High Fives: Looking up the middle

Top 5 middle infield draft values, based on Yahoo ADP

1. Xander Bogaerts - Way too soon to be getting post-hype treatment - .275/20/75/75/5 line not out of the realm of possibility

1. Jean Segura -  One season removed from a .294, 12 HR, 44 SB campaign, and he's only  24 years old.

1. Anthony Rendon - A five-category profile deserves first-round consideration

2. Jimmy Rollins  - No spring chicken, but 45+ combined HR/SB each of past 3 seasons

2. Aaron Hill - Largely undrafted despite being two years removed from a .302-26-93-86-14 line

2. Daniel Murphy - Basically Dustin Pedroia with a 3-4 round discount

3. Rougned Odor - Top Texas prospect of '14 has legit potential for 15/15 line in '15

3. Jedd Gyorko -  Hit 23 HRs in 125 games as a rookie in PETCO park. His ADP is 246.0!

3. Danny Santana - Regression starts the conversation, it doesn't end it. He'll run plenty, might bat leadoff

4. Brandon Phillips - 17+ HRs in 8 straight seasons before thumb woes got him in '14 - 249 ADP small price for a rebound bet

4. Jhonny Peralta - 2nd-highest OPS among shortstops in MLB last year

4. Xander Bogaerts - Classic post-hype case, dual position perk is nifty

5. Marcus Semien - Nice power/speed blend, and OAK has track record of squeezing out the talent that others couldn't

5. Chris Owings - Call me crazy, but I spent $14 on him in LABR for a reason

5. Jean Segura - Personal tragedy partially explains 2014; easy story to root for

Bottom 5 middle infield draft values, based on Yahoo ADP

1. Jose Altuve - I'm looking for 5-cat guys (with an emphasis on power)  in the top 20, not a two-trick pony

1. Jose Altuve - I find it hard to bank on someone with a 16.4 ADP who stole 56 bases with a 5.1 BB%

1. Dustin Pedroia - No longer a good category-juice bet; similar guys are cheaper

2. Troy Tulowitzki - An absolute stud, but injury history and trade concerns will scare me away on draft day

2. Ian Desmond - 20-20 in each of the past three seasons, but that's resulted in rankings of 59, 51, 42. His current ADP is 27.1

2. Troy Tulowitzki - Too pricy for this sure a DL bet

3. Elvis Andrus - For those looking for Alcides Escobar numbers at an inflated price

3. Dee Gordon - He had zero HR with nine RBI and a 67.7 SB% after the All-Star break

3. Alexei Ramirez - So underrated, he's snuck into overrated pile

4. Josh Harrison - Nice story in '14, but the out-of-nowhere career year is priced in for '15

4. Troy Tulowitzki - He's missed an average of 74 games over past three seasons

4. Ben Zobrist - Doesn't move needle in any category; career .264 hitter

5. Ben Zobrist - Still love the versatility, but he's settled in as a ho-hum .270/12/12 guy

5. Brian Dozier - He's a career .241 hitter

5. Robinson Cano - I want more category juice for what he costs

Top 5 combined HR+SB bets for '15 among the MI-eligible crowd

1. Jose Altuve - Wins this one on the SB category alone

1. Dee Gordon - Even with major regression Gordon would still be the big favorite here

1. Jose Altuve - It's mostly for the steals, but he's not a zero in the power column

2. Dee Gordon - Same as Altuve, a SB dynamo

2. Jose Altuve - He's a close second but also calls for regression in 2015

2. Ian Desmond - Only pesky thing: usually hit fifth, sixth or seventh last year

3. Ian Desmond - Has averaged 45 HR/SB over past three seasons

3. Ian Desmond - Has averaged 23 HR, 22 SB over the past three years

3. Brian Dozier - Ignore the average, he does everything else well

4. Jason Kipnis - Has proven he can steal 30 bags (twice), and has 20 HR upside

4. Hanley Ramirez - I'm calling for a big year from Han-Ram

4. Hanley Ramirez - Freed from shortstop duty, but still grandfathered in - Hello, Wally

5. Jimmy Rollins - As stated above, 45+ combined HR/SB each of past three seasons

5. Kolten Wong - He had 32 HR+SB in 113 games last year

5. Jason Kipnis - Finger surgery in December, watch closely this month

Top 5 projected fantasy rookie middle infielders for '15

1. Jung-ho Kang - When someone hits 40 HRs in a professional league (Korean), you have to take it seriously

1. Jung-ho Kang - He's a BA risk and hits in a pitcher's park , but there's upside

1. Jung-ho Kang - Always feels like cheating calling imports "rookies" - enters Age-28 season

2. Jose Peraza - No power, but can hit, and his speed is elite - not much in his way at 2B in ATL

2. Jose Peraza - There's a real chance he steals 40 bases this year

2. Francisco Lindor - Starts in Triple-A, but nothing special blocking him

3. Francisco Lindor - Supreme talent that projects nicely on offense and defense - his time is coming soon

3. Alex Guerrero - ZiPS predicts .253-64-15-69

3. Addison Russell - Man, this team is so loaded, but Russell could force way into 2015 mix

4. Devon Travis - Small, but he's a gamer with nice 15/15 type upside

4. Francisco Lindor - He'll get a shot in Cleveland at some point this year

4. Carlos Correa - Non-contending Astros can take their time with top prospect

5. Micah Johnson - Stole 84 bases in minors in '13, and ChiSox have a 2B need

5. Odubel Herrera - Some deep sleeper SB potential

5.Tanner Boyle - Suspension risk, but ran wild in the Astrodome

Top 5 favorite MLB middle infielders of all-time

1. Julio Franco - Played until he was 48, and who couldn't love that batting stance

1. Jeff Kent - Even though he was at odds with Barry Bonds at times -  second-most HRs ever by a 2B

1. Tony Phillips - Played all over the place, scored a ton of runs, did everything well

2. Omar Vizquel - Another ironman, killed me when M's gave him away after '93 season

2. Edgar Renteria - MVP of the 2010 World Series

2. Roberto Alomar - Favorite defensive infielder of all time

3. Shawon Dunston - Cannon for an arm, and how could a Funston not love a Dunston?

3. Brandon Crawford - Because of this

3. Alan Trammell - Absurd he hasn’t received much HOF consideration; real MVP in 1987

4. Lou Whitaker - Sweet Lou and Trammell were pillars up the middle in DET for two decades

4. Marco Scutaro - Because of this

4. Mark McLemore - One of the original Wiggys

5. Tony Fernandez - Loved watching him sling it sidearmed

5. Joe Panik - Because of this

5. Jerry Remy - Twenty-five years of entertainment deserves a shout-out