In this edition I will be previewing infielders. Included will be top 20 rankings at each position (Rotisserie mixed leagues = AL + NL), players whom are rising, falling, and are deep sleepers. And to top things off I will throw in a few extra tidbits you should know as you continue your research of these four positions.

TOP 20 FIRST BASEMEN
1. Albert Pujols -- St Louis Cardinals: Is there any doubt here? Pujols can do it all, including steal bases; he finished with 16 of those last season. He also finished with the most homeruns (47) and runs (124), topped baseball with a .658 slugging percentage, knocked in a third best 135 runs, tied for seventh with 45 doubles, and was in the top half dozen with a .327 batting average. Simply put, Pujols is the Adrian Peterson or Chris Johnson of fantasy baseball. He is hands down the best player.

2. Prince Fielder -- Milwaukee Brewers
3. Miguel Cabrera -- Detroit Tigers
4. Mark Teixeira -- NY Yankees
5. Ryan Howard -- Philadelphia Phillies
6. Derek Lee -- Chicago Cubs
7. Justin Morneau -- Minnesota Twins
8. Adrian Gonzalez -- San Diego Padres
9. Joey Votto -- Cincinnati Reds
10. Kevin Youkilis -- Boston Red Sox
11. Lance Berkman -- Houston Astros
12. Billy Butler -- Kansas City Royals
13. Kendry Morales -- Los Angeles Angels
14. Adam Dunn -- Washington Nationals
15. Carlos Pena -- Tampa Bay Rays
16. Adam LaRoche -- Arizona Diamondbacks
17. Jorge Cantu (3B) -- Florida Marlins
18. Todd Helton -- Colorado Rockies
19. Paul Konerko -- Chicago White Sox
20. James Loney -- Los Angeles Dodgers

TOP 20 SECOND BASEMEN
1. Chase Utley -- Philadelphia Phillies
2. Robinson Cano -- NY Yankees: Having Cano this high may look crazy on paper, but the fact remains that he has top numbers and is in the prime of his career at age 27. Last season the Yankees second baseman struck out in just 9.5 percent of his at-bats, hit .320, slugged .520, and slapped at least one hit in 72.3 percent of the games he recorded an official at-bat in. For comparison's sake the top ranked Utley hit .282, slugged .508, struck out in 19.0 percent of his at-bats, and recorded one hit in 69 percent of the games he had an official at-bat in. Cano is a prime example of an underrated star who holds much more value in the fourth round of mixed leagues than Utley holds in the first. 


3. Ian Kinsler -- Texas Rangers
4. Brandon Phillips -- Cincinnati Reds
5. Dustin Pedroia -- Boston Red Sox
6. Aaron Hill -- Toronto Blue Jays
7. Brian Roberts -- Baltimore Orioles
8. Howie Kendrick -- Los Angeles Angels
9. Ben Zobrist -- Tampa Bay Rays
10. Jose Lopez -- Seattle Mariners
11. Dan Uggla -- Florida Marlins
12. Gordon Beckham -- Chicago White Sox
13. Rickie Weeks -- Milwaukee Brewers
14. Martin Prado -- Atlanta Braves
15. Orlando Hudson -- Minnesota Twins
16. Ronnie Belliard -- Los Angeles Dodgers
17. Alberto Callaspo -- Kansas City Royals
18. Adam Kennedy -- Washington Nationals
19. Clint Barmes -- Colorado Rockies
20. Kaz Matsui -- Houston Astros

TOP 20 THIRD BASEMEN
1. Alex Rodriguez -- NY Yankees
2. Evan Longoria -- Tampa Bay Rays
3. Pablo Sandoval -- San Francisco Giants: "Kung-Fu Panda."

It's the animated movie featuring Jack Black as the Panda bear who learns kung fu. It's also the nickname that was given to Sandoval by teammate Barry Zito after the 246 pound third baseman jumped over catcher Danny Adroin to score a run in a Sept. 19, 2008 game against the Dodgers. 


