Last week, UPDATE! brought you the five most overrated stars of fantasy baseball. This week, we take a look at some names that helped many teams bring home fantasy championship hardware.

We're talking about players whose names may not ring out loud in fantasy circles, despite terrific numbers.

Here are the five most underrated fantasy baseball players of 2007:

Milwaukee Brewers, OF
Stats: .295 AVG, 24 HR, 81 RBI, 86 R, 23 SB
Comment: With a great blend of power and speed, Hart's 20/20 talents won many fantasy leagues for owners in 2007. He probably was scooped off the waiver wire in your league, mostly because he did not begin the season on the Brewers starting lineup. Yet despite starting just 122 games, Hart helped fantasy owners out across the board (just imagine how much better his numbers would have been had he started all 162 games). The one red-flag to raise with Hart is the fact that his production on the road is significantly less than at home. When playing away from Miller Park, Hart had six less home runs, 22 fewer runs, 13 fewer stolen bases and batted almost 40 points lower than at home. However, if you look at his month-by-month production, Hart was remarkably consistent, hitting terribly in July (.200) but batting .320 for the rest of the year. He will surely be given a starting role for the 2008 Brewers and fantasy owners should keep Hart in consideration as a No. 2 or No. 3 outfielder in next year's drafts.

Colorado Rockies, OF
Stats: .291 AVG, 29 HR, 116 RBI, 80 R
Comment: Like most of the Colorado Rockies not named Matt Holliday, Hawpe's fantasy season received little fanfare in 2007. But if you are in need of consistent power production from someone you could grab in the middle rounds in 2008 drafts, go ahead and take Hawpe. His numbers improved across the board from 2006 and because he is turning 29 in 2008, his production is likely to improve in Colorado's formidable lineup (plus playing half your games at Coors Field won't hurt either). 30-35 HR with 110-120 RBI should be attainable for Hawpe next year, who hit at least four home runs in every month of the season except April. The only worry here is if the Rockies go on and win a World Series with Hawpe being a big part of it. If that happens, he may not sneak under the radar as easily next year. But if he stays out of the post-season spotlight, go ahead and draft him as a terrific No. 2 or No. 3 outfielder.

Cincinnati Reds, 2B
Stats: .288 AVG, 30 HR, 94 RBI, 107 R, 32 SB
Comment: We all know that Philadelphia Phillies 2B Chase Utley is the undisputed fantasy king of second base. That being said, you could do a heck of a lot worse than Brandon Phillips. He made Cincinnati Reds history with his 30/30 season and fantasy owners who were privileged to his services were giddy with is production. For him to accrue 100-plus runs and over 90 RBI in the pathetic Reds offense is just flat-out remarkable. The former top-prospect of the Cleveland Indians had a rough time getting adjusted to major league ball at first, but at 26, he could be developing into a premier infielder. It's hard to say where he will go in fantasy drafts next season, but at this time, he's worth at least a third round pick and possibly higher if the Reds improve their offense over the off-season.

Los Angeles Dodgers, RP
Stats: 2-1, 39 SV, 1.40 ERA, 0.72 WHIP, 78 SO
Comment: Fantasy owners were incredibly disrespectful of Saito in 2007 baseball drafts. People were concerned about his age (37), durability (he only closed for half the season in 2006) and the possibility of set-up man Jonathan Broxton usurping his ninth inning duties. Well, Saito went ahead and dominated opposing hitters again this season. He turned in ERA and WHIP averages that were better than his stellar 2006 totals and he was just one save shy of 40. Numbers like this should force Saito's name into discussions of elite closers in baseball, yet he still gets little attention. Use this to your advantage. Next season, there will probably be the same concerns about drafting him for your fantasy team. But with all the closer turnover that occurs year-to-year in baseball, taking Saito as a middle round closer could prove to be the best pick of your draft.

Chicago White Sox, SP
Stats: 15-8, 3.74 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 213 SO
Comment: Straight out of fantasy purgatory, it's Mr. Javier Vazquez! Who saw this coming? Vazquez pitched with an ERA over 4.40 in each of his last three seasons and probably went undrafted in many a mixed league. Yet somehow, someway, in the midst of all the drama and chaos that surrounded the Chicago White Sox team, he went ahead and had a tremendous season. He was barely mentioned in baseball circles this year, but Vazquez was statistically the best starting pitcher on the White Sox roster (which isn't saying much, but just bear with me). He accumulated over 200 strikeouts for the first time since 2003 while being among the AL leaders in WHIP, innings pitched and strikeout-to-walk ratio. It's fair to say that despite his very impressive 2007, Vazquez will be available in the later rounds of 2008 fantasy drafts. If he is, feel free to pencil him into your starting rotation as a No. 2 or No. 3 starter.



Starbonell is UPDATE! Major League Baseball Editor.