Fantasy

Everybody knows two things about Dallas Braden. He threw a Perfect Game last year, and he is not intimidated by anyone. Bravado aside, the question remains whether or not he should be part of your fantasy team. A look at his career record of 25-35 would suggest not, but we know how wins can be a tricky measure to gauge a pitcher.

David Wright will set the tone for third basemen during the 2011 Fantasy Baseball season, but he'll have some competition for the top spot from Alex Rodriguez, Evan Longoria and Ryan Zimmerman.

The biggest story to watch is Jose Bautista. Can he repeat his Major League leading 54 home runs from 2010?

If he shows that last year wasn't a fluke, he'll vault into the ranks of the other "elite" third basemen.

We all want to win the league championship this season.

Sure, we play for fun, but we also want to win. Some of us are in leagues with cash prizes, and others just play for trophies. Ultimately the goal is the same ... VICTORY!

But what are we doing today to take home the trophy tomorrow?

I offer you all a little appetizer to get the ball rolling and help you realize that championship potential inside you. Every great endeavor, no matter how small, begins with the first step.

Let’s take a look at a few tidbits regarding some of the top prospects in the game:

Any time you can follow one of the five best starters in the American League (Justin Verlander) with a guy who has averaged more than a strikeout per inning over his career (Max Scherzer), you’ve got the makings of a good rotation.  After that, though, the Tigers need some things to go their way to make it a successful season.

As spring training gets underway in Florida and Arizona, we take one last look at the recent Major League Baseball offseason and how the various trades and acquisitions will affect the fantasy landscape for 2011.

Tier 1 – Joe Mauer

2009 was a disaster for the New York Mets. It seemed that if something could go wrong, it did. 2010 wasn’t much better for the Mets, but at least David Wright (.283-87-29-103-19) and Jose Reyes (.282-83-11-54-30) rebounded.

Shortstop is the shallowest position in fantasy baseball this season, so plan accordingly.

If you can't grab a guy like Hanley Ramirez or Troy Tulowitzki, wait until a late round to grab some of the other guys on this top 10 list.

Guys like Stephen Drew and Alexei Ramirez will be decent, but they aren't worth taking in the first seven or eight rounds of your draft.

Before the 2008 season, Baseball America named Wade Davis the 17th-best prospect in all of baseball.

Then in 2009, Davis resurfaced on the list as No. 32, and in 2010 he reappeared as No. 34.