2008 Fantasy Baseball Rankings -- Position by Position

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Jan. 17, 2008
David Gonos
Senior Fantasy Writer
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These are our initial rankings for the 2008 Fantasy Baseball season. These rankings are based off of Rotisserie play, for the most part, but can still be quite useful for Head-to-Head owners as well.
Position eligibility is determined by 20 games played last season. You'll notice that there aren't as many dual-eligible Fantasy studs as in previous years, which makes players like Carlos Guillen and B.J. Upton a little more valuable this year. That's mainly because they are big hitters with middle-infield eligibility.

Top 40 Catchers
RK	Player	TM	RK	Player	TM
1	Martinez, Victor	CLE	21	Towles, J.R.	HOU
2	Martin, Russell	LAD	22	Napoli, Mike	LAA
3	Mauer, Joe	MIN	23	Molina, Yadier	STL
4	McCann, Brian	ATL	24	Bard, Josh	SD
5	Posada, Jorge	NYY	25	Schneider, Brian	NYM
6	Johjima, Kenji	SEA	26	Kendall, Jason	MIL
7	Molina, Bengie	SF	27	Torrealba, Yorvit	COL
8	Varitek, Jason	BOS	28	Barrett, Michael	SD
9	Saltalamacchia, Jarrod	TEX	29	Navarro, Dioner	TB
10	Rodriguez, Ivan	DET	30	Laird, Gerald	TEX
11	Hernandez, Ramon	BAL	31	Ross, David	CIN
12	Doumit, Ryan	PIT	32	Zaun, Gregg	TOR
13	Lo Duca, Paul	WAS	33	Montero, Miguel	ARI
14	Pierzynski, A.J.	CHW	34	Mathis, Jeff	LAA
15	Paulino, Ronny	PIT	35	Valentin, Javier	CIN
16	Buck, John	KC	36	Shoppach, Kelly	CLE
17	Ruiz, Carlos	PHI	37	Redmond, Mike	MIN
18	Snyder, Chris	ARI	38	Thigpen, Curtis	TOR
19	Soto, Geovany	CHC	39	Clement, Jeff	SEA
20	Suzuki, Kurt	OAK	40	Castro, Ramon	NYM

Top 40 First Basemen
RK	Player	TM	RK	Player	TM
1	Pujols, Albert	STL	21	LaRoche, Adam	PIT
2	Howard, Ryan	PHI	22	Huff, Aubrey	BAL
3	Fielder, Prince	MIL	23	Kotchman, Casey	LAA
4	Teixeira, Mark	ATL	24	Overbay, Lyle	TOR
5	Berkman, Lance	HOU	25	Sexson, Richie	SEA
6	Martinez, Victor	CLE	26	Jacobs, Mike	FLA
7	Lee, Derrek	CHC	27	Jackson, Conor	ARI
8	Morneau, Justin	MIN	28	Votto, Joey	CIN
9	Gonzalez, Adrian	SD	29	Barton, Daric	OAK
10	Pena, Carlos	TB	30	Johnson, Nick	WAS
11	Konerko, Paul	CHW	31	Young, Dmitri	WAS
12	Swisher, Nick	CHW	32	Garciaparra, Nomar	LAD
13	Guillen, Carlos	DET	33	Johnson, Dan	OAK
14	Loney, James	LAD	34	Thames, Marcus	DET
15	Helton, Todd	COL	35	Stairs, Matt	TOR
16	Youkilis, Kevin	BOS	36	Millar, Kevin	BAL
17	Gordon, Alex	KC	37	Broussard, Ben	TEX
18	Delgado, Carlos	NYM	38	Wilkerson, Brad	FA
19	Saltalamacchia, Jarrod	TEX	39	Shelton, Chris	TEX
20	Garko, Ryan	CLE	40	Lamb, Mike	MIN

