Here is a look at the fantasy baseball starting pitchers I have ranked for 2012 with my comments. A longer list with 2012 fantasy baseball projections is available in the 2012 FBT Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide which is on sale now.

21. Stephen Strasburg – there is a limit to his upside as he will likely face an innings limit in his comeback from Tommy John surgery like Jordan Zimmermann did last season.

22. Mat Latos - struggled the first half of the season before turning it around after the All-Star break with a 2.87 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. The move from PETCO Park to Cincinnati should elevate his ERA a little bit.

23. Michael Pineda – should get a couple more wins in New York while ERA and WHIP will be slightly impacted from the move away from SAFECO Field where he had a 2.92 ERA and 1.01 WHIP compared to 4.40 and 1.17 on the road.

24.  Ricky Romero – continues to dominate right-handed hitters which led to a .216 overall batting average against. Lower than normal hit rate and great bullpen support pushed his ERA under 3.00 so expect that to rise in 2012. Numbers slid in the second half of the season for the second year in a row. In his career, ERA is 3.29 and WHIP is 1.27 the first half and 3.95 and 1.33 the second half of the season.

25. Josh Beckett – while 2010 was to one extreme for his hit rate and lack of bullpen support, 2011 was all the way to the other extreme as both of those numbers over corrected. Expect something closer to his 2009 season in 2012.

26. Matt Moore – should be among the league leaders in strikeouts despite being on an innings limit. Struck out 12.7 batter per nine innings over his minor league career. Only concern is his walk rate which was 3.1 in nine starts at AAA.

27. Gio Gonzalez – boosted his strikeout rate and it should go even higher this season with the move to the National League. Walk rate of 4.1 per nine innings is still an issue that needs to be ironed out to take the next step.

28. Brandon Beachy – will carry a higher than usual ERA from time-to-time based on his skills because he is a fly ball pitcher and is prone to variances from season-to-season. Strikeout rate of 10.7 per nine innings is going to be hard to repeat in his second season.

29. Matt Garza – big jump in strikeout rate with the move to the National League. Also saw a nice increase in his ground ball rate which gained 10 percentage points from 2010 which helped to keep his ERA low.

30. Tommy Hanson – last pitched on August 6th and was then shut down for the season with shoulder issues. Not a good sign when the team is expecting him to be healthy for the start of 2012 but they are still not 100% certain.

31. Josh Johnson – still has only one season of 200 or more innings pitched after making through only 60 1/3 innings in 2011 before shoulder issues forced him to the sidelines. Not worth the risk given his injury history regardless of how good his stuff is.

32. Adam Wainwright – coming back from Tommy John surgery, it may take him half of a season to find the groove so keep expectations realistic.

33. Yu Darvish – the best Japanese starting pitcher comes to Texas at the age of 25. In 2010, he had a 1.78 ERA with 2.1 walks and 9.9 strikeouts per nine innings. Pitched 200+ innings in four of the last five seasons so durability should not be a concern.

34. Jordan Zimmermann – first season back from Tommy John surgery and he came back with improved control and he picked up his strikeout rate the second half of the season. Only downside is if the team limits his innings any in his second season after surgery.

35. Chris Carpenter – turns 37 in April and is coming off a second straight season of a falling ground ball rate and a rising batting average against. Too many good young pitchers out there to take the risk on drafting him.

36. Jeremy Hellickson – it looked like a solid rookie season, but his strikeout rate of 5.6 was far off from his 9.8 per nine innings in the minor leagues. His ratios were also helped out by a 23% hit rate this is going to correct as well as great support from his bullpen. Expect higher ratios, but a few more strikeouts in 2012.

37. Shaun Marcum – one of the few pitchers who has not seen an increase in his strikeout rate with the move to the National League. Seemed to fade down the stretch after striking out 8.1 hitters per nine innings the first half of the season, it fell to 5.8 after the All-Star break. Ended the season at a low point with a 5.17 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP in September.

38. Cory Luebke – so far in 157 major league innings, he has been outpitching his minor league numbers in every category and without the benefit of PETCO Park as his numbers have been better on the road. Posted a 3.76 ERA with a 1.18 WHIP after the All-Star break in 14 starts.

39. Colby Lewis – fly ball pitchers are always at risk for balls flying over the fence at a higher rate from season-to-season which is what happened to Lewis in 2011.On a positive note, he did cut his walk rate and for the second straight season, he gave right-handed hitters fits.

40. Anibal Sanchez – took a big step forward in 2011 with a second year in a row of good health, a slight decrease in his walk rate and his strikeout rate went from 7.2 per nine innings to 9.3. Just needs to get a little more run support now to boost his win total.

Instead of spending money on outdated magazines written by fantasy owners with no experience of winning fantasy baseball leagues, order the 2012 FBT Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide today so you can start dominating the competition in your fantasy baseball league.

Here is a look at the fantasy baseball starting pitchers I have ranked for 2012 with my comments. A longer list with 2012 fantasy baseball projections is available in the 2012 FBT Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide which is on sale now.

1. Roy Halladay – batting average against fell for the second straight season as he put up similar stats to 2010 plus he cut his home runs allowed from 24 to 10. One of the top three starters in fantasy baseball but I still like him number one.

2. Cliff Lee - what a difference the National League makes. His six shutouts were more than he had for his 11-year career. His 230 strikeouts were 53 more than his previous career high. I have him slightly ahead of Verlander.

3. Justin Verlander – three straight seasons of a declining ERA, WHIP and batting average against so expect a little regression in 2012.

