The lovely, young gentleman to the left is none other than Detroit Tigers first baseman, Miguel Cabrera. No, he’s not wearing his on-field uniform in this picture. He’s wearing the uniform worn by residents of the St. Lucie County jail. As many of you know, young Miguel was arrested last week for driving while intoxicated. Basically, Miguelito decided to get drunk, drive his car, get pulled over, take a swig of whiskey (which he had in his car) in front of a deputy, resist arrest, get beaten 3 times with a night stick and, finally, go to jail. Sounds like a fun Saturday night!

This would be Miguel Cabrera’s second problem with alcohol. In 2009, on the weekend of the Twins eventual one game playoff to decide the American League Central Division, Cabrera was involved in a drunken domestic dispute with his wife. It has become obvious that this man has a serious problem. He is, quite possibly, out of control. So the important question is… How will this affect his fantasy baseball draft status?

Come on, did you think I’d gone soft? Everyone knows that’s pretty much all i care about. It’s not like he’s on my favorite team or anything. I mean I wish him well, and I hope he gets his life together, but I need to know if I can still take him with the 4th overall pick (if i get such a pick).

So why would I caution against making Cabrera a mid-to-late 1st round pick? How about the fact that he hasn’t even reported to camp yet, and will not until he is evaluated by doctors? His drinking problem may or may not stem from personal issues. Cabrera was quoted as saying “You don’t know my problems” to the arresting officer. For someone who mad $22 million dollars last year, those are pretty scary words. What if he is suffering from clinical depression? I am only speculating, of course, but what aren’t drafts basically based on “what ifs?” You’re drafting based on projected statistics, right?

Let’s all think back to spring training in 2006 when a young Zack Grienke was placed on the 60-day DL for depression and social anxiety disorder. How about in 2009 when injuries and clinical depression forced Justin Duchscherer to miss the entire season? One last example for you guys: the reigning National League Most Valuable Player, Joey Votto. In 2009, the slugger’s father passed away. This led to him missing almost an entire month with depression and anxiety disorders. Basically what I am saying is that Major League players are just like regular people. Sometimes, they suffer from problems that we think they are immune to. What if Miguel Cabrera’s drinking stems from personal problems which, eventually, force him to miss a couple of months of baseball? Would you still draft him in the 1st round knowing he might miss some significant time? Maybe that would be more worth of a 2nd or 3rd round pick.

And now, we can look at the other side. Miguel Cabrera is one of the premier sluggers in all of baseball. At 27 years old, Cabrera is theoretically entering the prime three or four years of his career. Wait, what? You mean he could get better? Since becoming an every day player, Cabrera has hit .317, averaging 34 home runs and 117 rbi per season. In 2010, he finished 2nd in the MVP race. He had career highs in home runs, OPS and on-base percentage. Is he going to hit .340 with 40 home runs or more this season? He might!

To summarize, he’s a kook. No one should draft him before the 2nd or 3rd round. Taking him in the first round would basically be relegating your team to a guaranteed last place finish. I repeat, do not draft Miguel Cabrera in the first round… That way, I can get him and win my league championship. (heh heh heh)

image courtesy of: http://www.nydailynews.com