Fantasy Baseball Position-by-Position Rankings

It's finally time for baseball season to start up as we wait for the pitchers ands catchers to report before Spring Training. I got a little carried away this year, and I decided to release my MLB fantasy rankings a little earlier than I expected.

Throughout this slideshow, you will see each position and the rankings that I put each player in. Each person in my number one spot will be described. I hope that you all enjoy. Remember, these are my personal rankings, so if you disagree, then that's your opinion. Be sure to leave comments on whether or not you like the show. Enjoy!!!

For more fantasy sports information, be sure to visit www.fantasyfootballmaniaxs.com.

Catcher

Russell Martin tops my list of catchers as we head into the 2009 season.

In '08, Martin hit for a .280 average, with 13 homeruns, 69 RBI, 87 runs scored, and 18 stolen bases.

Some would argue that Braves' catcher Brian McCann should have the top spot; however, I feel differently due to the last stat that I presented about Martin: steals. The one thing that many catchers cannot do is take a base, something that Martin has the ability to accomplish. Also, looking back at last season, it seemed that Martin had a bit of a down year. I'm expecting him to come back with full strength and aid the Dodgers in making another run to the playoffs.

Below are my top 30 catchers for 2009:

1 Russell Martin (LAD)
2 Brian McCann (ATL)
3 Geovany Soto (CHC)
4 Joe Mauer (MIN)
5 Bengie Molina (SF)
6 Ryan Doumit (PIT)
7 Victor Martinez (CLE)
8 Chris Iannetta (COL)
9 Kelly Shoppach (CLE)
10 Jorge Posada (NYY)
11 A.J. Pierzynski (CHW)
12 Chris Snyder (ARI)
13 Yadier Molina (STL)
14 Ramon Hernandez (CIN)
15 Jarrod Saltalamacchia (TEX)
16 Dioner Navarro (TB)
17 Jesus Flores (WAS)
18 Kurt Suzuki (OAK)
19 Ivan Rodriguez (FA)
20 Mike Napoli (LAA)
21 Jason Varitek (BOS)
22 Taylor Teagarden (TEX)
23 Gerald Laird (DET)
24 Matt Wieters (BAL)
25 Jeff Clement (SEA)
26 John Baker (FLA)
27 Rod Barajas (TOR)
28 Brandon Inge (DET)
29 Chris Coste (PHI)
30 Miguel Olivo (KC)

First Base

My number one first baseman of 2009 belongs to none other than Albert Pujols.

Pujols hit a colossal .357, with 37 homeruns, 116 RBI, 100 runs scored, and seven stolen bases in 2008, leading up to him winning his second NL MVP Award.

Pujols is a force in fantasy baseball year-in and year-out. If anything, Pujols will most likely be a first-round pick (maybe number one overall) in most drafts come Opening Day.

Trust me, if he can put up those kind of numbers while nursing an injured elbow, just imagine what sort of damage he can do when he's healthy.

Below are my top 30 first basemen for 2009:

1 Albert Pujols (STL)
2 Mark Teixeira (NYY)
3 Ryan Howard (PHI)
4 Miguel Cabrera (DET)
5 Lance Berkman (HOU)
6 Justin Moreneau (MIN)
7 Prince Fielder (MIL)
8 Adrian Gonzalez (SD)
9 Kevin Youkilis (BOS)
10 Derek Lee (CHI)
11 Aubrey Huff (BAL)
12 Carlos Pena (TB)
13 Joey Votto (CIN)
14 Carlos Delgado (NYM)
15 Chris Davis (TEX)
16 Garrett Atkins (COL)
17 James Loney (LAD)
18 Paul Konerko (CHW)
19 Adam LaRoche (PIT)
20 Jorge Cantu (FLA)
21 Mike Jacobs (KC)
22 Jason Giambi (OAK)
23 Conor Jackson (ARZ)
24 Casey Blake (LAD)
25 Carlos Guillen (DET)
26 Todd Helton (COL)
27 Hank Blalock (TEX)
28 Casey Kotchman (ATL)
29 Pablo Sandoval (SF)
30 Nick Swisher (NYY)

Second Base

Next up, we visit second base as Chase Utley grabs my number one spot.

