a dominant pitcher over a dominant hitter. Lincecum should continue to give you the Wins (15+), Ks (250+), ERA and WHIP to build an impressive pitching staff upon.
• DON'T draft SS Edgar Renteria. His numbers are on the steady decline since 2007 and you can do better, even in deep leagues. If he starts hot, he'll be there on the waiver wire for the picking.
• DO draft 1B/3B Pablo Sandoval as a third baseman. ESPN has him ranked as the 4th best at that position and 7th best at first base. His .330 BA, 25 HRs, 90 RBI are valuable to any roster.
• DON'T overlook RP Jeremy Affeldt if your league uses Holds. His numbers (33 Holds, 1.73 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 7.94 K/9) should regress a bit but still will be a top middle reliever option.
• DO grab SP Matt Cain in the top 100 picks. He's on the verge of 15 Wins with some very nice ratios (3.33 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 7.38 K/9).
• DON'T be afraid of SP Jonathan Sanchez's ugly career walk rate (4.7/9 IP) and WHIP (1.45). What he is going to bring is 10+ Wins and 9.3 K/9.
• DO expect CL Brian Wilson to be gone by the 10th round. He's a top 10 closer who brings you 10 K/9 stuff with an ERA (2.74) and WHIP (1.21) that will help rather than hurt.

Players I'd be willing to use a late-round pick on:

• 3B/OF Mark DeRosa (20 HR, 80 RBI, .275 BA)
• C Bengie Molina (15 HR, 75 RBI, .270 BA)
• 1B Aubrey Huff (20 HR, 70 RBI, .280 BA)
• C Buster Posey - Check out this quote from Baseball America, “Posey draws legitimate comparisons to Joe Mauer. He’s a pure hitter with terrific strike-zone awareness, and his clean, unfettered swing allows him to drive pitches from pole to pole.” He's still in camp and will be interesting to see if he makes the opening day roster.

Dreaded Words: Closer-By-Committee

Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire announced the team with go with a closer-by-committee until someone separates themselves from the pack.

Here's the guys that now have fantasy value:

• Matt Guerrier RHP (33 Holds, 2.36 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, .207 BAA)
• Jon Rauch RHP (Closer experience, 17 Holds, 3.60 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, .262 BAA)
• Jose Mijares LHP (27 Holds, 2.34 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, .224 BAA, 8.0 K/9)

SP Francisco Liriano is still competing for the 5th spot in the rotation. He and the Twins consider him a starting pitching and have no interest at this time in moving him to the bullpen or into the closer role.

Chicago Cubs: DOs and DON'Ts

• DO expect a nice return to form (25/100/.300) from 3B Aramis Ramirez, if healthy. He's generally the 8th third baseman off the board but you'll only have five rounds to do better.
• DON'T over-value SP Carlos Zambrano. His ADP is around 200. Let the Cubs fan in your league take the risk. ESPN has him ranked one worse than TEX Derek Holland (assigned to AAA this week) and one better than TEX Scott Feldman. At least he won 17 games last season compared to Zambrano's nine.
• DO enjoy steady production from 1B Derrek Lee. He'll never reach his incredible 2005 numbers, but 25 HR/100 RBI/.300 production is worth the 7th round pick. Personally, I'm taking the upside of Billy Butler instead.
• DON'T rely on OF Alfonso Soriano a primary outfielder. He may not disappoint as a 4th or 5th option. Although averaging just 113 games over the last two seasons, he's managed to average 25 HRs and 14 SBs.
• DO hold your breath if drafting C Geovany Soto. Sophomore slump or statistical correction? Projections have him back up to 20 HRs/.270 BA. Good Luck.
• DON'T be surprised if CL Carlos Marmol fails in his new role of Closer. He has all the stuff to be an dominant closer, but his near 8 BB/9 offset his astronomical 11+ K/9.

Players I'd be willing to use a late-round pick on:

• SP Ryan Dempster (12 W, great ratios)
• OF Marlon Byrd (20 HR, .280 BA)
• OF Kosuke Fukudome (10 HR, 80 Runs, .270 BA, #2 hitter in lineup)

Boston Red Sox: DOs and DON'Ts

• DO expect continued top 25 value from OF Jacoby Ellsbury. His 100 runs, 70 stolen bases and .300 average are what you're paying for.
• DON'T be a hater! I'm a Yankees fan but you can't deny the value Red Sox players have to fantasy bsaeball. If you refuse to draft players because of your personal feelings about the team, you've probably never been successful in this game.
• DO realize 2B Dustin Pedroia is the 4th second baseman being taken before the 3rd round is even over. If you value what he brings from that position (100+ Runs, 15-20 HRs, 70 RBI, 20 SBs, .300 BA), grab him.
• DON'T listen to experts that say "never pay for saves". If you are willing to pay for saves, CL Jonathan Papelbon is a lock to get you the 40 Saves, 10 K/9, with ERA and WHIP numbers that will help more than hurt your team.
• DO draft 1B/3B Kevin Youkilis as a third basemen because this may be the last season he qualifies there.
• DON'T fool yourself into thinking OF J.D. Drew won't get injured and miss significant time this season. But expect good numbers for the time he's on the field (450 ABs, 20 HRs, .280 BA).
• DO like what C Victor Martinez is capable of doing for a full season in Boston. He hit .336 in 56 games in 2009.
• DON'T be surprised if SP John Lackey's numbers take a dip now that he's in the tougher AL East.
• DO you think SP Jon Lester or SP Josh Beckett will have better numbers in 2010? Each will cost you at least a 4th round pick. (My money is on Lester).
• DON'T forget about SP Daisuke Matsuzaka. He won 18 games in 2008 and reports are that he's healthy again after leaving it all at the World Baseball Classic in 2009.
• DO take a chance that DH David Ortiz and 3B Adrain Beltre bounce back after disappointing, injury-ridden 2009. Each will cost you about a 13th round pick (or later).

Players I'd be willing to use a late-round pick on:

• SS Marco Scutaro (As a MI, 10+ HRs, 10+ SBs, .280+ BA)
• RP Daniel Bard (Holds, 11+ K/9)
• SP Clay Buchholz (Double-digit Wins, great ratios)

Spring Training: DOs and DON'Ts

• DO keep an eye on websites that track depth charts and projected lineups, such as RotoTimes, ESPN and others.
• DON'T put too much faith in statistics; good or bad. Quantify the numbers. Is the player coming off injury (Conor Jackson)? Changing teams (Brad Penny)? Break-out season (Chris Coghlan/Aaron Hill)?
• DO listen to what managers and coaches are saying about position battles, rookie phenoms and the overall state of their teams. A lot of information is put out there each day. You just have to know where to find it.
• DON'T dig through box scores.
• DO read the game summaries and the "notes". That's where the juicy tidbits are hiding.
• DON'T overload yourself with "too much" information. More doesn't always mean better.
• DO find the websites, blogs and resources that you trust and focus your time and effort there.