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Here are the fantasy baseball rankings for the top ten starting pitchers for the 2008 season. I will also list the predictions from the pre-season at the bottom of this post for comparison.

1. Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays - Halladay was one of four pitchers to win 20 games and was one of ten to strike out 200 or more hitters. He also finished second the league with nine complete games. 20 Wins | 206 K’s | 2.78 ERA | 1.05 WHIP
   
2. Cliff Lee, Cleveland Indians - His 22 wins were 17 more than his win total from 2007. He also cut his ERA in half and then some. 22 Wins | 170 K’s | 2.54 ERA | 1.11 WHIP
3. Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants - Lincecum led the league in strikeouts and was in the top seven in wins pitching for a team with only 72 wins. 18 Wins | 265 K’s | 2.62 ERA | 1.17 WHIP
4. C.C. Sabathia, Milwaukee Brewers - The move to Milwaukee was the best thing to happen to Sabathia as his ERA dropped from 3.83 to 1.65 and his win total skyrocketed. 17 Wins | 251 K’s | 2.70 ERA | 1.11 WHIP
5. Johan Santana, New York Mets - No pitcher received more off-season hype last year than Santana. And while he seemed to accumulate strong stats quietly during the season, these numbers truly do shout that Santana is among the leagues best pitchers. 16 Wins | 206 K’s | 2.53 ERA | 1.15 WHIP
6. Ryan Dempster, Chicago Cubs - Dempster finished tenth in the league in ERA among starters with at least 100 innings of work. He was also 12th in strikeouts. Not bad for a guy who wasn’t a top notch reliever. 17 Wins | 187 K’s | 2.96 ERA | 1.21 WHIP
7. Cole Hamels, Philadelphia Phillies - Hamels might have lost ten times in 2008, but his ERA was on the very low side of 3.00 and his strikeouts almost hit the 200 mark. 14 wins isn’t too shabby either. 14 Wins | 196 K’s | 3.09 ERA | 1.08 WHIP
8. Dan Haren, Arizona Diamondbacks - Haren faded a little bit in the second half but his 200+ strikeouts, monster WHIP, and win total force him to be added to this list. 16 Wins | 206 K’s | 3.33 ERA | 1.13 WHIP
9. Rich Harden, Chicago Cubs - Harden’s inclusion here was a tough choice for me. On one hand he only started 25 games and pitched 148.0 innings. On the other hand he led the league in ERA, was in the top three in WHIP, and in the top 20 in strikeouts. 10 Wins | 181 K’s | 2.07 ERA | 1.06 WHIP
10. Brandon Webb, Arizona Diamondbacks - It was almost impossible to leave the MLB wins leader off this top ten list. If not for a rough June we might be talking Cy Young. 22 Wins | 183 K’s | 3.30 ERA | 1.20 WHIP

Below are the pre-season starting pitcher rankings.

2008 American League Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Rankings

1. Josh Beckett | Boston Red Sox
2. C.C. Sabathia | Cleveland Indians
3. Erik Bedard | Baltimore Orioles
4. Justin Verlander | Detroit Tigers
5. Scott Kazmir | Tampa Bay Rays
6. John Lackey | Los Angeles Angels
7. Felix Hernandez | Seattle Mariners
8. Roy Halladay | Toronto Blue Jays
9. Daisuke Matsuzaka | Boston Red Sox
10. James Shields | Tampa Bay Rays
11. Fausto Carmona | Cleveland Indians
12. Javier Vazquez | Chicago White Sox
13. Kelvim Escobar | Los Angeles Angels
14. A.J. Burnett | Toronto Blue Jays
15. Chien-Ming Wang | New York Yankees
16. Francisco Liriano | Minnesota Twins
17. Jered Weaver | Los Angeles Angels
18. Joe Blanton | Oakland Athletics
19. Jeremy Bonderman | Detroit Tigers
20. Curt Schilling | Boston Red Sox

2008 National League Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Rankings

1. Johan Santana | New York Mets
2. Jake Peavy | San Diego Padres
3. Brandon Webb | Arizona Diamondbacks
4. Cole Hamels | Philadelphia Phillies
5. Dan Haren | Arizona Diamondbacks
6. Aaron Harang | Cincinnati Reds
7. Carlos Zambrano | Chicago Cubs
8. Roy Oswalt | Houston Astros
9. John Smoltz | Atlanta Braves
10. Chris Young | San Diego Padres
11. Brett Myers | Philadelphia Phillies
12. Ben Sheets | Milwaukee Brewers
13. Matt Cain | San Francisco Giants
14. Rich Hill | Chicago Cubs
15. Brad Penny | Los Angeles Dodgers
16. Yovani Gallardo | Milwaukee Brewers
17. Jeff Francis | Colorado Rockies
18. Ted Lilly | Chicago Cubs
19. Tim Lincecum | San Francisco Giants
20. Tim Hudson | Atlanta Braves

I just wanted to let everyone know that some big names in the baseball scene are going to get together tonight and live blog game 5 of the World Series. There will also be a live chat involved as well.

