Infield Picks

This past week, I was at Myrtle Beach, SC. While I was there, I saw a Pelicans game (Braves high-A team). Keep an eye on Eric Campbell. He plays 3B and has great potential.

This week I analyzed the players in MLB at each infield position and determined the top 20 players from each position that I would want on my team. The assumption is that my team is a contender so I’m picking for this year as well as the future.

Catcher:
1. Brian McCann, ATL – Brian is still young, and he can hit for both power and average.
2. Russell Martin, LAD – Like Brian, Russell is still young, has good power and has a good batting average.
3. Geovany Soto, CHC – Geovany is a rookie and has great potential.
4. Joe Mauer, MIN – Joe is a very good defensive catcher, and has a very good batting average.
5. Jorge Posada, NYY – He might be older, but he can still hit for power and average.
6. Chris Iannetta, COL
7. Ivan Rodriguez, DET
8. Yadier Molina, STL
9. Bengie Molina, SF
10. Ryan Doumit, PIT
11. Jason Varitek, BOS
12. Dioneer Navarro, TB
13. AJ Pierzynski, CWS
14. Gerald Laird, TEX
15. Victor Martinez, CLE
16. Kurt Suzuki, OAK
17. Kenji Johjima, SEA
18. Jason Kendall, MIL
19. Rod Barajas, TOR
20. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, TEX

First Base:
1. Albert Pujols, STL – He gets on base almost 1 out of every 2 plate appearances with a .475 OBP.
2. David Ortiz, BOS – Ortiz can hit for average, has great power, and is clutch.
3. Ryan Howard, PHI – Ryan just has great power.
4. Lance Berkman, HOU – Lance has great power and a great batting average.
5. Justin Morneau, MIN – Morneau gets a lot of RBI’s, has good power, and a good batting average.
6. Derek Lee, CHC
7. Mark Teixeira, ATL
8. Adrian Gonzalez, SD
9. Conor Jackson, ARI
10. Kevin Youkilis, BOS
11. James Loney, LAD
12. Joey Votto, CIN
13. Carlos Pena, TB
14. Miguel Cabrera, DET
15. Mike Jacobs, FLA
16. Adam LaRoche, PIT
17. Casey Kotchman, LAA
18. Prince Fielder, MIL
19. Todd Helton, COL
20. Sean Casey, BOS

Second base:
1. Chase Utley, PHI – Chase is young, talented, has great power, a good batting average, and can play defense.
2. Brandon Phillips, CIN – Brandon is just an all-around solid player.
3. Ian Kinsler, TEX – He’s young, a good leadoff man, and can hit for power.
4. Dan Uggla, FLA – He’s young and has great power.
5. Orlando Hudson, ARI – He’s very good in the field, and his hitting is solid.
6. Brian Roberts, BAL
7. Dustin Pedroia, BOS
8. Robinson Cano, NYY
9. Mark DeRosa, CHC
10. Freddy Sanchez, PIT
11. Kelly Johnson, ATL
12. Kazuo Matsui, HOU
13. Akinori Iwamura, TB
14. Ray Durham, SF
15. Jose Lopez, SEA
16. Jeff Kent, LAD
17. Juan Uribe, CWS
18. Placido Polanco, DET
19. Mark Grudzielanek, KC
20. Alexis Casilla, MIN

Third base:
1. Alex Rodriguez, NYY – A-ROD can hit for power and average.
2. Chipper Jones, ATL – Chipper is batting over .400 this year.
3. Garrett Atkins, COL – He young, gets plenty of RBI’s, and has a good batting average.
4. Aramis Ramirez, CHC – He gets a good batting average, and good power numbers.
5. David Wright, NYM – He’s young, has good power, and a good batting average.
6. Mike Lowell, BOS
7. Carlos Guillen, DET
8. Chone Figgins, LAA
9. Joe Crede, CWS
10. Troy Glaus, STL
11. Mark Reynolds, ARI
12. Evan Longoria, TB
13. Blake DeWitt, LAD
14. Jorge Cantu, FLA
15. Melvin Mora, BAL
16. Edwin Encarnacion, CIN
17. Kevin Kouzmanoff, SD
18. Alex Gordon, KC
19. Ryan Zimmerman, WAS
20. Adrian Beltre, SEA

Shortstop:
1. Hanley Ramirez, FLA – He’s young, has good power, and a good average.
2. Jimmy Rollins, PHI – Jimmy has good speed, batting average, and is a good leadoff man.
3. Jose Reyes, NYM – Jose’s fast, plays good defense in the field, and has a good batting average.
4. Michael Young, TEX – Michael gets 200 hits almost every year with a good batting average.
5. Miguel Tejada, HOU – Miguel has good power and a good batting average.
6. Derek Jeter, NYY
7. Stephen Drew, ARI
8. Rafael Furcal, LAD
9. Yunel Escobar, ATL
10. Edgar Renteria, DET
11. JJ Hardy, MIL
12. Ryan Theriot, CHC
13. Orlando Cabrera, CWS
14. Johnny Peralta, CLE
15. Christian Guzman, WAS
16. Khalil Greene, SD
17. Yuniesky Betancourt, SEA
18. Jeff Keppinger, CIN
19. Bobby Crosby, OAK
20. Erick Aybar, LAA

Result of last week’s poll:
Who do you think should be the Rangers Runner-up MVP (after Josh Hamilton)?
Milton Bradley – 56%
Ian Kinsler – 27%
Michael Young – 8%
David Murphy – 7%
Other – 1%

Note: At the very bottom of my blog I have added the Rangers record.

Come back next week for the pitchers and outfielders.