4.  Clayton Kershaw – had always been hard to hit in his career and then solved his control issues in 2011, while pitching even better the second half of the season with a 1.31 ERA and a .89 WHIP with 19  walks in 102 2/3 innings.

5. Felix Hernandez – strikeout rate per nine rose for the third straight season. Seemed to tire down the stretch as he allowed a .228 batting average the first half of the season and then .277 after the All-Star break when he posted a 3.91 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP.

6. CC Sabathia – strikeout rate was up after a two year decline, given him his second highest strikeout total of his career. Batting average against rose for the second year in a row. Better in the first half with a 2.72 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP compared to a 3.44 ERA and 1.33 WHIP after the break.

7. Tim Lincecum – walk rate was up for  a second straight season while strikeout rate fell for the third year in a row. Still a top five-seven pitcher, just no longer a top-3 best fantasy pitcher.

8. Cole Hamels – ground ball rate increased for a second straight season to 52%. Pitching for a new contract at the end of the season plus the improvement in walk rate should give the highest win total of his career in 2012.

9. Jered Weaver – strikeout from 2010 looks like an outlier now after his numbers returned to 2008-09 levels. ERA and WHIP both will regress in 2012 after a lower than normal hit rate last season but there is still a lot to like here.

10. David Price – walk rate fell for the second straight season while his strikeout rate is steadily rising. If not for pitching in the AL East, we would be looking at a sub 3.00 ERA every season.

11. Dan Haren – strikeout rate was the lowest that it had been in five years though it was somewhat masked by his career high in innings pitched. Ultra low walk rate gives him a somewhat stable WHIP regardless of any variations in his hit rate from year-to-year.

12. Zack Greinke – strikeout rate jumped with the move to the National League. Wins may be harder to come by with a lineup missing Fielder and possibly Braun.

13. Jon Lester – strikeout rate fell for the second year in a row. Walk rate plus the fact he throws only around 200 innings per seasons keeps him out of the top tier of pitchers.

14. Yovani Gallardo – has made big strides the last two seasons with his walk rate, going from 4.6 to 3.6 to 2.6 last season. If he can keep his gains in his ground ball rate from last season and his home run per fly ball rate normalizes, he should post the best ERA of his career in 2012.

15. Matt Cain – third straight season of improvement against left-handed hitters. ERA should rise a little bit after a suppressed home run rate in 2011. Will be one of the top free agent pitchers on the market next season if the Giants don’t get him signed to a contract.

16. Ian Kennedy – cut his walk rate by one batter per game while slighting raising his strikeout rate. His 21 wins from 2011 is going to drive his price a little higher than it should be this season.

17. Madison Bumgarner – slight uptick in velocity on his fastball and a higher usage of his slider helped to boost his strikeout rate. Was stellar the second half of the season with a 2.52 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP with 99 strikeouts in 100 innings.

18. C.J. Wilson – second season as a starter was even better with a decreased walk rate and an increase in his strikeout per nine number. Maintained his ground ball rate at 49% which helps to limit his home runs allowed total.

19. Dan Hudson – love to see that type of walk rate from a young pitcher and he showed improvement the second half of the season with a 3.15 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. Strikeout rate should be slightly up in 2012 with a full major league season now under his belt.

20. James Shields – good news is that he kept his strikeout rate gains from the previous season. Bad news is his ERA and WHIP are both going up after an extreme correction to his hit rate percentage in 2011. He is going to be overvalued based on 2011 so while he is a solid pitcher, don’t pay a stud pitcher price for him.

Instead of spending money on outdated magazines written by fantasy owners with no experience of winning fantasy baseball leagues, order the 2012 FBT Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide today so you can start dominating the competition in your fantasy baseball league.

Here is a look at the fantasy baseball utility players I have ranked 2012 with my comments. A longer list with 2012 fantasy baseball projections is available in the 2012 FBT Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide on sale now. I don’t have Johnny Damon Vladimir Guerrero or Hideki Matsui currently ranked since they are free agents and unsigned.

1. David Ortiz – reversed two years of an increasing strikeout rate and hit .329 against left-handed pitching which helped boost his batting average. Average also helped by the fact he hit .342 at Fenway Park compared to .273 on the road. Age and the fact he can only be used at a utility position on your fantasy roster gives him some downside.

2. Billy Butler - still waiting for that 25+ home run season from him. Lots of doubles again with 44, but unless you play in a league that counts total bases, it doesn’t quite get the job done for fantasy purposes. Hit 13 home runs in 284 at bats after the All-Star break vs. only 6 in his first 313 at bats of the season.

3. Jesus Montero – hit .306 for his minor league career and if he does get to catch a couple of games a week in Seattle, his value is going to get a big boost with catcher eligibility. If he did qualify at catcher, I would have him ranked right ahead of Matt Wieters.

4.  Travis Hafner – has not had 400 at bats in a season since 2007, is now 34 and has not hit left-handed pitching three of the last four seasons. No real reason to own him except in AL-only leagues and you are an Indians fan.

5. Jim Thome – move to the National League limits his at bat number with no designated hitter slot. Could see a start or two a week at first base if Ryan Howard is out for a prolonged period of time.

Instead of spending money on outdated magazines written by fantasy owners with no experience of winning fantasy baseball leagues, order the 2012 FBT Draft Guide today so you can start dominating the competition in your fantasy baseball league.

