Does character play an issue?

First Manny, now Upton. If you have these guys on your team (more so Upton this year and Manny from years past) these situations absolutely drive you nuts. With Manny the question was when would he come up with a mystery ailment and tank it. With Upton, it's whether or not he's going to run out of the box and get benched as a result.



Leagues are often determined by as little as a HR on the final day or a couple scavenger wins so every single game is important. That's why I haven't viewed Manny as a first rounder since 2004 and why I won't view Upton in the first 6 rounds until he gets his head together.



When I evaluate these kinds of players I put them in the injury prone category. We have always focused on the injury prone guys such as Prior, Wood, J.D. Drew and adjusted their value accordingly.



Why shouldn't we do the same with Manny who hasn't played in 140 games in 4 years? Why shouldn't we do it with Upton, who not only gets hurt, he also gets benched for repeatedly not hustling and continues to do it again and again?



This doesn't mean they don't have value. It just means that their name has more value than their production and their risk.