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The purpose of Value Picks is to point out some names that have not been getting the attention they deserve on draft day. The focus of this article will be finding value at a thin position, second base.

1. Dan Uggla—Currently ranked No. 34 by Yahoo Fantasy Baseball

Last Season’s Statistics:

Very impressive stat line for Uggla last year which left him at No. 18 in Yahoo’s 2010 rankings. In addition to his finish last year, he has now moved into the Braves lineup where he should thrive. Plan on a finish closer to last year’s 18 than the 34 Yahoo has tagged him with this season.

2. Kelly Johnson—Currently ranked No. 98 by Yahoo Fantasy Baseball

Last Season’s Statistics:

I think Johnson is getting a raw deal even from Yahoo. When it comes down to it, fantasy is all about offense. And the stats Johnson put up last year were very solid, especially for second base. The fact that he has his defensive liabilities, while soon to frustrate Diamondback fans on a regular basis, have not impact from a fantasy perspective as long as he keeps his job.

3. Brian Roberts—Currently ranked No. 104 by Yahoo Fantasy Baseball

Last Season’s Statistics:

Admittedly, those stats are probably deserving of a much lower ranking. However, Roberts was injured much of last season and only played in 59 games. Coming into this season healthy and with an upgraded lineup around him, it’s not unreasonable to expect a stat line more along the lines of his 2009 season:

Those numbers were strong enough to find him ranked as the 47th best player in Yahoo. Not bad for a player you will likely be able to grab as late as the 10th round of your draft.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Today, the common baseball fan wakes up from his winter hibernation. Eleven teams will start their workouts today in preparation for the 2011 season.

This is sure to be a season filled with great teams, great players, great games, and great moments. But there are still lots of questions to be answered during the season.

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Spring Training is less than a month away and with that comes the start of many fantasy baseball leagues.  Owners, if your looking to put together that unstoppable team, don’t stress about who are steals and who are busts.  Here is a preview of the top 100 fantasy players for the 2011 season.     

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Coming off a career season, New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano has hired agent-to-the-stars, Scott Boras, with a big payday in 2014 on his mind. Yes, I know what you’re thinking:

“That’s three years away. We’ll worry about it then.”

Right now, the Yankees’ decision to buy out Cano’s final arbitration years is the bargain of the century. Cano has a team option for 2012 and 2013 for $14 and $15 million respectively.

Last season, Cano batted .319 with 29 home runs and 109 RBI. He set career-highs in almost every offensive category and finished third in MVP voting. According to FanGraphs.com, Cano’s 2010 season was worth over $25 million to the Yankees.

So if Cano can even come close to repeating last season’s performance over the next three years, what kind of payday will Boras net his new client?

There are a lot of factors to consider here, and they all point to a huge contract for Cano. First, if this year’s offseason is any indication as to where baseball is headed, it means lots of years and big money for Cano.

There were more $100 million contracts given out this offseason than any previous year. The Boston Red Sox gave Carl Crawford $142 million over seven years, while the Washington Nationals gave Jayson Werth $126 million over seven years.

Cano will be younger than both Crawford and Werth when the time comes to talk contracts.

Second, the Yankees need to lock up their young talent, amidst a core of aging superstars. Andy Pettitte just officially announced his retirement, turning the fabled “Core Four” into the core three. For all intents and purposes, 2011 appears to be Jorge Posada’s last season in pinstripes, so soon it will be the core two.

Derek Jeter is 36 years old and general manager Brian Cashman has already made it clear he doesn’t see Jeter finishing his current four-year deal at shortstop. Also, if uber-prospect Jesus Montero can show he’s able to handle the every day catching duties, a move to DH for Alex Rodriguez should be discussed.

In a few years, the Yankee infield could have a very unfamiliar look to Yankee fans.

One thing is for sure, the Yankees will always be willing to shell out big bucks to bring in the players they need in order to win. Desperate to make any sort of splash this offseason after missing out on Cliff Lee, the Yankees signed another Scott Boras client, Rafael Soriano, to a three-year, $35 million contract, which contains opt-out clauses in each of the first two years.

