New York Yankees

Courtesy of Yankees 'n More

The New York Yankees might have an heir to aging star shortstop Derek Jeter.

The St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright will have Tommy John surgery on his right elbow and will miss the entire 2011 season. 

While this puts a major damper on the Cardinals playoff hopes, last year's Major League Baseball playoff participants are faced with questions of their own.

Whether it's the New York Yankees or the World Champion San Francisco Giants, each of these teams will have to address major concerns if they hope to play deep into October for consecutive seasons. 

Our 2011 fantasy baseball projections will be released one by one until the top 100 players have been revealed. These rankings consider past achievements, current performance and expected future results based on standard 5×5 H2H settings.

Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman tweeted this morning that "freddy garcia has leg up for no. 4 starter spot but its wide open for no. 5."

The veteran right-hander was signed this offseason by the Yankees to provide some depth for what looks to be a shaky back-end of the rotation.

With the rotation being headlined by ace CC Sabathia, young righty Phil Hughes and the inconsistent AJ Burnett, the Yankees are looking to capitalize on production from the final two spots.

I am uncertain what precise role it is that Hank Steinbrenner plays in the Evil Empire that is the New York Yankees, but I'm led to believe his duties are skill-free and singular in scope—be the blowhard son of George.

Or Boss Lite, if you will.

Hank is, of course, eminently qualified to perform this function because he is, in fact, papa George's boy, and he's doing a boffo job of being Boss Lite.

The New York Yankees are never short of drama, and at the start of spring training, ace CC Sabathia became the latest headline.

After finishing the 2008 season without making the playoffs, the Yankees went on an offseason spending spree. The team’s biggest purchase was ace Sabathia, who inked a monster contract worth $152 million to keep him in pinstripes for seven seasons.

There's nothing better than finding a pair of favorite sweatpants with a perfect fit.

Albert Pujols needs that. He's done all the Cardinals have asked and exceeded all expectations. In my eyes, I believe he deserves $30 million a season.

Look at what Alex Rodriguez does, and look at what Pujols does.

(Note: Rodriguez's stats are from 2001-2010 because Pujols entered the league in 2001)

Hank Steinbrenner indirectly called out Yankees captain Derek Jeter and his newly constructed mansion on Monday.

Steinbrenner implied the team was not focused in 2010 and was hungover from its 2009 World Series championship, saying: “Some of the players are too busy building mansions and other things and not concentrating on winning.”

The key to the Yankees' success in 2011 will be their starting rotation.

Included in the rotation are a few young guns and seasoned veterans.

Ultimately, this combination will have to work for the Yanks to compete with the Red Sox in 2011.

The offseason plan failed, as waiting for Cliff Lee backfired, leaving the Yankees in shambles, not knowing where to turn.

A few minor signings on pitchers such as Mark Prior, Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon could be low-risk, high-reward signings.

Anyway, here is a look at the projected 2011 rotation.

The average salary of a major league player at the beginning of the 2010 season was $3,340,133.

A full 2010 World Series share for each winning San Francisco Giants' player was $317,631.29. A loser's full share was $246,279.55 for each Texas Rangers' player that received a full share.