I just don't think people realize what kind of amazing value Stephen Drew is shaping up to be on the fantasy baseball market. For the sake of my teams, I could keep a lid on it, but (1) doing so would rob a third of the 212 people who'll open the link for this blog of the chance to click somewhere else before they finish reading it, and (2) most of the folks I'll face in my drafts will have at least lukewarm interest in him, I'm sure.

Drew has burned drafters twice in the past two years:

Drew to throw off balance of leagues

• once when he was in the midst of typically disappointing season that ended abruptly because he freakishly and most unfortunately suffered a broken ankle in July 2011;
• and another time in 2012 when ambitious owners were taking him, at all, despite the fact that both his and the Arizona Diamondbacks' timetables for his return, even if they would've been the same, were entirely too optimistic ... and didn't take into account that he wouldn't be at full strength for a month or two afterward.

Both of those events, however, aren't a reflection of his state as he approaches his age-30 campaign, which is:

• healthy, as his .263/.331/.421 September with the Oakland Athletics helped to attest;
• and unattached, which probably won't change because of anything but a one-year deal, perhaps one that includes an option for a second year ... which means he'll have to perform well in order to receive a longer, more fiscally appealing commitment.

Why do you think the lines of communication between Oakland and Drew's representation remain open? How often does Billy Beane do business with the likes of Scott Boras? When the gettin's good, that's when. The longer Drew goes without an attractive offer, the closer Beane is to signing Drew at a price that appeals to the A's GM.

And it doesn't matter whether I project Drew to swat 10 home runs or 18 home runs or wield his stick for a .246 BA or a .272 BA. His projection will slot him, in our rankings, well ahead of many other shortstops who'll appear higher than him on a typical ADP list. And that, my friends, is the most important piece of information to take away from the whole deal.