Here is a look at the fantasy baseball outfielders I have ranked 21-40 for 2012 with my comments. A longer list with 2012 fantasy baseball projections is available in the 2012 FBT Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide which is on sale now.

21. Ryan Braun – assuming the 50-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs holds up, you are looking at a maximum of 112 games if he plays every day. Given it might take him a couple of weeks to get adjusted again to major league pitching once he is reinstated as well as dealing with the possible booing and other responses he receives at visiting ballparks, I am projecting him for 90 games worth of full stats right now.

22. Brett Gardner – value is tied to his stolen base total which could have been higher in 2011 had his walk rate and batting average both not decreased. Tailed off the second half of the season as he batting decreased month-over-month the last three months of the year. Closer to a .260 hitter than a .280 hitter unless a lot of luck is involved.

23. Chris Young – stats were pretty similar to 2010 with a few less home runs and stolen bases. Has hit over .250 only once in his career which was in 2010 so that is his maximum upside for batting average. Yes, 20-20 players are nice to own but you need several high average hitters on the rest of your team to cover for his low number.

24.  Adam Jones – hit more ground balls in 2011 but the fly balls he did hit flew over the fence at a higher rate last season. Has hit .290+ against right-handed pitching the last three seasons but has struggled more against left-handed pitching. If he could correct that, he could see a slight improvement in batting average.

25. Drew Stubbs – RBI total was lower in 2011 as he hit first in the lineup for the majority of the season. Strikeout rate remained in the 33-34% range which severely limits his batting average. Much better hitter at home where he has hit .277 in his career compared to .226 on the road. His fly ball rate was much lower in 2011 which contributed to his decrease in home runs from the previous season despite having 90 more at bats.

26. Jayson Werth – another player that struggled in the first year of a large contract with a new team. Hit .215 the first half of the season in 326 at bats and also struggled on the road all season long with a .215 average. Failed to hit left-handed pitching as well with a .184 average in 114 at bats.

27. Nick Markakis – three consecutive seasons of a declining slugging percentage does not bode well for a return to 20 home runs. Too many people are still drafting him remembering his 2008 season, but the underlying stats show he is not that player anymore.

28. Cameron Maybin - ground ball rate and home games at PETCO Park limit his home run potential for now. Hit seven of his nine home runs on the road in 2011, where he also batted .294 compared to .231 at home. Improvement in his contact rate got him on base more and gave him more opportunities to steal.

29. Andre Ethier – had a 30-game hitting streak that ended early in May and after that had issues with elbow, back and knee, the latter of which he had surgery on in September, which helped to contribute to his highest groundball rate since 2007. No reason not to expect a return to previous season levels as long as his knee is okay.

30. Michael Cuddyer - he has two things going for him in 2012, one is the move to Coors Field and secondly in leagues where 10 games is the minimum for position eligibility, he also qualifies at second base. Solid third outfielder for your fantasy team.

31. Nick Swisher  – three things you can count on in life, death, taxes and Swisher’s stats. Yes, there is not much upside like some of the younger players, but there is also a lot less volatility from year-to-year with owning him as well.

32. Ichiro Suzuki – ground ball rate was the highest of his career and with speed slowing down as he gets older, batting average follows. Infield hits fell from 64 in 2010 to 42 in 2011 which was his lowest total since 2006. With his value built around two categories, average and stolen bases, there is a lot of risk and no upside.

33. Angel Pagan – made small gains in walk rate and contact rate in 2011. With most of his value tied to his stolen bases, it is a question of how much new manager Bruce Bochy is going to let him run that will drive his value.

34. Carlos Beltran – skills have remained relatively stable in his mid-30s but the injury risk he carries affects his draft value more than anything. I have him down for 500 at bats and even that might be shooting too high.

35. Torii Hunter – age has slowly robbed him of his speed has he has went 14-for-33 on stolen bases the last two seasons. At risk for fewer at bats in 2012 due to the depth of the Angels offense and another year of wear-and-tear taking a toll on him from playing the outfield.

36. Coco Crisp – made it through 130+ games for the first time since 2007. It all depends how desperate you are for stolen bases whether you want to own him and deal with his injury issues. A declining walk rate and weak Oakland offense cuts his runs scored potential.

37. Jeff Francoeur – this was much like his 2007 season in Atlanta with a lot more stolen bases thrown in. With a higher hit rate, fly balls going over the fence more, it combined to give him a season beyond expectations. Add to the equation an aggressive manager on the bases and it made him one of the top outfielders in 2011. Don’t pay for a repeat in 2012.

38. Alex Rios – bad luck impacted batting average which in turn affected his stolen base total. Hit just .203 on the road in 295 at bats and really struggled in every month until September when he hit .307 with five home runs and 11 RBI. He is too inconsistent from year-to-year for me to ever roster him on my team.

39. Melky Cabrera – 2011 bust out season fueled by elevated hit rate and more playing time. Runs scored will drop with the move to the National League and stolen bases will likely as well with a less aggressive manager in San Francisco.

40. Jason Heyward - the one knock on Heyward in the minor leagues was that he was missed time due to injury and we have seen that in his first two major league seasons. His groundball rate still ran high in his second season at 54% so the chance for 20+ home runs is greatly diminished. Batting average last season was due to bad luck so we will discount that, but all other categories we can’t expect to be a lot better than 2010 yet.

Instead of spending money on outdated magazines written by fantasy owners with no experience of winning fantasy baseball leagues, order the 2012 FBT Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide today so you can start dominating the competition in your fantasy baseball league.

