Fantasy Baseball Rankings 2012: Prince Fielder and MLB Sluggers You Must Draft

The opening of MLB spring training is so close you can practically smell it.

And while baseball's biggest stars busy themselves with preparing for yet another grueling 162-game season, it's time for you to start scouring the league for productive players with whom to fill out your fantasy baseball roster.

With home runs as hard to come by as they are these days, be sure to give these three free swingers a good, long look come draft day.

Prince Fielder

Prince Fielder will have every opportunity (and expectation) to pepper Comerica Park with jaw-dropping blasts all season long. The Detroit Tigers' $214-million man finished second in the National League in home runs (38), RBI (120) and walks (107) while scoring 95 runs of his own.

Prince's productivity should improve amidst an American League lineup replete with heavy hitters like Miguel Cabrera, Alex Avila and Jhonny Peralta, and with only 13 games missed in six full seasons at the major-league level, he's a virtual lock to stay on the field and off the 15-day DL.

Matt Kemp

Remember how Fielder finished second in the NL in homers and RBI?

Well, he would've been tops in those categories if not for one Matt Kemp. The star centerfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers came within 13 batting average points of winning the Triple Crown, hitting .324 with 39 homers and 126 RBI all the while. His 40 stolen bases also made him the second-best bag thief in the NL and solidified him as a legitimate five-tool superstar.

Don't be surprised if Kemp comes out swingin' for another big year in 2012 now that he has a fat, new contract and the Blue Crew is bound for new ownership at some point in the spring.

Mike Stanton

If rising superstars are more your fancy, keep an eye (or two) on Mike Stanton. The third-year slugger smacked 34 round-trippers and drove in 87 runs on a middling then-Florida Marlins squad last season.

With the move to Miami upcoming and the speed-demon trio of Hanley Ramirez, Emilio Bonifacio and free-agent signee Jose Reyes on the base paths, Stanton should see a spike in his RBI totals so long as he continues to improve as a hitter.

Which, given Stanton's tremendous talent and light-tower power, seems like a pretty good bet.

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