Hmmm, let's see what Chase was able to accomplish last season. He hit for a .292 average, with 33 homeruns, 104 RBI, 113 runs scored, and 14 stolen bases. He helped his team win a World Championship. Anything else that I missed?

To put it simply, the guy is a stud. Let's also not forget the lack of depth in fantasy at the second base position, making Utley a high pick in the upcoming drafts.

Oh, and if you have any doubts of him repeating, you might want to take a glance at the Phillies' batting order. With a lineup boasting hitters such as Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, Shane Victorino, Raul Ibanez, and Jayson Werth, Utley should have no problem receiving protection when it's needed.

Below are my top 30 second basemen for 2009:

1 Chase Utley (PHI)
2 Dustin Pedroia (BOS)
3 Ian Kinsler (TEX)
4 Brian Roberts (BAL)
5 Brandon Phillips (CIN)
6 Dan Uggla (FLA)
7 Alexei Ramirez (CHW)
8 Robinson Cano (NYY)
9 Mark DeRosa (CLE)
10 Jose Lopez (SEA)
11 Kelly Johnson (ATL)
12 Placido Polanco (DET)
13 Rickie Weeks (MIL)
14 Mike Aviles (KC)
15 Orlando Hudson (FA)
16 Howie Kendrick (LAA)
17 Freddy Sanchez (PIT)
18 Aaron Hill (TOR)
19 Akinori Iwamura (TB)
20 Kazuo Matsui (HOU)
21 Luis Castillo (NYM)
22 Mike Fontenot (CHC)
23 Clint Barmes (COL)
24 Brendan Harris (MIN)
25 Alexi Casilla (MIN)
26 Mark Ellis (OAK)
27 Felipe Lopez (ARZ)
28 Ronny Cedeno (CHC)
29 Chris Getz (CHW)
30 Asdrubal Cabrera (CLE)

Shortstop

Moving right along, we hit our next stop, shortstop that is, as we see youngster Hanley Ramirez in the top spot.

This kid is something ain't he? In '08, he hit for a .301 batting average, with 33 homeruns, 67 RBI, 125 runs scored, and 35 stolen bases.

I know that I'm probably "beating a dead horse" for saying this, but the kid is the complete package. He's got speed, power, contact, everything you want as a fantasy owner. He is a no-doubt first-round draft pick, and he should be.

Just look at him, he's a joy to watch.

Below are my top 30 shortstops for 2009:

1 Hanley Ramirez (FLA)
2 Jimmy Rollins (PHI)
3 Jose Reyes (NYM)
4 Stephen Drew (ARI)
5 Troy Tulowitzki (COL)
6 J.J. Hardy (MIL)
7 Derek Jeter (NYY)
8 Jhonny Peralta (CLE)
9 Michael Young (TEX)
10 Miguel Tejada (HOU)
11 Yunel Escobar (ATL)
12 Orlando Cabrera (FA)
13 Mike Aviles (KC)
14 Edgar Renteria (SF)
15 Rafael Furcal (LAD)
16 Ryan Theriot (CHC)
17 Jed Lowrie (BOS)
18 Cristian Guzman (WAS)
19 Alexei Ramirez (CHW)
20 Khalil Greene (STL)
21 Brandon Wood (LAA)
22 Yuniesky Betancourt (SEA)
23 Brendan Harris (MIN)
24 Clint Barmes (COL)
25 Jason Bartlett (TB)
26 Jeff Keppinger (CIN)
27 Nick Punto (MIN)
28 Jerry Hairston (CIN)
29 Cesar Izturis (BAL)
30 Marco Scutaro (TOR)

Third Base

Well, if you know anything about baseball, you could see this one coming. Alex Rodriguez is my number one third baseman going into the 2009 campaign.

As always, A-Rod had a fine season in 2008, hitting for a .302 average, with 35 homeruns, 103 RBI, 104 runs scored, and 18 stolen bases. No surprise, right?

