Each Friday, we answer Fantasy Baseball questions submitted over the past week. Please e-mail your questions to bleacher@commissioner.com. Be sure to put Attn: Bleacher Banter in the subject field, and include your full name, hometown and state. Please be aware, due to the large volume of submissions received, we cannot guarantee personal responses or answers to all questions.

Tony Prettyman, Louisburg, Kan.: I play in an eight-team, Head-to-Head points league (batting only, no pitching). We use one player at each position (three outfielders), plus a designated hitter. We have five keepers every year, and you can keep them as many years as you want. Which five would you keep out of the following: David Ortiz, Scott Rolen, Derrek Lee, Andruw Jones, Garret Anderson, Michael Young (shortstop only), Ivan Rodriguez, Victor Martinez, Vernon Wells, Justin Morneau and Carlos Lee? I'm sure about Ortiz and Rolen, but I don't know who the other three should be.

B.B.: In such shallow league formats as this, it's important to keep the players you believe will be the most valuable at their positions in 2005, with future seasons only slightly taken into account. Ortiz and Rolen are indeed no-brainers, and based on his 2003-04 numbers as well as the lack of depth at shortstop, Young also fits that classification. Pudge and Martinez represent two of the best Fantasy catchers available, so it's advised to keep one of them as well. Keep Martinez, who has better offensive upside than any catcher in baseball and is just 25 years of age. Your third keeper is more of a tossup, since Lee, Jones, Anderson, Wells, Morneau and Lee play positions that should be easy to fill in the annual draft. Based on your league's lack of restrictions on how long you can keep a player, retain Morneau, who has the talent to annually challenge the 40-homer plateau and even win a few homer titles.

Rod Rego, Phoenix: I am in a 12-team league where we can keep one hitter and one pitcher. Originally, I was thinking of keeping Carlos Zambrano, but I have been reading a lot that he might be susceptible to injury based on all of the innings he has pitched this year. I am now thinking about keeping Rich Harden, but should I forget them both and keep Freddy Garcia or Jake Westbrook? Also, what hitter should I keep between Rolen, Derek Jeter or Bobby Abreu?

B.B.: Injury risk for pitchers is an important factor to consider, but it shouldn't be the driving force behind your keeper decisions. Zambrano is indeed a gamble based on his workload, but that's more a result of the 252 1/3 innings he threw in 2003 between spring training, the regular season and postseason than his inning total this year (204). In 2004, his biggest concern is that he has averaged a whopping 111.2 pitches per start, nearly five per outing more than a year ago. Nevertheless, you simply can't predict when arm abuse is going to catch up with a pitcher, and you'll be kicking yourself if you let a potential Cy Young caliber pitcher go in favor of one who is only just making a name for himself. Keep Zambrano, who is a noticeable step ahead of your other three options, as well as Rolen, since third basemen are tougher to find in the draft.

Adam Carver, Cleveland: Rodrigo Lopez has put up decent numbers in two of his three major-league seasons. Do you think he will be able to match or exceed those numbers in 2005? Also, what type of production should I expect from Grady Sizemore and Jeremy Reed next year?

B.B.: Injuries were partially responsible for Lopez's terrible 2003 totals. Keep in mind it's tough for a pitcher who relies heavily on command to be effective when he constantly has a nagging ailment on his mind. Despite Lopez's horrendous totals that year, he kept his strikeouts-per-nine innings, walks-per-nine and strikeouts-to-walks ratios nearly the same as they were in his impressive 2002 and '04 campaigns. That suggests that, assuming he can stay healthy, his 2005 should be more like those solid seasons than the bad one. But keep in mind that Lopez doesn't overpower anyone, so we have probably already seen his ceiling. Sizemore and Reed should enter the spring as their teams' favorites to start in center field. Sizemore seems on a slightly slower development path and could offer .270-15-70-20 totals; Reed is a more polished batsman who could bat .290-15-75-25.

Brett Johnston, Pickering, Ontario: I am in a Rotisserie 5x5 AL-only auction league. We have a $260 Draft Day salary cap, which has a $325 maximum and $225 minimum during the year. Monthly in-person meetings are the only time you can reserve, drop or place someone on the disabled list. Our maximum contract length is three years, and we keep seven players. My keepers include five no-brainers: Francisco Cordero $1 (expires 2005), Carl Crawford $14 (2005), Martinez $13 (2006), Zack Greinke $1 (2006) and B.J. Upton $1 (2006). Who should my other three keepers be between Harden $8 (2006), Rocco Baldelli $9 (2005), Bobby Crosby $10 (2005), Justin Duchscherer $1 (2006), Eric Byrnes $10 (2006) and Mark Bellhorn $1 (2006)? Where does one prioritize between dollars and years vs. potential?

B.B.: Your five no-brainers are indeed just that, and Harden should also be included in that list, especially since you would otherwise be left with only Greinke among starting pitchers. Although Harden was recommended to be thrown back in favor of Zambrano on an earlier question, it doesn't mean he's a bad pitcher. He's still 8-1 with a 3.47 ERA in 14 second-half starts and could very well post stats to rival any of the "Big Three" in Oakland in 2005, especially since the trio has struggled so much lately. Baldelli has loads of upside and projects as an eventual .300-30-125-30 man, but he's still just 23 and is just now beginning to develop the patience he'll need to explode. Crosby, meanwhile, plays a scarcer position and is on a team that emphasizes the skills a player needs to develop into a Fantasy superstar.

