Fantasy Baseball 2012: The 1-2 Combo You Should Get

If you're drafting sixth through eighth in a 10-team draft, or in the back half of a 12-teamer, or in an auction draft where positions don't matter, there is no doubt about this one.

The combo you want is Robinson Cano and Adrian Gonzalez.  For two reasons.

First off, it makes sense position-wise.  You can get a decent starting pitcher or outfielder in almost any round.  Relievers or catchers never need to be drafted that high.  For third, it'd be better to wait until the Wright/Beltre/Zimmerman/Sandoval glut a few rounds later.  What's left?  First and second.

For second, the two are pretty good ballplayers.

Cano has been by far the best two-bagger in the league for the last two seasons, and is a great player to build a team around.  He is projected to again hit over .300, and give you an .882 .

For whatever reason, A-Gon almost always falls to the second round, despite being a top AL MVP contender for the majority of last season.  He is often passed over for Prince Fielder, despite being a much better hitter for average.  

A-Gon hit .338 last year with an astonishing. 957 OPS, and while he's projected to fall off a little this year, you'll still be looking at numbers north of .300 and .900.

And don't think that A-Gon and Cano won't deliver in points-based leagues.  Cano and A-Gon finished fourth and fifth in the majors in RBI (second and third in the AL behind Curtis Granderson), and both are projected to again drive in north of 100 this season.  Both are also poised to again deliver for 300 total bags, in what will be the sixth straight year for A-Gon and the fourth straight for Cano.  Each also delivers 25 or more dingers and scores over 100 times.

The only thing that Cano and A-Gon don't offer for you is stolen bases.  To remedy that, you could just draft one of the many speed players available later, or concede stolen bags to focus on other stats.

Bottom line: If you can swing getting Cano and A-Gon, do it!