Fantasy Baseball Draft Strategy: Underrated Studs Who Need to Be on Your Radar

Things tend to be pretty orderly in the first two rounds of a fantasy baseball draft. Everyone knows who the studs are, and they typically come off the board in an unsurprising order.

It's typically around the third round when all hell breaks loose. It becomes impossible to predict which player is going to be picked next, and your leaguemates will invariably start making reach picks and sucking up the top players at a single position.

The best thing you can do at the outset of the craziness is keep calm and keep your eye on the studs who are likely to be overlooked. They don't stand out next to the cream of the crop, but they're guys you're going to want to have.

Here's a few suggestions.

5. Alex Gordon, OF, Kansas City Royals

Alex Gordon was supposed to be the next great thing when he broke into the big leagues back in 2007. Five seasons later, it's apparent he is not the next great thing.

However, Gordon very quietly had a solid season in 2011. He hit over .300 for the first time, hit 23 home runs, stole 17 bases, scored 101 runs and drove in 87.

That kind of production makes Gordon, at worst, a third outfielder. None of those numbers jump out as being particularly excellent, but there aren't many guys out there who can help you out in all five offensive categories, and Gordon is one of them.

Because he's still young, Gordon should be considered a high-reward pick. He finally established himself as a capable ballplayer last season, and now the question is if he can get better. Based on what he did last season, a season with 25 to 30 home runs, 100 RBI and 20 to 25 stolen bases is very much in the cards.

If Gordon achieves those numbers, he'll be a No. 1 outfielder. Not bad for a guy who can be had in the low-middle rounds.

4. Dustin Pedroia, 2B, Boston Red Sox

When it comes to second basemen, Robinson Cano and Ian Kinsler are at the top. Cano is the best hitting second baseman in the league, and Kinsler is coming off his second career 30-30 season.

But these two are not head and shoulders above Dustin Pedroia. On the contrary, Pedroia is right up there with them in terms of what he brings to the table.

Pedroia will go through his slumps, but by the end of the season he's going to be hitting over .300. Last year, he added 21 home runs and 26 stolen bases, and he scored 102 runs and drove in 91.

Pedroia likely doesn't have many more home runs or stolen bases in him, but Boston's lineup will afford him the chance to score just as many runs as Kinsler, who won't be able to match Pedroia when it comes to batting average.

So be prepared to jump on Pedroia. He won't come off the board as quickly as Cano and Kinsler, but he's not a huge step down from either one of them. 

3. Mat Latos, SP, Cincinnati Reds

If you take a look at various starting pitching rankings, you'll find Mat Latos somewhere in the 20s, and maybe even in the 30s depending on the list you're looking at.

That's not quite doing him justice. Latos has it in him to be a top 20 or even a top 15 fantasy pitcher.

We know from what he did in 2010 that Latos is perfectly capable of striking out over nine batters every nine innings. If he pitches 200 innings for the first time in his career this season, he's going to end up with over 200 strikeouts.

But that's not all. Latos will have to work on keeping his walks down, but his stuff is tremendously hard to hit. That will help him keep his WHIP down, and I highly doubt his ERA is going to be any higher than the mid 3.00s.

Given the offense Latos has at his back, he'll be good for at least 15 wins if he stays healthy (his calf injury is nothing to worry about). With a little luck, he'll win 18 games. Combined with the other numbers he's likely to put up, that would make Latos one of the top fantasy starters in the game.

2. Andrew McCutchen, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates

Andrew McCutchen ended up with merely okay numbers last season, but what you really need to focus on is what he did before the All-Star break.

Before the break, McCutchen was batting .291 with 14 home runs, 54 runs scored, 54 RBI and 15 stolen bases. It looked like he had successfully made the transition from highly touted prospect to bona fide star.

McCutchen couldn't keep it up. He seemed to get a little full of himself, and then he started trying too hard. The end result was a disastrous second half.

Consistency will be a major key for McCutchen this year. If he can do what he did in the second half of last season all season long, he's going to be a 30-30 guy with an average near .300 and over 100 runs and 100 RBI.

You'll be able to get McCutchen as a No. 2 outfielder, but he has the potential to be a first-round pick a year from now.

1. Zack Greinke, SP, Milwaukee Brewers

Roy Halladay, Justin Verlander, Clayton Kershaw, Cliff Lee and CC Sabathia are all at the top of the starting pitching totem pole.

Zack Greinke could be better than any of them this season.

Greinke started slowly in his first season with the Brewers, was thanks in large part to the fact he started the season late due to an offseason injury. But once he came around, he was dominant. 

After the break in 2011, Greinke had a 2.59 ERA in 97.1 innings, in which he struck out 102 hitters. He looked every bit as good as he did during his Cy Young campaign in 2009, and he actually ended up leading the majors with a 10.54 K/9.

Greinke has been dealing this spring, and he'll head into the season fully healthy. A season with 18 wins, an ERA in the low 2.00s, a WHIP in the low 1.00s and roughly 240 to 250 strikeouts is entirely possible.

So if you see Greinke on the board in, say, the fourth or fifth round, take him.