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 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.

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.

Reddick will start in right field for the Oakland A’s and should hit close to the middle of the order given the lack of offensive talent in the lineup. Reddick has a .248 batting average in 375 major league at bats with 10 home runs and 37 RBI. Reddick turns 25 in February and will post a low average with some power which gives him value in AL-only leagues. Since he was expected to start for the Red Sox before being traded, there is really no change to his fantasy value except for less runs and RBI playing in a weaker lineup.

For fantasy baseball purposes, the biggest ramifications is in the Oakland bullpen which will now have a new closer in 2012. Veteran Brian Fuentes is still under contact for the A’s and posted 12 saves in 2011 filling in for Bailey and will see opportunities in the closer role unless he is dealt as part of the off-season purging. Grant Balfour will also see some chances to close after posting two consecutive seasons of a sub 2.50 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. He has averaged closed to a strikeout per inning and his batting average against dropped for a third consecutive season.

For the Angels, they get to try fix the mistake they made a year ago when they lost an offensive catcher by dealing Mike Napoli while the Rockies can buy another year of minor league grooming for catcher Wilin Rosario if they want to and they can let Chatwood develop for a year or two in the minor leagues.

From a fantasy perspective, this is bad news for Iannetta owners as he hit .172 away from Coors Field last season, so while he may hit 10-15 home runs, he is going to crush your team’s batting average. Ramon Hernandez gets a little bump up with the move to Coors Field, but given his age and injury history, he is still just an NL-only play at this point of his career.

Chatwood was rushed to the major leagues at the age of 21 and really needs another couple of years to develop in the minor leagues and to work on his control. His walk rate is 4.9 per nine innings for his career in the minor leagues and until he gets that under control, he is going to have a hard time making it back to the big leagues.

In other news around baseball on Wednesday, the Los Angeles Dodges signed infielder Adam Kennedy to a one-year contract for $800,000. Kennedy basically replaces Jamey Caroll in 2012 as he can play multiple positions around the infield.

Texas Rangers first basemen Mitch Moreland is expected to undergo wrist surgery which will sideline him two to three months. The wrist which bothered him the second half of the season helped to contribute to his drop in the power department as he hit just five home runs in 199 at bats. Wrist injuries tend to impact power the first year after surgery so I would watch his progress closely in spring training to see how he is performing.

The Chicago Cubs signed outfielder David DeJesus to a two-year contract $10 million that will make him the starting right fielder. Not much change to his value from a fantasy perspective as he has been injured the last two seasons, has little power and stopped stealing bases three years ago.

1. Kevin Correia – his strikeout rate fell by 2.64 per nine innings as he got away from slider and threw more fastballs and cutters in 2011. His 4.5 k/9 rate was by far the lowest of his career.

2. Roy Oswalt – his injury problems coupled with losing velocity on his fastball for a second straight season set his k/9 rate tumbling to a career low of 6.02.

3. Jason Hammel – it could be that the calf and back injuries that he suffered in the early part of the season impacted him more than we knew. He lost 2.14 strikeouts per nine innings, ringing up just 4.97 batters per nine.

4. Jhoulys Chacin – he struck out more than expected in his rookie season at 9.04 per nine innings, so the drop to 6.96 in 2011 was not that shocking. His minor league strikeout per nine rate in his career was 7.83 in 73 games so keep your fantasy baseball projections realistic for 2012.

5. Clayton Richard – his velocity was slightly down and he threw a ton more cutters in 2011 which hurt his strikeout rate as it fell from 6.83 in 2010 to 4.79 this past season.

6. Francisco Liriano – his 2010 season was the outlier in terms of his strikeout rate the last few seasons as his control was stellar for him which led to an increase in strikeouts as he was around the plate more. In 2011, his career worst walk rate of of 5.0 per nine innings caused his strikeout rate to fall by 1.93 from the previous year.

7. Ricky Nolasco – his raw stuff has been slowly falling off as batting average against him rose for the third straight season. A little less velocity and skill translated to a 1.92 drop in strikeouts per nine innings.

8. Carlos Zambrano – his pitch selection tells the story as his fastball usage continues to decline every season. A reliance on the cutter and less split-fingered fastballs helped lead to a 1.88 drop in his k/9 rate.

9.  Jered Weaver – his batting average against fell for the fourth straight season, but instead of keeping his strikeout rate up, he was more effective with his pitches which allowed him to work longer in games.

10. Joel Pineiro – his strikeout is typically low to begin with so he did not have much he could afford to lose. Rate fell by 1.6 per nine innings as he traded in fastballs for sliders.

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.

Here are some names to consider picking up for the remainder of this season and for possible keepers for your 2012 rotisserie season.

Mixed Leagues – 12/15 teams:

Eduardo Nunez and Chris Dickerson (NYY) – With the New York Yankees wrapping up a playoff spot today, I would suspect the Yankees will rest their regulars before the playoffs. Nunez has played second, third and shortstop all season long and Dickerson has enough range to fill in for all the outfielders. I would expect to see both of them play three out of the next seven games.

American League:

1B – Chris Parmelee (MIN) – Parmelee has been playing first base and hitting 4^th in the Minnesota Twins lineup. In 42 at-bats, Parmelee has two home runs, eight RBI and is batting .380.

2B – Brian Dinkelman (MIN) – Dinkelman has also been playing everyday for the Twins and is currently hitting .370 through his first 48 at-bats.   If you need a roster fill in, look at the Twins roster and I’m sure you’ll find a few other Twins available on your waiver wire

National League:

OF – Jerry Sands (LAD) – Sands has also been playing regularly for the Los Angeles Dodgers and is batting over .450 with two home runs and six RBI over the last seven days.

SP – Randall Delgado (ATL) – Delgado is a rotation prospect for the Atlanta Braves next season. Delgado has a 2.70 ERA over 30 innings in six appearances this year.

SP – Anthony Bass (SD) – Bass won his second start of the season and holds an ERA under 1.70 Bass is a good keeper prospect for NL-only leagues since the Padres have a lot of question marks heading into next season in their rotation.

Mixed Leagues – 12/15 teams:

RP - Joel Peralta (TB) – With the Tampa Bay Rays still in the wild card hunt and with Kyle Farnsworth hurting, Peralta will see the majority of the save opportunities for the Rays until Farnsworth is healthy.

American League:

SP – Matt Moore (TB) – Moore is considered the Rays top pitching prospects and one of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball. Even though Moore struggled in his debut last night in relief he is worth grabbing especially if you are in a keeper or dynasty league.

OF – Nolan Reimold and Matt Angle (BAL) – Reimold has been playing regularly for the Baltimore Orioles since mid July. Even though is hitting .239, if you are looking for regular at bats with the potential to hit a home run or steal a base, Reimold is a nice option. He has ten home runs and five stolen bases in 230 at bats.

Matt Angle has filled in for Felix Pie’s spot as the 4^th outfielder for the O’s. He is hitting under the Mendoza Line, but has six stolen bases in 49 at-bats.

National League:

C – Wilin Rosario (COL) – The Colorado Rockies are committed to taking a long look at Rosario, which means he should see most of the playing time over Chris Iannetta the rest of the way. The 22-year-old had 21 homers in Double-A this season after hitting 19 in 2010. Rosario hit his second home run in the majors last night.

RP – Santiago Casilla (SF) – Casilla picked up his third save for the San Francisco Giants last night. Although he is not considered the full time closer in San Francisco with Brian Wilson out, he could get a few more saves when Sergio Romo is over worked, plus Casilla sports a 1.36 ERA on the season.