Sammy Sosa (CHC/1900/$39) - Here's the past four years, .310 BA, 500 runs, 243 bombs, and 597 ribbie's. Before that Sammy was a nice 30/30 type player, with a lower BA. The steals are just a memory now as the homers and average improved. The best may be yet to come, as Moises Alou comes aboard to offer additional protection. Should be fun in Wrigleyville as .300/130/60/150 are just the conservative estimates.

Bonds could walk his dog to first a lot...

Barry Bonds (SF/1830/$37) - Has gone from great to downright incredible the past three years. Buck Showalter doesn't look quite as crazy for walking him with the bases loaded these days. Do you want to give up one run or four??? Barry is even still good for an occasional SB, swiping 13 last year. 500 AB's is a stretch due to occasional days off but all the walks make him even more valuable in points or leagues that include walks. Bonds may be 37 but another monster HR year puts him in serious striking distance of Hank Aaron. Look for at least .300/130/55/130/10 with 150+ walks thrown in.

Vladimir Guerrero (MTL/1880/$39) - Although he plays in baseball's arctic outpost, Vlad is the best five-cat player out there and has decent talent surrounding him in the lineup and is just reaching his peak at age 26. Threw in 411 total bases for good measure in '01. Look for .325/100/40/120/30 at the very least.

Bobby Abreu (PHI/1720/$36) - Upgraded to a 30/30 talent in 2001, going .289/118/31/110/36. Had a .335 BA in '99 so there's room for improvement there.

Shawn Green (LA/1770/$34) - We're down to #5 and have this monster. Bounced back from his 2000 LA adjustment period and went .297/121/49/125/20 in '01. Also scored 134 times in a great '99 season in TOR. Then there's his durability, he may take a Jewish holiday off, but that will be the only time he'll sit.

Luis Gonzalez (AZ/1670/$32) - Get down to #6 and you will have to settle for a player coming off a .325/128/57/142 season, along with 419 total bases. Also has played every game the last two seasons. You could do worse.

Ken Griffey Jr. (CIN/1400/$33) - He's moody, he needs discipline, he gets hurt a lot. But Griff still showed plenty in the 2/3 of a season he did play in '01. Don't depend on steals, but should still e good for .280/100/40/120.

Larry Walker (COL/1530/$32) - An absolute monster at Coors, great platood player in CDM. Misses a lot of time but still wound up with .350/107/38/123/14 in 142 games in '01. Best strategy may be to use LW in April and May when he's on fire then trade him before the annual injuries set in.

Lance Berkman (HOU/1320/$32) � kacsports.com called his bustout last February, but even exceeded those expectations with a monster .365/25/79 first half. Even after a second-half tail off the final numbers (.331/110/34/126) were still impressive. There is room for improvement provided he doesn�t hit the wall this time.

Albert Pujols (STL/1300/$33) � Al qualifies in the outfield for CDM since that�s where he played the most games in �01. And how many leagues did he win as an early season waiver-wire pick-up??? More info on Al can be found in the first and third base previews.

Brian Giles (PIT/1580/$31) � Let us remind you, we are now down to #11 and are not exactly scraping the bottom of the barrel. Marcus� brother has shown consistency in average (.315/.315/.309), runs (109/111/116), homers (39/35/37), and total bases (320, 332, 340). The RBI�s did slip from 123 to 95 in an awful Pirate season, but boosted his steals from 6 to 13.

Gary Sheffield (ATL/1450/$30) � Now wearing out a welcome in a fifth locale, Sheff provides similar consistency to Giles in BA (.301/.325/.311), runs (103, 105, 98), HR�s (34, 43, 36), and RBI (101, 109, 100). The change of scenery shouldn�t make too much of a difference.

Cliff Floyd (FLA/1220/$30) � Floyd finally put together all original expectations as a �Frank Thomas with wheels� in �01 going .317/123/31/103/28. Cliff actually swiped 24 bases in only 121 games in 2000. Continuing injuries are the only concern here.

J.D. Drew (STL/1010/$29) � Will be undervalued on a lot of fronts after a .323/80/27/73/13 campaign in only 107 games. Add to the equation that he�s now in his fourth year and is 26, along with the surronding lineup and a full season of .330/120/40/120/20 is not unrealistic. Highly recommended (again).

Preston Wilson (FLA/1200/$28) � Another across-the-board performer who matures more every year. If he could cut down the strikeouts and improve the BA he would be on par with Floyd and Drew. As it was went .274/70/23/71/20 in 123 games. Also had a family tragedy to deal with. Take out the distractions and injuries and .290/100/30/100/30 is a modest expectation.

