So I thought we'd take a quick look back at the ADP of the top 12 picks in Fantasy drafts this season, and figure where they stack one month in. Nothing we can do about it now, but learn. Right? Yeah, probably not even that.
Top 12 picks on CBSSports.com's Head-to-Head Average Draft Rankings
- Alex Rodriguez, 3B, NYY: He's going to miss most of May with a Grade 2 quad strain, but even before that, he was not putting up No. 1 overall draft pick numbers. Eleven RBI? Come on. The Yankees are coming off the rails. Their pitching is coming apart, their hitting They were 12th in total runs scored this past April (125), compared to fourth last season (131). But they played six more games this April than they did last April. On average, Runs Per Game, the Yankees ranked second last April with 5.7 RPG, powered on A-Rod's batting line of .355-14-34-27-2. But this season, the Yankees rank 23rd in the majors with 4.3 RPG -- and the only two Yankees hitters that are pulling their weights right now are Bobby Abreu and Hideki Matsui.
- Johan Santana, SP, NYM: While his three wins aren't knocking your socks off, you have to like the fact that he's healthy, he's among the league leaders in strikeouts again, and his walks haven't been out of control. He still has a great chance of finishing the season as the best Fantasy pitcher.
- David Wright, 3B, NYM: From May on last season, Wright was dominant. He didn't bury himself this April like he did last April, and you can't blame him for the Mets low-scoring totals so far this season. Only Ryan Church has more hits for the Mets, and Wright leads them in slugging. He's not a flashy Fantasy player, but he quietly gets the job done.
- Ryan Howard, 1B, PHI: Howard's loudly NOT getting the job done. He leads the majors in strikeouts, which normally you'd live with because of his power, but he has just 14 RBI and a sub-.200 batting average. The pending return of fellow MVP winner Jimmy Rollins (ankle) should help his numbers again.
- Chase Utley, 2B, PHI: Utley, Utley, Utley leads the majors with 12 homers and the lefty also leads the league with six homers off of left-handed pitchers. He could become the first second baseman to lead the majors in homers since Rogers Hornsby did it with St. Louis in 1925 (39 homers). In 1990, Ryne Sandberg led the NL with with 40 dingers and he won the MVP that season. It's safe to say that Utley would be the No. 1 draft pick in all formats if leagues drafted today.
- Miguel Cabrera, 3B, DET: Miggy, along with his fellow Tigers teammates, started the season slow, got going a bit in mid-April, but he has only one multi-hit game in his past 13 contests. With six homers and 22 RBI, he's keeping his Fantasy owners happy, and those numbers will only get better as Motown puts April far behind them.
- Matt Holliday, OF, COL: Only six teams are averaging fewer RPG than the Rockies' 4.1 through Friday. How far off is Holliday from his '07 numbers? He's on pace right now to post a batting average 47 points lower, hit 14 fewer homers, knock in 48 fewer runs and score 26 fewer runs. He would not be a first-round pick -- especially now that teammate Troy Tulowitzki (quadriceps) is out until the All-Star break.
- Jose B. Reyes, SS, NYM
- Hanley Ramirez, SS, FLA
- David Ortiz, DH, BOS
- Jimmy Rollins, SS, PHI
- Albert Pujols, 1B, STL
- Alex Rodriguez, 3B, NYY
- Jose B. Reyes, SS, NYM
- Hanley Ramirez, SS, FLA
- David Wright, 3B, NYM
- Chase Utley, 2B, PHI: Second basemen have led the majors in homers just twice, both by Hornsby. Actually, only three second basemen have ever hit 40 homers in one season. Hornsby, Sandberg and the Braves' Davey Johnson in 1973.
- Matt Holliday, OF, COL
- Jimmy Rollins, SS, PHI
- Miguel Cabrera, 3B, DET
- Johan Santana, SP, NYM
- Ryan Howard, 1B, PHI
- Albert Pujols, 1B, STL
- Ryan Braun, 3B, MIL: He was the fourth third basemen drafted in the first round of many leagues, more than any other position. His hitting line: .283-5-23-13-1 through the first five weeks -- and that's after hitting homers Thursday and Friday. But eight third basemen have more homers, 11 have a better batting average and 19 have crossed the plate more times. His 23 RBI is third at the position though, and after a quiet April, he's already starting to break out with a strong May.