I generally value FA picks more than rookie picks. FA picks do not take up space on your 27 man protected list. An FA pick needs to be thought of as the player picked plus the extra player you got to keep on your 27 man roster. I suppose I would see it differently if I had a lottery pick in the first round but otherwise I value the FA pick more. Also I would argue that you can get superstars in the FA draft. Granted it doesn't happen often but it does happen occasionaly. In my first year of CSN (13 years ago) I tried to trade for a skinny young player with a BA less than .200. The other manager and I could not come to an agreement. To my great surprise the other guy cut him after the rookie draft. I had something like the second or third pick in the FA draft and I drafted the player I had been unable to trade for (Sammy Sosa)! I also drafted J Wetteland and M Stanton early in their careers from the FA pool. Just my opinion but I would almost always trade a rookie pick for a same round FA pick.