Here is part 2 of my Review of my preseason Starting Pitcher Rankings:

13. Cole Hamels, PHI-Hamels was a Top 12 starter in 2011 and will probably be in my top 12 for 2012. He went 14-9 with a 2.70 ERA, 3.05 FIP and 3.02 xFIP,  and a 0.99 WHIP. His K/9 dropped from 9.10 to 8.08 this season, but his BB/9 dropped as well, and his ground ball rate jumped from 45.4% to 52.3%, so he sacrificed strikeouts for more ground balls, which isn't such a bad thing. Actually, his ground ball rate has been in a 3 year uptrend:

2008- 39.5%

2009- 40.4%

2010- 45.4%

2011- 52.3%

From 2007 through 2011, his HR/FB rate dropped, as a result, from 12.8% to 9.9%. 

14. Chad Billingsley, LAD-Billingsley has been one of my favorite pitchers in the NL, but he has been a big disappointment the past few seasons. He went 11-11 with a 4.21 ERA, a 3.83 FIP and a 4.14 xFIP in 2011, but with a terrible 1.45 WHIP, the highest of his career. If you're searching for a reason why he regressed in 2011, you can look to the increase in walk rate and the increase in contact made outside the zone. His walk rate increased from 3.24 to 4.02 in 2011 and his contact rate outside the zone has jumped in each of the last 4 seasons from 51.8% in 2008 to 67.8% in 2011. The news gets worse as his swinging strike rate has dropped from 10.4% in 2008 to just 7.6% in 2011. It all adds up to Billz becoming more of a #5 starter than a #2 or #3.

The rest of my review of my preseason starting pitcher rankings after the jump:

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Here is the seventh, and final, review of my review of preseason rankings, and today I review Part 1 of my preseason Starting Pitcher Rankings. I posted the preseason rankings after Adam Wainwright was lost for the season due to Tommy John Surgery, but never replaced him in my Top 12 starting pitchers for 2011, so I will include Dan Haren, my preseason #13 starting pitcher, at #12 for this review article.

Onto my review:

1. Felix Hernandez. SEA-King Felix followed his Cy Young season last year by going 14-14 with a 3.47 ERA, 3.13 FIP, and 3.15 xFIP, with a 1.22 WHIP-his highest since 2008. He struck out 222 and walked 67 in 233.2 innings, and his K/9 and BB/9 pretty much went unchanged from 2010. He gave up more HRs this season than he has since 2007, and his batting average of balls in play-.307- was his highest since 2008. He is still a Top 5-7 starting pitcher for me, but may drop a few spots in 2012.

2. Roy Halladay, PHI-Halladay may or may not win the NL Cy Young award this season, but even if he doesn't, he will still be considered the best starting pitcher in baseball. Halladay went 19-6 with a 2.35 ERA, 2.20 FIP and 2.71 xFIP, with a 1.04 WHIP, while striking out 220 and walking just 35 in his 233.2 innings this season. He had an extremely low 5.1% HR/FB rate, which was more than half of his 2010 HR/FB rate of 11.3%. He will be my #1 starting pitcher in 2012.

3. Tim Lincecum, SFG-Lincecum helped me win the NL-only UBA league this year after a mid-season trade, but he was not as dominant this season as he was in years past. He went 13-14 with a 2.74 ERA, 3.17 FIP and 3.36 xFIP, with a 1.21 WHIP, while striking out 220 and walking 86 in 217 innings of work. What concerns me with Lincecum, is his drop in K/9 and increase in BB/9 over the last few seasons. Take a look:

2008- 10.51 K/9/ 3.33 BB/9

2009- 10.42 K/9/ 2.72 BB/9

2010- 9.79 K/9/ 3.22 BB/9

2011- 9.12 K/9/ 3.57 BB/9

His 86 walks were the highest of his career, but there is nothing wrong with a starter who strikes out 9 batters per 9 and keeps the ball on the ground at a 48% rate. 

