Andres Torres

Torres went from hitting 67 extra-base hits over just 139 games and playing the best defense in center field of anyone in baseball in 2010 to crashing back to earth last season, when he posted a .221/.312/.330 line while constantly battling injuries. His defense predictably regressed, but it was still above average, so it was somewhat surprising to see him get traded along with Ramon Ramirez to the Mets for Angel Pagan. Torres is 34, and it's obvious his 2010 campaign will go down as his career year, but he can still be a plenty useful player, with strong defense combined with a decent power/speed combo. He should be given the chance to be an everyday player for the Mets, but his high strikeout rate means he's vulnerable to a poor batting average.

Torres entered 2010 with just 409 career major league at-bats, and he finished the year as possibly the most valuable position player on the team that won the World Series. There's a strong argument Torres was the best defensive player in baseball last season (only Brett Gardner had a higher UZR, but he played the vast majority in left field, while Torres played mostly center), and while he struggled against southpaws and struck out too much, he can take a walk and has surprising power, racking up a whopping 67 extra-base hits in just 139 games. Torres finished 2010 with 16 homers, 26 steals, 84 runs and 63 RBI, giving him plenty of fantasy value considering his playing time was compromised (he began the year as a bench player and ended it hurt). It remains to be seen whether he can duplicate such a career season at age 33, but Torres offers the kind of power/speed potential that can pay off big in fantasy leagues.

Torres hit .270 with six home runs and six steals over 152 at-bats with the Giants last year, but it's worth noting he'd never even approached his .533 slugging percentage throughout his career in the minors. Torres' BABIP was also .347 last season (it's .293 during his major league career), so he's definitely due to regress in 2010. He could find a place as San Francisco's fourth or fifth outfielder, but that's his upside.

His best hope for a major league gig is probably as a reserve outfielder/pinch-runner, something that doesn't seem terribly necessary in Texas with Gary Matthews Jr. around. Little Sarge has worn out his welcome with a club before, though.

Torres was horrid for Detroit to start the season and saw limited action after Alex Sanchez came to town. He's unlikely to ever be a good fantasy player despite his tantalizing speed.

No one questions that Torres can run (42 steals in Triple-A), and he's got a fair batting eye. But, can he hit enough to play every day? Can he develop into a good enough center fielder to play in Comerica Park as a starter? For our money, Gene Kingsale looks like a better CF prospect entering spring training.