Derek Jeter will offer the same comfortable combination of power, avergae and speed as usual, but not at a level above some more elite-level options.

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Every Thursday from now until September, you can come here to find an in-depth look at fantasy baseball's buy-low and sell-high candidates. But, as anyone tracking the Mayan calendar can see, it's still early March. Since most auctions and drafts haven't taken place just yet, we'll spend the next few weeks taking a closer look at the boom and bust picks at each position. This week, we'll look at middle infielders ...

BUY LOW

Marcus Giles, 2B, Rockies: Let's slap a warning label on this one. And not like one of those confusing warning labels they put on my turpentine. (Inflammable and flammable are the same thing? Come on!) Giles, at least for now, is a last pick, end-of-your-bench option.

The guy hit .229 with four homers last season. But there's just so much to like here.

First, Giles was destined to fail in Petco Park last season. That oversized pit is to hitters what Coors Field is to pitchers. It hurts more than 81 games worth of numbers. It takes a psychological toll on a lot of players as they watch balls that used to fly out die on the warning track. And that toll carries over on the road. So throw out last season. Giles is 29 years old, still hit .252 on the road last season, and should be in his prime. And remember what Kaz Matsui did for the Rockies last season? On his worst days Giles is still a better hitter than Matsui.

The other thing to like about Giles is that, while he hasn't locked down a starting job (or even a roster spot, for that matter), he has little competition for the job. Good-not-great prospect Jayson Nix is his biggest threat. Then there's Ian Stewart and Jeff Baker, neither of whom have experience at second base. If manager Clint Hurdle has a long memory, he'll recall Giles torching his team to the tune of 10-for-19 at Coors last season, and he'll think about how nice that production would look in his lineup.

Giles' power has been fading -- the 21 HRs he hit in 2003 are looking awfully fluky these days. But he's also coming off of five straight seasons with double-digit steals. There's no need for intense number-crunching. He's going from baseball's worst hitters park to the best. If Giles can separate himself in the second base competition early this season, he could easily score 80-90 runs to go along with a respectable batting average and double-digit HRs.

Julio Lugo, SS, Red Sox: What a difference a year makes. Or, in Lugo's case, what a difference three months makes. Everyone was high on Lugo leading off for Boston last spring until he came out of the gates with a .197 average in the first half.

But after a move from the leadoff spot to the 9-hole, a couple days on the bench in late June and a good cry, Lugo quietly returned to form in the second half of the season. He hit .280 after the All-Star break. Still, his final number sat at a gangly, unseemly .237. And that's what is scaring fantasy owners away. According to the good folks at MockDraftCentral.com, Lugo's average draft position currently sits at 18^th among shortstops, just behind Felipe Lopez. (You read that right, Felipe Lopez!)

Maybe it was the pressure of the Boston fishbowl that got to Lugo (see Renteria, Edgar), especially as the team's new leadoff hitter. Lugo chalked up the terrible start to a stomach parasite he picked up during a European vacation that offseason that drained his strength heading into the spring.

But for whatever reason, he was much more comfortable at the bottom of the lineup. Lugo hit .305 with 24 runs, 26 RBIs, 10 steals, and 22 extra-base hits in less than one-third of a season hitting ninth, which is where he'll stay to enter ‘08.

Obviously, his numbers suffer due to the plate appearances he'll be losing. Lugo will be lucky to score 85 runs. But assuming Lugo picks up where he left off last season, he could flirt with a .300 average and double-digit homers. And considering Terry Francona will likely give Lugo the green light since he'll be on base in front of the Dustin Pedroia-Kevin Youkilis tandem rather than the Ortiz-Manny tandem, 30 steals seems almost like a given if he stays healthy. By the end of the season, Lugo should have a top 150 overall ranking in fantasy leagues.

SELL HIGH

Kaz Matsui, 2B, Astros: Sometimes I wonder if Astros GM Ed Wade owns a computer. And if he does, is it one of those Wang PCs from the 1980s?

Here's a simple seven-step process for how Wade could have figured out Kaz being asked to set the table in Houston is about as good an idea as Miley Cyrus opening for Black Sabbath.

