Since the all-star break of 2005, Victor Martinez has hit .337 (281 for 835), which actually betters Joe Mauer's mark of .327 over the same time frame (252 for 771).

Is There Value to be Found at the Draft Table?
PART I - HITTERS
Contributed By: Ray Flowers

Every year on draft day, and for the matter in the days leading up to the draft, we all must make a series of decisions that impact the outcome of your team as we evaluate players. When do you take your first reliever? Should you wait one more round to see if your "sleeper" falls? Should you draft your second catcher before you take your 4th OF? These are some of the questions that all of us encounter each time we choose a team.

This process is at the heart of the enjoyment of the fantasy game. I don't know about you, but maneuvering at an actual draft is my favorite time of year. Heck, I even enjoy doing mock drafts, but that isn't the main focus here so before I start gushing over all the fun I can have drafting, I will get back to doling out some advice that hopefully can make a difference for you this season.

In what follows I will present two you a two-part look at hitters. PART I will be a series of fun factoids that might be pretty surprising to you. In the least, they should make for good reading. In PART II, I will breakdown a series of matchups based upon ADP information in my attempt to show you a few players who I believe are being undervalued on draft day compared to their positional counterparts. Where can you find a bargain even if it's only a minor advantage? Remember, no advantage is really too minor, so any time you can chose a player later in the draft than he should rightfully go, you will be in good shape, because on drafts day you should be focused on a players value. In other words, how much of a return will you get for your pick? Hopefully I can help with that.

PART I - FACTOIDS

CATCHER

Since the all-star break of 2005, Victor Martinez has hit .337 (281 for 835), which actually betters Joe Mauer's mark of .327 over the same time frame (252 for 771).

FIRST BASE / DH

Mark Teixeira is the only hitter in the AL who has managed to hit at least .280-33-110-99 in each of the past three seasons

SECOND BASE

Marcus Giles fell off last season (.262-11-60-87-10), but answer me this: how many 2B scored 85 or more runs last season with 60 or more RBIs and 10 or more SBs? The answer is three. Chase Utley, Tadahito Iguchi and…Marcus Giles.

THIRD BASE

Hank Blalock has knocked in at least 89 runs in each of the past four seasons marking him as the only AL 3B to have done that (Aramis Ramirez has also reached that level in the NL).

SHORTSTOP

For the fourth straight year in 2006, Rafael Furcal scored at least 100 runs while hitting 10 HRs and stealing 25 bases, making him the only SS to do that each of the last four seasons.

OUTFIELD

Over the past three seasons Carl Crawford has reached double digits in HRs, doubles, triples and SBs making him the only player to accomplish that feat each year in that time span.

D'Rays outfielder Carl Crawford continued to show improvement in the 2006 campaign. He set career highs in home runs (18), batting average (.305),  and again led the AL in stolen bases (58). Crawford who has been suffering from a groin injury was back in the lineup today. He remains a top first round selection because of his five-tool talents.