There's not much to say on Rodriguez except this: If you want him, you have to get him quickly. A-Rod will most likely be grabbed sometime early in the first round, most probably between picks one and five.

No matter where you get him, though, you know what he is going to bring to the table. He always ends up producing, and with the addition of Mark Teixeira to help him out, he may be even better this season.

Below are my top 30 third basemen for 2009:

1 Alex Rodriguez (NYY)
2 David Wright (NYM)
3 Evan Longoria (TB)
4 Miguel Cabrera (DET)
5 Aramis Ramirez (CHC)
6 Ryan Zimmerman (WSH)
7 Chipper Jones (ATL)
8 Kevin Youkilis (BOS)
9 Garrett Atkins (COL)
10 Michael Young (TEX)
11 Aubrey Huff (BAL)
12 Edwin Encarnacion (CIN)
13 Jorge Cantu (FLA)
14 Chone Figgins (LAA)
15 Adrian Beltre (SEA)
16 Troy Glaus (STL)
17 Alex Gordon (KC)
18 Carlos Guillen (DET)
19 Ty Wigginton (HOU)
20 Casey Blake (LAD)
21 Melvin Mora (BAL)
22 Ian Stewart (COL)
23 Hank Blalock (TEX)
24 Kevin Kouzmanoff (SD)
25 Joe Crede (CHW)
26 Bill Hall (MIL)
27 Jed Lowrie (BOS)
28 Pedro Feliz (PHI)
29 Brandon Wood (ANA)
30 Scott Rolen (TOR)

Designated Hitter

We are going to go off the field, sort of, for a moment as we glance at the designated hitter, where David Ortiz reigns as king.

Battling a knee injury last season, David Ortiz had a down year, but he still found ways to help his team get to the AL Championship.

In 2008, he hit for a .264 average, with 23 homeruns, 89 RBI, 74 runs scored, and one stolen base. If you've watched Ortiz over the years, you would agree with me that he did indeed have a bad season.

Not to worry fantasy owners! He should be back and better than ever in 2009. Heck, he's even hoping to play in the World Baseball Classic. As far as drafting him goes, be cautious. I still think that he's a first-round pick, just not as high as usual.

Below are my top ten designated hitters for 2009:

1 David Ortiz (BOS)
2 Jim Thome (CHI)
3 Pat Burrell (TB)
4 Rocco Baldelli (BOS)
5 Gary Sheffield (DET)
6 Travis Hafner (CLE)
7 Jason Kubel (MIN)
8 Billy Butler (KC)
9 Hank Blalock (TEX)
10 Luke Scott (BAL)

Outfielders

Let's move to the outfield now, where I placed Josh Hamilton at the top of my list.

Wow, this one was a bit of a toss-up. I had three names battling for the number one spot in the outfielders category: Josh Hamilton, Grady Sizemore, and Matt Holliday. In the end, though, I went with Hamilton for one reason: RBI's.

Here's Hamilton's stat line: .304 batting average, 32 homeruns, 130 RBI, 98 runs scored, and nine stolen bases.

That's a lot of runs batted in.

With guys like Ian Kinsler, Michael Young, Hank Blalock, and Nelson Cruz in the lineup, RBI's will come easy. Draft Hamilton early in the first round for a solid fantasy pickup.

Below are my top 60 outfielders for 2009:

