I first off want to say that this thread isn't meant to give info out for free that is available is in the Rotoworld Draft Guide.

I just finished updating my yahoo player rankings by putting them in the order listed in the Rotoworld Draft Guide, and I decided to list out the players whose rankings varied greatly, and maybe start a discussion for reasons why. I'll break it up into players Yahoo ranked higher, and then players Rotoworld ranked higher. I only chose players with at least a 2 round variance.

Players Yahoo ranked better than Rotoworld:
Iverson
P.Gasol
A.Bynum
Kaman
Okur
B.Miller
M.Miller
Terry
Lee
Ford
Garcia
Mayo
Nene

Players Rotoworld ranked better than Yahoo (aka "Sleepers"):
S.Jackson
Bibby
Salmons
Marvin Williams
Felton
Alston
Manu
Thornton
Stuckey
Fernandez
Outlaw
Ty. Thomas
Scola
E.Gordon
Bargnani
M.Gasol
Lowry
Jack
Q.Richardson
Boone

The biggest surprise to me was Kaman, who was ranked 4 rounds lower by Rotoworld than Yahoo.

While I have to admit that Yahoo has improved there rankings substantially over the last two seasons, I still don't think they compare with rotoworld.

Obviously, I'm biased, but look at the articles, mock or "expert" drafts coming out of rotoworld vs Yahoo (or anyone else for that matter).

Rotoworld has its preferences or soft spots like anyone, but I never look at rotoworld rankings or drafts and think, I have no idea what they are talking about.

I really can't say that about anyone else.

Yahoo rankings are the worst part of their service. But, it's a free service, so..

Obviously I'm a believer, since I'm here. But I love seeing yahoo's, cbs and espn's rankings differ so much from rotoworld. It usually means I can get better value on my draft picks. Let someone else take Kaman 4 rounds ahead and I'll just wait for Bogut.

in case anyone was curious, the highest ranked player (according to Yahoo) that is not in the top 150 from Rotoworld is Shane Battier. I imagine the Rockets starting 5 to be Alston, TMac, Artest, Scola, Ming. Artest could move to the 2 or the 4 though, depending on who gets hurt (and they will get hurt). Shouldn't Battier be the 6th man regardless of their roster? I still see some value there.

I don't think Yahoo accounts for injury proneness or similar issues (eg, Artest's suspensions) unless a player is already injured.

I agree with Yahoo on Iverson, Lee, Ford, and Bynum.

I agree with RW on Marvin Williams, Scola and Stuckey. I have no idea what Y! is doing with Scola, they have him below D-Leaguers.

Interesting that Y! went with Garcia and RW went with Salmons.

Generally, Y!'s picks look more conservative while RW's look more high risk/reward. Outlaw and Fernandez play the same position on the same team, and it's looking like neither will even start. Eric Gordon has 2 veteran SGs in front of him. Y!'s picks, other than Mayo, are all pretty known quantities.

I prefer Yahoo!'s rankings to Rotoworld's, with the caveat that they don't discount guys due to injury, so keep that in mind.