2010 MLB Fantasy Preview /Perspective
Today: The Hitting Infielders
I decided to make a list of the top 5 at each position and league. Obviously #4 in one league could be better than #3 in the other, etc. And it goes without saying, Albert Pujols is the best.
| Catchers | |||||
| NL | Brian McCann | Miguel Montero | Geovany Soto | Chris Ianetta | Russell Martin |
| AL | Joe Mauer | Victor Martinez | Matt Wieters | Jorge Posada | Mike Napoli |
| First Basemen | |||||
| NL | Albert Pujols | Prince Fielder | Ryan Howard | Adrian Gonzalez | James Loney |
| AL | Mark Teixeira | Justin Morneau | Miguel Cabrera | Kendry Morales | Kevin Youkilis |
| Second Basemen | |||||
| NL | Chase Utley | Dan Uggla | Brandon Phillips | Martin Prado | Freddy Sanchez |
| AL | Dustin Pedroia | Ian Kinsler | Brian Roberts | Gordon Beckham | Robinson Cano |
| Third Basemen | |||||
| NL | Pablo Sandoval | David Wright | Ryan Zimmerman | Chipper Jones | Aramis Ramirez |
| AL | Alex Rodriguez | Evan Longoria | Michael Young | Chone Figgins | Alex Gordon |
| Shortstops | |||||
| NL | Hanley Ramirez | Yunel Escobar | Alcides Escobar | Jose Reyes | Troy Tulowitzki |
| AL | Derek Jeter | Asdrubal Cabrera | Elvis Andrus | Alexei Ramirez | Jason Bartlett |
Some leagues are a bit thin, you’d probably be best with an American League catcher and an AL 2B aside from the king, Chase Utley or Uggla. There seem to be a large number of reclamation project 2B and SS in both leagues and players that are consistently moving from one side of the infield to the other. I’ve tried to put everyone in the position they will be playing this year as opposed to last year, Gordon Beckham being the best example of this. There are a lot of SS coming off of really bad years, Jose Reyes and Jimmy Rollins especially. I don’t think Jimmy is gonna be as good as he used to be but more on those that aren’t who they used to be later. (I’m paying extra attention to this after taking Garret Atkins in my draft last year.) There are always lots of power hitting first basemen and third basemen so if you can get an elite or great middle infielder or even a great catcher and you’re looking at Kendry Morales or James Loney in the 1B slot go with the middle infielder every time. Even though Morales or Loney might have better stats and will prove that year after year, there is a much bigger drop off with middle infielders and one who can hit really is harder to replace than James Loney is with say Todd Helton.
I don’t look at projections or predicted stats and obviously I’m making my own predictions but I base them on previous years stats and trends and have gone with players who are younger than thirty rather than older. Outfielders and Pitchers still to come and a stat based look at all players regardless of position.