TIER 1

1. Alex Rodriguez – He's battled injuries the last two seasons, but remember, he's one year removed from a .314-54-143-154-24 campaign. In that lineup and homer-friendly park, there's definitely a case to be made for him as the No. 1 overall pick. But because he'll turn 35 this summer, No. 3 is probably safest.

2. Evan Longoria – The battle between Longoria and David Wright appears close, but while Longoria loses in BA, he has legitimate 40-homer upside. And while he's unlikely to steal as many bags as Wright, Longoria is a perfect 16-for-16 in SB attempts during his two years in the bigs. Longoria is just 24 years old and has hit 60 homers in barely more than 1,000 career at-bats, so the more I think about it, not only is he clearly the superior choice to Wright, I might rank him as the No. 5 player overall on my board.

3. David Wright – I fully expect Wright to bounce back in the power department this year, and part of last season's problems can be attributed to the severe concussion he suffered in August. He should get much better lineup support, and hopefully Wright stops the extreme opposite field approach he took last season, which was especially awful considering Citi Field's dimensions. But don't overlook the fact his BABIP was a major-league high .400 last year, and no matter how good his line-drive rate was, that's not sustainable (it was a full 50 points higher than his career mark), which is especially concerning since his K rate was by far a career-worst. Still, a 25/25 type campaign wouldn't surprise.

TIER 2

4. Pablo Sandoval – I'm admittedly a Giants fan, but anyone who reads my stuff knows I'm probably the opposite of a homer (well, I might be guilty of some Tim Lincecum slurping from time to time). I mean, there isn't a human being I despise more than Brian Sabean, and if anything, I'm overly critical of the franchise. But I almost think Sandoval is kind of underrated right now. I mean, he just posted a .943 OPS as a 22-year-old with very little major league experience. I can understand some trepidation since his approach at the plate is unorthodox (he swings at a greater percentage of pitches than any other hitter in baseball), but he's a switch-hitter who barely has more than 700 career at-bats who's counting stats are bound to improve with a better (albeit still not good) lineup surrounding him this year. Plus, he supposedly played with bad vision last year, which has been corrected in an awesome way.

5. Mark Reynolds – It's tough to deny the numbers he put up last season, but realize even with a .341 BABIP (and when you account for all those homers, really his BABIP was much higher), his batting average was just .260. And his 24.3|PERCENT| HR/F rate was second-highest in MLB (Adrian Gonzalez was first). It's pretty safe to project a decent amount of regression, and a .240-type BA wouldn't surprise.

6. Ryan Zimmerman – He's hardly in an ideal situation in Washington, but Zimmerman is still just 25 years old and posted a .969 OPS after the All-Star break last season.

7. Aramis Ramirez – He's always an injury risk, but if you extrapolate last year's production over a full season you get a .317 BA, 30 homers and 128 RBI.

8. Kevin Youkilis – I don't see a huge difference between numbers 5-8 on this list, so I'd have no problem if you argue for Youkilis to be placed higher in this tier. All are pretty closely bunched together.

TIER 3

9. Adrian Beltre - Beltre is never going to repeat his 2004 season, but before last year's injury-ruined campaign, he averaged 25 homers, 83 runs, 88 RBI and 11 steals over the previous three seasons while playing in cavernous Safeco Field. He's typically been highly durable throughout his career, so now is the time to buy coming off such a disastrous 2009, although he's obviously not going to be under the radar with the move to Boston. His home/road splits were fairly massive over 2007 (.745 OPS vs. .858) and 2008 (.703 vs. 862), so a move to Fenway Park could be huge, and Beltre will also be hitting in the best lineup of his career.

10. Chipper Jones – An obvious health risk, so bump him lower in NL-only formats, but Jones is just one year removed from posting a .364/.470/.574 line. And he had an 89:101 K:BB ratio last year! This isn't football, and he's not playing running back; Jones can remain plenty productive even at age 38.

11. Chone Figgins – Maybe this is too low, but Figgins is a negative in two categories and now joins a team that had fewer than half the stolen base attempts as the Angels did last season. And while the totals suggest otherwise, when you factor in at-bats and health, last year was his worst on the base paths over the past five years. That trend should only get worse as he approaches his mid-30s. 

12. Gordon Beckham – No one is drafting Beckham to use at third base (at least very few are), as he'll soon be second base eligible, so let's move along.

13. Ian Stewart – Same as above. What this ranking reflects is if any 3B listed higher were 2B eligible, I'd prefer them over Stewart. That said, a ton of upside here.

TIER 4

14. Michael Young – Safe, solid option, but realize last season was BY FAR his best since 2005 (over the previous three years, he averaged a whopping 13 home runs). And he's 33 years old.

15. Alex Gordon – I kind of like gambling here. One of the higher regarded prospects over the past five years, Gordon should not be considered a lost cause just yet. This is the type of pick that can win your league for you.

16. Jorge Cantu – Well, at least he's a better selection as a 3B than a 1B.

17. Troy Glaus – I've already talked about Glaus plenty. Could be a cheap source for power.

18. Edwin Encarnacion – EE is one of those players who is inching quite close to being dead to me. But despite being burned in the past, I try not to hold too much of a bias, as there is admittedly still some upside here. Certainly more than anyone listed below.

19. Jhonny Peralta – He's just not that good. Maybe he bounces back, but you should be using him at SS either way.

TIER 5

20. Mark DeRosa
21. Brandon Wood
22. Chase Headley
23. Garrett Atkins
24. Kevin Kouzmanoff
25. Casey Blake
26. Scott Rolen