1 Josh Hamilton (TEX)
2 Grady Sizemore (CLE)
3 Matt Holliday (OAK)
4 Ryan J. Braun (MIL)
5 Alfonso Soriano (CHC)
6 Carlos Beltran (NYM)
7 Manny Ramirez (LA)
8 Carlos Quentin (CHW)
9 B.J. Upton (TB)
10 Ichiro Suzuki (SEA)
11 Carl Crawford (TB)
12 Jason Bay (BOS)
13 Carlos N. Lee (HOU)
14 Vladimir Guerrero (LAA)
15 Nick Markakis (BAL)
16 Alex Rios (TOR)
17 Shane Victorino (PHI)
18 Jacoby Ellsbury (BOS)
19 Curtis Granderson (DET)
20 Magglio Ordonez (DET)
21 Nate McLouth (PIT)
22 Adam Dunn (WSH)
23 Bobby Abreu (NYY)
24 Matt Kemp (LAD)
25 Ryan Ludwick (STL)
26 Vernon Wells (TOR)
27 Corey C. Hart (MIL)
28 Torii Hunter (LAA)
29 Jay Bruce (CIN)
30 Raul Ibanez (PHI)
31 Johnny Damon (NYY)
32 Hunter Pence (HOU)
33 Jermaine Dye (CHW)
34 Brad Hawpe (COL)
35 Chris B. Young (ARI)
36 Pat Burrell (TB)
37 Willy Taveras (CIN)
38 Carlos Gomez (MIN)
39 Rick Ankiel (STL)
40 Juan Pierre (LAD)
41 Andre Ethier (LAD)
42 Coco Crisp (KC)
43 Xavier Nady (NYY)
44 Conor Jackson (ARZ)
45 Mark DeRosa (CLE)
46 Milton Bradley (CHC)
47 J.D. Drew (BOS)
48 Delmon Young (MIN)
49 Hideki Matsui (NYY)
50 Jayson Werth (PHI)
51 Eric Byrnes (ARZ)
52 Fred Lewis (SF)
53 Lastings Milledge (WSH)
54 Denard Span (MIN)
55 Nick Swisher (NYY)
56 Shin-Soo Choo (CLE)
57 Nelson Cruz (TEX)
58 Mike Cameron (MIL)
59 Adam Jones (BAL)
60 Cameron Maybin (FLA)

Starting Pitchers

And I thought the last one was a toss-up. There are so many great pitchers to choose from. We have Tim Lincecum, Johan Santana, Jake Peavy, Brandon Webb, etc. For 2009, I'm going with Johan.

Now, I know that many people will disagree with me here, so listen closely. What was one of the main problems with the Mets last season? If you said the bullpen, then you are correct.

The bullpen was horrendous at times to say the least, and some of those times, Johan was lined up for a victory. So what did the Mets do to fix it? They went out and grabbed J.J. Putz and Francisco Rodriguez. That should do the trick.

So, when we look at Johan's '08 numbers (16-7 record, 2.53 ERA, 206 strikeouts, 63 walks), we have to remember that he may have gotten anywhere from 3-5 more wins.

If you plan to pick him on Draft Day, get him early. Being a starting pitcher, fantasy owners tend to grab him fast. So, if you want him, make your move before someone else does.

Below are my top 80 starting pitchers for 2009:

