Preseason Power Rankings

Player	Total Points	Hitting	Pitching
Bill	81	39	42
Mugica	75	52	23
Hedlin	73	33	40
Karalis	70	34	36
TRUE	68	27	41
Gentile	67	37	30
Kain	66	28	38
Anderson	65	49	16
Settanni	63	26	37
DP	60	29	31
Crazy	50	21	29
Leon	42	15	27

2

5

The source of these figures above and lineups below was Blake's e-mail on April 1st.

Here are few thoughts on each team a couple weeks into the campaign.

#1 - Bill 81:

C	Victor Martinez, Det C, DH
1B	Ike Davis, NYM 1B S
2B	Jeff Keppinger, CWS 3B, 1B, 2B, DH
3B	Ryan Zimmerman, Wsh 3B S
SS	Asdrubal Cabrera, Cle SS
OF	Matt Kemp, LAD OF
OF	Matt Holliday, StL OF
OF	Desmond Jennings, TB OF
UTIL	Alex Gordon, KC OF

P	Jason Hammel, Bal SP
SP	Clayton Kershaw, LAD SP PP
SP	Johnny Cueto, Cin SP PP
SP	Josh Beckett, LAD SP
SP	Hyun-Jin Ryu, LAD SP
RP	Craig Kimbrel, Atl RP

I do love me some NL west pitching and this year is no different with 60% of the Dodgers rotation comprising my own.  Unfortunately this line-up leaves quite a bit to be desired.  The OF will hold their own and the addition of Han Ram sooner than later will help but this team must be willing to deal for some dongs.

#2 - Mugica 75:

C	Buster Posey, SF C, 1B
1B	Kevin Youkilis, NYY 3B, 1B S
2B	Jason Kipnis, Cle 2B
3B	Miguel Cabrera, Det 3B
SS	Erick Aybar, LAA SS
OF	Ryan Braun, Mil OF S
OF	B.J. Upton, Atl OF
OF	Jason Kubel, Ari OF  DTD
UTIL	Kyle Seager, Sea 3B

P	Jim Johnson, Bal RP
SP	James Shields, KC SP PP
SP	Brandon Morrow, Tor SP
SP	Dan Haren, Wsh SP
SP	Tim Hudson, Atl SP PP
RP	Grant Balfour, Oak RP

This is a rock solid lineup as Posey will come around and Todd Frazier seems to be the real deal.  Considering this team doesn't have a legitimate 3rd outfielder or utility player, you'd think the pitching staff would be among the best.  That is not the case with James Shields  anchoring an otherwise cast of clowns.

#3 - Hedlin 73:

Slot	Player
C	Wilin Rosario, Col C
1B	Ryan Howard, Phi 1B
2B	Dan Uggla, Atl 2B
3B	Mike Moustakas, KC 3B
SS	Elvis Andrus, Tex SS
OF	Carlos Gonzalez, Col OF
OF	Jason Heyward, Atl OF
OF	Justin Upton, Atl OF
UTIL	Marco Scutaro, SF 2B, SS

Slot	Player
P	Sergio Romo, SF RP
SP	Stephen Strasburg, Wsh SP PP
SP	Felix Hernandez, Sea SP PP
SP	Jeff Samardzija, ChC SP PP
SP	Jonathon Niese, NYM SP PP
RP	Chris Perez, Cle RP

JUp is having an MVP year and this team is well rounded in all categories.  The 3 headed monster of King Felix, Stras, and the Shark is frightening.  Imagine if there was a viable option at 3B on the roster.  If this team is able to round out the roster with some key acquisitions it could very well win the whole enchilada.

#4 - Karalis 70:

C	Carlos Santana, Cle C, 1B, DH
1B	Freddie Freeman, Atl 1B
2B	Neil Walker, Pit 2B S
3B	Evan Longoria, TB 3B, DH
SS	Josh Rutledge, Col SS
OF	Mike Trout, LAA OF
OF	Angel Pagan, SF OF
OF	Nelson Cruz, Tex OF
UTIL	Adam LaRoche, Wsh 1B S

P	Mariano Rivera, NYY RP
SP	Cole Hamels, Phi SP PP
SP	Madison Bumgarner, SF SP
SP	Jaime Garcia, StL SP
SP	Marco Estrada, Mil SP
RP	Fernando Rodney, TB RP

This lineup is anchored by Trout and Longoria with the balance primarily younger upside players with two wily veterans in Swisher and Big Papi.  Hamels will be fine and Bumgarner is a legit ace.  Guessing Kral would've let someone else draft Halladay if he could do it over again. All in all, this team has a strong chance to be competitive if the weekly lineups are managed properly.