Top 40 Second basemen
RK	Player	TM	RK	Player	TM
1	Utley, Chase	PHI	21	Wigginton, Ty	HOU
2	Phillips, Brandon	CIN	22	Lopez, Felipe	WAS
3	Cano, Robinson	NYY	23	Aybar, Erick	LAA
4	Upton, B.J.	TB	24	Iguchi, Tadahito	SD
5	Roberts, Brian	BAL	25	Ellis, Mark	OAK
6	Uggla, Dan	FLA	26	Lopez, Jose	SEA
7	Kinsler, Ian	TEX	27	DeRosa, Mark	CHC
8	Weeks, Rickie	MIL	28	Cabrera, Asdrubal	CLE
9	Johnson, Kelly	ATL	29	Durham, Ray	SF
10	Kendrick, Howie	LAA	30	Casilla, Alexi	MIN
11	Kent, Jeff	LAD	31	Richar, Danny	CHW
12	Polanco, Placido	DET	32	Izturis, Maicer	LAA
13	Hudson, Orlando	ARI	33	Harris, Brendan	MIN
14	Pedroia, Dustin	BOS	34	Barfield, Josh	CLE
15	Hill, Aaron	TOR	35	Burke, Chris	ARI
16	Sanchez, Freddy	PIT	36	Grudzielanek, Mark	KC
17	Castillo, Luis	NYM	37	Belliard, Ronnie	WAS
18	Escobar, Yunel	ATL	38	German, Esteban	KC
19	Matsui, Kaz	HOU	39	Giles, Marcus	COL
20	Theriot, Ryan	CHC	40	Kennedy, Adam	STL

Top 40 Shortstops
RK	Player	TM	RK	Player	TM
1	Reyes, Jose	NYM	21	Lopez, Felipe	WAS
2	Ramirez, Hanley	FLA	22	Aybar, Erick	LAA
3	Rollins, Jimmy	PHI	23	Betancourt, Yuniesky	SEA
4	Jeter, Derek	NYY	24	Harris, Brendan	MIN
5	Tulowitzki, Troy	COL	25	Eckstein, David	TOR
6	Tejada, Miguel	HOU	26	Wilson, Jack	PIT
7	Young, Michael	TEX	27	Uribe, Juan	CHW
8	Guillen, Carlos	DET	28	Gonzalez, Alex	CIN
9	Cabrera, Orlando	CHW	29	Izturis, Cesar	STL
10	++++++, Khalil	SD	30	Guzman, Cristian	WAS
11	Furcal, Rafael	LAD	31	Pena, Tony	KC
12	Renteria, Edgar	DET	32	Vizquel, Omar	SF
13	Hardy, J.J.	MIL	33	Everett, Adam	MIN
14	Peralta, Jhonny	CLE	34	Cedeno, Ronny	CHC
15	Drew, Stephen	ARI	35	Loretta, Mark	HOU
16	Escobar, Yunel	ATL	36	Murphy, Donnie	OAK
17	Crosby, Bobby	OAK	37	Arias, Joaquin	TEX
18	Lugo, Julio	BOS	38	Frandsen, Kevin	SF
19	Theriot, Ryan	CHC	39	Scutaro, Marco	TOR
20	Bartlett, Jason	TB	40	Ryan, Brendan	STL

