(Updated) 2012 Fantasy Baseball Preseason Rankings: Top 50 Outfielders

With his 50-game suspension for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing drugs overturned, one thing is clear: it's a positive (no pun intended) to his fantasy value.

Milwaukee left fielder Ryan Braun, last year's N.L. MVP, set career highs in batting average (.332) and stolen bases (33) and came close to career highs in runs scored (109), runs batted in (111) and home runs (33) last year.

While Braun had a career-best season, he's been as consistent as any other player over the past five years since being called up late-May 2007.

Despite playing in only 113 games in his rookie season, here are his career lows: 91 runs scored, 25 home runs, 97 runs batted in and 14 stolen bases. As a career .312 hitter, Braun has hit above .300 in four of five seasons and .320 or better three times.

Based on his first five seasons, here are his average stats per 162 games: 112 runs scored, 36 home runs, 118 runs batted in and 21 stolen bases.

Two reasons for a potential drop-off in production are: (1) the free-agent departure of Prince Fielder and (2) the possible constant questioning by reporters and taunting by fans, especially on the road, about the PED issue wearing thin on Braun.

Going into 2012, Braun is my No. 3 ranked outfielder behind L.A.'s Matt Kemp and Toronto's Jose Bautista, who still has third base eligibility. If Bautista was only outfield eligible, I would rank Braun second among outfielders behind Kemp.

Here are some notes on outfielders:

- Speaking of Kemp, he had a legitimate shot to win the triple crown last year. He finished first in the National League in home runs (39) and runs batted in (126) and third in average (.324). Kemp finished with career highs in home runs, runs batted in, runs scored (115), and stolen bases (40). Only one homer shy of his first 40-40 season, it was the second 30-30 season of Kemp's career.

- Cardinals outfielder Lance Berkman, who had his best season since 2008, finished seventh in N.L. MVP voting last year. In 145 games, Berkman hit .301 with 31 homers and 94 runs batted in. Although he hit for a higher average after the All-Star Break (.315 vs. .290), Berkman hit 24 of his 31 home runs and drove in 63 of his 94 runs before the break.

- Washington's Michael Morse, who has eligibility at first base and outfield, was fantasy bargain in 2011. Not only did he have a great season (.303 with 31 home runs and 95 runs batted in), he was consistent before and after the All-Star game: .306-15-49 (before split) and .299-16-46 (after break). That said, his two worst months were his first (April) and last (September) of the season.

- Last year, Tampa Bay's B.J. Upton was one homer and one RBI shy of the career highs he set in 2007. While Upton had a four-year low in steals (36) to go along with his 23 homers and 81 runs batted in, he has hit .243 or less in each of the past three seasons.

- Cleveland's Shin-Soo Choo, who missed half of last season due to his thumb injury, is healthy heading into 2012 and is looking to bounce back after a down season. Before last year, Choo had back-to-back seasons with .300 average, 20-plus homers and 20-plus steals. Choo provides plenty of upside as a bounce-back candidate.

- Atlanta's Jason Heyward has the potential to deliver a big return for fantasy owners in 2012. Heyward, who turns only 23 in August, had a shoulder injury that slowed him down last year, but he should be healthy to start the season. Heyward saw his average drop from .277 to .227 and his RBIs drop from 72 to 42 last year.

- Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki has seen his batting average decline from .352 in 2009 to .315 in 2010 to a career-low .272 in 2011. In fact, it was the first time in Ichiro's career that he hit below .300. Suzuki has stolen 40-plus bases in back-to-back seasons, but he's now 37 years old (i.e., eventually he will slow down) and he will hit third in the batting order, which will reduce his base-stealing opportunities some.

- As a former second-overall pick, Kansas City's Alex Gordon was a bit of disappointment based on his potential. In his first four seasons, Gordon hit .260 or lower, 16 homers or less and drove in 60 runs or less every season. Last year, Gordon had a breakout season setting career highs across the board: .303 average, 101 runs scored, 23 homers, 87 runs batted in and 17 stolen bases.

