Preview/Prediction

The NFL season is almost over, and the 2011 MLB season is getting closer and closer.

2011 MLB Predictions are all the rage, and the new year will see some of the game's top players reach some important milestones.

There won't be any Barry Bondses breaking the home run record, and no one is taking out Cal Ripken's consecutive games streak anytime soon, but that doesn't mean there won't be any milestones reached.

Here are 10 players who will do just that.

At first glance, it would appear as if the Toronto Blue Jays have had a quiet offseason.

There were no big contracts, no major deals, no guys named Greinke or Ramirez. 

In fact, they seemed to lose more players than they acquired: Scott Downs, Brian Tallet, Kevin Gregg, All-Star catcher John Buck and first baseman Lyle Overbay have all signed elsewhere. 

Oh, and they traded Shaun Marcum, their Opening Day starter, for prospect Brett Lawrie.

The Houston Astros decided about halfway through last season that it was time to enter that period that no fan wants to hear, and that is rebuilding. The Astros decided to trade away the only remaining players from that 2005 team that made the World Series.

The Metropolitans were seventh in team ERA (3.73) in 2010. Impressive right? You bet. But in fantasy terms, the Mets starting pitchers are merely irrelevant.

As for Johan Santana, who will likely miss the first half of the season recovering from shoulder surgery, it will be tough to determine what ADP (average draft position) is suitable.

The 2010 MLB season was arguably the most surprising of any in recent memory. From the bevy of no-hitters to the San Francisco Giants and the Texas Rangers meeting in the World Series, there was no shortage of outcomes that would have left fans scratching their heads had they been told how the season would turn out beforehand.

No baseball story line from 2010 garnered more intrigue, however, than that of Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Jose Bautista.

The fifth spot of the rotation is usually the most volatile one, and teams can go through any number of pitchers in the last spot over the course of a season.

Ineffective, injury-prone or young pitchers usually find themselves bringing up the rear of the rotation, and short spouts of poor performance will get a pitcher pulled out of the rotation quicker than its more established members.

The Indians front office, as usual, was relatively dormant in the offseason. By now, everyone has heard the joke: "were the Indians even AT the Winter Meetings?". 

Still, with the ever-looming budget restrictions in mind, first-year GM Chris Antonetti made a series of smaller moves designed to support the team's core of young players. 

With so many of the Indians' offseason signings being minor league contracts for players who may not even make the Opening Day roster, it is difficult to grade Antonetti's performance before a single pitch has been thrown. 

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.

The top-tier free agents are off the board, but while Jayson Werth and Cliff Lee have comfortable new homes, Vladimir Guerrero, Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon are still looking for work. Several key trades have already been made, but there are gathering whispers about the New York Yankees trading for a starting pitcher, and a number of deals will still be made before pitchers and catchers report next month.

With their most recent acquisition of outfielder Marcus Thames, the Los Angeles Dodgers not only achieved an addition of power to the roster, but they also balanced the bats in the process. Thames will join a solid corps of outfielders who individually feature power, speed, and reliable defense.