Here are my Roto Player Values for the American League for 2009. I've included the top 135 players (or so) with values based on a 12-team AL-only roto-style league with a draft cap of $300. You'll need to adjust the values to fit your league.
Comments on these values are below the player names:
Name --- POS --- Team --- VALUE
Sizemore, Grady OF CLE 41 (cream of the crop)
Rodriguez, Alex 3B NYY 35 (dropped from 39 due to hip injury)
Upton, B.J. OF TB 34 (watch injuries)
Crawford, Carl OF TB 31
Holliday, Matt OF OAK 31 (Playing in Oakland could drag down stats)
Roberts, Brian 2B BAL 30 (Trade rumors always persist)
Cabrera, Miguel 3B DET 29 (Started slow in '08, expect a good year)
Kinsler, Ian 2B TEX 29
Teixeira, Mark 1B NYY 29 (Adjusting to NY can be difficult)
Ortiz, David DH BOS 28 (Age, injuries may slow production)
Abreu, Bobby OF LAA 28
Markakis, Nick OF BAL 27 (One of the best young players, still improving)
Bay, Jason OF BOS 27
Suzuki, Ichiro OF SEA 27 (skills starting to decline)
Hamilton, Josh OF TEX 27 (injury watch)
Granderson, Curtis OF DET 27
Morneau, Justin 1B MIN 27
Thome, Jim 1B CHW 26
Figgins, Chone 3B LAA 26 (If he can stay healthy)
Rios, Alexis OF TOR 26
Quentin, Carlos OF CHW 25 (Monster bat returns from injury)
Youkilis, Kevin 1B BOS 24 (Personal favorite)
Damon, Johnny OF NYY 24
Burrell, Pat OF TB 24 (He should crush AL pitching)
Longoria, Evan 3B TB 24
Ellsbury, Jacoby OF BOS 23
Hunter, Torii OF LAA 23
Guerrero, Vladimir OF LAA 23 (age has not diminshed his skills yet)
Pedroia, Dustin 2B BOS 23
Pena, Carlos 1B TB 22
Span, Denard OF MIN 22
Young, Michael 3B TEX 22
Jeter, Derek SS NYY 22
Swisher, Nick OF NYY 22 (Maybe too high if he platoons)
Beltre, Adrian 3B SEA 22
Gordon, Alex 3B KC 22 (another monster bat waiting to explode)
Gomez, Carlos OF MIN 21
Cabrera, Orlando SS OAK 21 (I would probably move him down into the teens)
Mauer, Joe C MIN 21
Ramirez, Alexei SS CHW 21
Drew, J.D. OF BOS 20
Dye, Jermaine OF CHW 20
Ordonez, Magglio OF DET 20
Peralta, Jhonny 2B CLE 20
Wells, Vernon OF TOR 19 (drop because of injuries)
Konerko, Paul 1B CHW 19
Choo, Shin-Soo OF CLE 19
Huff, Aubrey DH BAL 19
Giambi, Jason 1B OAK 19
Murphy, David OF TEX 18 (Was '08 a fluke?)
Crisp, Coco OF KC 18
Cust, Jack OF OAK 18 (On base and power machine)
Guillen, Carlos SS DET 18
Davis, Chris 3B TEX 17 (Move him up your board)
Iwamura, Akinori 2B TB 17
Polanco, Placido 2B DET 16
Martinez, Victor C CLE 16
Cano, Robinson 2B NYY 16
Posada, Jorge C NYY 16
Young, Delmon OF MIN 16 (Superstar tools, waiting to happen)
DeRosa, Mark 3B CLE 16
Millar, Kevin 1B TOR 16
DeJesus, David OF KC 16
Ellis, Mark 2B OAK 16
Matsui, Hideki OF NYY 16 (Starting to fade)
Guillen, Jose OF KC 15
Overbay, Lyle 1B TOR 15 (I expect him to be dealt soon)
Casilla, Alexi 2B MIN 15
Jones, Adam OF BAL 15
Kubel, Jason OF MIN 15
Lopez, Jose 2B SEA 15
Sheffield, Gary OF DET 15
Jacobs, Mike 1B KC 15
Lugo, Julio SS BOS 14
Hafner, Travis DH CLE 14 (Can he bounce back from injuries?)