1 Johan Santana (NYM)
2 Brandon Webb (ARZ)
3 Tim Lincecum (SF)
4 Jake Peavy (SD)
5 Felix Hernandez (SEA)
6 Josh Beckett (BOS)
7 Roy Halladay (TOR)
8 Cole Hamels (PHI)
9 C.C. Sabathia (NYY)
10 Carlos Zambrano (CHC)
11 Dan Haren (ARZ)
12 John Lackey (LAA)
13 Chad Billingsley (LAD)
14 Chris Carpenter (STL)
15 Francisco Liriano (MIN)
16 Justin Verlander (DET)
17 Erik Bedard (SEA)
18 Joba Chamberlain (NYY)
19 Ben Sheets (FA)
20 Cliff Lee (CLE)
21 Scott Kazmir (TB)
22 Jon Lester (BOS)
23 Matt Cain (SF)
24 Daisuke Matsuzaka (BOS)
25 Edinson Volquez (CIN)
26 Chris Young (SD)
27 Adam Wainwright (STL)
28 Yovani Gallardo (MIL)
29 Aaron Harang (CIN)
30 Fausto Carmona (CLE)
31 Roy Oswalt (HOU)
32 Matt Garza (TB)
33 James Shields (TB)
34 Joe Saunders (LAA)
35 Gavin Floyd (CHW)
36 Jered Weaver (LAA)
37 Ted Lilly (CHC)
38 Oliver Perez (NYM)
39 John Maine (NYM)
40 Javier Vazquez (CHW)
41 Ervin Santana (LAA)
42 A.J. Burnett (NYY)
43 Mark Buehrle (CHW)
44 Rich Harden (CHC)
45 Manny Parra (MIL)
46 Chien-Ming Wang (NYY)
47 John Danks (CHW)
48 Jair Jurrjens (ATL)
49 Jeremy Guthrie (BAL)
50 David Price (TB)
51 Josh Johnson (FLA)
52 Zack Greinke (KC)
53 Clayton Kershaw (LAD)
54 Johnny Cueto (CIN)
55 Justin Duchscherer (OAK)
56 Ubaldo Jimenez (COL)
57 Ricky Nolasco (FLA)
58 Max Scherzer (ARZ)
59 Brad Penny (LAD)
60 Mike Pelfrey (NYM)
61 Clay Buchholz (BOS)
62 Randy Johnson (SF)
63 Derek Lowe (LAD)
64 Ryan Dempster (CHC)
65 Chris Volstead (FLA)
66 Kenshin Kawakami (ATL)
67 Brett Myers (PHI)
68 Jonathan Sanchez (SF)
69 Brandon Morrow (SEA)
70 Kevin Slowey (MIN)
71 Ian Snell (PIT)
72 Gil Meche (KC)
73 Dustin McGowan (TOR)
74 Aaron Cook (COL)
75 Kyle Lohse (STL)
76 Jon Garland (FA)
77 Scott Olsen (WSH)
78 Scott Baker (MIN)
79 John Smoltz (BOS)
80 Andy Sonnanstine (TB)

Relief Pitchers

We hit our final position, as we look at the second Met in a row to grab a number one spot. This time, Francisco Rodriguez is at the top as he is my best relief pitcher for 2009.

I think that I can say, with confidence, that K-Rod (as Rodriguez is called) had a nice year in 2008.

He went 2-3, with a 2.24 ERA, 77 strikeouts, and a record 62 saves. That's a boatload of wins that he has finished. K-Rod knows how to seal the deal, plain and simple. He is exactly what the New York Mets need, and fantasy owners won't mind having him either.

If you had him last season, you should've been happy with his final results. As a reliever, he won't go as early as most people might think; however, don't count on him being there late in the first round. That's your call when to grab him, not mine.

Below are my top 40 relief pitchers for 2009:

1 Francisco Rodriguez (NYM)
2 Jonathan Papelbon (BOS)
3 Mariano Rivera (NYY)
4 Joe Nathan (MIN)
5 Brad Lidge (PHI)
6 Bobby Jenks (CHW)
7 Joba Chamberlain (NYY)
8 Joakim Soria (KC)
9 Kerry Wood (CLE)
10 B.J. Ryan (TOR)
11 Brian Fuentes (ANA)
12 Jose Valverde (HOU)
13 Carlos Marmol (CHC)
14 Jonathan Broxton (LA)
15 Francisco Cordero (CIN)
16 Huston Street (COL)
17 Mike Gonzalez (ATL)
18 Brad Ziegler (OAK)
19 Joey Devine (OAK)
20 Matt Capps (PIT)
21 Jose Arredondo (ANA)
22 Brandon Morrow (SEA)
23 Brian Wilson (SF)
24 Chad Qualls (ARI)
25 Chris Ray (BAL)
26 Trevor Hoffman (MIL)
27 Scot Shields (ANA)
28 Matt Lindstrom (FLA)
29 Fernando Rodney (DET)
30 Joel Zumaya (DET)
31 Troy Percival (TB)
32 Chris Perez (STL)
33 Heath Bell (SD)
34 Frank Francisco (TEX)
35 Dan Wheeler (TB)
36 Grant Balfour (TB)
37 Joel Hanrahan (WAS)
38 Ryan Franklin (STL)
39 Takashi Saito (BOS)
40 George Sherrill (BAL)