Jason Collette, Derek Carty, Brad Stewart, and Kevin Orris will be fielding all different types of questions about the game, fantasy baseball, and anything else that you might need help with.

So, stop by Major League Report tonight at 8:00 PM EST and get some great baseball info online while you watch the game on TV.

Here are the fantasy baseball rankings for the top ten outfielders for the 2008 season. I will also list the predictions from the pre-season at the bottom of this post for comparison.

1. Manny Ramirez, Los Angeles Dodgers - Manny did it all in 2008. He alienated teammates and Red Sox Nation. But, once he decided to get serious, he hit better than anyone else in baseball. 102 runs | 37 HR | 121 RBI | 3 SB | .332
2. Matt Holliday, Colorado Rockies - Is it possible for your home run total to go down at Coors Field? I’m nit picking here since he still hit 25 homers and was one of the most versatile hitters in fantasy baseball. 107 runs | 25 HR | 88 RBI | 28 SB | .321
3. Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers - Had a much more powerful first half than second. But both halves of the season were pretty phenomenal. 98 runs | 32 HR | 130 RBI | 9 SB | .304
4. Lance Berkman, Houston Astros - This is most likely the last seaosn you’ll see Berkman with outfield eligibility. Now he can dominate the first basemen for the rest of his career. 114 runs | 29 HR | 106 RBI | 18 SB | .312
5. Ryan Ludwick, St. Louis Cardinals - A lot of St. Louis fans wondered out loud what Ludwick could do with a full season of at-bats. He tore the cover off of the ball. 104 runs | 37 HR | 113 RBI | 4 SB | .299
6. Carlos Beltran, New York Mets - His power is dipping which is understandable as you age. But, his stolen bases are on the rise (aren’t you supposed to slow down as you get older?). With all of these question marks, the only thig that is a certainty is that Beltran is an all around fantasy stud. 116 runs | 27 HR | 112 RBI | 25 SB | .284
7. Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers - No sophomore slump for Braun. He actually bested his home run total and RBI total from 2007. 92 runs | 37 HR | 106 RBI | 14 SB | .285
8. Jason Bay, Boston Red Sox - Another solid season for Bay who may end up really liking it in Boston. It’s starting to look like 2007 was an anomaly. 111 runs | 31 HR | 101 RBI | 10 SB | .286
9. Grady Sizemore, Cleveland Indians - This guy does everything extremely well. if his batting average would have been 10-15 points higher he would have been in the top three on this list. 101 runs | 33 HR | 90 RBI | 38 SB | .268
10. Carlos Quentin, Chicago White Sox - 36 dingers and 100 RBI in only 480 at-bats. Imagine what it could have been like if he’d gotten 550+ at-bats… 96 runs | 36 HR | 100 RBI | 7 SB | .287

Below are the pre-season rankings.

2008 American League Fantasy Baseball Outfielder Rankings

1. Carl Crawford | Tampa Bay Rays
2. Grady Sizemore | Cleveland Indians
3. Ichiro Suzuki | Seattle Mariners
4. Vladimir Guerrero | Los Angeles Angels
5. B.J. Upton | Tampa Bay Rays
6. Alex Rios | Toronto Blue Jays
7. Curtis Granderson | Detroit Tigers
8. Magglio Ordonez | Detroit Tigers
9. Manny Ramirez | Boston Red Sox
10. Bobby Abreu | New York Yankees
11. Nick Markakis | Baltimore Orioles
12. Torii Hunter | Los Angeles Angels
13. Vernon Wells | Toronto Blue Jays
14. Hideki Matsui | New York Yankees
15. Nick Swisher | Chicago White Sox
16. Jermaine Dye | Chicago White Sox
17. Delmon Young | Minnesota Twins
18. Johnny Damon | New York Yankees
19. Jacoby Ellsbury | Boston Red Sox
20. Raul Ibanez | Seattle Mariners
21. Jose Guillen | Kansas City Royals
22. Melky Cabrera | New York Yankees
23. Gary Matthews Jr. | Los Angeles Angels

