Rankings/List

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.

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.

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.

After batting .301 with 70 steals in 2009, Jacoby Ellsbury made a strong case for being selected as a top 20 player at this time last season.

Every year during spring training, there are some prospects that are much more hyped up than others.

As we saw last year when he reached the majors, Stephen Strasburg lived up to the hype. However, for every player like Strasburg, there is another player who is undeserving of the hype that he receives.

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Here’s an early look at the N.L. only 2011 shortstop rankings.

1. Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies: It’s really a toss-up between Tulo and HanRam. They are both five-category players. I prefer Tulo because of his ballpark and lineup.

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.

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.

I am finally at the end of my series examining the relative strengths and weaknesses of the teams in the AL East, on a position-by-position basis. The players at each position have been ranked in relation to their peers within the division, with each team being assigned points based on where their player ranks in comparison to the other players.

Today, the series concludes with a look at the Designated Hitters.

The best player will earn 10 points for his team, with the remaining players being assigned points as follows: 7-5-3-1.

Plenty of fantasy writers, magazines, websites, etc. offer rankings. Positional rankings. Top 10s. Top 20s. Rankings by statistical category.

Each set of rankings typically factor in a combination of past player performances, lineup protection, run support, stadium tendencies (hitters’ park vs. a pitchers’ park), injuries, opportunities for promotion, etc. However, the biggest part of any preseason fantasy ranking involves predictions, projections and overall guesswork.

Here’s an early look at the 2011 AL-only shortstop rankings:

1. Elvis Andrus, Texas Rangers: The better shortstops reside in the National League, so there isn’t a clear-cut number one in AL-only leagues. I like Andrus because of his ability to score runs and steal bases. He could easily lead AL shortstops in both categories.