Here are our top 50 outfielders for the 2012 season:

1. Matt Kemp, Dodgers
2. Jose Bautista, Blue Jays
3. Ryan Braun, Brewers
4. Carlos Gonzalez, Rockies
5. Justin Upton, Diamondbacks
6. Jacoby Ellsbury, Red Sox
7. Curtis Granderson, Yankees
8. Andrew McCutchen, Pirates
9. Josh Hamilton, Rangers
10. Nelson Cruz, Rangers
11. Mike Stanton, Marlins
12. Desmond Jennings, Rays
13. Matt Holliday, Cardinals
14. Hunter Pence, Phillies
15. Jay Bruce, Reds
16. Alex Gordon, Royals
17. Michael Morse, Nationals
18. Shin-Soo Choo, Indians
19. Carl Crawford, Red Sox
20. Ben Zobrist, Rays
21. Shane Victorino, Phillies
22. B.J. Upton, Rays
23. Michael Bourn, Braves
24. Drew Stubbs, Reds
25. Jason Heyward, Braves
26. Corey Hart, Brewers
27. Adam Jones, Orioles
28. Lance Berkman, Cardinals
29. Brett Gardner, Yankees
30. Howard Kendrick, Angels
31. Nick Markakis, Orioles
32. Andre Ethier, Dodgers
33. Jayson Werth, Nationals
34. Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners
35. Chris Young, Diamondbacks
36. Carlos Beltran, Cardinals
37. Michael Cuddyer, Rockies
38. Logan Morrison, Marlins
39. Melky Cabrera, Giants
40. Delmon Young, Tigers
41. Nick Swisher, Yankees
42. Peter Bourjos, Angels
43. Cameron Maybin, Padres
44. Jeff Franceour, Royals
45. Torii Hunter, Angels
46. Martin Prado, Braves
47. Matt Joyce, Rays
48. Emilio Bonifacio, Marlins
49. Alex Rios, White Sox
50. Jose Tabata, Pirates

Other Positions: C - 1B - 2B - 3B - SS - OF - SP - RP

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Ryan Braun wins appeal, 50-game suspension overturned

A couple of months ago, it was announced that Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun would be suspended for 50 games for violating the league's policy against performance-enhancing drugs.

Today Braun, the 2011 N.L. MVP, became the first player to win an appeal of a PED suspension, which means he will be able to play Opening Day and the remaining 161 games this season.

According to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Braun won the appeal "not so much on contesting the result of the test but the testing process itself."

Per Haudricourt, here's part of the statement from MLB: " ... While we have always respected that process, Major League Baseball vehemently disagrees with the decision rendered today by arbitrator Shyam Das.”

With the ruling, we have moved Braun up to No. 3 in our fantasy outfielder rankings behind only Matt Kemp and Jose Bautista.

Not only did Braun set career highs in batting average (.332) and stolen bases (33) last year, but he was one of only four players to finish with a 30-30 season. Braun is five-category stud as he has driven in 100-plus runs for four straight seasons and scored 100-plus runs for three straight seasons.

Ryan Braun's MRI shows inflammation but no structural damage

Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun missed a fourth consecutive game on Wednesday. And although he won't play in the series opener against the Reds on Thursday, he could return as early as Friday, per MLB.com's Adam McCalvey.

Braun had an MRI today and the results showed inflammation in a tendon behind the knee -- but no structural damage.

"I think it was the best-case result," Braun said, per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. "They said the only thing that could have been better was if it was more in the muscle. It's kind of more hamstring than calf. It's in a tendon behind my knee that's in between the calf and the hamstring. It doesn't get as much blood flow as a muscle does.

"I'm not in pain or anything like that. It's just that, unfortunately, I'm not able to do baseball activities. The goal is to minimize the time missed. It's more beneficial to miss a little time now than a long time down the road."

If Braun doesn't play this weekend, he said he won't play in the All-Star Game next week.

On the season, Braun is hitting .320 with 16 home runs, 62 runs batted in and 19 stolen bases. Along with Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp, Braun is one of two players in baseball that is hitting at least .300 with 15-plus homers and 15-plus steals.

Matt Kemp out of lineup due to tight hamstring

Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp was scratched from tonight's game due to a tight left hamstring, per Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.

Hernandez also tweeted the team removed him from the lineup "as a precaution" so it doesn't seem to be serious.

In his previous nine games, Kemp had 16 hits (seven multi-hit games), six home runs and 17 runs batted in.

On the season, he is top five in the National League in the triple-crown categories: average (.329, fifth), home runs (18, first) and runs batted in (53, second).

Ian Kinsler could miss first four days of season, or not

One of the big knocks on Rangers' second baseman Ian Kinsler is his ability (or, lack thereof) to stay healthy. (The other major knock is his relatively low batting average as he's a career .253 hitter.)