2008 National League Fantasy Baseball Outfielder Rankings

1. Matt Holliday | Colorado Rockies
2. Alfonso Soriano| Chicago Cubs
3. Carlos Beltran | New York Mets
4. Carlos Lee | Houston Astros
5. Adam Dunn | Cincinnati Reds
6. Eric Byrnes | Arizona Diamondbacks
7. Chris Young | Arizona Diamondbacks
8. Hunter Pence | Houston Astros
9. Cory Hart | Milwaukee Brewers
10. Brad Hawpe | Colorado Rockies
11. Andruw Jones | Los Angeles Dodgers
12. Jason Bay | Pittsburgh Pirates
13. Shane Victorino | Philadelphia Phillies
14. Juan Pierre | Los Angeles Dodgers
15. Jeff Francoeur | Atlanta Braves
16. Ken Griffey Jr. | Cincinnati Reds
17. Matt Kemp | Los Angeles Dodgers
18. Pat Burrell | Philadelphia Phillies
19. Aaron Rowand| San Francisco Giants
20. Jeremy Hermida | Florida Marlins
21. Austin Kearns | Washington Nationals
22. Moises Alou | New York Mets

Minnesota Twins hurler Kevin Slowey and Tampa Bay reliever Grant Balfour seem to have been able to overcome names that shouldn’t lend well to Major League pitchers. But, it looks like Cincinnati’s Homer Bailey isn’t so lucky.

Bailey has been at the top of the Reds prospect list for years now. That might not be the case any more as he had a very rough 2008 season, both in the minors and at the big league level.

In 19 minor league starts, Bailey went 4-7 with a 4.77 ERA. He gave up ten home runs in 111.1 innings and had a 2.08 (96:46) strikeout to walk ratio. In his eight starts at the Major League level, Bailey went 0-6 with a 7.93 ERA. He gave up eight home runs in 36.1 innings of work and had a 1.05 (18:17) strikeout to walk ratio. Hitters bolstered their batting averages against Bailey as he registered a .378 batting average against at the big league level.

Now, the first thing most Bailey supporters will say right here is that he’s only 22-years-old. “Give the kid a break!”. While there is some legitimacy to that statement, let me tell you why, from a fantasy point of view, Bailey shouldn’t be given any more chances.

Homer Bailey just isn’t progressing as a pitcher. At 22-years-old you expect a kid to take some lumps. But, Bailey is getting worse as time goes by. Take a look at this:

• His Minor League ERA in 2007 was 3.82 in 14 starts. It was 4.77 in 2008 in 19 starts.
• Minor League hitters hit .281 against him in 2008, but only .229 in 2007.
• His MLB ERA ballooned from 5.76 in 2007 to 7.93 in 2008.
• He averaged giving up one home run per start in 2008, but only one every three starts in 2007 at the Major League level.
• And, as mentioned above, Major League hitters are hitting 121 points better against him in 2008 (.378) than they were in 2007 (.257).

When it comes to your fantasy baseball team, Homer Bailey should only be on your roster if you’re in a deep keeper league. And even in deep keeper leagues, I can rattle off many players who might be better options in 2009 who are the same age as Bailey and in similar situations (same age, not superstars yet like Longoria or Cueto, etc.) Players like Pablo Sandoval, Eric Hurley, Matt Harrison, Carlos Gonzalez, and Gio Gonzalez could all see better fantasy 2009’s than Homer Bailey.

Until Bailey shows that he can live up to expectations (and I supposed I should have said if instead of until), Bailey is better left to some other fantasy GM to take a chance on.

Update (10/23/2008 10:41 AM) : Reds beat writer John Fay answered a Homer Bailey question in his blog post today and stated that Bailey could be headed to the bullpen with the log jam of starting pitching talent on the Reds roster. That would surely kill Bailey’s fantasy value unless he took earned the closer’s job.

Here are the fantasy baseball rankings for the top ten third basemen for the 2008 season. I will also list the predictions from the pre-season at the bottom of this post for comparison.