While the addition of Soriano gives the Yankees one of the best bullpens in baseball, paying a reliever $11 million to be a set-up man is a bit outlandish. It does, however, show us what Boras can get his clients when he has a team in desperation mode.

Now, we can’t say the Yankees are going to be desperate in 2014, but if Cano keeps putting up the kind of numbers he did last season, there are going to be a lot of teams competing for Cano’s services.

Cano will be in the middle of his prime years when he hits free agency, and the production he gives the Yankees at a premium position is invaluable. If the Yankees start getting 35-40 homers to go along with a high average and excellent defense from Cano, they had better be prepared to pay up.

With youth, ability and now Scott Boras on Cano’s side, what contracts will he have his eyes on looking ahead to his time?

The Yankees gave then 32-year-old Alex Rodriguez 10 years and $275 million, the richest contract in baseball history. The Yankees gave another Boras client, then 29-year-old Mark Teixeira, an eight-year, $180 million contract.

Are those realistic contracts given Cano’s ability? Time is on the Yankees’ side in this case, but they’re going to need a number in mind when it comes to Cano, or Scott Boras is going to get it somewhere else.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

This week, we take a look at the best hitter-pitcher combo in the American League.

I’m one who believes total value wins championships. Not pitching, not defense and not a power bat. If you have the overall balance and more total value, you’re the best.

So, then, it would be important to have both a solid bat (who can play defense, but that’s not factored in here) and an ace on the mound. A door slammer if you will.

There are a few things I valued highly when sorting these rankings. Some of them will be viewed as unconventional to some readers, and that’s fine. I welcome any and all comments below.

For batters, I used an advanced metric called Weighted Runs Created Plus (wRC+). The link can explain this to you far better than I can. In a nut shell, though, wRC+ is a park and league adjusted stat that combines everything a player does to contribute to runs scored.

Why is this better than conventional stats? It’s not Player A’s fault no one is ever in scoring position when he gets a hit, so RBI is kind of sneaky in that it doesn’t tell the whole story. Same with Player B who always gets stranded at third. His run total isn’t revealing everything.

For pitchers, I went with Fangraph’s version of WAR. Pretty much every way I looked at pitchers, they shook out in the same order. I put very little stock into stats like wins for pitchers, but having to defend that became a lot less likely now that Felix Hernandez won a Cy Young with such a low win total.

For both pitchers and hitters, I made some adjustments for expected regression due to age, luck etc.

Now that we have that stuff out of the way, let’s get to the results.

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During my current series, I will be examining the relative strengths and weaknesses of the teams in the American League East, on a position-by-position basis.

The players at each position will be 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 continues with a look at the second basemen.

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

At the end of the process, I will accumulate all of the points for each team and create a divisional power ranking.

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New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano has replaced his agent, Bobby Barad, with high-powered sports agent Scott Boras.

Cano finished third in AL MVP voting in 2010 and was awarded the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards.

Scott Boras is the founder, owner and president of the Boras Corporation, which represents about 175 professional baseball clients. Boras represents fellow Yankees Mark Teixeira and Rafael Soriano, and other big names around the majors such as Matt Holliday, Adrian Beltre, Carlos Beltran and Jered Weaver.

He is also the former agent of Alex Rodriguez and negotiated both of A-Rod’s record-breaking contracts, as well as some other massive contracts around the league.

So what does this mean for the Yankees now that Boras will be representing Cano?

The Yankees will look forward to a painful and frustrating negotiation over Cano’s next contract. The 2011 season is the final year on Cano’s previous contract, but the Yankees have options for $10 million and $14 million in 2012 and 2013. Should the Yankees choose to exercise these options, and they will, then the negotiations will begin soon after the deal is over.

