Tools

This season we appear to be fascinated by multi-tooled players. Here is a list of players we can expect to generate at least 15 homers and at least 10 steals who will be available at the draft:

Carlos Beltran 30+/30+. Expect a drop in power and steals.
Carlos Lee 30-10. To be determined if the Brewers will let him run.
Derek Lee 30-10. Has increasing power potential, but is stealing less.
Corey Patterson 25-30. We’ve got him targeted. Likely to be a Peckler.
Kaz Matsui 15-20. The only non-outfielder on the list.
Mike Cameron 25-20. BA sucks, but he’s a stat machine.
Matt Lawton 20-20. Seems underappreciated in the new league.
Cliff Floyd 20-10. Promissed 25 steals. Just promise 500 AB’s.
Jose Cruz 20-15. Lost weight in the off season should help speed.
Milton Bradley 15-15. More valuable that many think, and is still young.
Juan Encarnacion 15-10. Poor man’s Reggie Sanders.

This is a short list. Guys like this get kept, even if they are expensive like Bobby Abreu. It is our hope that Jayson Werth has the speed to move into this group.

Matsui is the only player on this list that qualifies at any position other than OF only. We only have 3 OF spots plus Utility even after moving Gonzalez to 2B. So Matsui has got to be on our target list.

The other thing is that most of these players are power hitters with speed rather than the other way around, like say, Rafael Furcal or Rickey Henderson. This makes Beltran and Patterson that much more valuable. In fact, only 4 of the guys above are likely to get 20 steals.

One other common characteristic of the above players is that none of them have the look of .300 hitters. They are mostly .275ish with a few guys lower. And it’s one of the things that really distinguishes Bobby Abreu from the group.

JD Drew would make this list. So did Tony Batista-san last season, who would have been kept at only $12.