I have received some great questions via e-mail over the last two days. Thank you! I will take some time to answer each one as best that I can. A comment was posted by one reader, and he asks:

I’m wondering how you would rank the first two rounds in a standard 5 x 5 roto league. It seems like the basic question one is asked is whether to draft power or speed.

Another reader asked:

I pick #5 in a 13 team 5×5 league. I expect Pujols, Santana, Soriano, and Reyes to be gone with the first 4 picks. Should I take Crawford or A. Rod?

Here is how I rank the 1st two rounds in a 12-Team league:

Round 1

1. Albert Pujols - Who wouldn’t pick him first? Oh yeah, someone in my 14-team H2H league.
2. Alfonso Soriano - Tons of power with tons of speed.
3. Jose Reyes - Tons of speed with excellent power, and a fantastic lineup.
4. Ryan Howard - Fantastic power with a run producing offense, and a cozy ballpark.
5. Alex Rodriguez - Setup to have a monster year in a monster of a lineup.
6. Chase Utley - How can one position be so thin, yet one player so good.
7. Carlos Beltran - Great mix of power and speed. If his home numbers improve, then watch out.
8. Johan Santana - Best pitcher by a large margin
9. Miguel Cabrera - Great power mixed with great batting average. Special pick in keeper leagues
10. David Wright - Another Met, with tons of upside, and has combination of power with speed.
11. Vladimir Guerrero - Last year was a ripple for a player that swings at anything and usually hits it.
12. Grady Sizemore - Power and Speed in a nasty lineup

Round 2

1. David Ortiz - Position eligibility hurts him, but is a definite 1st round pick in Yahoo leagues.
2. Carl Crawford - Great speed with decent power, but not enough supporting cast to be a 1st round pick
3. Lance Berkman - Solid power in a lineup that added him protection with Lee.
4. Manny Ramirez - Awesome player when not being “Manny”
5. Mark Teixeira - Turns 27 and is a switch hitter in a hitters park
6. Matt Holliday - Great player with power, and will get the occasional steal
7. Vernon Wells - Solid power and contact numbers.
8. Travis Hafner - Position eligibility hurts here, but his power is worth it.
9. Derek Jeter - Yankee lineup is too powerful to pass him up.
10. Jimmy Rollins - Just as good as Jeter, and getting better each year.
11. Andruw Jones - His K rate is trending the right way to make him a stud this year.
12. Jason Bay - Developing power with some speed, and added protection with LaRoche.

I have stated before, and will hold to it, draft players with power and some speed in the first two rounds. They create the most amount of runs for their team, which will translate to your team.

To answer the question about the 5th round pick:

As you can tell I am not big on drafting Crawford in the 1st round. I personally think that Crawford is a fantastic player, he just doesn’t create enough runs for his team. Most of that has to do with the lineup around him. Let’s put it this way; I would rather have A-rod on base with Matsui, Posada, and Cano following him then Cawford on base with Gomes, Cantu and Wigginton hitting. Don’t forget that A-Rod will have great RBI opportunities with Damon, Jeter, and Abreu in front of him.

I am a firm believer in overall team speed, and drafting players that create more runs for their team then others do.