If Cano can keep up his outstanding production from the first six years of his career, he will be in line for a hefty raise, and Boras will make sure he gets it. Of course, the Steinbrenners will have the money to make this deal, and of course, they need to sign Cano when his contract is up, but this is part of the reason the Yankees will be digging into their farm system over the next few seasons.

When Cano is up for a new deal, the Yankees will still be paying the enormous contracts of Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia and Derek Jeter. Many teams in the MLB have payrolls for their entire team that come out to less money than the Yankees will be paying these guys in each of the next few seasons. Adding whatever deal Cano will be asking for to the pile will be overkill for the Yankees.

The fans will suffer from Boras taking over as Cano’s agent as well. Like I mentioned before, Boras has negotiated some of the largest contracts in Major League Baseball’s history. Some of these contracts are the reasons why ticket prices have skyrocketed around the league, especially at Yankee Stadium.

A higher payroll leads to a higher need for income, therefore ticket prices, as well as concession and souvenir prices, will continue to increase as long as contracts keep breaking new barriers.

I am not here to argue for a salary cap. There will never be one in baseball. But the way things are going, the middle class will be struggling to attend baseball games and fans will only be able to express themselves in the streets and in front of televisions.

One can only imagine what prices will be like at Yankee Stadium by 2014; a reality that many fans will be dreading.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Second base is a position that has numerous youngsters who could make their presence felt as soon as 2011.  Jason Kipnis, Dustin Ackley and Brett Lawrie could all eventually join the elite at the position, but first they need to make their MLB debuts.  How should they be ranked by fantasy owners in keeper leagues?  Let’s take a look:

1. Robinson Cano – New York Yankees
2. Dustin Pedroia – Boston Red Sox
3. Chase Utley – Philadelphia Phillies
4. Ian Kinsler – Texas Rangers
5. Dan Uggla – Atlanta Braves
6. Brandon Phillips – Cincinnati Reds
7. Ben Zobrist – Tampa Bay Rays
8. Rickie Weeks – Milwaukee Brewers
9. Gordon Beckham – Chicago White Sox
10. Aaron Hill – Toronto Blue Jays
11. Kelly Johnson – Arizona Diamondbacks
12. Danny Espinosa – Washington Nationals
13. Jason Kipnis – Cleveland Indians
14. Dustin Ackley – Seattle Mariners
15. Brett Lawrie – Toronto Blue Jays

Thoughts:

• Dustin Pedroia over Chase Utley?  I know it may seem a bit odd, but Pedroia is five years younger than Utley, who many people believe could be on the decline.  It’s hard to read too much into his 2010 struggles (.275, 16 HR, 65 RBI in 425 AB) as they easily could have been due to hip problems.  Of course, Pedroia and Ian Kinsler also have had injury concerns, but at his age you have to wonder how long Utley will be able to hold up.  His tremendous upside keeps him in the top three, but there is cause for concern.
• Martin Prado belongs on this list, but with Dan Uggla in town now it appears unlikely that he maintains 2B eligibility after 2011.  If you draft him keep in mind that he could regain the eligibility down the line at some point, but it’s hard to depend on it.
• Looking for Brian Roberts?  Considering his recent decline and age (33 years old), he falls just short for me.
• Unlike many other positions, there is a potential influx of talent coming to 2B.  We got a taste of what Danny Espinosa can bring to the table in 2010, and he is just the tip of the iceberg.  Jason Kipnis, Dustin Ackley and Brett Lawrie are a few of the names who could make their presence felt as soon as 2011 (though you don’t want to be drafting them as your starting option).  I may be in the minority, but I love the potential that Kipnis brings to the table.  Between Double- and Triple-A in 2010 he had 32 doubles, eight triples and 16 HR to go along with a .307 average and nine SB.  He has the potential to overtake Jason Donald quickly and brings tremendous upside.
• At this point Howie Kendrick has become a tremendous disappointment for fantasy owners.  Since he really doesn’t bring power or speed to the table, I ultimately decided to drop him out of the top 15.  At this point, I’d rather the upside of one of the up-and-coming options over a disappointing player we already know.
• Will Gordon Beckham finally realize his potential?  You have to love the power he could bring to the table from a position that you can’t always find it.

