Value Hunting

I highly recommend looking at as many mock drafts as you can before actually participating in your own draft. The key is to look for guys who stand out as good values at their draft positions and target them a half-round earlier. I looked at Mock Draft Central's recent twelve-team "Experts" Draft to look for some good values. It's a little tougher to find value picks in an experts draft because most of those guys have a pretty decent idea about what they're doing. However, I did find a few picks where I thought the owner got good value:

Travis Hafner (Pick #53, Round 5) - Yes, he was disappointing last year. Yes, he's probably past his prime. And, yes, he looks like Shrek. But with that lineup around him and with his power, he'll bounce back.

Eric Byrnes (Pick #89, Round 8) - How soon we forget a 21-HR, 50-SB season. It will almost undoubtedly go down as a career year, but he's probably still going to swipe at least 30, and I'd be surprised to see his HR total drop below 15. Add it up and that's pretty darn good for an 8th-round pick.

Jeremy Bonderman (Pick #143, Round 12) - He was bothered by injuries last year and posted his worst ERA (5.01) since his age-20 rookie season. (Can you believe he's still only 25?) Look for him to bounce back to his 8.5 K/9 rate of 2006 and, with that devastating lineup, don't be surprised when he tops 15 wins.

John Maine (Pick #157, Round 14) - It's amazing that Maine is able to fly under the radar this much considering he plays for the Mets. Look for 180-200 strikeouts and 15-17 wins from this 14th-rounder.

Jacoby Ellsbury (Pick #187, Round 16) - I was sure Ellsbury would be overrated coming off his postseason performance, but apparently not. The Red Sox will probably find a way to trade Coco Crisp, thus leaving room for Ellsbury to play center, get on base, rack up some steals, and score a ton of runs. That said, if you need power, look elsewhere.

There are some others, but I'm assuming they'll show up as good values in future mock drafts, so I'll save them for another time.