Can we pick 'em or what? Last month's rankings so good, little change this month

Time for our monthly analysis of the top 12 players available in the March 2010 I-75 league draft. We last looked at the draft on Aug. 1; stats in the blurbs below are through August games. Remarkably, just about everyone in last month's rankings had a strong month, leading to little change in the mock draft.

1. Matt Wieters, C, Baltimore. At age 23, Wieters' combination of future superstardom, and current respectability against RHPs with a projected 300+ AB total, makes us stick with him at No. 1. Last month rank: 1.

2. Chris Carpenter, SP, St. Louis. 34-year-old refuses to fade; keeping his WHIP below 1 (0.97) and solid against both LHBs and RHBs. LMR: 3.

3. Ben Zobrist, OF-IF, Rays. Love this guy. Switch-hitter, great OB each way, plays six positions, just six errors, 23 HRs, 15 SBs... Can't say a bad thing about him. Only drops to 3 because great starting pitchers are such a rare commodity. LMR: 2.

4. David Price, SP, Rays. Had dropped his WHIP from 1.63 to 1.47 in the last 30 days; at this pace he'll actually be useable in 2010 instead of just a prospect pick. Had a 1.15 WHIP and .238 opponents batting average against in August. LMR: 4.

5. Chone Figgins, 3B, Angels. There's prattle about Figgins and Erick Aybar winning Gold Gloves for their defense on Anaheim's left side of the infield. Don't know about that, but his .431 on-base number against righties and 39 steals makes him an attractive pick. LMR: 5.

6. Andrew McCutchen, OF, Pirates. Love this guy too. Had his best month of the year in August, with 8 homers, .304/.387/.618. Great speed and throwing arm. Being skewed against lefties is the only reason he doesn't move up ahead of Figgins. LMR: 6.

7. Tommy Hanson, SP, Braves. Another guy who had a strong August to improve his stock, but can't bump him up this list. WHIP is down to 1.25; opponent batting average to .239. Might be a 6R in his first year though; dominates righties and is merely mortal against lefties. But having just turned 23, he could be a Greg Maddux-type workhorse for years to come. LMR: 7.

8. J.A. Happ, SP, Phillies. Ever notice that announcers seem to call him "Jay" instead of "Jay-A Happ?" Weird. Anyway, Happ was a model of consistency in August, with a 1.19 WHIP and .221 opponents' batting average, to leave his 2009 totals at 1.17 and .226. A big lefty who will turn 27 in October, he has good balance and a lot of innings (143). He's consistent and so should we be. LMR: 8.

9. Andrew Bailey, RP, A's. Bailey had a great August, trimming his WHIP to 0.92 and his batting average against to .173. He's gonna have a Mariano-Rivera-like card with 76 Ks in 72 innings. Amazingly brutal vs. both righties and lefties. Just 25 years old. He'll likely finish in the mid-80s in innings; how often can you get a closer like that these days? LMR: 10.

10. Joel Pineiro, SP, Cardinals. With reservation. Only because surely someone else will need a right-handed starter, and at this point, the veteran appears to be the best of the lot. His WHIP is nice at 1.10, but those are mostly hits and not walks, as reflected by a .263 BAA. Does a good job of keeping the ball in the yard and already has 170 innings. LMR: Not ranked.

11. Marco Scutaro, SS, Blue Jays. Like his set-him-and-forget-him potential. Full-time player with great OB who will be unlimited and won't hurt you in the field. Can be a great No. 1 or No. 2 hitter. LMR: 9.

12. Garrett Jones, OF, Pirates. Has cooled off just a smidge, but still boasts a 1.065 OPS against RHPs and has more than 200 ABs under his belt. LMR: 12.

Dropped from rankings: David Aardsma (11).