We've already gone over first basemen and second basemen, so if you've missed those, have a look. They explain the rationale behind the tiered system, and how they work, in addition to being rankings. As for the hot corner, let's dive in.

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Continuing our look at the positional ADP draft trends over at Mock Draft Central , we come to the ever mysterious Outfield. Now for me it doesn't look as deep as everyone else thinks it does. It seems to be very top heavy with a deluge of tweener 3-4th OF stuck in there. I am only one voice though and have participated in enough mock drafts to date to shake several sticks at. So take a look at the trends that are driving pretend baseball. More analysis after the chart. Enjoy.

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The next position up in our early trend report is Shortstop. Yea, besides the pretty salmon colored chart the position as a whole is pretty dreary come draft day. The good people over at Mock Draft Central, continue to give us tons of pre-draft information on draft trends, to see who is picked where and before or after whom. So continue reading, take a look at the pretty chart and analysis will follow.

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Here is the fourth in the series where I  review my 2011 preseason position rankings. Today we cover my preseason Shortstop rankings and I guess I am not the only fantasy writer that ranked Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez as the #1 fantasy shortstop, as he was a bust in 2011, injury or no injury.

Looking back at my rankings, I just have to say "wow!". What was I thinking? The bottom 6 in my rankings were terrible with the exception of Tigers shortstop Jhonny Peralta. Guys like Asdrubal Cabrera, J.J. Hardy and Emilio Bonafacio came out of nowhere to have excellent seasons. Well, Hardy has had solid power years in the past, but we haven't seen this power from him since 2008. Cabrera has never hit this many home runs in the majors or minors, and hit more home runs this year than he has in his whole major league career prior to 2011.

Onto my review of my preseason Shortstop Rankings:

1. Hanley Ramirez, FLA-I wrote about Ramirez's bust season here and am undecided as to where I would rank him for 2012. He will certainly fall below Troy Tulowitzki, Jose Reyes and probably Asdrubal Cabrera. 

2. Troy Tulowitzki, COL-Tulo is now the #1 fantasy shortstop and he will be a first round pick in fantasy drafts in 2012. Tulo hit .302-.372-.544 with 30 HRs, 105 RBI, 81 runs and 9 SBs in 2011. He has proven to be a steady 30 HR hitter over the last 3 seasons, and here are his ISO/SLG/HR splits over that time:

2009- .256/.552/32

2010- .253/.568/27

2011- .242/.544/30

More or my shortstop review after the jump:

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Here is the third in the series where I review my preseason position rankings  and today I review my preseason Second Base rankings that I posted back in early March here. Second base appears to be a position where the top 5 or 6 guys are drafted pretty high, and the rest are scattered in the middle and late rounds of most fantasy drafts.

Onto my review of my 2011 preseason Second Base Rankings:

1. Robinson Cano, NYY-Cano had another excellent season for fantasy owners, hitting .302-.349-.533 with 28 HRs, 118 RBI, 104 runs scored and 8 stolen bases. I think Cano can eclipse the 30 HR level in 2012, as his power in growing. Here is his 4 year ISO/SLG/HR trend:

2008 - .139/.410/14

2009 - .199/.520/25

2010 - .214/.534/29

2011 - .231/.533/28

The rest of my review of my preseason Second Base Rankings after the jump:

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I posted my preseason Fantasy Catcher Rankings back on March 3rd with Atlanta catcher Brian McCann leading the way in my rankings. Today, I am going to start looking at how I fared in my preseason position rankings, and will follow that up with Fake Teams preliminary position rankings for 2012 where Robert and I will take an early look at each position.

Onto my 2011 preseason rankings:

1. Brian McCann, ATL - McCann hit .270-.351-.466 with 24 HRs, 71 RBI and 51 runs scored in 466 at bats this season. While his home run total tied a career high, his RBI total was the lowest of his career. Is this a symptom of an MLB wide drop in run scoring or a sign McCann's production has begun to slide?

2. Carlos Santana - CLE - I almost ranked Santana as my #1 catcher in my preseason catcher rankings, but decided against it. Santana hit .239-.351-.457 with 27 HRs, 79 RBI, 84 runs and 5 SBs in 552 at bats this season. Santana his 16 of his home runs in the second half, along with 43 of his RBI, so the question for fantasy owners is Santana can reach the 30 HR level in 2012. I think he can, and may rank him accordingly.

3. Buster Posey, SFG-well, Posey only had 162 at bats as he was injured in a home plate collision with Marlins outfielder Scott Cousins. Before he was hurt, Posey hit .284-.368-.389 with 4 HRs, 21 RBI, 17 runs and 3 stolen bases. We will be following how his offseason rehab is going and will let you know when news is reported. It will be interesting to see if there is talk that he may see more time at first base in 2012 to save his knees and keep his bat in the lineup.

More Year End Catcher Rankings after the jump:

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I was checking out Derek Carty's fantasy baseball chat over at Baseball Prospectus yesterday and came across this question:

Andrew (Las Vegas): This season's 1st round by ADP: Pujols, Hanley, Miggy, Longoria, Tulo, CarGo, Votto, Wright, AGon, Cano, Teixeira, and Braun. Who falls out next season? Who are candidates to enter the 1st round?

Derek Carty: I'm surprised Matt Kemp didn't make that list this year, and he'll definitely be on it next year. I think we also see Jose Bautista join the ranks as people finally buy into him. Jacoby Ellsbury seems fairly likely, and you might be able to make a case for Curtis Granderson. I think the best bets to fall out to make room include Wright, Teixeira, Longoria, and maybe a CarGo or Hanley.

Of the list provided by Andrew in his question for Derek, I can see half of the top 12 dropping out of the first round, including Hanley Ramirez, Evan Longoria, Carlos Gonzalez, Joey Votto, David Wright, and Mark Teixeira. I see no reason to draft Hanley Ramirez in the first round of 2012 drafts, after his shoulder surgery, his down year at the plate in 2011,  and his 3 year drop in power. Last November, I wrote this piece projecting my 2011 first round draft picks. It was an early look for sure, and my list included four hitters who turned out to be big busts in 2011. As high as I was on Matt Kemp, I should have included him in that list, but did not. I did include Kemp in my Top 12 NL-only hitters though.

My first round picks after the jump:

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Continuing my Midseason Fantasy Baseball Rankings, today I discuss the top starting pitcher rankings, with Tigers ace Justin Verlander just nudging Phillies ace Roy Halladay for the top spot. There are three Phillies, two Angels in the Top 12 rankings, and three starters from each of the NL East and NL West and AL East divisions.

Note: the stats included below are through Saturday 8/13/11

MIdseason Starting Pitcher Rankings:

1. Justin Verlander, DET-As I have been preaching in the daily Roundups, I think Verlander is the leader in the AL Cy Young award race and he is pulling away. He is 17-5 with a 2.35 ERA, 2.74 FIP and 2.97 xFIP, a 0.87 WHIP, a K/BB of 4.78 and a BAA of just .197.

2. Roy Halladay, PHI-Halladay is the leader in the NL Cy Young race, but I think he will have some competition from Dodgers young ace Clayton Kershaw this year. Halladay is 15-4 with a 2.51 ERA, 2.23 FIP, 2.62 xFIP, with a 1.05 WHIP, 7.41 K/BB, and a BAA of .240. He is on pace for another 20 win season, and the Phillies are set to make another World Series run.

More Midseason Starting Pitcher Rankings after the jump:

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