Several players worth discusssing either vastly exceeded expectations or seemingly came out of nowhere to become valuable roto contributors in 2008. Owners with enough cajones to draft Dustin Pedroia early on were rewarded with an MVP season from the middle infield. Anyone who says they saw Cliff Lee’s cy young season coming last year is either lying or clairvoyant and should be disinvited from your league anyways. In our next installment, I’d like to get reader’s takes on a handful of players that exceeded expectations, but may give owners second thoughts as they get ready to draft them:

Can Ludwick Repeat?: Ludwick’s 37 bombs and 113 RBI gave owners tremendous value from a player they most likely got on the waiver wire. Bill James says he’ll hit 31 and drive in 100 plus again, while Marcel is a little more conservative (26 HR/87 RBI) but still projects a nice season hitting behind Albert Pujols.

Can I trust Cliff Lee as a staff anchor? 22 Wins, 170 K’s, and a 2.54 E.R.A. netted Cliffy the Cy last year, yet I’d be hard pressed to draft him as my #1 starter. Looking back on his career, we’re all still probably not giving him the props he deserves. He’s got a 76-39 lifetime record and that’s including his injury-laden 2007 season. Still, BJ and Marcel project him out at roughly 14 wins and 130 K’s. Does he get near the 20 win mark again, or settle back down?

Am I really gonna take Dustin Pedroia with a third round pick? If you really want Pedroia’s services this year, prepare to spend your third rounder on him. It’s certainly a worthy pick. You can write in a .315-.320 average, 100 plus runs, and 15-20 steals. But do you draft him ahead of Brandon Phillips, CC, or Jason Bay? He’s going ahead of them in current MDC mocks. (If it comes down to Dustin or Phillips, I’m going with a resurgent Phillips.)

What about Alexei Ramirez? It’s hard not to love Ramirez’ game, with all that power coming from such a wiry frame. But Ramirez isn’t going to come cheap this year, if you want him, you’d better be ready to spend a fourth or early fifth rounder on him. Bill James says 24 HR and 97 RBI from the Cuban, Marcel gives him fewer AB’s, 17 HR and just 66 RBI. It might be better to wait on Michael Young, Jeter, or Tejada, all of whom are on the decline but will give you similar #’s from later draft picks.

OK, NOW can I trust Nate McClouth? Just admit it. You were waiting all year for pitchers to solve McClouth. But he just kept on doing it…to the tune of 23 HR, 117 runs, and 93 RBI. Both James and Marcel predict a precipitous decline in RBI production (72, 66 respectively), but he’s burned us for undervaluing him before. Without Bay to protect him in the lineup, it may be hard for him repeat last year though.

Is Quentin gonna mash it up again? Quentin was one of those post hype guys, but he’s not falling under the radar screen by a long shot. He’s going in the late 3rd/early 4th in drafts, and Bill James predicts another 100 run/100 RBI season for CQ. Marcel, always the naysayer, is a bit more conservative, with R/RBI totals just in the 70’s. I’d be a bit wary about a drop-off in batting average.