#5 - True 68:

C	Salvador Perez, KC C
1B	Allen Craig, StL 1B, OF
2B	Brandon Phillips, Cin 2B  DTD
3B	David Wright, NYM 3B  DTD S
SS	Troy Tulowitzki, Col SS S
OF	Adam Jones, Bal OF
OF	Mark Trumbo, LAA OF, 1B, DH
OF	Chris Davis, Bal 1B, OF, DH
UTIL	Domonic Brown, Phi OF

P	Rafael Betancourt, Col RP
SP	Chris Sale, CWS SP PP
SP	Jered Weaver, LAA SP PP
SP	Mat Latos, Cin SP
SP	R.A. Dickey, Tor SP
RP	Huston Street, SD RP

Although Steven's days of picking up girls at the bar have vanished, his days of picking up usable fantasy baseball players are very much in play.  JP Arrencibia's early season production is the latest example.  This team also has a red hot Chris Davis and plenty of upside with Craig, Lawrie, Brown, Perez, and Puig all on the bench currently.  Although Dickey was clearly a one year wonder and Weaver seems well past his prime, this staff is still capable of leading True to a championship.  Sale, Latos, and Cobb are younger guys who've demonstrated consistency.

#6 - Gentile 67:

C	Mike Napoli, Bos C, 1B S
1B	Albert Pujols, LAA 1B, DH
2B	Howard Kendrick, LAA 2B
3B	Manny Machado, Bal 3B
SS	Ben Zobrist, TB OF, 2B, SS
OF	Yoenis Cespedes, Oak OF, DH
OF	Austin Jackson, Det OF
OF	Carl Crawford, LAD OF
UTIL	Edwin Encarnacion, Tor 1B, DH

P	Brandon McCarthy, Ari SP
SP	Adam Wainwright, StL SP PP
SP	Matt Moore, TB SP
SP	Josh Johnson, Tor SP
SP	Brett Anderson, Oak SP PP
RP	Joe Nathan, Tex RP

A declining Pujols is the franchise player but the lineup is well rounded with rebound veterans Napoli and Crawford and nice upside on the bench in Machado among others.  That said, in its current state I don't see this is as a championship team.  Wainwright and Moore are a rock solid #1 and #2 but the remainder of the staff leaves a lot to be desired.

#7 - Kain 66:

C	Joe Mauer, Min C, 1B, DH
1B	Billy Butler, KC 1B, DH
2B	Gordon Beckham, CWS 2B
3B	Pedro Alvarez, Pit 3B S
SS	Starlin Castro, ChC SS S
OF	Giancarlo Stanton, Mia OF S
OF	Melky Cabrera, Tor OF
OF	Alex Rios, CWS OF
UTIL	Kendrys Morales, Sea 1B, DH

P	Hiroki Kuroda, NYY SP
SP	Matt Cain, SF SP PP
SP	Yu Darvish, Tex SP
SP	Zack Greinke, LAD SP  DTD
SP	Ian Kennedy, Ari SP PP
RP	Rafael Soriano, Wsh RP  DTD

Once again Kain has put together an elite pitching staff coupled with a line-up full of more holes than our o-zone.  Stanton is one of the best hitters in the game but he has absolutely no protection in that fishy lineup.  Castro isn't a complete hitter yet, Melky is off the juice, and Wellington Castillo won't keep this up.

#8 - Anderson 65:

C	Yadier Molina, StL C
1B	Joey Votto, Cin 1B
2B	Ian Kinsler, Tex 2B
3B	Aramis Ramirez, Mil 3B S
SS	J.J. Hardy, Bal SS
OF	Josh Hamilton, LAA OF
OF	Michael Bourn, Cle OF
OF	Andre Ethier, LAD OF  DTD
UTIL	Prince Fielder, Det 1B

P	Tommy Hanson, LAA SP
SP	Gio Gonzalez, Wsh SP
SP	Doug Fister, Det SP
SP	Anibal Sanchez, Det SP
SP	Ryan Vogelsong, SF SP
RP	Bruce Rondon, Det RP

Where is the ace and where are the steals?  I think Hamilton is on the downswing after giving up the dip and outside of Prince, Votto, and Kinsler this lineup doesn't intimidate.  The pitching staff is decent but not nearly good enough to compensate for the lack of an ace.