Top 40 Third Basemen
RK	Player	TM	RK	Player	TM
1	Rodriguez, Alex	NYY	21	Blake, Casey	CLE
2	Wright, David	NYM	22	Mora, Melvin	BAL
3	Cabrera, Miguel	DET	23	DeRosa, Mark	CHC
4	Braun, Ryan J.	MIL	24	Kouzmanoff, Kevin	SD
5	Jones, Chipper	ATL	25	Rolen, Scott	TOR
6	Atkins, Garrett	COL	26	Crede, Joe	CHW
7	Ramirez, Aramis	CHC	27	Longoria, Evan	TB
8	Figgins, Chone	LAA	28	Bautista, Jose	PIT
9	Zimmerman, Ryan	WAS	29	Iwamura, Akinori	TB
10	Lowell, Mike	BOS	30	Izturis, Maicer	LAA
11	Beltre, Adrian	SEA	31	Garciaparra, Nomar	LAD
12	Gordon, Alex	KC	32	Tracy, Chad	ARI
13	Fields, Josh	CHW	33	Inge, Brandon	DET
14	Blalock, Hank	TEX	34	Feliz, Pedro	FA
15	Escobar, Yunel	ATL	35	LaRoche, Andy	LAD
16	Glaus, Troy	STL	36	McPherson, Dallas	FA
17	Encarnacion, Edwin	CIN	37	Stewart, Ian	COL
18	Reynolds, Mark	ARI	38	Betemit, Wilson	NYY
19	Chavez, Eric	OAK	39	Lamb, Mike	MIN
20	Wigginton, Ty	HOU	40	Wood, Brandon	LAA

Top 100 Outfielders
RK	Player	TM	RK	Player	TM
1	Holliday, Matt	COL	51	Duncan, Chris	STL
2	Guerrero, Vladimir	LAA	52	Scott, Luke	BAL
3	Sizemore, Grady	CLE	53	Crisp, Coco	BOS
4	Crawford, Carl	TB	54	Maybin, Cameron	FLA
5	Soriano, Alfonso	CHC	55	Bonds, Barry	FA
6	Beltran, Carlos	NYM	56	Cabrera, Melky	NYY
7	Ordonez, Magglio	DET	57	Bourn, Michael	HOU
8	Ramirez, Manny	BOS	58	Fields, Josh	CHW
9	Lee, Carlos	HOU	59	Patterson, Corey	FA
10	Suzuki, Ichiro	SEA	60	Doumit, Ryan	PIT
11	Rios, Alex	TOR	61	Alou, Moises	NYM
12	Berkman, Lance	HOU	62	Anderson, Garret	LAA
13	Upton, B.J.	TB	63	Kearns, Austin	WAS
14	Granderson, Curtis	DET	64	Winn, Randy	SF
15	Markakis, Nick	BAL	65	DeJesus, David	KC
16	Dunn, Adam	CIN	66	Cameron, Mike	MIL
17	Hunter, Torii	LAA	67	Matthews, Gary	LAA
18	Byrnes, Eric	ARI	68	Willits, Reggie	LAA
19	Abreu, Bobby	NYY	69	Hall, Bill	MIL
20	Pence, Hunter	HOU	70	Ankiel, Rick	STL
21	Wells, Vernon	TOR	71	Buck, Travis	OAK
22	Swisher, Nick	OAK	72	Nady, Xavier	PIT
23	Hart, Corey	MIL	73	Ethier, Andre	LAD
24	Matsui, Hideki	NYY	74	Jones, Adam	SEA
25	Francoeur, Jeff	ATL	75	Upton, Justin	ARI
26	Young, Delmon	MIN	76	Milledge, Lastings	WAS
27	Young, Chris B.	ARI	77	Church, Ryan	NYM
28	Hawpe, Brad	COL	78	Pie, Felix	CHC
29	Pierre, Juan	LAD	79	Bradley, Milton	TEX
30	Jones, Andruw	LAD	80	Edmonds, Jim	SD
31	Griffey, Ken	CIN	81	Pena, Wily Mo	WAS
32	Rowand, Aaron	SF	82	Quentin, Carlos	CHW
33	Victorino, Shane	PHI	83	Kubel, Jason	MIN
34	Bay, Jason	PIT	84	Gathright, Joey	KC
35	Damon, Johnny	NYY	85	Gomes, Jonny	TB
36	Hermida, Jeremy	FLA	86	Pearce, Steve	PIT
37	Dye, Jermaine	CHW	87	Murton, Matt	CHC
38	Kemp, Matt	LAD	88	McLouth, Nate	PIT
39	Ibanez, Raul	SEA	89	Lind, Adam	TOR
40	Taveras, Willy	COL	90	Podsednik, Scott	FA
41	Burrell, Pat	PHI	91	Giles, Brian	SD
42	Hamilton, Josh	CIN	92	DeRosa, Mark	CHC
43	Fukudome, Kosuke	CHC	93	Rivera, Juan	LAA
44	Willingham, Josh	FLA	94	Freel, Ryan	CIN
45	Drew, J.D.	BOS	95	Owens, Jerry	CHW
46	Baldelli, Rocco	TB	96	Jenkins, Geoff	PHI
47	Guillen, Jose	KC	97	Diaz, Matt	ATL
48	Cuddyer, Michael	MIN	98	Anderson, Josh	ATL
49	Teahen, Mark	KC	99	Roberts, Dave	SF
50	Ellsbury, Jacoby	BOS	100	Lofton, Kenny	FA