Check out the rest of the review of my preseason starting pitcher rankings after the jump:

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Here is the sixth in my preseason review series, and today I review Part 2 of my 2011 Preseason Outfielder Rankings and have to say I got a few right and a few wrong, namely Alex Rios, Andre Ethier, Juan Pierre and Colby Rasmus. Oh, you can throw Jose Bautista in that group as well, as I definitely ranked him too low. This exercise goes to show that you cannot always rank players based on how the performed in the prior season. And some players, like Jose Bautista, proved that his monster 2010 season was no fluke.

Onto Part 2 of my 2011 preseason outfielder rankings:

13. Alex Rios, CHW- Rios did not follow up on his excellent 2010 season, as he hit just .227-.265-.348 with 13 HRs, 44 RBI, 64 runs scored and 11 SBs after his 21 HR-34 stolen base season in 2010. Rios doesn't walk much, so his BA/OBP is buoyed by his BABIP, and at .237, it was at a career low in 2011.  He hit more line drives and fly balls this season, so he could have just been unlucky. He turns 31 in February, so he could have a bounce back season in 2012, but the White Sox could start to rebuild under new manager Robin Ventura, so he could be wearing a different uniform in 2012.

14. Nelson Cruz, TEX- I recently wrote about Cruz's performance in the playoffs and he has been absolutely dominant at the plate in the ALDS and ALCS. In my preseason rankings, I projected him to go 25-85-15 and he went out and hit .263-.312-.509 with 29 HRs, 87 RBI, 64 runs scored and 9 stolen bases. The problem with Cruz is he is injury prone and his 475 at bats this season was a career high for him. Should you draft him, expect him to miss 20-30 games in 2012.

15, Chris Young, ARI- Young followed up his 27-91-94-28 season in 2010 by hitting .236-.331-.420 with 20 HRs, 71 RBI, 89 runs scored and 22 stolen bases this season. I am not sure Young will ever hit more than .240-.250, but he has a reduced his K rate in the last two seasons, from 26.5% in 2009 to 21.8% in 2010 to 21.1% this season. Young also increased his BB rate from 11.1% in 2010 to 12.1% in 2011, so he is doing things right at the plate. If he can ever have a year where his BABIP surges over .300, he could have a monster year.

More outfielder rankings after the jump:

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Here is the sixth in the series where I review my 2011 preseason position rankings. Today we cover my Preseason Outfielder Rankings, and my #1 outfielder was one of the biggest busts of 2011. 

Onto my preseason outfielder rankings:

1. Carl Crawford, BOS-I wrote about Crawford here. He was one of the biggest busts in 2011 for me. I wouldn't touch him till the 3rd round in 2012 drafts. What Crawford has in his favor is that he has never been THIS bad before, so he is definitely a solid bounce back candidate in 2012.

2. Ryan Braun, MIL-Braun had his first 30-30 season of his career this season, hitting .332-.397-.597 with 33 HRs, 111 RBI, 109 runs and 33 SBs. He set career highs in stolen bases and batting average, and is one of the top 2 candidates for NL MVP. Looking at his K% and BB trends, Braun could duplicate his 2011 season:

year- BB%/K%

2007- 5.9%/22.8%

2008- 6.3%/19.5%

2009- 8.1%/17.1%

2010- 8.2%/15.3%

2011- 9.2%/14.8%

I just wonder how he will perform without Prince Fielder hitting behind him in 2012. No protection didn't seem to affect Matt Kemp this year.

More review of my preseason outfielder rankings after the jump:

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Here is the fifth in the series where I review my 2011 preseason position rankings. Today we cover my preseason Third Base rankings.

1. David Wright, NYM-Wright's back injury slowed him in 2011 and Wright finished the season hitting .254-.345-.427 with 14 HRs, 61 RBI, 60 runs and 13 SBs in 389 at bats. Will Wright bounce back in 2012 like he did in 2010 after his 10 homer 2009 season? Is the the third base equivalent of Prince Fielder? His .427 slugging percentage was the worst of his 8 year career.