Nady, Xavier OF NYY 14
Mora, Melvin 3B BAL 14
Teahen, Mark OF KC 14 (Not too high on him)
Cabrera, Asdrubal SS CLE 14
Rolen, Scott 3B TOR 14
Cuddyer, Michael OF MIN 13
Bartlett, Jason SS TB 13
Lowell, Mike 3B BOS 13
Francisco, Ben OF CLE 13
Scott, Luke OF BAL 13 (Thunderous bat)
Aviles, Mike SS KC 13 (Not sure if he can ever duplicate his '08 season)
Inge, Brandon 3B DET 13 (If he qualifies at catcher, a good pick)
Cabrera, Melky OF NYY 13
Garko, Ryan 1B CLE 12
Bautista, Jose 3B TOR 12
Jones, Andruw OF TEX 12 (strikeout machine)
Crosby, Bobby SS OAK 12
Griffey Jr., Ken OF SEA 12
Punto, Nick SS MIN 11
Cruz, Nelson OF TEX 11
Betancourt, Yuniesky SS SEA 11
Varitek, Jason C BOS 11
Gutierrez, Franklin OF SEA 10
Butler, Billy OF KC 10
Pierzynski, A.J. C CHW 10
Napoli, Mike C LAA 10
Izturis, Maicer 3B LAA 10
Kendrick, Howie 2B LAA 10 (If he stays healthy, he will be worth $20)
Matthews Jr., Gary OF LAA 9
Lind, Adam OF TOR 9
Hill, Aaron 2B TOR 9
Thames, Marcus OF DET 9
Carroll, Jamey 2B CLE 9
Harris, Brendan SS MIN 8
Scutaro, Marco SS TOR 8
Lowrie, Jed SS BOS 8
Saltalamacchia, Jarrod C TEX 8 (Breakout in '09?)
Gardner, Brett OF NYY 8
Joyce, Matt OF TB 8
Boggs, Brandon OF TEX 8
Blalock, Hank 3B TEX 8 (Could be much higher if production returns)
Davis, Rajai OF OAK 7 (Cheap speed)
Olivo, Miguel C KC 7
Grudzielanek, Mark 2B FA 7
Buck, John C KC 7
Gross, Gabe OF TB 7
Crede, Joe 3B MIN 7
Navarro, Dioner C TB 7
Laird, Gerald C DET 7
Aybar, Erick SS LAA 7
Wigginton, Ty 3B BAL 7
Suzuki, Kurt C OAK 7
Izturis, Cesar 3B BAL 7
Zaun, Gregg C BAL 7
Willits, Reggie OF LAA 6 (Tons of speed)
Freel, Ryan 2B BAL 6
Shoppach, Kelly C CLE 6
Byrd, Marlon OF TEX 6
Kotsay, Mark OF BOS 6
Teagarden, Taylor C TEX 6
Barton, Daric 1B OAK 6
Catalanotto, Frank OF TEX 5
Chavez, Eric 3B OAK 5
Buck, Travis OF OAK 5
Gload, Ross OF KC 5
Dellucci, David OF CLE 5
Betemit, Wilson 3B CHW 5
Bloomquist, Willie SS KC 5
First, watch out for injuries. A-Rod's hip bears monitoring, along with any other premium players such as Upton, Quentin or Ortiz. Identify the low-risk, high-value players and go after them (Cabrera, Sizemore and Teixeira look good). Holliday may see a drop off in value in Oakland, so I'd stay away from drafting him for now.
Among the next group, I like Youkilis, Guerrero and Longoria as guys who could outperform their expectations this year. The Phillies figured out how to pitch to Longoria in the World Series last year, so watch the Rays this spring to see if he's made any adjustments.
Vernon Wells is too high at $19. I would bump him down to $13 because of his injuries and decline in production. Chris Davis is probably too low at $17, so bump him up to the low-20's. Delmon Young didn't display much power last year, but he should be capable of hitting 30 homers someday. He might be a good sleeper in 2009 if you can keep him for multiple seasons.
If you need a cheap power source, Mike Jacobs should come with a fairly low price tag, but hit 25 homers this year. I also like Xavier Nady in New York and Ben Francisco in Cleveland as mid-range guys who could really shine this year.
Near the bottom of the salary barrel, Adam Lind could be a terror for the Jays. Joe Crede looks like another low-round guy who could pay dividends. I think Dioner Navarro overachieved last year, but if your league rewards walks or on-base average, don't ignore Greg Zaun.
Last, if you need some speed, consider taking a flyer on Ryan Freel of the Orioles. He's burned up the basepaths in the National League for years. He's been injury-prone, so make sure he's healthy before paying much for him.