Here is a look at the top 20 fantasy baseball outfielders for 2012 with my comments. A longer list with 2012 fantasy baseball projections is available in the 2012 FBT Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide which is on sale now.

1. Matt Kemp – number of at bats the last four seasons, 606, 606, 602, 602 so that number to project is the easy part. His 2011 season was magical in every category but I don’t think he maintains that rate in 2012 as his fly ball rate and home runs per fly ball jumped from past seasons. He should be right in between 2010 and 2011 in terms of power with lots of stolen bases. I have him almost dead-even with CarGo so I am comfortable with flip-flopping them between now and draft day.

2. Carlos Gonzalez – his numbers weren’t quite as far off from 2010 as one might think since he had 106 less at bats. Hit much better at Coors Field again with a .331 average compared to .252 on the road. Home run rate picked up the second half of the season when he hit 13 in 163 at bats. Neck-and-neck with Kemp for the first outfielder to go off the board.

3. Jacoby Ellsbury – his home run total was a surprise as the rate for his fly balls going over the fence was so much higher than any other season it would be unrealistic to expect something similar in 2012. More home runs of course means less time on the bases which yields less stolen bases so you need to adjust those two numbers accordingly depending on how many home runs you expect him to hit in 2012. Hit 21 home runs after the All-Star Break with 11 stolen bases.

4.  Curtis Granderson – he ended 2010 with 17 home runs in 241 at bats after the All-Star Break and he was able to carry that same home run rate over the course of the entire 2011 season. His strikeout rate has risen for three straight seasons as he has swung for the fences more and he has enjoyed hitting in Yankee Stadium where he now has 36 home runs in 523 at bats there. His fly balls flew over the fence at a much higher rate in 2011 so expect that to pull back slightly.

5. Justin Upton – biggest reason for improvement in 2011 was good health and he was able to drastically cut his strikeout rate by 10 percentage points. Crushed the ball at home with 20 home runs and a .333 batting average at Chase Field. Increased his power output the second half of the season with 16 home runs in 244 at bats.

6. Josh Hamilton – numbers were in line with 2010 as was another season with time missed due to injury. Has one season with more than 518 at bats in four years which limits his chances to ever exceed his projected dollar value knowing he his bound to miss time at some point during the year.

7. Matt Holliday – nagging injuries impacted him at the plate as his strikeout rate was up five percentage points, but from a counting stats perspective, he would have outperformed his 2010 numbers if he had reached the same number of at bats as he had in 2010. Likely goes a few picks later in drafts this year since he missed time with injury which gives you a chance for a little profit.

8. Mike Stanton - showed what you want to see from a player in his first full season with growth the second half of the year. All numbers were higher the second half of the season including his walk rate which was significantly higher. Hit .271 in 214 at bats with 16 home runs and 36 RBI while drawing 40 walks after the All-Star Break.

9. Andrew McCutchen – traded contact for power which resulted in a lower batting average but more home runs. More at bats hitting third in the lineup than the previous season helped to boost his RBI total. Hit just .216 the second half of the season as strikeout rate ratcheted up.

10. Carl Crawford – a miserable first season with the Red Sox as he looked lost at the plate and when he did get on base he wasn’t running with only 24 stolen base attempts for the season. It was just recently announced that he had left wrist surgery which could impact his readiness for Opening Day. Struggled against left-handed pitching batting just .195 in 164 at bats. It stands to reason for a bounce back season in his second year of a massive contract but not all of the way back to 2010 levels as his strikeout rate has risen the last three seasons..

11. Hunter Pence  – the move mid-season to the Phillies led to an increase in all of his numbers except for stolen bases as he attempted just two steals in 54 games with his new team. Has hit .318 in his career at Citizens Bank Park in 129 at bats with three home runs and 18 RBI. Expect more home runs in 2012 and fewer stolen bases than in past seasons.

12. Jay Bruce – it looked like he made improvements in 2011 but really the main ingredient was an additional 76 at bats then the previous season. His RBI total was helped by hitting a spot higher in the lineup in 2011. Was better when hitting 5th (15 home runs, 46 RBI) vs. 4th (10 home runs, 33 RBI) in the batting order.

13. Shin-Soo Choo – injuries limited to half of a season in 2010. Nothing in his stats showed much change so there is nothing to suggest he won’t be at his 2009-2010 levels in 2012. He has been getting knocked lower in mock drafts which is good news for astute fantasy owners.

14. Nelson Cruz – injuries have held him under 476 at bats the last three seasons. Massive difference when he hits at home compared to the road. He hit .293 vs. .233 (2011), .371  vs. .267 (2010) and .286 vs. .232 (2009). Given the amount of time he misses each season, you need to have a good outfielder on reserve to fill in for him.

15. Desmond Jennings – hit .294 for his career in the minor leagues with an 85% success rate stealing bases. He is not a 20 home run hitter yet so don’t make the mistake of pro-rating his power numbers out over the course of a full season. Should be in the low teens in terms of power and should be close to 40 stolen bases for the season.

16. B.J. Upton – batting average tanked at home with a .209 average in 273 at bats at Tropicana Field. Strikeout rate remained the same which limits his batting average. Would really like to see him get a full season hitting second or third in the batting order where he has hit much better in his career. If that happens, bump his value up a notch or two.

17. Michael Bourn – stolen bases did not fall off with the trade to Atlanta last season as he had 29 attempts in 53 games. Should be close to 60 steals again but his batting average will be lower after an inflated hit rate in 2011. Has hit .273 with a home run and 11 RBI in 43 games at Turner Field in his career.