2. Evan Longoria, TB-Longoria had a very good year despite the low BA, but his batting average of balls in play of .239 tells us that he was unlucky and the BA will return in 2012. Longoria hit .244-.355-.495 with 31 HRs, 99 RBI and 78 runs scored in just 483 at bats this season. Not only was Longoria unlucky with his BABIP, he lowered his strikeout rate and increased his BB rate for the third straight season:

year- K%/BB%

2008- 24%/9.1%

2009- 20.9%/10.7%

2010- 18.8%/10.9%

2011- 16.2%/13.9%

Longoria could have a huge season in  2012.

More third base rankings review after the jump:

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Here is the second in the series where I review my preseason position rankings, and today I review my preseason First Base rankings that I posted back in early March here. First base appears to be a position where you get more consistent production that most other positions, i guess. Eight of my top twelve gave you very good production this season, although there were several guys, Kendry Morales, Adam Dunn and Justin Morneau who pretty much were droppable by midseason or earlier. due to injuries or one horrific season long slump from Dunn. Where did that come from? 

Onto my review of my 2011 preseason First Base Rankings:

1. Albert Pujols, STL-Pujols got off to a slow start in 2011 but ended the season putting up a solid triple slash line of .299-.366-.541 with 37 HRs, 99 RBI, 105 runs scored and 9 stolen bases. Not Pujolsian numbers, but still solid nonetheless. Couple areas of concern are that his ISO of .242 since 2007, and his SLG was the lowest of his Hall of Fame career. Actually, his SLG over the past 3 years are trending the wrong way:

2009-.658

2010- .596

2011- .541

2. Miguel Cabrera, DET- Miggy had the quietest .344-.448-.586 season ever, no? He lead all first baseman with a 7.3 WAR, which is pretty darn impressive when you look at all the excellent first baseman out there. Miggy disappointed in the power department slightly, as he hit 30 HRs, drove in 105 runs and scored 111 runs. All in all, a very good season from Cabrera, even with the power down a bit.

More Year End First Base Rankings after the jump:

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With the MLB awards coming in the next month or so, I felt it was a good time to ask Fake Teams readers who your fantasy MVP was in 2011. I will not include starting pitchers because we will vote on the top fantasy pitcher as well. Some of the obvious candidates are:

• Matt Kemp: .324-.399-.586, 39 HRs, 126 RBI, 115 runs, 40 SBs
• Ryan Braun: .332-.397-.597, 33 HRs, 111 RBI, 109 runs, 33 SBs
• Jacoby Ellsbury: .321-.376-.562, 32 HRs, 105 RBI, 119 runs, 39 SBs
• Jose Bautista: .302=.447-.608, 43 HRs, 103 RBI, 105 runs, 9 SBs
• Curtis Granderson: .262-.364-.562, 41 HRs, 119 RBI, 136 runs, 25 SBs
• Adrian Gonzalez: .338-.410-.548, 27 HRs, 117 RBI, 108 runs
• Prince Fielder: .299-.415-.566, 39 HRs, 120 RBI, 95 runs
• Albert Pujols: .299-.366-.541, 37 HRs, 99 RBI, 105 runs, 9 SBs
• Miguel Cabrera: .344-.448-.586, 30 HRs, 105 RBI, 111 runs

I was going over Fangraphs catcher stats for 2011 about a week or two ago and was shocked with how many catchers hit for double digit home runs this season. Actually, catcher might be the new power position that fantasy owners should consider heading into the offseason trade market in keeper leagues and 2012 fantasy drafts. To give you an idea of the power at the catcher position, here are a few facts:

1. There were 21 catchers with 11 or more home runs vs 13 in 2010
2. There were 14 catcher who hit 15 or more home runs vs 9 in 2010
3. There were 5 catchers with 20 or more home runs vs 4 in 2010
4. There was 1 catcher with 30 home runs vs zero in 2010

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