1. David Wright, New York Mets - Wright is just a man among boys at the third base position. He does it all! 115 runs | 33 HR | 124 RBI | 15 SB | .302
2. Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees - It’s just nasty to consider 2008 an off year fantasy speaking for A-Rod. He’s still got first round talent. 104 runs | 35 HR | 103 RBI | 18 SB | .302
3. Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers - The elite fantasy third basemen used to only be A-Rod and Wright. Now, you can add Braun’s name to that list, if only he were going to play 3B anymore. 92 runs | 37 HR | 106 RBI | 14 SB | .285
4. Aubrey Huff, Baltimore Orioles - Huff might be too old to keep these numbers up going forward. But, 2008 was one heck of a ride. 96 runs | 32 HR | 108 RBI | 4 SB | .304
5. Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers - Fourteen games was just enough to qualify at third base. His numbers are so good he’d be on any top ten list, no matter what position. 85 runs | 37 HR | 127 RBI | 1 SB | .292
6. Kevin Youkilis, Boston Red Sox - Youkilis really boosted his power output in 2008. “The Greek God of Walks” is now the total package. 91 runs | 29 HR | 115 RBI | 3 SB | .312
7. Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves - His flirtation with .400 didn’t last as long as he’d hoped. But, he proved, once again, that he’s one of the best pure hitters in the game. 82 runs | 22 HR | 75 RBI | 4 SB | .364
8. Aramis Ramirez, Chicago Cubs - Ramirez might not be hitting as many home runs as in years past, but his run production is still among the best. 97 runs | 27 HR | 111 RBI | 2 SB | .289
9. Jorge Cantu, Florida Marlins - Cantu had a breakout year in 2008, and could get better. 92 runs | 29 HR | 95 RBI | 6 SB | .277
10. Melvin Mora, Baltimore Orioles - Had a fantastic second half, but late season injuries and his age could hurt his draft status next season. 77 runs | 23 HR | 104 RBI | 3 SB | .285

Below is the pre-season ranking list, for comparison.

2008 American League Fantasy Baseball Third Base Rankings

1. Alex Rodriguez | New York Yankees
2. Miguel Cabrera | Detroit Tigers
3. Mike Lowell | Boston Red Sox
4. Chone Figgins | Los Angeles Angels
5. Adrian Beltre | Seattle Mariners
6. Troy Glaus | Toronto Blue Jays
7. Josh Fields | Chicago White Sox
8. Alex Gordon | Kansas City Royals
9. Hank Blalock | Texas Rangers
10. Evan Longoria | Tampa Bay Rays
11. Eric Chavez | Oakland Athletics
12. Melvin Mora | Baltimore Orioles
13. Casey Blake | Cleveland Indians
14. Mike Lamb | Minnesota Twins
15. Akinora Iwamura | Tampa Bay Rays
16. Brandon Inge | Detroit Tigers
17. Joe Crede | Chicago White Sox
18. Brandon Wood | Los Angeles Angels

2008 National League Fantasy Baseball Third Base Rankings

1. David Wright | New York Mets
2. Ryan Braun | Milwaukee Brewers
3. Aramis Ramirez | Chicago Cubs
4. Garrett Atkins | Colorado Rockies
5. Chipper Jones | Atlanta Braves
6. Ryan Zimmerman | Washington Nationals
7. Kevin Kouzmanoff | San Diego Padres
8. Edwin Encarnacion | Cincinnati Reds
9. Troy Glaus | St. Louis Cardinals
10. Ty Wigginton | Houston Astros
11. Mark Reynolds | Arizona Diamondbacks
12. Pedro Feliz | Philadelphia Phillies
13. Andy LaRoche | Los Angeles Dodgers
14. Jose Bautista | Pittsburgh Pirates
15. Jose Castillo | Florida Marlins

Last season Jacoby Ellsbury used the playoffs to emerge onto the scene and set the table for the 2008 fantasy season. And he surely didn’t disappoint. This season, David Price seems to be using the ALCS as a preview of what he has in store for Major League hitters.

Price was the first overall pick by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2007 June draft. In 19 combined Advanced-A, Double-A, and Triple-A starts this season Price was 12-1 with a 2.30 ERA with a 109:32 strikeout to walk ratio in 109.2 innings of work.

He was called up in September and worked mostly in relief, but did get one start. His line was 0-0 with a 1.93 ERA and a 12:4 strikeout to walk ratio in 14 innings of work. This post season, Price has seen action in three games as a reliever. The most important look into his future came last night as he earned the save in game 7 of the ALCS against the Red Sox.

Price struck out three and walked one in 1.1 innings of work, and really looked like he was ready to start overpowering Major League hitters. His future lies as a starter next season. And with the Rays only looking to get better, if this kid stays healthy he should be a draftable commodity going into the 2009 fantasy baseball season.