**** Make sure to order your copy of the Rotoprofessor 2011 Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide, selling for just $5, by clicking here. ****

Make sure to check out our 2011 rankings:

• Top 15 Catchers
• Top 15 First Basemen
• Top 15 Second Basemen
• Top 15 Shortstops
• Top 15 Third Basemen
• Top 30 Outfielders
• Top 30 Starting Pitchers
• Top 15 Closers
• 2011 Fantasy Draft First-Round Breakdown

THIS ARTICLE IS ALSO FEATURED ON WWW.ROTOPROFESSOR.COM.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Once upon a time in fantasy baseball, second base was shallower than Paris Hilton at a Larry the Cable Guy event. It was as epic as Mariah Carey’s movie, “Glitter.”

Now, the position has morphed into so much more. It has drama, glitz, and glamor. It’s a regular Oscar contender. I’ll call it “The Good, The Bad and The Uggla.”

As in Dan Uggla? The guy that everyone overlooks on draft day, yet continues to put up some of the most under-appreciated stats in the sport? Yeah, that guy.

1. Robinson Cano, NYY. We’ll get to Uggla in a moment. Cano broke out in a big way last season. He had 29 homers, 109 RBI, and hit .319. He bats in one of the most feared lineups in baseball. The only thing Cano doesn’t do is steal bases. You learn fast at this position that different second basemen give you different things. First base is typically a power position, shortstop, a speed position; second base has both, and Cano’s patience at the plate is something very valuable in a league filled with guys who spend more time swinging for the fences on every pitch instead of patiently waiting for some fresh meat.

2. Chase Utley, PHI. Man, I remember when ranking this guy high at the second base position was much easier. Now, I waffled numerous time between him and any of the next several guys on the list. Utley has tons of potential. He can hit for power. He can steal bases. But he’s also had four consecutive seasons of declining batting average. His homers and steals and batting average were all similar to Brandon Phillips’ last year. Except, look closer at the numbers and realize that Utley had 200 less at-bats than Phillips. And Utley plays for a much better team. The whole Phillies offense is due to rebound.

3. Dan Uggla, ATL. Here he is. The guy who will be drafted much lower than here in most leagues, but will again produce stats that buoy him to the top of the second base pool. Few second basemen have hit 30 homers in a season or two. Uggla had his fourth-consecutive 30-plus home run season in 2010. His batting average was concerning, but he improved his plate discipline to the tune of .287 in 2010. He had 105 RBI and 100 runs scored for the Florida Marlins last year. That’s like a guy who can build a Ford Mustang at a golf cart factory. The kicker? Uggla now plays for the Atlanta Braves and their retooled offensive lineup. Don’t miss the boat.

4. Brandon Phillips, CIN. Not as high of ceiling for Phillips as there is for Ian Kinsler, who is coming next, but Philips’ consistency is definitely worth something. He hits double digit homers, has double-digit steals for the past five seasons. He has hit around .270 for quite some time now. If you can get him at the right spot in drafts this year, as others grab more flashy options, than you’ll do just fine with Phillips.

Check out the rest of my fantasy baseball 2011 early second base rankings here.

Also, be sure to catch my other early 2011 fantasy baseball rankings: C | 1B

And, our current Top 10 overall fantasy baseball players per ADP.

For all your hard-hitting fantasy baseball and football content, go to www.chinstrapninjas.com

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

With football season coming to a close, many sports fans now turn their attention to the sunny beacon of hope that is spring training.

Even at this early stage of the season, it is always fun to pick who will win the major awards and which teams will be playing in October, but the following goes one further, not only picking those things, but also making some more player-specific predictions for all 30 teams.

So here are my 50 bold predictions for the 2011 season, because when you predict 50 things, you’re bound to be correct on at least a few of them, right?

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