#9 - Settanni 63:

C	Matt Wieters, Bal C
1B	Paul Goldschmidt, Ari 1B
2B	Jose Altuve, Hou 2B
3B	Adrian Beltre, Tex 3B, DH
SS	Jose Reyes, Tor SS
OF	Carlos Gomez, Mil OF  DTD S
OF	Hunter Pence, SF OF
OF	Carlos Beltran, StL OF
UTIL	Adrian Gonzalez, LAD 1B

P	Greg Holland, KC RP
SP	Cliff Lee, Phi SP
SP	Max Scherzer, Det SP
SP	Jeremy Hellickson, TB SP
SP	Alexi Ogando, Tex SP, RP
RP	Aroldis Chapman, Cin SP, RP

Before the Reyes injury, this team seemed primed to repeat as CNMFBL champions.  Assuming a stop gap can be found at SS and Mr. Settanni finds better use of his roster than holding 4 closers, this team will be right there.  Cliff Lee was an excellent value based addition.

#10 - Paul 60

C	Jesus Montero, Sea C, DH
1B	Anthony Rizzo, ChC 1B S
2B	Dustin Pedroia, Bos 2B S
3B	Martin Prado, Ari OF, 3B
SS	Alcides Escobar, KC SS
OF	Andrew McCutchen, Pit OF S
OF	Jay Bruce, Cin OF
OF	Josh Willingham, Min OF, DH
UTIL	Dexter Fowler, Col OF

P	Matt Harrison, Tex SP
SP	Justin Verlander, Det SP PP
SP	David Price, TB SP
SP	Yovani Gallardo, Mil SP PP
SP	Jon Lester, Bos SP PP
RP	John Axford, Mil RP

John Buck has already cooled off but it doesn't appear Fowler ever will.  Outside of Catcher, I can't find a weakness on this team and the pitching staff is absolutely stacked.  Although there isn't a franchise batter, I expect this team to remain competitive.  They may look to package an elite starter with a bat to bring some thump to the lineup.

#11 - Crazy 50

C	Miguel Montero, Ari C
1B	Adam Dunn, CWS 1B, DH
2B	Chase Utley, Phi 2B
3B	Will Middlebrooks, Bos 3B S
SS	Ian Desmond, Wsh SS S
OF	Jose Bautista, Tor OF
OF	Jacoby Ellsbury, Bos OF S
OF	Brett Gardner, NYY OF  DTD S
UTIL	Michael Morse, Sea OF

P	Joel Hanrahan, Bos RP
SP	Jordan Zimmermann, Wsh SP
SP	Kris Medlen, Atl SP, RP
SP	C.J. Wilson, LAA SP
SP	Matt Harvey, NYM SP
RP	Jonathan Papelbon, Phi RP

It should come as no surprise that this team was near the bottom of the rankings given the additional auction money left on the table.  This team could use a legit 1B, another OF option, and I doubt Harvey and Miller continue at their torrid pace.  That said, this team will be competitive and will ride the hot hands in the rotation.

#12 - Leon 42

C	A.J. Pierzynski, Tex C
1B	Paul Konerko, CWS 1B, DH
2B	Robinson Cano, NYY 2B  DTD S
3B	Michael Young, Phi 1B, 3B, DH
SS	Jimmy Rollins, Phi SS
OF	Alejandro De Aza, CWS OF
OF	Bryce Harper, Wsh OF S
OF	Shin-Soo Choo, Cin OF
UTIL	Dayan Viciedo, CWS OF

P	Addison Reed, CWS RP
SP	CC Sabathia, NYY SP PP
SP	Tim Lincecum, SF SP
SP	Jake Peavy, CWS SP
SP	Wade Miley, Ari SP  DTD
RP	J.J. Putz, Ari RP

Mr. Leon typically puts together a quality ballclub as evidenced by his finishes and championship to his name.  There must've been something in the craft brews he consumed at Emmit's because I'm just not seeing it with this squad.  Bryce Harper may end up as the fantasy mvp and Bobby Cano is one of the best hitters at a scarce position but CC, Peavy, and Lincecum are not going to pitch like it's 2009.