We are switching to twelve for each position, mainly because there are tons of twelve team leagues.  You need to make sure you get an upper echelon in this category if you can (without sacrificing too many stats) as this is a very weak position.  Here is what you have to work with:

(1) Chase Utley.  .292-33-104-113-14 stat line for last season.  That is one heck of a run, this year, there will be Raul Ibanez in it instead of Pat Burrell, which in my opinion means that Utley could score even more runs because of a consistent run producer behind him.  Sick – and don’t forget he played with a hurt knee for quite a bit of the year.

(2) Dustin Pedroia.  I stand by my opinion that Utley is the head and shoulders pick in this position.  Saying that, Pedroia has to be respected.  The AL-MVP had one heck of a year, but in terms of fantasy, he had huge value in a stat that is hard to replicate.  He did well in the other 4, but had a .326 avg that I have a hard time being repeated.  Even at .300, he has huge value.

(3) Ian Kinsler.  He plays in the right ballpark for fantasy!  Expect some more good scores, but don’t expect him to play every game.  In the last three seasons he is playing in about 126 games a year, never getting more than 130.  He is consistently semi-healthy!

(4) Brandon Phillips.  I am taking him over the next guy because he has done it the past few years.  20/20 years (30/30 in 2007) are hard to come by in the second base category and he has proven he does it.  Keep with him, I will not be afraid to draft him.

(5) Alexei Ramirez.  Will he have the sophomore slump or will he blast off into middle infield fantasy stardom?  This guy gets extra credit for also having SS eligibility having played more than 15 games at the position.  If he proves he is no fluke than he will give you more value than Phillips IMO.  Take your pick between them and I cannot argue either way.

(6) Brian Roberts.  Everyone loves him because he will give you the most steals out of a quality fantasy player outside of the first round (Willy Tavarez will steal a ton of bases and give you nothing else).

(7) Mark Derosa.  Last year was probably the career year for him, but he will still be very good.  He is going to put up solid numbers in 4 of the 5 categories (SB not so much).

(8) Dan Uggla.  He does not hit for a huge average, but hits consistently huge numbers for a 2B that you have to like the guy.  With the Marlins he scored almost 100 and drove in almost 100.

(9) Rickie Weeks.  I am convinced this guy is going to be a solid value pick at 2B late this year.  Most will look at his horrid average and look at him as a throwaway.  You should realize that he will do better than that (.234) and continue to give you close to 20 HR and over 20 SB.  If he stays healthy (only 129 games last year) expect something huge.

(10) Jose Lopez.  Nothing spectacular in any stat, outside of SB he will put up okay numbers in everything.  Don’t get excited, but don’t forget his name.

(11) Clint Barmes. If he can stay on the field, he’ll give you really good 2B position for a late round pick.

(12) Kelly Johnson.  I think he is a simple and safe option when everyone else is gone and you are staring at the computer screen wondering what to do next.  You should be able to get one of these twelve, but if not…

Robinson Cano will probably be gone.  Yankees tend to get picked earlier than they ought to.  He had a couple good years stats wise, but nothing spectacular and last year he forgot how to steal bases.

The sleeper in this position comes from the North Side of Chicago.  Mike Fontenot, if he can receive some extra playing time this year with Derosa playing super-utility, will be a huge plus to your team.  He drives the ball into the gaps giving you many RBI chances and double digit HR capacity.  We will see if he can get the playing time shortly into the season.