I received an e-mail from a long time reader, and he asked the following question:

In my league, same format as your mafia league. We had to narrow our team to 12 players and will narrow down to 5 after the offseason. I plan to trade up I just wanted your opinon of my top 5?

Here is my roster: Martin, Berkman, Renteria, Atkins, Hall, Guerrero, Wells, Hart, Pierre, Hunter, Byrnes, Jenks

Well, the obvious first choice to keep is Vlad. However, if the Angels do not add protection in the lineup for him, his numbers will continue to decline. I still think he is a solid #1 outfield option in 2008. The last two months of the season put Berkman and Atkins solidly on the list. Berkman posted a .307 batting average and hit 17 homeruns (finally). Atkins posted a ridiculous .349 batting average after the All-Star break. In fact, if you take the terrible May batting average out (.188), he hit .260 or over in every month during the season. So they need to be added. I would also keep Corey Hart, because his a 20/20 player and they are hard to find. He is also entering the prime of a baseball players career, and is on a strong up and coming team in a hitters ballpark.

The debate will be over the last spot on your keeper list. You can make an argument for Wells, Hunter, and Byrnes. Wells is coming off an injury plagued season at the hands of the crappy Toronto training staff. I don’t like him going into 2008 as a #1 outfielder in Fantasy Baseball drafts. In my opinion, the debate should be about Hunter and Byrnes. Both players are over 30, and produced about the same in 2007. I think the answer will be determined by where Hunter goes this off-season. If he goes to Boston or New York, then you have to retained him. If he goes to Washington or Texas, then I think Byrnes is the better choice in 2008. The nice thing is that we are talking about your 3rd outfielder, and I think both players will have more production them most 3rd outfielders.

So here are my 5 keepers for 2008 as they stand now:

Guerrero, Atkins, Berkman, Hart, Byrnes

I think the other players (other then Hunter) can be picked after the 5th round in non-keeper drafts. The only player that will be drafted then he should is Martin. In my opinion, catchers should not be drafter before the 10th round. Think back to the beginning of 2007. How deep was Martin being drafted as compared to Joe Mauer? How ended the season with better numbers?

Send in more keeper questions and I will answer them for you!