18. Shane Victorino – reversed decline against right-handed pitching from the previous two seasons which helped to boost this batting average back up.  Stolen bases were under 20 for the first time in the last five seasons, but that was due more to a lack of attempts rather than a decline in skill.

19. Corey Hart – better second half than first when he hit .297 with 16 home runs in 266 at bats. More than half of his at bats came hitting first in the batting order which reduced his RBI total so that should be headed up as he moved lower in the order in 2012.

20. Alex Gordon - magical season in 2011 but don’t pay for a repeat. Batting average was propelled by some luck, plus the fact he finally hit left-handed pitching. Kansas City was aggressive on the bases last season which drive his stolen base total.

Instead of spending money on outdated magazines written by fantasy owners with no experience of winning fantasy baseball leagues, order the 2012 FBT Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide today so you can start dominating the competition in your fantasy baseball league.

1. Craig Kimbrel - head and shoulders above all other closers from a fantasy baseball perspective, striking out 127 in 77 innings and posting 46 saves. The heavy workload seemed to catch up to him by the end of the season as he converted 5-of-8 saves in September with a 4.76 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP.

2. John Axford - gets bonus points for his mustache as well as for converting 46-of-48 save chances while posting a 1.95 ERA. Was dominant the second half of the season with a 0.84 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP while converting all 23 save chances.

3. Mariano Rivera - at 41-years-old he is still going strong, posting another 40+ save season with another year of an ERA under two and a WHIP under one. Converted all 23 save chances at home with a 1.36 ERA and a 0.67 WHIP.

4. J.J. Putz – his numbers were pretty much in line with his 2010 season except he posted 45 saves back in the closer role. If you owned him, be thankful he held up for most of the year. He had a minuscule 0.36 ERA on the road and a 0.69 WHIP.

5. Jose Valverde – led the league in saves, going a perfect 49-for-49 but ranked 5th at closer mostly due to his higher WHIP ratio. His innings pitched total was a career high and it was the third time in his career he collected 40+ saves.

6. Drew Storen – struggled in spring training but was lights out once the regular season started. Averaged more than a strikeout per inning after the All-Star Break with 40 k’s in 29 innings. Had a more difficult time in day games where he had a 3.96 ERA and 1.20 vs. night games where he was at 2.15 and 0.93.

7. Joel Hanrahan – came into the season with 20 career saves in four seasons and posted 40 saves for the Pittsburgh Pirates. After being homer prone early in his career, he only allowed one long ball in 68 2/3 innings in 2011.

8. Jonathan Papelbon -  save total went down for a third straight season but it was due to opportunity and not performance. His control rebounded from the past two seasons and his 87 strikeouts were a career high.

9. Heath Bell – notched 40+ saves for the third straight season. Only negative was the drop in his strikeout rate as he fanned less than a batter an inning.

10. Fernando Salas – he did on start the season as closer or end the year as closer, but still managed to rank 10th based on his performance in the middle part of the season. Was better at Busch Stadium where he had a 1.80 ERA and 0.69 WHIP compared to 2.79 and 1.18 on the road.

11. Francisco Cordero – despite his lack of strikeouts, he finished the season strong, converting 20-of-21 save chances the second half of the season. Had a 1.34 ERA at home and a 3.50 ERA on the road.

12. Brandon League - David Aardsma’s injury opened the door at closer and League took advantage, converting 37 of 42 saves. Loved pitching at SAFECO Field, putting up a 1.27 ERA and 0.79 ERA versus 4.85 and 1.46 on the road.

13. Ryan Madson – got a chance to be the full-time closer for most of the season for the first time in his career, which was good timing for him as he now heads into free agency. Put up an ERA of 1.64 at home vs. 3.25 on the road.

14. Sergio Santos – good strikeout numbers, but a combination of walks and home runs hiked up his ERA. Really struggled at U.S. Cellular Field with a 5.51 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP.

15. Kyle Farnsworth – posted a career year at age 35 in the closer role for the first time. His ERA and WHIP were the lowest they had been since 2005.

16. Neftali Feliz – less strikeouts and more walks in 2011 which is a bad combination for a pitcher in any type of role. Was better the second half of the year with a 2.22 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP.

17. Jordan Walden – a solid rookie campaign with five wins and 32 saves. His ratios are going to run higher than the top tier closers until he gets his control straightened out.

18. Carlos Marmol – blew 10 saves as control continues to be his nemesis. Ratios were good the first half of the year and then he struggled after the All-Star Break with a 5.91 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP.

19. Chris Perez - strikeout rate fell off and he had problems pitching on the road, going 0-3 with a 5.81 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP.

20. Juan Oviedo - formerly known as Leo Nunez, Oviedo posted a second straight season of 30 saves, but was susceptible to the long ball once again which propelled his ERA over four.

1. Matt Kemp – a more focused Kemp bounced back from his sub par 2010 campaign and came a home run short of joining the 40-40 club. He set career highs in every fantasy category except for batting average as he hit .342 back in 2007.

2. Curtis Granderson – he had a monster season from a power standpoint, besting his career high in home runs by 11 and driving in more than 100 runs for the first time in his career. His splits between home and away were almost identical with 21 home runs at home and 20 on the road but he made a big jump in his output against left-handed pitching with 16 home runs in 191 at bats.

3. Jacoby Ellsbury – won the MLB comeback player of the year award after an injury plagued 2010 season. Traded stolen bases for home runs which I am sure most fantasy owners would not complain about. Hit 21 home runs after the All-Star break in 299 at bats compared to 11 in 361 at bats before the break.

4. Ryan Braun – if you are looking for consistency in a first round pick in the draft, look no further than Braun who delivered his third straight season of 100+ runs scored, 4th consecutive season of 100+ RBI and also hit over .300 for the fourth time in five seasons. The cherry on top was his 33 stolen bases which were 13 more than his career high.

5. Justin Upton – bounced back to his 2009 level with a few more runs scored thanks to additional at bats and a little better offense around him. Was much better at Chase Field with a .333 batting average and 20 home runs compared to .246 and 11 home runs on the road.

6. Alex Gordon – finally the Kansas City Royals just left him alone and gave him 600 at bats and he produced. Hit .329 at home with 11 stolen bases compared to .275 on the road with six steals. Made big strides against left-handed pitching, hitting .278 with eight home runs in 187 at bats.

7. Carlos Gonzalez – had another big season at Coors Field, hitting .331 with 16 home runs compared to .252 on the road. Flashed a lot of power after the All-Star Break with 13 home runs and 41 RBI in just 41 games.

8. Melky Cabrera – set career highs in every offensive category and was much better on the road with a .321 average and 12 home runs compared to .289 and six home runs at home. There is a good chance Cabrera will after a new home in 2012 arbitration eligible and could cost more than what the Royals are willing to pay after his stellar season.

9. Lance Berkman – seemed to be on the downside of his career after battling nagging injuries and the move to the outfield was not a good omen, but he ended up hitting .300 for the first time since 2008 and managed to play in 145 games.

10. Hunter Pence – put up big numbers after going to the Philadelphia Phillies that would have put him on pace for a 30+ home run and 100+ RBI season if he had been there the whole year. The only downside to the trade there was one stolen based in 54 games.

11. Jay Bruce – at bats went up for the second straight season and so did all of his numbers. Still strikes out too much to hit more than .280 ever in a season without a lot of luck involved. Hit 12 home runs in May with 33 RBI which shows you what he could do if he ever gets on a prolonged hot streak.

12. Andrew McCutchen - added seven more home runs and 33 more RBI thanks to a move lower in the batting order. Lost 10 stolen bases and his batting average dropped by 27 points as his strikeout rate jumped from 2010.

13. B.J. Upton – turned some of his 2010 doubles into home runs and added 19 more RBI than his previous season totals. His average stayed in the .240 range for the third straight season thanks to no improvement in his plate discipline.

14. Michael Bourn – set career highs in batting average and RBI to push into the top 15 rankings. His caught stealing rate picked up in Atlanta as he was caught seven times in 53 games, compared to getting thrown out seven times in 105 games with the Houston Astros.

15. Josh Hamilton – batting average came back down closer to his career number and he missed close to 40 games after missing close to 30 in 2010. If you own him, you should have David Murphy as a backup on the bench.

16. Jeff Francoeur – how is hitting coach Kevin Seitzer not the highest paid position coach in baseball after what the Royals outfielders did last season? Playing for his fourth team in four years, Francoeur almost tripled his career high in stolen bases finishing with 22 and hit 20 home runs for the second time in his career.

17. Mike Stanton – lots of power with 34 home runs and lots of strikeouts with 166 which is going to keep his batting average in the .250 to .260 range going forward. Hit 16 home runs in 214 at bats with a .271 batting average the second half of the year.

18. Carlos Beltran – turned back the clock to 2008 following two injury plagued seasons. Slugged .551 in 44 games with the San Francisco Giants which was his highest number since 2006. Hit .325 after the All-Star break with nine home runs in 194 at bats.

19. Shane Victorino - his power numbers held up from 2010 but he gave back 15 steals as he did little running after the All-Star break with just six stolen bases. Set a career high with 16 triples which helped him to the highest slugging percentage of his career at .491.

20. Adam Jones - slightly was up in three of five offensive categories as compared to a year ago. Did most of his damage at Camden Yards where he hit 19 of his 25 home runs and drove in 55 of his 83 runs.

1. Jose Bautista – outperformed expectations again in 2011, hitting 43 home runs, driving in 103 and batting .302. He also walked 132 times to give him a .447 on base percentage. Was on fire the first half of the year with a .334 average and 31 home runs in 299 at bats.

2. Adrian Beltre – put up roughly the same numbers as he did in 2010 with the Boston Red Sox and did it in 102 less at bats. His batting average dropped as expected, but his 32 home runs were the most he hit since 2004. Loved hitting Rangers Ballpark where he hit .326 with 23 home runs compared to .271 and nine home runs on the road.

3. Michael Young – home runs dropped by almost 50% but he offset that by driving in over 100 runs for the second time in his career and by hitting a career high .338. Like Beltre, he benefited from his home park where he hit 10 of his 11 home runs and batted 31 points higher.

4. Mark Reynolds – bounced back to his 2009 level with a few less home runs and RBI due to less at bats. Struggled hitting at Citizens Bank Park with a .238 average compared to .297 on the road.

5. Aramis Ramirez – after two injury prone seasons, Ramirez was finally healthy in 2011. He got his batting average back up over .300 and hit 26 home runs with 93 RBI. For the fifth straight season, he hit much better at Wrigley Field, batting 50 points higher than he did on the road.

6. Evan Longoria – missed 25+ games and still managed to hit over 30 home runs and drive in 99, but a 50 point drop in batting average and a lack of stolen bases caused him to drop in the final rankings. Hit 20 home runs after the All-Star Break in 261 at bats with 57 RBI.

7. Kevin Youkilis – for the third straight season he missed 20 or more games due to injury. His .258 batting average was a career low since hitting .260 in his first season in the major leagues back in 2004. Hit .320 at Fenway Park compared to just .191 on the road.

8. Pablo Sandoval – lost a good amount of weight in the off-season and his batting average came back over .300 at .315. Missed 40 games or so due to injury and still managed to hit out 23 home runs with 70 RBI. Hit 15 home runs with 41 RBI in 231 at bats after the All-Star Break.

9. Edwin Encarnacion – did most of his damage the second half of the season, hitting .291 with 11 home runs, 36 RBI and seven stolen bases in 234 at bats. Will qualify at first base and third base in 2012.

10. Alex Rodriguez – missed one third of the season, otherwise his numbers were on pace for previous seasons except for home runs which were headed for the 22-25 range. Returned to action and hit just .191 after the All-Star Break in 68 at bats.

11. David Wright – just like A-Rod, missed 1/3 of the season and power numbers were off as well from his 2010 pace. Hit only .239 at home with five home runs in 51 games.

12. Chipper Jones - numbers were close to his 2009 season when he last had 455 at bats. Still has slight value in mixed league formats as long as you have a capable backup for the days / weeks when he misses time due to injury.

13. Danny Valencia – numbers were in line with 2010 if you had pro-rated his stats except for the batting average fell off a cliff. Right-handed pitching ate him up in 2011 as he hit only .224 in 415 at bats.

14. Martin Prado – like many other third basemen on the list, battled injuries in 2011 as his stats suffered across the board. His .260 batting average was the lowest of his career and his runs scored took a hit thanks to an anemic Atlanta Braves offense.

15. Ty Wigginton – picked up more at bats that the Colorado Rockies were expecting as he took over at third base for Ian Stewart. His eight stolen bases were the most for him since 2003.

16. Ryan Zimmerman – see A-Rod / D. Wright. Missed 1/3 of the season, power was down, but at least he supplied some batting average.

17. Scott Sizemore – provided the Oakland A’s with some offense but doesn’t do much for fantasy league owners unless it is an AL-only format.

18. Casey McGehee – unlike most of the guys ranked above him, he doesn’t have an injury to blame for his lack of performance. Average went from .285 in 2010 to a meager .223 this past season.  Showed a little more power after the All-Star Break but his average never broke .280 any month of the season.

19. Chase Headley- what little value he has is tied up in his double digit stolen bases. Bumped his average up to .289 which helped him make the top 20 rankings.

20. Maicer Izturis - more of an AL-only player, but offers nice versatility by qualifying at second base and at third base plus shortstop in leagues were 10-15 games is the minimum.

1. Troy Tulowitzki – knocked in 100+ runs for the first time in his career and batted over .300 for the second season in a row to put him atop the fantasy baseball shortstop rankings. For the third season in a row he was much better the second half of the year, hitting .356 with 13 home runs in 205 at bats.

2. Asdrubal Cabrera – hit 25 home runs surpassed his career total of 18 coming into the season through 387 games. His power was pretty consistent from month-to-month, hitting 5,5,3,4,4,4, home runs. Went 12-for-13 on stolen base attempts the first part of the year before finishing 5-for-9 after the All-Star Break.

3. Jose Reyes – won the National League batting title with his .337 batting average which was the third time he hit .300 in a season. Has missed 25-30 games each of the last two seasons so don’t expect a return to his 2008 numbers when doing your fantasy baseball projections for 2012.

4. Jimmy Rollins – bounced back to his 2009 level with a few less home runs and RBI due to less at bats. Struggled hitting at Citizens Bank Park with a .238 average compared to .297 on the road.

5. Starlin Castro – powered up the second half of the season hitting eight home runs in 293 at bats versus two home runs in 381 at bats the first half of the year. Hit .307 both halves of the season, but stolen base success rate dropped after the All-Star break as he was successful on only 12 of 20 attempts.

6. Elvis Andrus – pretty much in line with 2010 except he went from zero to five home runs. Needs to improve his success rate on the base paths to crack the 40 steal mark. Was 11-for-20 on stolen base attempts the second part of the year.

7. J.J. Hardy – set a career high in home runs with 30 and tied his career high in RBI with 80 he had set in 2007. After struggling in the 2009 and 2010 seasons, Hardy was finally healthy this season and the results bore that out.

8. Johnny Peralta – another shortstop who had a bounce back season in the power department as he hit more than 20 home runs for the first time since 2008. His .299 batting average was a career high, seven points higher than when he hit .292 in 2005.

9. Erick Aybar – stolen bases went up second straight year as a full-time starter and he doubled his home run output from 2010 going from five to 10. His lack of runs scored and fluctuation in his batting average keeps him out of the second tier of shortstops.

10. Emilio Bonifacio – the biggest fantasy baseball surprise at shortstop in 2011 as injuries around the diamond for the Florida Marlins allowed Bonifacio to chalk up 565 at bats. His .296 average best his season high of .261 set the previous season. Qualifies at shortstop, third base and in the outfield in 2012.

11. Alexei Ramirez – you pretty much know what you are going to get from Ramirez has his numbers have been clustered in tight range from season-to-season. The only drop for him this season was going from 13 to seven stolen bases and a 13 point drop in batting average.

12. Derek Jeter - home runs dropped for the second straight season, though if you remove his 2009 season when he hit 18 home runs which looks to be an outlier, his home run total has really been slowly trending down since 2005. Hit .327 after the All-Star break to boost up his value a little bit.

13. Ian Desmond – didn’t really take a step forward in 2011 except for in stolen bases which went from 17 to 25, but he also had an additional 59 at bats. Until he is able to improve his plate discipline, the batting average ,s always going to sit in the .25o to .260 range.

14. Yunel Escobar – put his brutal first half of 2010 in Atlanta behind him and 2011 looked close to 2009 with 28 less RBI because he hit first in the order with Toronto com,pared to 2009 when he hit second, fifth and sixth in the lineup.

15. Alcides Esocbar – value is strictly in stolen bases at this point in his career as he went from 10 steals in 2010 to 26 this past season. Was much better on the road where he hit all four of his home runs and batted .275 vs. 231 at home.

16. Cliff Pennington – hit a couple of more home runs and drove in a few more runners, but stolen bases were sliced in half which was his main source of value in mixed league formats. Hit .303 the second half of the season after hitting .235 before the All-Star break.

17. Yuniesky Betancourt – numbers were pretty much identical to what he did with the Kansas City Royals in 2010 with a few less runs scored and RBI with the move to the National League.

18. Marco Scutaro – career high batting average of .299 helped him make the top 20 cut despite having only 395 at bats. Managed two drive in only two less runs that he did in 2010 despite having 237 less at bats.

19. Alex Gonzalez – power came back to earth after hitting 23 home runs in 2010. Nothing more than an injury fill-in in mixed league formats.

20. Jason Bartlett - stolen bases came back as he ran more, but power was non-existent with two home runs in 554 at bats. Hit .224 at PETCO Park and .265 on the road.

1. Ian Kinsler – his .319 batting average from 2008 looks like a major outlier as he has not hit higher than .286 since that time. Finished 2011 with numbers pretty close to 2009 with a few more runs scored thanks to a stacked Rangers offense. Ended the year  on fire with 11 home runs and eight stolen bases while hitting .330 in September.

2. Dustin Pedroia – it was a banner year for Pedroia as he set career highs in home runs, RBI and stolen bases while hitting over .300 for the third time in his career. Pedroia crushed left-handed pitching to the tune of a .358 average with seven home runs in 179 at bats.

3. Robinson Cano – he scored 100+ runs for the third straight season and knocked in 118 runs while adding eight stolen bases. His career batting average now stands at .308.

4. Ben Zobrist – bounced back from his disappointing 2010 season as he fell a stolen base short of the 20-20 club. Really struggled with his batting average at home, hitting .221 vs. .31 on the road.

5. Brandon Phillips – hit .300 for the first time in his career and his RBI were up from 2010 with more time spent hitting fourth in the batting order. Managed only four home runs on the road in 327 at bats.

6. Ryan Roberts – the biggest surprise of the season at second base as he posted 19 home runs and 18 stolen bases in 482 at bats. Hit .274 in his minor league career so don’t expect much upside to his batting average in 2011.

7. Howie Kendrick – amazingly has now put together two healthy seasons in a row and posted a career high with 86 runs scored and 18 home runs. Hit 123 home runs on the road where he it .299 vs. 270 at home.

8. Dan Uggla – the power numbers were there by the end of the season but the batting average never fully recovered from the hole he dug himself into the first half of the year. Uggla hit 21 home runs while hitting .296 after the All-Star break in 260 at bats.

9. Danny Espinosa – turned in a solid rookie campaign but really struggled the second half of the season, hitting .227 with five home runs and a paltry 14 RBI in 247 at bats. Hit .256 at Nationals Park and .216 on the road.

10. Neil Walker – had 170 more at bats in 2011 but could not make any increase to his home run total from the previous season. Added nine stolen bases which gave him a slight boost in value.

11. Kelly Johnson – never quite got untracked at the plate, hitting .209 for the Arizona Diamondbacks before being traded to the Toronto Blue Jays where he hit .270 in 33 games. Expect a season in 2012 between the numbers from the last two seasons.

12. Rickie Weeks - missed time with an injury again which cut his stats by one third. Hit .293 at Miller Park and .249 on the road.

13. Aaron Hill – the  21 stolen bases came out of nowhere as he entered the season with only 23 for his career. That was the only saving grace to his season after managing only eight home runs, which was a far cry from the 26 he hit in 2010. Hit .315 with the Diamondbacks in 124 at bats with just two home runs.

14. Jemile Weeks – a nice rookie campaign with a .303 batting average in 406 at bats to go with 22 stolen bases. Hit both of his home runs in September while batting .323 for the month.

15. Chase Utley – turns 33 in December and has played less than 120 games the last two seasons. Had only 27 less at bats from 2010 but numbers were significantly down outside of stolen bases.

16. Orlando Hudson – batting average fell for the third straight season, but his value was saved by his career high 19 stolen bases, nine of which came in April.

17. Daniel Murphy – value driven by his .320 bating average as his season ended early due to injury at 391 at bats. Will qualify at first base, second base and third base in 2012.

18. Robert Andino – filled in for the injured Brian Roberts and contributed 13 stolen bases, but his value his more in AL-only leagues than in mixed formats.

19. Mark Ellis – performed much better after going to Colorado where he hit .274 in 263 at bats with six home run and stole seven bases. Will be looking for a new home in 2012 as a free agent.

20. Darwin Barney - hit .306 the first half of the season and then came back down to earth after the All-Star break, batting .238 in 235 at bats.