Hanley Ramirez in the 2009 Baseball Fantasy Draft

Everybody will be busy with their 2009 MLB Fantasy Draft next month. Everybody is working on their draft charts - who to pick and when to pick them. Who will we pick 1st, 2nd, 3rd and so on it goes. The speculation and arguments around the water cooler have probably started as spring training is starting up. Probably your first or 2nd pick overall in your 2009 Fantasy draft should be shortstop Hanley Ramirez. With Ramirez you kill two birds with one stone, - a hitter capable of hitting 30 HRs and stealing 30 or more bases, and he is a shortstop.

Currently he weighs in at an incredible 225 pounds, his weight is more fitting for a heavyweight boxer then a MLB shortstop. Shortstops used to be slender and agile and cover an incredible amount of ground. They were thin and fleet to catch those hard hit grounders up the middle. While Ramirez claims he feels stronger at this weight, that should help to improve his already impressive set of power numbers.

Hanley Ramirez should be picked very early in your 2009 Fantasy Baseball draft. You will not get another chance to pick a power hitting shortstop of his magnitude, early in your 2009 Fantasy Baseball Draft. While there are some shortstops with some impressive power stats, there is not a shortstop who can hit like Ramirez. A 30 - 30 season makes for an incredible season for any player, not only for a shortstop.

At 25 years of age Hanley Ramirez hasn't even reached the prime of his career. He is a young player that played 2 games with the Boston Red Sox, had 2 at bats and struck out twice in the 2005 MLB season. He has come along way in three full seasons with the Florida Marlins. He has averaged 155 games in the last three seasons, so he is a healthy player. You can not predict injuries during the season, but he doesn't spend time on the disabled list.

Hanley Ramirez's offensive numbers have been improving in the three season that he has been playing for the Marlins. He has gone from 17 HRs in 2006 to 33 HRs in 2008, this proves that he is improving in leaps and bounds. His stolen bases numbers went down from 2008 - 51 stolen bases to 35 stolen bases. I honestly think that if he is going to steal over 30 bases in 2009, he is going to have to lose a little weight.

But hey, you can make more money as a power hitter than you can stealing bases, so why not keep the weight and move to a different position. His defensive numbers at shortstop aren't that impressive. They were a .967 fielding average in 2008. Men of Ramirez's stature are better suited for 1st base. When your team has 3 players vying for positions at 1st base, move your power hitter over there.

If the Marlins decide to move Ramirez to 1st base, he will still be eligible for the shortstop position in your 2009 Fantasy Baseball Draft , because he played the full 2008 season at shortstop. Another nice aspect of Ramirez's play is he does not strike out a lot, 122 in 2008. Good numbers for leagues that subtract strikeouts. I honestly see Ramirez hitting 40 Homeruns this year and maybe stealing 20 to 25 bases, if he still insists that 225 pounds is a good weight for him.