After all, he's averaged only 129 games per season in his four-year Major League career.

Now Kinsler, who's ankle is feeling better, said he was "95 percent certain" that he'd be ready for Opening Day on April 5th, per Anthony Andro of the Dallas Morning News.

Otherwise, he could end up on the disabled list making him eligible to return on April 11th.

"If I miss four days, it's a lot better to miss four days than to miss 15," Kinsler said, per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "It's always fun to be part of Opening Day; you've got the huge flags and the planes, and the stadium is packed."

Although there are several players who have the ability to put up 30-30 seasons, such as Matt Kemp (Dodgers) and Hanley Ramirez (Marlins), only one player had a 30-30 season in 2009.

That was Ian Kinsler, who played a career-high 144 games.

Kinsler is the consensus second player at second base drafted in fantasy baseball behind Philadelphia's Chase Utley and will cost you a second-round pick.

Not quite mid-season awards: N.L. MVP

Over the weekend, I began the process of selecting my Cy Youngs and MVPs in both leagues by making my N.L. Cy Young pick based on production thus far.

Obviously, a lot can change between now and October, but today I will pick my National League MVP through June 22nd.

After his 6-for-12 performance this weekend with three home runs and ten RBI, the NL MVP race is the most clear-cut of the four award races.

The award goes to Albert Pujols, who becomes only the third player to begin a career with nine consecutive 25-home run seasons. Despite my personal bias (Pujols is my favorite player), it's hard to argue with this pick.





Pujols leads the N.L. in runs scored (56), home runs (26), runs batted in (68), OBP (.448) and OPS (1.169). He is also hitting .329 on the season. He nearly has as many home runs (26) as he has strikeouts (27).

As an added bonus, he's on pace to steal 21 bases. In fact, his nine steals lead the majors for first baseman. And the Cardinals currently lead the N.L. Central.

So, the real battle is for runner-up.

Runner-up: Raul Ibanez, Phillies - For me, it came down to Prince Fielder and Ibanez, who is on the 15-day DL. Ibanez, who is off to a torrid start excluding being placed on the DL, is in the top three in the N.L. in runs (51), home runs (22), runs batted in (59) and OPS (1.027).

In addition, Ibanez is hitting .312 for the Phillies, who currently lead the N.L. East.

Honorable Mention (not necessarily in order): Prince Fielder (Brewers), Matt Kemp (Dodgers), David Wright (Mets), Adrian Gonzalez (Padres) and Ryan Braun (Brewers).

Manny Ramirez, a role model?

Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote yesterday that all things related to suspended Dodger Manny Ramirez seemed to disappear at Dodger Stadium.

In today's column by Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, Ramirez is allowed to be around the team and that the Dodgers "hope" that Ramirez "sticks with the team, goes on road trips, and remains supportive."

They consider Ramirez a "role model" when it comes to work ethic for young hitters Matt Kemp and James Loney.

On the season, Kemp is batting .287 with four home runs, 23 runs batted in and eight stolen bases. Loney is hitting .278 and has yet to hit a home run, but he has 21 RBIs.

Matt Kemp reminds Torre of A-Rod

Per Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp reminds his manager, Joe Torre, of Alex Rodriguez.

For Kemp's sake, hopefully nicknames like K-Fraud won't follow.

"The ball doesn't come down when he hits it," Torre said. "He's one of those guys that doesn't have to hit it on the screws."

Hitting coach Don Mattingly says that Kemp reminds him of Bo Jackson, because of the "stupid stuff they are able to do."

Kemp definitely has the tools that give him "super-superstar potential" as teammate Doug Mientkiewicz says.

When asked about the type of numbers Kemp might someday put up, Torre didn't want to put undue pressure on the kid.

"That's not fair for me to put that on him," Torre says.

Although Torre and the Dodgers don't want to put pressure on him, I have no qualms about doing so as Kemp not only plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers but for "Rays Nation" as well. [Not as funny of a fantasy team name now that the Rays are actually good.]

In any event, as owner of "Rays Nation," take a quick look at the "stupid" pace Kemp is on.

So far this season, Kemp has hit safely in all 13 Dodgers games for an average of .383 and an OPS of 1.157. His 3 HRs, 14 RBIs and 4 SBs puts him on a pace of 37 HRs, 174 RBIs and 50 SBs.

No pressure Matty.