Top 12 Designated Hitters
RK	Player	TM	RK	Player	TM
1	Ortiz, David	BOS	7	Thomas, Frank	TOR
2	Hafner, Travis	CLE	8	Sosa, Sammy	FA
3	Giambi, Jason	NYY	9	Duncan, Shelley	NYY
4	Thome, Jim	CHW	10	Vidro, Jose	SEA
5	Sheffield, Gary	DET	11	Piazza, Mike	FA
6	Butler, Billy	KC	12	Sweeney, Mike	FA

Top 100 Starting Pitchers
RK	Player	TM	RK	Player	TM
1	Santana, Johan	MIN	51	Garland, Jon	LAA
2	Peavy, Jake	SD	52	Hughes, Phil	NYY
3	Webb, Brandon	ARI	53	McGowan, Dustin	TOR
4	Beckett, Josh	BOS	54	Snell, Ian	PIT
5	Sabathia, C.C.	CLE	55	Gorzelanny, Tom	PIT
6	Verlander, Justin	DET	56	Buehrle, Mark	CHW
7	Haren, Dan	ARI	57	Meche, Gil	KC
8	Halladay, Roy	TOR	58	Arroyo, Bronson	CIN
9	Bedard, Erik	BAL	59	Guthrie, Jeremy	BAL
10	Lackey, John	LAA	60	Lester, Jon	BOS
11	Zambrano, Carlos	CHC	61	Jimenez, Ubaldo	COL
12	Hamels, Cole	PHI	62	Millwood, Kevin	TEX
13	Oswalt, Roy	HOU	63	Lowry, Noah	SF
14	Myers, Brett	PHI	64	Marcum, Shaun	TOR
15	Harang, Aaron	CIN	65	Greinke, Zack	KC
16	Hernandez, Felix	SEA	66	Bannister, Brian	KC
17	Carmona, Fausto	CLE	67	Maddux, Greg	SD
18	Smoltz, John	ATL	68	Byrd, Paul	CLE
19	Kazmir, Scott	TB	69	Kennedy, Ian	NYY
20	Penny, Brad	LAD	70	Glavine, Tom	ATL
21	Wang, Chien-Ming	NYY	71	Kuroda, Hiroki	LAD
22	Matsuzaka, Daisuke	BOS	72	Robertson, Nate	DET
23	Weaver, Jered	LAA	73	Mussina, Mike	NYY
24	Sheets, Ben	MIL	74	Colon, Bartolo	FA
25	Escobar, Kelvim	LAA	75	Cook, Aaron	COL
26	Vazquez, Javier	CHW	76	Morales, Franklin	COL
27	Hudson, Tim	ATL	77	Schmidt, Jason	LAD
28	Burnett, A.J.	TOR	78	Garza, Matt	TB
29	Liriano, Francisco	MIN	79	Johnson, Randy	ARI
30	Young, Chris R.	SD	80	Westbrook, Jake	CLE
31	Cain, Matt	SF	81	Bailey, Homer	CIN
32	Billingsley, Chad	LAD	82	Rodriguez, Wandy	HOU
33	Francis, Jeff	COL	83	Olsen, Scott	FLA
34	Blanton, Joe	OAK	84	James, Chuck	ATL
35	Perez, Oliver	NYM	85	Jurrjens, Jair	ATL
36	Maine, John	NYM	86	Slowey, Kevin	MIN
37	Hill, Rich	CHC	87	Kendrick, Kyle	PHI
38	Lincecum, Tim	SF	88	Loewen, Adam	BAL
39	Willis, Dontrelle	DET	89	Wakefield, Tim	BOS
40	Gallardo, Yovani	MIL	90	Owings, Micah	ARI
41	Pettitte, Andy	NYY	91	Bush, Dave	MIL
42	Martinez, Pedro	NYM	92	Hill, Shawn	WAS
43	Schilling, Curt	BOS	93	Marquis, Jason	CHC
44	Lowe, Derek	LAD	94	Hirsh, Jason	COL
45	Bonderman, Jeremy	DET	95	Reyes, Anthony	STL
46	Wainwright, Adam	STL	96	Wolf, Randy	SD
47	Zito, Barry	SF	97	Buchholz, Clay	BOS
48	Shields, James	TB	98	Santana, Ervin	LAA
49	Lilly, Ted	CHC	99	Hernandez, Livan	FA
50	Harden, Rich	OAK	100	Padilla, Vicente	TEX

