Ryan Braun

Our fourth stop on the 30 in 30 is the Milwaukee Brewers.

Due to my schedule preventing me from writing yesterday, I'll be making up for it by covering two teams today. Consider it a 2-for-...Wednesday? Something like that.

The brew crew finished the 2010 season one game ahead of the Astros, two games ahead of the Cubs and nine games back of the Cardinals.

Ryan Braun is a very good player. According to the MLB Network, he's the top left fielder in the game today.

In fact, Braun's numbers have been so good for the Brewers since joining the team in May 2007 that the argument can easily be made he's off to a Hall of Fame start to his career.

However, Braun's numbers have declined steadily since winning the NL Rookie of the Year award that season, and he needs a strong bounce-back in 2011 to re-establish himself as one of game's best players.

For the past several seasons, most people felt the National League Central was the St. Louis Cardinals and "everyone else." However, since the 2005 season, every team in the division has appeared in the playoffs with the exception of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In acquiring the 2009 AL Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke, Milwaukee Brewers GM Doug Melvin signaled to his team and fanbase that he has extremely high hopes for the 2011 season. The move not only solidified a greatly improved rotation, but assured Prince Fielder will remain in Milwaukee and not be traded.

Are the Brewers now the class of the NL Central or just one of several contenders for the division crown?

With the ungodly signing of Jayson Werth to a seven-year, $126 million contract the cost of outfield help has gone through the roof. The Tigers are most likely working pretty hard to get a deal in place with Magglio Ordonez to be the right fielder in 2011. However, because of the lack of outfield depth on the free-agent market, Ordonez might be able to land a ridiculous deal. If that happens the Tigers may be forced to look to the trade market.

By many accounts, Ryan Braun disappointed in 2010.  A certainty in the first round heading into the year, his performance has left many fantasy owners on the fence on whether they should once again spend an early-round pick on him.

Let’s take a look (please note, when I talk about the first round, I am referring to a standard, 12-team league):

The 2005 MLB Draft has brought in some of the youngest and greatest hitters of todays game. Not only hitters, but pitchers too.

The 2005 Draft has created a pool of young, power hitting, power pitching athletes that are some of the best in todays game.

Here is a look at some of these athletes that clubs took a chance on, and came into the bigs surprising everyone.

Begin Slideshow

When Ryan Braun was named an outfield starter for the National League in the 2010 Summer Classic yesterday—his third straight such honor—the 26-year-old entered uncharted territory for the Milwaukee Brewers.

By getting a third nod (a third consecutive one at that) Braun surpassed the two faces permanently etched on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore: Robin Yount and Paul Molitor, both of whom earned two All-Star Game starts.

Power and Speed, two of the five essential “tools” or skills that baseball players are said to possess, and they are lethal when combined. Players like Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Bobby Bonds, Dale Murphy, Barry Bonds*, Daryl Strawberry, Alex Rodriguez, Alfonso Soriano and Hanley Ramirez all have used their unique combination of power and speed to join one of the most elite fraternities in Major League Baseball. The 30/30 Club. 

With close to 50 games in the bag, some player trends are starting to mold. There are some huge surprises on the list and many big names are missing. Pujols, Howard, Fielder, A-Rod, Teixeira are all guys that missed this list.

Here are your top 10 fantasy players thus far. Four are pitchers and 6 are position players. They are not necessarily in any order. Andre Ethier has been left off the list due to injury.

Begin Slideshow