Many fantasy newbies use Average Draft Position (ADP) rankings as cheat sheets, but that's typically a mistake. By relying too heavily on ADP numbers to determine your picks, you're essentially guaranteeing that you'll draft just like everyone else. That may help you avoid the massive blunders that first-year drafters are so worried about, but it'll also keep you from finding undervalued players.

You won't win fantasy leagues just by following the masses, but you should use ADP data to map how your draft may play out and where the best values figure to come from, thinking of the rankings as your opponents' collective cheat sheets. With help from MockDraftCentral.com and the up-to-the-minute ADP rankings from Rotoworld's Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide, let's take a peek at conventional wisdom's early plans.

Last week I used ADP data to look at how things were playing out in the first few rounds, so now I'll shift to the middle rounds and examine some other trends …

One thing that jumps out at me right away is where the catchers are coming off the board this year. ADP shows that the first catcher isn't being selected until the middle of Round 4, but then Russell Martin, Brian McCann, Joe Mauer, Geovany Soto, and Victor Martinez are all going between picks 43-81. And once that run takes place, the next catcher is Ryan Doumit going 40 picks later at No. 120.

43. Russell Martin, C
47. Brian McCann, C
53. Joe Mauer, C
66. Geovany Soto, C
81. Victor Martinez, C
120. Ryan Doumit, C
128. Matt Wieters, C
135. Chris Iannetta, C
153. Mike Napoli, C
165. Bengie Molina, C

Those are the top 10 catchers according to ADP. Mauer ranked ahead of Martin and McCann as last season's top fantasy catcher, but his somewhat uncertain health status and lack of home-run power are causing him to go 10-15 picks later than he probably should. Unless his recovery from kidney surgery hits a setback he should at the very least be going with Martin and McCann in Round 4.

Martinez is also being underrated by 10-15 picks after missing half of last year. He was an elite fantasy catcher every season from 2004-2007 and is still just 30 years old, so I'd definitely target him in the 60-70 range, perhaps even slightly in front of Soto. Doumit deserves to be closer to the Big Five than his ADP shows, but obviously not everyone buys into his breakout .318-15-69 season.

Whether or not you want to include Doumit in the elite group, the top six catchers are absolutely worth going after hard on draft day because there's a fairly big dip once they're gone. So big, in fact, that ADP shows Wieters as the No. 7 backstop despite the fact that he may not even begin the year in the majors. His long-term upside is nearly limitless, but for 2009 he's not worth the No. 128 overall pick.

Who should be seventh on everyone's cheat sheet? Iannetta is the obvious pick after hitting .264-18-65 as a 25-year-old, but if healthy Jorge Posada gives him a legitimate run for the spot. If you're looking to avoid risk Iannetta is the guy, but if you're willing to take some risk Posada is the guy. Either way, Posada is being severely underrated at No. 189 overall because of concerns about his shoulder.

Whereas the first catcher isn't being picked until the middle of Round 4 in most leagues, the first closer is Jonathan Papelbon at No. 54 overall. As you'd expect, once he goes there's a run on closers with Brad Lidge, Francisco Rodriguez, Joe Nathan, Mariano Rivera, Joakim Soria, and Bobby Jenks all coming off the board between picks 60 and 99.

54. Jonathan Papelbon, RP
60. Brad Lidge, RP
74. Francisco Rodriguez, RP
75. Joe Nathan, RP
84. Mariano Rivera, RP
93. Joakim Soria, RP
99. Bobby Jenks, RP

Papelbon, Rodriguez, Nathan, Rivera, and Soria strike me as very solid values in those spots, but Lidge is being overdrafted somewhat based on a 2008 season that he won't repeat and I'm very wary of Jenks' declining strikeout rate. Whether you should be in the market for an elite closer in the top 100 picks depends upon your strategy for the rest of the draft, but it's worthwhile for the most part.

However, there's no need to get involved if closers start coming off the board too early and it makes zero sense to target someone like Jenks at No. 99 when you can sit back and scoop up high-upside first-year closers like Jonathan Broxton and Carlos Marmol several rounds later. In fact, based on ADP info Broxton and Marmol may be the two most underrated players in all of fantasy baseball.

110. Jose Valverde, RP
121. Brian Fuentes, RP
122. B.J. Ryan, RP
123. Jonathan Broxton, RP
129. Carlos Marmol, RP
141. Francisco Cordero, RP
142. Matt Capps, RP
146. Kerry Wood, RP
159. Brian Wilson, RP
162. Mike Gonzalez, RP
164. Heath Bell, RP

Broxton and Marmol are being drafted as third-tier closers because far too many people focus on the fact that they have just 27 career saves between them. Both guys have clearly established themselves as elite, overpowering relievers in the past and have 40-save potential now that the path has been cleared for them to assume ninth-inning duties. I'd take either of them 40 picks earlier than ADP.

While committing to someone like Soria in the 90-100 range is a fine move, the ideal scenario would be grabbing both Broxton and Marmol in the 100-120 range before taking someone like Heath Bell around 140-150. You'll end up with zero "established closers" and may feel shaky about the risk taken, but will have three guys with a legitimate chance to combine for 100 saves and 250 strikeouts.

For more ADP rankings, draft strategy, and projections check out the Rotoworld Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide.