Here is a look at the fantasy baseball closers 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. Craig Kimbrel – was solid all season before fading late in September with a 4.76 ERA and 1.41. His 77 innings were a little too much for a closer which likely contributed to his performance at the end. His strikeout rate, plus dominating stuff makes him the number one closer.

2. Mariano Rivera - despite his age, he is still chalking up 40 saves a season. Eventually the end is going to come at some point right?

3. Heath Bell – has rung up 40+ saves three seasons in a row but it a little concerning how much his trikeout fell last season, going from 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings in 201 to 7.3 last season.

4.  John Axford – has converted 93.4% of his saves in his career. Last season upped his ground ball rate while reducing his walk rate and he was lights out the second half of the season with a 0.84 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP.

5. Drew Storen – managed to pick up 43 saves despite not being the full-time closer the first month of the season. Picked up strikeouts in bunches the second half of the season with 40 fanned batters in 29 innings.

6. Jonathan Papelbon – after two seasons of struggling with his control, he turned in a season like 2008 without the save total. Fly ball tendencies could lead to a slightly higher ERA in Philadelphia.

7. Brian Wilson -has averaged 41 saves over the last four seasons but was done in last year by injuries and a jump in his walk rate per nine innings from 3.1 to 5.1 per game, something that afflicted him early in his career.

8. Jose Valverde – converted all 49 saves opportunities last season, despite the fact his walks per nine were 4.2 and his strikeout rate fell for the fifth year in a row.

9. J.J. Putz – last two seasons have been pretty close ratios wise. His 45 saves were the most of his career and the most since 2007 in Seattle. Given age and past injury history, I would grab David Hernandez if I owned Putz.

10. Joakim Soria – lost his closer job temporarily as ratios were impacted by rise in home run rate and second straight year of a drop in strikeout rate.

11. Ryan Madson – had long been a closer in a set up man’s clothing and finally got his chance last season. He responded by converting 32 saves in 34 chances with 9.2 strikeouts per nine innings.

12. Sergio Santos – showed an upper echelon strikeout rate and converted 30 saves in 36 opportunities. Still has some work to do on his walk rate which is to be expected given his limited pitching experience. Recent signing of Francisco Cordero could cost him a few saves.

13. Carlos Marmol – the strikeouts are nice but this is the third season in a row with a horrible walk rate. Good chance he pitches himself out of the closer role if he cannot get his control fixed.

14. Andrew Bailey – has yet to break 26 saves in a season and has spent parts of the last two seasons on the disabled list. If you own him, you should also grab Melancon as a backup.

15. Joel Hanrahan – there is a good amount of correction coming this season. Last season saw a significant drop in his walk rate, a 10 percentage point jump in his ground ball rate and only one home run allowed in 68 2/3 innings. Don’t pay for those ratios in 2012.

16. Brandon League – cut his walk rate in half from 2010 and has pitched extremely well at SAFECO Field with a 1.95 ERA and a .95 WHIP in 83 career innings.

17. Jordan Walden – his 32 saves were not bad for a rookie campaign, but his 10 blown saves gives a little concern as does his walk rate at close to four per nine innings.

18. Huston Street – one of the lowest career save percentage conversion rates of the expected closers in 2012. Has also spent time on the disabled list three of the past five years. San Diego has a lot of different options in their bullpen if he struggles.

19. Jason Motte – ffinished the season as closer for the Cardinals, converting 9 of 11 saves with a 1.93 ERA and a .70 WHIP. Walk rate has fallen the last two seasons while ground ball rate is risen, two good signs for him keeping the closer job for more than a few months.

20. Joe Nathan – struggled the first half of the season as he returned from Tommy John surgery. The second half of the season was better as he went 11-for-11 on saves and had a 3.91 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP.

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 are 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.

Here is a look at the top 20 fantasy baseball third basemen 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. Jose Bautista – was on a tear the first half of the season, hitting .334 with 31 home runs and 65 RBI in 84 games. After the All-Star Break, he was not quite as good, batting .257 with 12 home runs and 38 RBI in 214 at bats. Impressive that he still hit 43 home runs despite drawing walks five percentage points more than he did in 2011.

2. Evan Longoria -bad luck masked some small improvements as his hit% was 10 percentage points lower in 2011. On the positive side, he cut down on his strikeouts and boosted his walk rate. Disregard his batting average from last season because that will come back to its normal levels. For those people drafting at the end of the first round, they are in for a treat this year with Longoria sliding that late and into the second round in some drafts.

3. David Wright – his strikeout rate remained stuck in place for the third straight season, making it hard to see him hitting .300 again any time soon unless he has another fluky 40% hit percentage like he did in 2009. Missed two months with a stress fracture in his lower back, a condition that could become chronic as he gets older making him more of a risk in keeper and dynasty leagues. Moving in the fences at Citi Field should give him an extra three to five home runs this season provided he is healthy.

4. Adrian Beltre – loved hitting in Rangers Ballpark where he launched 23 of his 32 home runs on the season, while hitting .326 compared to .271 on the road. Power was off the charts after the All-Star Break where he hit 13 home runs in 128 at bats.

5. Ryan Zimmerman – missed time with an abdominal injury that affected him all season as he beat ground balls into the dirt for a good portion of the season at a 50% clip, by far the worst percentage of his career. Again, another value play at third base as his injury-marred numbers are causing him to go in drafts later than he did in 2011.

6. Alex Rodriguez – has one season of more than 500 at bats in the last three years and is slowly starting to wear down at age 36. Slugging percentage has declined four consecutive seasons making 30 home runs look like likely in 2012. Lack of double digit stolen bases the last two seasons cuts into his value as well.

7. Pablo Sandoval – quite a difference in performance when one is healthy and in shape. Hit .325 after the All-Star Break with 15 home runs and 41 RBI in 231 at bats. Watch for spring training news on him to make sure that his weight has not ballooned back up.

8. Michael Young - consistent as they come with 600+ at bats in eight of the last nine seasons. Despite his lack of power, all of the stats add up nicely at the end of the year just because of the amount of at bats he accumulates. Has hit over .300 every other year over the last five seasons which would put him under this season if he continues the trend.

9. Kevin Youkilis – has fallen short of 500 at bats the last three seasons and given his age projecting over 500 at bats is a stretch. Batting average against right-handed pitching has fallen for three straight seasons knocking him down the third base rankings a peg or two.

10. Brett Lawrie – don’t make the mistake of pro-rating his numbers out over a full season when projecting his 2012 stats. Keep in mind that he turned 22 this month, has yet to go through a slump and pitchers will have a record on him for his second year in the league. That being said, he has a lot of promise and 20-20 third basemen don’t grow on trees.

11. Aramis Ramirez  – finally had his first healthy season in the last three years just in time for a new contract. Has hit good in Miller Park in his career with a .270 batting average and 15 home runs with 62 RBI in 300 at bats. With Ryan Braun possibly out 50 games, Ramirez is the favorite to hit fourth in the lineup.

12. Mark Reynolds – he is good at three categories and at a weak position, that may be enough to roster him depending on the makeup of the rest of your team. Strikeout rate was at 37% last season making around a .240 average the best we could possibly hope for with a little bit of luck thrown in. Second straight season of single-digit stolen bases which impacts this value as well. Struggled mightily at Camden Yards, hitting just .176 in 261 at bats compared to .264 on the road.

13. Ryan Roberts – finally got a chance for full-time at bats at age 30 and he delivered for the most part. Walk rate and aggressiveness of manager will give him a chance to match his stolen base total. Needs to be able to hit right-handers better (.238 for career) in order to get batting average above .250.

14. Martin Prado – was off to a solid start before missing the majority of June with a staph infection in his right calf. Came back the second half of the season and did not seem quite like the same player as he hit .228 over the last two months of the season. Overall, he had some bad luck with a h% of 27 instead of being in the 33-34 range which means his average is headed up in 2012.

15. David Freese – injuries has plagued him his first few seasons in the major leagues so despite three years of time, he only has 573 career at bats with 14 home runs, 91 RBI and a .297 batting average. Hit .307 in his minor league career  so the average is legit. Keeper league owners keep in mind that he is already 28-years-old despite his limited time in the major leagues. Is likely to get drafted a round or two higher in some leagues as people remember his playoff performance where he hit .397 with five home runs and 21 RBI in 63 at bats.

16. Mike Moustakas – batting average was about where I expected it to be with a career minor league average of .282. What was surprising however was his lack of power as he slugged just .367 in 338 at bats and four of his five home runs came in September. Still needs work against left-handed pitching as well with a .191 batting average in 89 at bats.

17. Edwin Encarnacion – did little the first two months of the season with just one home run in his first 146 at bats, but then his 16 home runs in his last 335 official plate appearances. Has always had power in his bat, it is just a question of how much playing time he gets.

18. Chase Headley – career batting average is .303 on the road and .229 at home in PETCO Park. If your league has daily transaction, then he has a little bit more value as you can get him in and out of your lineup. With that said, he still has not shown any power no where he hits and his stolen bases his what keeps his value afloat. The Padres has prospects coming up at third base so he could be traded at some point this season which could give him a boost in value.

19. Casey McGehee – bad luck accounted for his drop in batting average with a 25% hit rate and more ground balls at 50% led to his decline in home runs. His numbers this year are probably somewhere in between 2010 and 2011. Could see time at first base or third base in Pittsburgh.

20. Lonnie Chisenhall – held up against left-handed pitching nicely which is a good sign for a young left-handed hitter. Actually hit five of his seven home runs against southpaws so power against right-handed pitching needs to improve. As does his plate discipline with just eight walks and 49 strikeouts in 212 at bats.

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 shortstops for 2012 with my comments. A longer list with 2012 fantasy baseball projections are available in the 2012 FBT Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide which is on sale now.

1. Troy Tulowitzki – third straight season where he performed much better after the All-Star Break, this time hitting .356 with 13 home runs and 48 RBI in 205 at bats. If he can ever put two of those halves together, it would produce an MVP type season. Stolen bases look like they are going to hold around the double digit range but not approach 20 again, but runs scored should go up after being down in 2011 with Michael Cuddyer behind him in the lineup.

2. Hanley Ramirez – underwent shoulder surgery in September and is expected to be 100% by Openeing Day so it pays to listen closely for any news on issues during his rehab leading up to that point. We’ll throw out his batting average last season due to some bad luck, but his power looked the same as 2010 due to an increase in his groundball rate from 2009. There is also the issue of his attitude with the move to third base so while he is still athe second best shortstop, there is a little bit of risk to him.

3. Jose Reyes – healthy for the second straight year for the most part but still spent time on the disabled list with a strained hamstring. If you are going to own him, it is a good idea to make sure you have someone else on your roster than play shortstop as well for the times when he is out of action. Batting average will be lower after an inflated hit rate in 2011 but as long as he is healthy, he is a solid number three shortstop. Stole 30 bases in his first 8 games but then only nine in his last 46 contests.

4. Starlin Castro – power was nowhere to be seen until he launched five home runs in August. Steal needs to refine his work on stolen bases as he was 10-for-11 the first half and 12-for-20 after the All-Star Break. Should annually flirt with .300 given his contact rate and hit percentage.

5. Elvis Andrus – for the second straight season his stolen base attempts drastically fell off the second half of the season as did his success rate. Overall he improved his success rate on stolen bases, but it could have been even higher had he not gone 11-for-20 after the All-Star Break. Will be in the mix to lead all shortstops in runs scored in the Rangers lineup and has a great chance at cracking 40 stolen bases this season.

6. Jimmy Rollins – reversed a three-year slide of his batting average as he hit% corrected and he hit better against right-handed pitching than he did in 2010. Stolen base success rate is still holding up so there is no reason he is not around 30 steals again. Any prolonged loss of Ryan Howard in the lineup could impact runs scored.

7. Asdrubal Cabrera – how can a hitter go from six home runs to 25 home runs in a season? If you are Cabrera, you expand your strike zone, turn ground balls into fly balls and more than double your home run per fly ball rate. If the over/under on home runs is 20 in 2012, the chances of that number being over is very, very, very remote.

8. Alexei Ramirez - there is something to be said for the consistency he has showed in all four seasons in the major leagues as every stat category has been in a nice tight range. The only question is how much of a chance he is going to get to steal bases with a new manager in place in 2012.

9. Derek Jeter – almost made it to .300 again thanks to a .327 average the second half of the season. Hit the disabled list for the first time in the last five seasons and there is a better chance of that happening going forward now at age 37.

10. J.J. Hardy – healthy and over his wrist injury coupled with improvement against left-handed pitching and an increase in his fly ball percentage led him to a career-high of 30 home runs. Expect regression in 2012 but assuming full health, he should be back to his 2007-2008 levels..

11. Erick Aybar – overall stable numbers in all categories and if manager Mike Scioscia would just stick him first in the batting order and leave him there, his numbers could be even better. Addition of Albert Pujols to the lineup and a possible healthy Kendrys Morales should help boost his runs scored.

12. Dee Gordon – had 31 stolen base attempts in just 56 game in his rookie season so he has a great chance to break 50 steals assuming his fielding can hold up as he committed 10 errors in 2011. Like most young hitters, he still needs to learn patience at the plate with just seven walks in 224 at bats.

13. Jhonny Peralta – power has returned after returning to his fly ball ways and his batting average has a little better chance to be closer to .270 thanks to a reduction in his strikeout rate. Hit .323 against right-handed pitching which spiked his batting average so expect that to come back down in 2012.

14. Stephen Drew – fractured his right ankle in July and his readiness for the start of the season is still in question. Strikeout rate has risen the last two seasons and he struggled against left-handed pitching again for the second time in his last three years. Outside of 2008, he has looked like just another average shortstop.

15. Ian Desmond – had 59 more at bats in in 2011 and added six runs scored and eight more stolen bases while falling off in the other three categories. His drop in batting average was not a surprise given he was a .259 career minor league hitter. Strikeout rate rose slightly and a ground ball rate above 50% is going to make it hard for him to 15+ home runs in a season. Stole 20 bases in his first 85 games and then was 5-for-11 in steals in his last 69 contests.

16. Yunel Escobar – bounced back as expected and his numbers were more in line with his 2009 season in Atlanta. The difference in RBI between those two seasons is due to his place in the batting order. Hitting first for the Blue Jays is going to suppress his RBI numbers compared to in Atlanta when he was further down in the lineup.

17. Alcides Escobar – move to the American League plus an aggressive manager gave Escobar a chance to flash his only fantasy skill at this point of his career. Given his lack of plate discipline, it is going to be tough though for his stolen base total to get much higher than 30.

18. Emilio Bonifacio – a lot of his value is going to be tied to his playing time and with a new manager in place that does not have any allegiance to him, it remains to be seen if he is going to get 500 at bats again which is what I currently have his value based on. Multi-position eligibility makes him a little bit more attractive in non-trade leagues.

19. Rafael Furcal – has spent time on the disabled list four of the past five seasons and that doesn’t figure to change as he heads into his mid-30s. Numbers were much better in St. Louis where he hit .255 with seven home runs and four steals in 196 at bats. With that said, there are enough other options at shortstop to not get stuck with him and spend night praying for his health to hold up.

20. Marco Scutaro -missed time with a strained oblique in 2011 which impacted at bat totals. The trade of Jed Lowire means Scutaro should get one more season of 500 at bats in Boston before prospect Jose Iglesias takes over.

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 second basemen for 2012 with my comments. A longer list with 2012 fantasy baseball projections are  available in the 2012 FBT Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide which is on sale now.

1. Dustin Pedroia – hit 20 home runs for the first time in his career thanks to seven home runs off of left-handed pitching. It remains to be seen how much running he will be doing with a new manager in Boston. I like Robinson Cano also, but if I am going to take a guy in the first round, I want to get close to 20 stolen bases unless the player is off the chart in the other four categories.

2. Robinson Cano – three straight seasons of 100+ runs scored and 25+ home runs. For the second year in a row he posted a higher average on the road and hit more home runs at home. If you wanted to nitpick, you could point to the fact his strikeout rate has risen the last two seasons, but owners will gladly take the additional home runs.

3. Ian Kinsler – posted the second 30-30 season of his career thanks to a career-high 620 at bats. Also was much more patient at the plate as he walked 18 more times than he struck out. I would bank on his batting average going up in 2012.

4. Brandon Phillips – RBI total went up as expected as he hit leadoff much less in 2011. Stolen bases attempts have dropped the last two years and due to his poor success rate, it is doubtful he is going to crack 20 steals again. Last season was the first time he hit .300 in his career so expect his average to head south this season.

5. Ben Zobrist – bounced back close to his 2009 numbers making his 2010 season look like an aberration. He did that despite hitting just .221 at home compared to .311 on the road. I like him slightly ahead of Dan Uggla again for the stolen base appeal.

6. Dan Uggla – had his 5th consecutive season of 30+ home runs with a career-high of 36 long balls. Got off to a horrible start in his first season in Atlanta hitting .185 the first half of the season before coming back to hit .296 after the All-Star Break.

7. Chase Utley – batting average fell for the 5th straight season and injuries have limited him to less than 430 at bats each of the last two seasons. Home run rate has dropped three years in a row as well which limits the chances for any rebound to his 2009 numbers.

8. Rickie Weeks – chance he moves down in the order this season with the loss of Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun out possibly 50 games which should boost his RBI total. Overall numbers are going to be again driven by his health. Keep in mind that 2010 was the only season of his career with more than 475 at bats.

9. Howie Kendrick – was healthy for a second straight season and finally had a power outburst that many owners had been waiting several years for, thanks to a seven percentage point jump in his strikeout rate. Had double-digit steals for his 4th straight season and offers nice roster flexibility qualifying at three positions in 10 game leagues.

10. Danny Espinosa – on the surface his numbers look like he had a decent rookie season outside of his batting average, though that was expected to be low. Hit 16 home runs the first half of the season with 12 stolen bases and then only put up five home runs and five stolen bases after the All-Star Break. Really like the possibility of 20-20 from a middle infielder but you have to be able to carry his low average.

11. Kelly Johnson – second season in Arizona was not quite productive as his first which resulted in him being traded to Toronto. Average tanked with the D-Backs as he hit .209 and he pressed at the plate resulting in an elevated strikeout rate of 31%.

12. Jemile Weeks – figures to be one of the lone bright spots in an anemic Oakland offense. Hit .286 in his minor league career so I expect to see his average go down this season. Needs to be able to take more walks to get on base and have a better success rate stealing in order to break the 30 steal barrier.

13. Jason Kipnis – it was a solid debut season for Kipnis but don’t go overboard on forecasting his home run totals for a full season based on his small sample size from last year. Had a career .297 minor league average and was 19-for-21 on stolen bases on his two final minor league stops.

14. Ryan Roberts – finally got a chance for full-time at bats at age 30 and he delivered for the most part. Walk rate and aggressiveness of manager will give him a chance to match his stolen base total. Needs to be able to hit right-handers better (.238 for career) in order to get batting average above .250.

15. Dustin Ackley -started off his major league debut hot with five home runs in 131 at bats and then cooled off with one home run over his final 202 trips to the plate. Hit .219 in September in 96 at bats, though he did steal four bases. Likely another year away at least from having good value in an annual mixed league format.

16. Neil Walker – last season was much like his rookie campaign except he went from five to 15 stolen base attempts. Has not shown as much power in PNC Park with  only nine of his 24 home runs hit there.

17. Aaron Hill – when his average tanked in 2010, at least his power held up. In 2011, both went sour, but then he stole 21 bases which was almost more than he had in his entire career to that point. Hit .315 in 124 at bats with Arizona, but showed no power to speak of with two home runs in 124 at bats. It was just three years ago when he his 36 home runs so there is power hiding in there somewhere.

18. Jose Altuve – plays in a weak offense that will limit his runs scored and after bypassing Triple-A, he could struggle some this season. On the plus side, he hit .324 over his minor league career, and made good contact in the major leagues, striking out only 29 times in 221 at bats. He is going to need to walk more than five times though in order to take advantage of his speed on the bases.

19. Johnny Giavotella – career .305 minor league hitter with stellar plate discipline that disappeared when he hit the major leagues. Had only a 67% success rate on stolen bases in the minor leagues so we’ll see how long he gets a green light for in Kansas City.

20. Daniel Murphy - tore his MCL in August but is expected to be 100% by spring. Good batting average, though I don’t think he is a .300 hitter at the major league level and he can get you 10-12 home runs as a late round pick in the middle infield spot. Also qualifies at three positions which is nice for roster flexibility.

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.

Injuries have robbed Morneau of playing time the last two seasons and he has not been the same since suffering a concussion in July of 2010. He is still experiencing concussion symptoms today which makes him a major question mark in 2012. Given the depth of the first base position, I would be looking for a much safer alternative rather than trying to roll the dice on Morneau or Morales in annual leagues.

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

1. Albert Pujols – moves to the American League and should have no issue maintaining his numbers for the next few seasons. Fell one RBI short of 100, one steal short of double digits and one hit short of batting .300. Statistically this was the worst season of his career, but he is still one of the most consistent players from year-to-year which counts for a lot given the amount of first round busts each season.

2. Miguel Cabrera – batting average has gone up for three straight seasons to a career-high of .344 and he broke 100 walks for the first time in his career. Had a few less home runs and RBI in 2011 but no reason for both of those numbers not to come up a little bit in 2012.

3. Joey Votto – now assumes the throne of the best first basemen in the National League with the move of Pujols to the A.L. All of his numbers slightly dropped in 2011 but those numbers are still at a top tier level.

4. Adrian Gonzalez – the move away from PECTO Park was expected to help his offensive numbers, but his home run total ended up being the second lowest total of his career. Given the jump in batting average and a career-high in runs scored, most fantasy owners are willing to live with that trade off. He failed to take advantage of Fenway Park, hitting only 10 home runs in 314 at bats and he only managed to hit three long balls against left-handed pitching and both of those numbers should correct in 2012.

5. Mark Teixeira – came close to 40 home runs again, thanks to a career-high 15 home runs against left-handed pitching. Batting average has dropped three straight seasons but I am not concerned about that. His contact rate has held steady as has his average against southpaws so it is has been more a matter of bad luck than loss of skill. I would expect his average to rebound in 2012.

6. Prince Fielder – average has alternated up and down all seven seasons in his career plus he has yet to hit over .300 in his career so I expect that number to be going down in 2012. Regardless of where he signs as a free agent, his power numbers should not be impacted at all..

7. Ryan Howard – two straight seasons of less than 100 runs scored and his home run total looks to be in the low 30′s going forward. The biggest issue of course is the Achilles injury that occurred at the end of the NLDS this past fall that could case him to miss part of the first month of the season. Turned 32 in November and given his injury I would be looking for other options at first base in 2012.

8. Paul Konerko – solid second tier option at first base who has seen his numbers take a step back up in his mid-30′s. Home run rate dropped off the second half of the season with one home run every 24 at bats compared to one every 15 at bats before the All-Star Break. He has been an underrated option at first base for many years, but he does turn 36 in March so a decline is going to start happening at some point.

9. Eric Hosmer – stellar rookie season that figures to only get better in his second year. Check out his second half numbers where he hit .313 in 284 at bats with 11 home runs, 44 RBI and nine stolen bases. Then look at the fact that he hit only one home run in 152 at bats against left-handed pitching in 2011. His draft status will likely be claiming the closer it gets to draft day so those in leagues that draft earlier will have a better shot at him.

10. Mike Morse – has performed better in the major leagues than he ever did in the minors and it is not too often that players close to 30-years-old all of a sudden start hitting 30 home runs. On the plus side though, if you doubled his 2010 at bats to get to his 2011 totals, all of his other numbers were right in line and held up over a full season.

11. Gaby Sanchez – made slight improvement in his plate discipline though it wasn’t reflected in his overall numbers in 2011. Needs better endurance in order to be able to put two solid halves of baseball together. Because he did not improve on his numbers last season, there is a good chance he falls a couple of rounds later than he should in drafts this season.

12. Lance Berkman – hit left-handers like he did back in 2008 and was healthy for the majority of the season which was a surprise given he moved to the outfield. The loss of Pujols puts Berkman back at first base in 2012, but given what he did last season, he is going to be overvalued this year so let someone else own him.

13. Mark Trumbo – no doubt about his power, the only question is how many at bats he is going to get if Morales is healthy. The plan was to try him at third base but he has been bothered by a stress fracture in his foot this offseason which has not allowed him to start working at the position.

14. Carlos Lee – average bounced back as expected and he still is making good contact at age 35. Runs scored are going to be low in a light-hitting Astros offense but still has decent value after the middle of the draft and he qualifies at first base and in the outfield which gives additional flexibility.

15. Paul Goldschmidt – it is easy to get caught up in his power after he his 30+ home runs his last two minor league seasons. Remember that he did jump from AA last season and he had a 34% strikeout rate in his first season. In keeper leagues, yeah, I am all in. In annual leagues, I am a little bit more cautious for 2012.

16. Adam Dunn – hard to hit the baseball when striking out 43% of the bat. His first year in the American League was a total disaster as he hit .064 against left-handed pitching and managed just three home runs on the road. It could have been simply a matter of adjusting to new the league and trying to justify the four-year $56 million contract the White Sox had given him. I expect some bounce back though not all the way to his 2010 season.

17. Adam Lind – his batting average against-left-handed pitching rebounded but it made only a little bit of difference as fewer balls fell in for hits once again. His first half was stellar with a .300 batting average and 16 home runs in 260 at bats before hitting .197 after the All-Star Break in 239 at bats.

18. Ike Davis – missed the majority of the 2011 season with an ankle injury that he failed to have surgery on at the end of the season which makes him a slight injury risk in 2012. Before the injury, he looked like he was on his way to an increase in power with seven home runs in 129 at bats. The one negative was his .163 batting average against southpaws although it was a small sample size of 43 at bats.

19. Freddie Freeman – showed a little bit more power that expected in his rookie campaign but otherwise all other numbers were in line with projections. Held up well against left-handed pitching with a .247 batting average and seven home runs in 186 at bats.

20. Aubrey Huff – the spoils of success: was out of shape physically and not in the game mentally as well and his numbers fell off a cliff in 2011. He was overvalued in 2011 and will be undervalued in 2012 making him a decent end game target for astute fantasy owners.

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.