Juan Pierre (COL/1180/$30) � If you miss out on Ichiro, don�t despair, just grab Juan Pierre. His 2001 #�s of .327/108/2/55/46 were just a shade under those of the more publicized rook in Seattle. His BA was also virtually the same on the road as at home. If he could just power up a little at Coors, a .350 BA with 120-130 runs is not out of question.

Andrew Jones (ATL/1420/$31) � BA slipped from .303 to .251, has to stay away from that �good lesbian action� at the Gold Club. Other numbers were still good with 34 bombs, 104 runs, and 104 RBI. If the average could just improve to the .280 range he will be very much in the mix.

Adam Dunn (CIN/710/$27) � This football player in cleats went .262/54/19/43/4 in a 66-game trial to close out �01. Also stole 20+ bags his last two full seasons in the minors. A five-cat player CDM players cannot be without.

Ryan Klesko (SD/$26) � Ryan moves to the outfield after a .286/105/30/113/23 campaign, more info in the first base section.

Jim Edmonds (STL/1260/$27) � In a year which he was banged up still managed .304/95/30/110. His career year was 2000 with .295/129/42/108. Split the difference between the two and you have a nice value.

Moises Alou (CHC/1430/$26) � Despite missing a months worth of games each year. Moises still was in the .340/80/30/110 range the last two years. Sure, he�s leaving Enron (errrrrrr) Astros Field, but will now get countless opportunities after Sosa intentional passes. Just 150 games in that scenario is downright scary.

Roger Cedeno (NYM/970/$23) � In what cannot be termed as a huge surprise, last season ended with Cedeno squarely in manger Phil Garner�s doghouse in Detroit. Apparently, Cedeno (perhaps eyeing a ticket out of town) refused to take part in some extra stretching exercises before the Tigers first post-9/11 game. Rog told Phil basically to take a hike and did not play again in �01. Famous last words right along with �Chucky hacks on 3 and 0��. Rog will be much happier in his old stomping grounds at Shea, where he swiped 66 bags back in �99. Cedeno also stole 55 bases in the 131 games that he did appear in last year. Though he may bounce around like a bad penny, Cedeno has the best track record for stolen bases of anyone currently in the bigs.

Geoff Jenkins (MIL/950/$22) � For two games in particular early on, Jenkins had emerged hitting 5 HR with 12 RBI on a late April weekend. Jenkins would hurt his shoulder two days later on a diving catch attempt and was not the same after, finishing .264/60/20/63 in 105 games. 2000 is a better indicator of his potential with .303/100/34/94/11 in just 135 games.

Richard Hidalgo (HOU/1050/$20) � One of fantasy baseball�s biggest busts in �01, dropping from a monster .314/118/44/122/13 in 2000 to .275/70/19/80/3 last year in 146 games. If not lying about his age he�s still only 26 so conservatively estimate numbers between �00 and �01.

Todd Hollandsworth (COL/600/$18) � A Coors Field sleeper pick in 2001 and a sleeper pick again this year. Went .368/21/6/19/5. If healthy expect somewhere in the neighborhood of 400-500 AB�s, as Todd Ziele is sure to spell him in left while Greg Norton plays third base. A .300+ BA and 20+ HR�s would make him more than worth his current value.

Brian Jordan (ATL/1230/$20) � No longer a stolen base threat, but still a solid .280/25/100 contributor as a #5-6 hitter in a productive lineup.

Mark Kotsay (SD/890/$18) � Age 26 and is becoming solid across the board coming off a .291/67/10/58/13 season in 111 games. A .300/90/20/90/20 season is the top end potential.

Jeremy Burnitz (NYM/1120/$17) � Produces in the 100 run, 30 HR, 100 RBI area but at the price of a BA in the area of .250, although moving on to the Mets could improve those numbers.

Bubba Trammell (SD/690/$15) � Coming off a career year of .261/66/25/92 but will have to fight for playing time with Klesko and Ray Lankford.

POTENTIAL SLEEPERS

Corey Patterson (CHC/440/$8) � Corey comes into Spring as the favorite to be the opening day center fielder and does have across the board potential. Last season was a disappointment though as he only hit .253 with 7 HR and 19 SB�s in AAA then hit .226 in a late-season trial with the big club.

Adrian Brown (PIT/420) � Speedy center fielder was on a lot of sleeper lists going into last year but a season ending shoulder injury shelved him in April. If he proves he�s healthy in camp, could be worth a last-round draft choice or waiver wire pick-up.

This conclude the pre-season series on position players, the next article will deal with the pitchers...