Ian Kinsler

Often, it is not the most talented player who ends up being the most valuable player for his respective team. A player making $1 million can be much more valuable than a player making $10 million if they produce similar results

A great example of this is Adrian Gonzalez of 2010. With the Padres, he was playing for a very low sum of money despite being among the league's best first basemen. While Albert Pujols may have out-produced Gonzalez in 2010, he was far more costly. Thus, Gonzalez was more valuable to his team than Pujols.

Second base is a position that has numerous youngsters who could make their presence felt as soon as 2011.  Jason Kipnis, Dustin Ackley and Brett Lawrie could all eventually join the elite at the position, but first they need to make their MLB debuts.  How should they be ranked by fantasy owners in keeper leagues?  Let’s take a look:

Once upon a time in fantasy baseball, second base was shallower than Paris Hilton at a Larry the Cable Guy event. It was as epic as Mariah Carey’s movie, “Glitter.”

Now, the position has morphed into so much more. It has drama, glitz, and glamor. It’s a regular Oscar contender. I’ll call it “The Good, The Bad and The Uggla.”

Over the past year, Ian Kinsler has been steadily falling down people's wish lists and deservedly so. He has never been able to shake the injury bug as he has only played in more than 130 games once in his five-year career. Most recently, Kinsler is coming off an injury-riddled campaign where he only amassed nine home runs and 15 steals. Those number are not really meeting the expectations of the top 20 player that we all envisioned him to be.

The New York Yankees won game one of the American League Championship Series 6-5, defeating the Texas Rangers at home in dramatic fashion.

After looking stymied by the pitching of CJ Wilson throughout the first seven innings, the Yankees staged a ferocious comeback, scoring five runs in the eighth inning to take the lead.

How did the Yankees perform? I've graded the performances of CC Sabathia and other contributing factors to the Yankees victory.

If the Wild Card system in Major League Baseball had any remaining detractors entering this season's Division Series round of postseason play—and it did—the pair of excellent series (San Francisco-Atlanta and Texas-Tampa Bay) may have wooed them all.

As we approach the second week of the fantasy baseball playoffs and the second round of the playoff games, it’s critical to take note of those players who are white-hot and how they can help your fantasy baseball lineup from here on out.

Ian Kinsler cranked a two-out, bases-empty home run in the top of the fourth inning of Thursday's Game 2 of the American League Division Series, giving the Texas Rangers a 2-0 lead over the Tampa Bay Rays.

The bomb could go a long way toward earning the Rangers a far more important 2-0 lead—in the ALDS, that is.

Kinsler's shot was sweet redemption after he grounded out with a runner on second base in the second inning, and came on a fastball from the homer-prone Jame Shields of the Rays.

The Texas Rangers clinched the first division title in 11 years, and eagerly await the chance to gain more respect while competing against the beasts of the AL East.

Given the inexperience of the young Rangers and the health of Josh Hamilton, Texas could again find itself staring at an early exit from the postseason.

Here’s a look at why the AL West champions won’t be hanging around for too long this year.

Begin Slideshow

A few weeks ago, the Editors at the Bleacher Report asked me to write a piece on why getting Cliff Lee was going to make the Texas Rangers World Series participants.