STEP 1: Fire up the ‘ol Commodore 64.
STEP 2: Go to Matsui's SI.com player page.
STEP 3: Click on season splits.
STEP 4 (optional): Take a snack break now if you need one, maybe microwave a couple of pizza bagels.
STEP 5: Scroll down.
STEP 6: Read that Matsui hit .330 at Coors Field.
STEP 7: Read that Matsui hit .249 away from Coors Field.

But we'll delve deeper around here, because what else are you going to do on a Thursday afternoon?

Now, the ballpark formerly known as Enron gained a reputation as a hitter-friendly park early on. But the numbers don't back that up in recent years. Matsui is a singles hitter. And over the past three seasons, Minute Maid Park ranked 18^th, 17^th and 17^th for hits. Matsui's former high altitude home ranked first, first and second in that span.

Matsui was mistakenly dubbed re-born during his 136 games, season-plus span as a Rockie (or is it Rocky?). He hit .300 with a .353 on-base percentage overall in purple pinstripes. But away from Coors, where the breaking balls don't break and opponents have to cover an outfield the size of Rhode Island, Kaz hit .256/.305. Remember how Matsui was considered a colossal bust for the Mets? He was .256/.308 in two-plus seasons for New York.

The other reason that a lot of folks in fantasy land like Kaz is because he scored 84 runs despite missing one-third of last season, and now he'll hit in front of Lance Berkman and Carlos Lee. But absurdly enough, Matsui was driven in more than half the times he reached base last season, by far the highest percentage in the majors. Not even the Berkman-Lee duo should be expected to match that number.

When you factor in a much lower on-base percentage and a higher frequency of being stranded, about 85-90 runs is a much more realistic projection for Matsui. And that's assuming he (a) stays healthy for an entire season, and (b) he actually stays in the No. 2 spot for the entire season, a tough scenario for manager Cecil Cooper to swallow if Matsui is getting on base barely more than 30 percent of the time.

The one plus on Matsui is that he'll run a lot. Another 30-stolen base season is well within reach. But Kaz is going to disappoint in the run department, will be lucky to hit .270, and is a complete liability in HRs and RBIs. It doesn't look like the profile of a top-20 second baseman.

Derek Jeter, SS, Yankees: Contrary to popular belief, Derek Jeter does not suck. (At least not as a hitter). Nor does he partake in the various activities suggested in t-shirts available on Yawkey Way. But that Jeter is among the being taken among the top 30 players in many mixed league drafts is head-scratching.

There is something comforting about slotting Jeter in as your shortstop. You know he's going to hit for average. And you know he's going to do it over a ton of at-bats, giving you an even bigger boost. Jeter has only had four DL stints in 12 seasons, and just one since 2001. You're getting double-digit steals, double-digit homers, and 100 runs.

But owners who take Jeter over Troy Tulowitzki, or even Carlos Guillen, are the same type of people who would pass on a weekend in Vegas because they'd rather catch that Andy Williams show in Branson, Mo. (Not that there's anything wrong with Andy Williams. He still packs them in). While Jeter is a safe pick, the reward isn't big enough. At age 33 he has likely plateaued.

Jeter always ranks high in batting average on balls in play because of all those punch-and-judy, inside out, opposite field hits. But he's unlikely to improve on the .367 mark he posted last season, and certainly shouldn't touch the .391 BABIP he had during his career year in '06. Basically, it's more likely than not that Jeter's average dips below last year's .322 mark. And as always, even with that short porch in right, Jeter's unlikely to top 20 homers considering that cavernous left field power alley in Yankee Stadium.

In terms of steals, new manager Joe Girardi is no dummy. Jeter went just 15-for-23 on stolen base attempts last season, an unacceptable percentage in front of Bobby Abreu and Alex Rodriguez. Even if his legs are as fresh as ever, Jeter shouldn't be getting the green light more than 25 times this season.

A likely line for Jeter hovers in the neighborhood of .310 with 12-to-15 homers, 12-to-15 steals, 110 runs, and 75 RBIs. Very nice numbers. But not numbers that will top the rising Tulowitzki or the injury-prone Guillen if he avoids the DL. And certainly numbers not worthy of a top 50 overall pick.