As for your last question: Potential, which Baldelli possesses, is often overrated in keeper leagues. When a player has shown little sign of breaking out in the near future and can only have him one year, it's really irrelevant whether he'll become a 30/30 man down the road. It could easily come after you have to let him go. The dollars and years should be your first determining factor, with potential serving more as a deciding influence when two players are virtually identical in value.

Dave McNight, Greenville, S.C.: I'm in a 14-team, 5x5, 10-keeper league. I plan to keep Lance Berkman, Lee, Melvin Mora, Harden and Keith Foulke. I also have stockpiled the following players and need to keep five: Gavin Floyd, Scott Kazmir, Livan Hernandez, Brandon Webb, Upton, Sizemore, Scott Hairston, Morneau, Casey Kotchman, Alexis Rios and Jason Kubel. Finally, should I keep Jeff Bagwell over a future star in Kotchman?

B.B.: Without knowing how long you can keep these players, the following five picks presume that your league values the player's 2005 output first and foremost: Floyd, Kazmir, Morneau, Upton and Webb. Webb, despite pitching for a poor team, is young and more talented than his ERA and WHIP show this season, while Floyd and Kazmir are two of the top rookie pitchers heading into 2005. Morneau could break out offensively, while Upton is considered a Derek Jeter-caliber shortstop prospect. While it's odd to see Webb suggested over a player with the upside of Kubel or Rios, keep in mind that they won't make nearly as big an impact in a 14-team mixed league next season. They would be obvious choices in a long-term keeper league over Webb, and only in that format would it be advised to keep a prospect like Kotchman over a proven veteran like Bagwell. Keep in mind the Angels aren't even assured of giving Kotchman the starting job next opening day.

Mark Traeger, Melrose, Minn.: I'm in a keeper league and need to choose between two of the following three third basemen to keep for next season: Chipper Jones, Mora and Aubrey Huff. Which two would you recommend keeping?

B.B.: Your decision could be moot depending on your league's position eligibility rules, since Jones could very well be shifted to first base or back to left field next season. He only played third base this year to ease the strain on his hamstrings. Assuming you're able to use Jones at the hot corner for all of 2005, he's a better keeper than Mora, despite the latter's breakout campaign. Jones is two months younger than Mora, and he has been far more consistent throughout his career, having topped 25 homers for the seventh straight season and standing just four RBI short of a ninth consecutive 100-RBI campaign. Keep Jones and Huff, the latter the no-brainer choice of the three based on his age (27) and All-Star caliber statistics.

Russ Ford, Toronto: I am looking to make a late-season roster move. I want to pick up a guy who, although not one now, might be in line to become a closer next year. Who do you think could be a sleeper closer next year?

B.B.: Atlanta, Baltimore, the Chicago Cubs, Colorado, Florida and Seattle stand out as six teams that could see change in their closer roles during the winter. The Braves might seem like an odd choice with the dependable John Smoltz under contract, but if he moves to the rotation, Jose Capellan has the arm to step in. Among the other five teams, don't be shocked to see B.J. Ryan (Orioles), Ryan Dempster (Cubs), Chin-Hui Tsao (Rockies), Guillermo Mota (Marlins) or Julio Mateo (Mariners) get a look in the closer's role in the spring. And while it's a stretch with Eric Gagne firmly entrenched as the Dodgers' closer, just the slight sign of his shoulder acting up lately is enough to make Yhency Brazoban a deep sleeper for saves in 2005.

Brian Bichkoff, Chicago: I have a different type of keeper question. I'm in a points-based league where saves count as much as wins. We can keep 10 players, but will be having an expansion draft where the expansion team will select one player from each team. Each team starts by protecting one player, and after each round of the expansion draft, the remaining teams protect an additional player. You can only lose one player to the expansion team. My keepers are: Albert Pujols, Miguel Tejada, Rolen, Miguel Cabrera, Carlos Beltran, Johan Santana, Randy Johnson, Jake Peavy, Ben Sheets and Mariano Rivera. My question is in what order should I protect my players? Also, is it a mistake to keep any of the guys above over Joe Mauer, Morneau, Jason Bay, Huff, A.J. Burnett or C.C. Sabathia?

B.B.: Brian, sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you're probably going to be the first team to lose a player to the expansion draft. That's actually a compliment -- your team is simply incredibly rich in Fantasy talent. Unfortunately, that means you're going to have to decide which player you could least afford to lose, and that ultimately comes down to your personal opinion. Go with the player you feel most confident in. For reference, we suggest ranking the 10: Pujols, Beltran, Santana, Cabrera, Tejada, Johnson, Rolen, Rivera, Peavy and Sheets.

Here's a tip to consider: Try contacting this expansion owner and see if you can get him/her to divulge any draft strategies. Some owners like building their teams with an ace starter first, while others will never pick a pitcher with their first selections. Hitting is far more predictable than pitching, and you're going to be better off if the expansion team is steered into a choice between pitchers Johnson and Santana based on your bats. Even if you learn that the expansion owner plans to take one of your hitters with his/her first pick, all hope is not lost. By keeping either Pujols or Beltran, you're going to make the choice among your hitters appear slightly less tantalizing by comparison to having left available two dominant starting pitchers. That strategy could also work the other way, if you feel Johnson and Santana are your team's best assets.

Once the expansion draft is complete, add Huff, especially if you lose either Rolen or Cabrera. Morneau isn't far behind Huff on that list, but only add him if you somehow lost Pujols.

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You can e-mail your Fantasy Baseball questions to bleacher@commissioner.com. Be sure to put Attn: Bleacher Banter in the subject field. Please include your full name, hometown and state. Please be aware, due to the large volume of submissions received, we cannot guarantee personal responses or answers to all questions.