The other day, The Sports Guy did a list of the most valuable players in basketball. The criteria is based on real-life salary, age, and the following:

If Carmelo Anthony comes in at No. 19, players 1 through 19 are all players about whom Denver would probably say, "We hate giving up 'Melo, but there's no way we can pass up that deal." And they wouldn't trade him for any player listed between Nos. 19 and 40.

So I decided to try to create a similar top 10 list for baseball. Here's my list, with one honorable mention:

Note: FA Year stands for Free Agent Year, the year that the player can become a free agent.

Rank	Player	Age	2005 Salary	Current Contract	FA year
HM	Bobby Abreu	31	$13.10 M	5 years, $64M	2007
10	BJ Upton	20	$0.25 M	Year-to-year	2010
9	Miguel Tejada	29	$10.78 M	6 years, $72 M	2009
8	Mark Teixeira	25	$3.63 M	4 years, $9.5 M ends 2005	2008
7	Rich Harden	23	$0.75 M	4 years, $9 M	2008
6	Vladimir Guerrero	29	$12.50 M	5 years, $70 M	2008
5	Jake Peavy	24	$0.75 M	4 years, $15 M	2008
4	David Wright	22	$0.32 M	Year-to-year	2010
3	Johan Santana	26	$4.75 M	4 years, $40 M	2008
2	Miguel Cabrera	22	$0.37 M	Year-to-year	2009
1	Albert Pujols	"25"	$11.00 M	7 years, $100 M	2010

HM) Bobby Abreu

• Abreu probably isn't number 11 on the list, but for a team that's looking to win in 2005 , you could do worse than the most underrated player in baseball today. How underrated? I could make a case that Abreu's age 24-30 seasons were better than Ken Griffey Jr's age 24-30 seasons-- and Griffey didn't start getting injured until age 31.

10) BJ Upton

• The most important numbers here are under the columns Age and FA year. He's the best prospect in baseball, no matter how bad people think his defense is.

9) Miguel Tejada

• The decline phase of his career will start sometime during this contract, but you wouldn't know it by the way he's been playing since he signed with the Orioles.

8) Mark Teixeira

• Here's the power of Scott Boras for you: Teixeira would be in the top 5 and Mark Prior would've made the top 10 if Scott Boras wasn't their agent.

7) Rich Harden

• For anyone who doubts Billy Beane's ability as a GM, just look at the value under Current Contract again.

6) Vladimir Guerrero

• Ironically, Vlad's back problems in 2003 are the only reason he's on this list. Otherwise, there would've been an all-out bidding war for him when he was a free agent.

5) Jake Peavy

• Given the spacious dimensions of Petco Park, Peavy is in great position to grab a Cy Young in the very near future.

4) David Wright

• Analysts often refer to him as "the next Scott Rolen". Usually this represents a player's upside, but considering Wright has slightly outperformed Rolen during their respective age 21 and 22 seasons, that upside has already turned into reality.

3) Johan Santana

• Of all of the pitchers in baseball history, the pitcher that is most similar to Johan Santana at age 26 is Sandy Koufax.

2) Miguel Cabrera

• Cabrera has an even more impressive comparables list. Half of his top 20 comparables are current or future Hall Of Famers: Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson, Gary Carter, Al Kaline, Alex Rodriguez, Ken Griffey Jr, Eddie Murray, Johnnie Bench, Orlando Cepeda, and...

1) Albert Pujols

• 7 year contracts given to slow, powerful first basemen usually end up like the ones given out to Mo Vaughn and Jason Giambi. The fact that Pujols' 7 year contract is a bargain is just one of many testaments of his talent.