Here are the fantasy baseball rankings for the top ten shortstops for the 2008 season. I will also list the predictions from the pre-season at the bottom of this post for comparison.

1. Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins - With Ramirez you get the best power/speed combo in the game today. 125 runs | 33 HR | 67 RBI | 35 SB | .301
2. Jose Reyes, New York Mets - With Reyes you get fewer home runs, but more stolen bases than Ramirez. You could really argue either player for the top spot here. 113 runs | 16 HR | 68 RBI | 56 SB | .297
3. Jhonny Peralta, Cleveland Indians - Simple math here… There were six shortstops with 20 or more stolen bases and only five with 20 or more home runs. That being said, I gave Peralta the nod over Rollins for the #3 spot. 104 runs | 23 HR | 89 RBI | 3 SB | .276
4. Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia Phillies - With numbers like these, is it really fair to consider 2008 a down year for Rollins? 76 runs | 11 HR | 59 RBI | 47 SB | .277
5. Michael Young, Texas Rangers - Consistency and well rounded statistics keep Young high on this list, but not in the elite crew. 102 runs | 12 HR | 82 RBI | 10 SB | .284
6. J.J. Hardy, Milwaukee Brewers -Hardy’s power numbers place him squarely in the thick of things for shortstops not named Ramirez, Reyes, Rollins or Peralta. 78 runs | 24 HR | 74 RBI | 2 SB | .283
7. Stephen Drew, Arizona Diamondbacks -Drew showed why he was worthy of his first round selection in 2004. 91 runs | 21 HR | 67 RBI | 3 SB | .291
8. Alexei Ramirez, Chicago White Sox -Multi-position goodness plus his well rounded stats make him valuable to any fantasy baseball team. 65 runs | 21 HR | 77 RBI | 13 SB | .290
9. Derek Jeter, New York Yankees -Jeter just isn’t the fantasy force he used to be. But the Yanks couldn’t live without him. 88 runs | 11 HR | 69 RBI | 11 SB | .300
10. Miguel Tejada, Houston Astros -Tejada just edges out Orlando Cabrera for the 10th spot due to his power numbers. 92 runs | 13 HR | 66 RBI | 7 SB | .283

Below find my pre-season rankings of the shortstop position.

2008 American League Fantasy Baseball Shortstop Rankings

1. Derek Jeter | New York Yankees
2. Carlos Guillen* | Detroit Tigers
3. Edgar Renteria | Detroit Tigers
4. Michael Young | Texas Rangers
5. Orlando Cabrera | Chicago White Sox
6. Julio Lugo | Boston Red Sox
7. Jhonny Peralta | Cleveland Indians
8. Jason Bartlett | Tampa Bay Rays
9. Yuniesky Betancourt | Seattle Mariners
10. Tony Pena | Kansas City Royals
11. Erick Aybar | Los Angeles Angels
12. Bobby Crosby | Oakland Athletics
13. David Eckstein | Toronto Blue Jays
14. Adam Everett | Minnesota Twins
15. Juan Uribe | Chicago White Sox
16. Nick Punto | Minnesota Twins
17. John McDonald | Toronto Blue Jays
18. Brandon Wood | Los Angeles Angels

* - Carlos Guillen will be playing first base for the Tigers in 2008, but will have shortstop eligibilty, in most leagues. He is a more valuable shortstop than a first baseman, and should be used as such, as long as he is eligible.

2008 National League Fantasy Baseball Shortstop Rankings

1. Hanley Ramirez | Florida Marlins
2. Jose Reyes | New York Mets
3. Jimmy Rollins | Philadelphia Phillies
4. Troy Tulowitzki | Colorado Rockies
5. Miguel Tejada | Houston Astros
6. J.J. Hardy | Milwaukee Brewers
7. Rafael Furcal | Los Angeles Dodgers
8. Khalil Greene | San Diego Padres
9. Stephen Drew | Arizona Diamondbacks
10. Ryan Theriot | Chicago Cubs
11. Yunel Escobar | Atlanta Braves
12. Jack Wilson | Pittsburgh Pirates
13. Alex Gonzalez | Cincinnati Reds
14. Cristian Guzman | Washington Nationals
15. Omar Vizquel | San Francisco Giants
16. Cesar Izturis | St. Louis Cardinals
17. Brendan Ryan | St. Louis Cardinals
18. Alfredo Amezaga | Florida Marlins
19. Jeff Keppinger | Cincinnati Reds
20. Jamey Carroll | Colorado Rockies