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Sporting News, The, March 4, 2005

Congratulations, Albert Pujols and Miguel Tejada. You can head to spring training knowing that you rank as two of the five best players in the game, at least according to the major league scouts who spent part of their offseason analyzing more than 800 players for SPORTING NEWS' Ultimate Scouting Guide, on newsstands now and available at sportingnews.com/books/baseball. The Cardinals first baseman and Orioles shortstop join Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds and Eric Gagne as the only players to receive a 10.0--the highest possible rating in the guide.

Our scouts also say:

* The Yankees have the most players ranked in the Super 75, with 10. The Cubs and Red Sox have six each.

* Six clubs failed to have a player ranked on the list: the Indians, White Sox, Reds, Royals, Diamondbacks and Nationals.

* The best-represented position: righthanded starters, 17. The highest-ranked in that group are Curt Schilling and Roger Clemens, both 9.6s--the same rating lefty Randy Johnson gets.

* Biggest jumps from last year: Twins lefthanded starter Johan Santana, from 48th to eighth, and the Mariners' Adrian Beltre, from 13th-ranked third baseman to 13th overall player.

* Biggest drop: Sammy Sosa, from fifth to 62nd.