Top 50 Relief Pitchers
RK	Player	TM	RK	Player	TM
1	Papelbon, Jonathan	BOS	26	Gagne, Eric	MIL
2	Rodriguez, Francisco	LAA	27	Percival, Troy	TB
3	Putz, J.J.	SEA	28	Marcum, Shaun	TOR
4	Rivera, Mariano	NYY	29	Greinke, Zack	KC
5	Jenks, Bobby	CHW	30	Soria, Joakim	KC
6	Nathan, Joe	MIN	31	Wilson, Brian	SF
7	Valverde, Jose	HOU	32	Marmol, Carlos	CHC
8	Saito, Takashi	LAD	33	Wood, Kerry	CHC
9	Myers, Brett	PHI	34	Gregg, Kevin	FLA
10	Wagner, Billy	NYM	35	Howry, Bob	CHC
11	Soriano, Rafael	ATL	36	Wilson, C.J.	TEX
12	Cordero, Francisco	CIN	37	Broxton, Jonathan	LAD
13	Hoffman, Trevor	SD	38	Walker, Jamie	BAL
14	Street, Huston	OAK	39	Neshek, Pat	MIN
15	Isringhausen, Jason	STL	40	Betancourt, Rafael	CLE
16	Lidge, Brad	PHI	41	Ryan, B.J.	TOR
17	Corpas, Manuel	COL	42	Heilman, Aaron	NYM
18	Cordero, Chad	WAS	43	Shields, Scot	LAA
19	Jones, Todd	DET	44	Hennessey, Brad	SF
20	Billingsley, Chad	LAD	45	Okajima, Hideki	BOS
21	Borowski, Joe	CLE	46	Rodney, Fernando	DET
22	Chamberlain, Joba	NYY	47	Dotel, Octavio	FA
23	Accardo, Jeremy	TOR	48	Lyon, Brandon	ARI
24	Pena, Tony A.	ARI	49	Qualls, Chad	ARI
25	Capps, Matt	PIT	50	Fuentes, Brian	COL

While I plan on keeping these rankings current through the spring, they are by no means instantly automated, so a free agents signing could affect an entire group. Feel free to shoot me a note if there is a mistake -- or you just plain disagree. All emails are read -- but not necessarily answered because of sheer volume. Send your comments and suggestions to me by clicking on my Columnist page and sending a note through the feedback form.