Needless to say, Sandoval rolled with it in to 2009, and proved to be the hero of the Giants offensive attack. In 572 at-bats the multi-positioned 23-year-old smacked 25 homeruns, drove in 90 runs, and finished second in the National League with a .330 batting average. He's only bound to get better, and should come at a cheaper price than what I have him ranked as. However, because he still has major upside and can play third, first, and even catcher in a pinch he gets the nod over Wright, Reynolds, and Zimmermann as a top three player at his primary position of third base.

4. David Wright -- NY Mets
5. Mark Reynolds -- Arizona Diamondbacks
6. Ryan Zimmermann -- Washington Nationals
7. Chone Figgins -- Seattle Mariners
8. Aramis Ramirez -- Chicago Cubs
9. Michael Young -- Texas Rangers
10. Miguel Tejada -- Baltimore Orioles
11. Chipper Jones -- Atlanta Braves
12. Casey McGehee -- Milwaukee Brewers
13. Adrian Beltre -- Boston Red Sox
14. Casey Blake -- Los Angeles Dodgers
15. Placido Polanco -- Philadelphia Phillies
16. Ian Stewart -- Colorado Rockies
17. Alex Gordon -- Kansas City Royals
18. Brandon Wood -- Los Angeles Angels
19. Brandon Inge -- Detroit Tigers
20. David Freese -- St Louis Cardinals

TOP 20 SHORTSTOPS
1. Hanley Ramirez -- Florida Marlins
2. Jose Reyes -- NY Mets
3. Derek Jeter -- NY Yankees
4. Troy Tulowitski -- Colorado Rockies
5. Jimmy Rollins -- Philadelphia Phillies
6. Yunel Escobar -- Atlanta Braves: The next breakout shortstop? This is the questionable statement all fantasy owners should associate with the Braves' Escobar. In 2008 he hit .288 and smoked 10 balls over the outfield wall while driving in a total of 60 runs. In 2009 he increased his average to .299, and hit 14 homeruns while driving in 76 runs with just 14 more at-bats. See the trend? It's an upward one. Next up for Escobar and fantasy owners could be a .300-plus batting average, 20 homeruns, and possibly 85-plus runs batted in. The bottom line here is that he puts the ball in play, and if he can raise his fly-ball percentage from 41.1 to about 50, and keep his strikeout percentage around 11.2 like he recorded last season, Escobar will have a big 2010 season. The best part is that he can be had between rounds 13 and 15 in most mixed leagues. 


7. Jason Bartlett -- Tampa Bay Rays
8. Alexei Ramirez -- Chicago White Sox
9. Asdrubal Cabrera -- Cleveland Indians
10. Erick Aybar -- Los Angeles Angels
11. Elvis Andrus -- Texas Rangers
12. Stephen Drew -- Arizona Diamondbacks
13. Orlando Cabrera -- Cincinnati Reds
14. JJ Hardy -- Minnesota Twins
15. Alcides Escobar -- Milwaukee Brewers
16. Marco Scutaro -- Boston Red Sox
17. Ryan Theriot -- Chicago Cubs
18. Rafael Furcal -- Los Angeles Dodgers
19. Cristian Guzman -- Washington Nationals
20. Edgar Renteria -- San Francisco Giants

RISING, FALLING, AND DEEP SLEEPERS

RISING

1B Billy Butler -- Must have. These are not the two words that have ever come to mind when it has come to anyone who has took the field for the Kansas City Royals since maybe George Brett wore the royal blue. But they could be the two words that best describe the Royals young first baseman heading in to the 2010 fantasy season.

Consider this: Last season Butler had 608 official at-bats, but still managed to hit .301. He also crushed 21 long balls, drove in 93 runs, and had an OPS (On-base + Slugging) of .854. His numbers have continued to trend up over the past few seasons, and fantasy owners should expect that trend to continue in to this season. Recently I was able to grab Butler in a mock draft around pick 105, so his value is considerably low considering his enormous potential.

2B Howie Kendrick -- Last season Kendrick averaged just over a hit per game in his on and off role at second base for the Angels. This season he has the spot permanently and will most likely bat second in front of the likes Bobby Abreu, Torii Hunter, and breakout stud first baseman Kendry Morales. He'll need to improve upon his 18.5 percent strikeout rate if he wants to become an elite hitter. Either way, he should be good for about 160+ hits and 80-90 runs; a great value as a low grade starter in mixed leagues.

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