Fantasy Baseball: Top Keepers for 2011 -- Top 20 Overall

There are at least three advantages I found in breaking down the 2011 season's top fantasy baseball keepers in November 2010:

1. It's an excellent way to get ready for next spring's drafts -- whether you're in a keeper league or prefer to start from scratch each year.

2. It allowed us to evaluate how we value Jose Bautista at a loaded position, following one of the most remarkable "Where did that come from?" seasons we've ever witnessed. (For the record, I ranked him No. 7 in the outfield, one behind Matt Holliday and just ahead of Matt Kemp.)

3. I had an excuse to "research" Brian Wilson YouTube videos. We need more like him in baseball.

We ranked the top keepers at each position with a simple premise: We're looking for players who can help us the next two to three years, with 2011 being the most important.

Here is the hub that contains the links to all the keeper rankings.

And before we get to the top 20 overall, here are the position breakdowns:

• Catchers
• First basemen
• Second basemen
• Shortstops
• Third basemen
• Designated hitters
• Outfielders
• Starting pitchers
• Closers

Let's get to the top 20 overall (the players' ages on April 1, 2011 are in parentheses):

1. Albert Pujols, 1B, Cardinals (31): He has one more year on his contract and he's said to want Alex Rodriguez money. Lucky for us, all we have to do is draft him and enjoy the .330 average, 115 runs, 40 homers and 120 RBI.
2. Carlos Gonzalez, OF, Rockies (25): He's a Triple Crown threat who will be the No. 1 overall pick in some leagues. He's played only one full season, however, so what he's not is a sure thing. Advantage: Pujols.
3. Hanley Ramirez, SS, Marlins (27): It would be difficult to argue with anyone who prefers Ramirez over Gonzalez near the top of the 2011 draft. He's a given to hit .300 with 20-plus homers and 30-plus steals.
4. Buster Posey, C, Giants (24): He's already a world champion and he's already a top-five keeper. And you thought battery mate Brian Wilson had it made.
5. Miguel Cabrera, 1B, Tigers (27): How consistently excellent is Cabrera? In 39 fewer at-bats than Pujols in 2010, he batted 16 points higher, drove in eight more runs and finished four homers and four runs shy of Mr. Fantasy.
6. Troy Tulowitzki, SS, Rockies (26): He does it all. You just have to hope he stays healthy the entire season, which hasn't been the case in two of the last three years.
7. Tim Lincecum, SP, Giants (26): He's a two-time Cy Young winner who is guaranteed to strike out more than 225 batters per season. And he has a cool nickname.
8. Felix Hernandez, SP, Mariners (24): He's a first-time Cy Young winner who was so good in 2010 it didn't matter that he finished one game above .500 (13-12).
9. Evan Longoria, 3B, Rays (25): He might be a little low here, but his 11-homer drop from 2009 to 2010, along with the possibility he'll hit in the .285 range with no more than 10 to 12 steals make him seem like a very safe late first-round pick.
10. Robinson Cano, 2B, Yankees (28): His homers more than doubled between 2008 and 2010 (from 14 to 29), and his RBI increased by 37 to 109 in that span. Either he's that good or this past season was as good as it gets for Cano. Here's a vote for Possibility No. 1.
11. Joey Votto, 1B, Reds (27): There obviously are more options in the outfield, but only first base has three of the top 11 players. Votto batted 12 points better than Pujols in 2010 and was within nine runs, five homers and five RBI of him.
12. Josh Hamilton, OF, Rangers (29): He had a huge 2008 and was having a monstrous 2010 until a rib injury ended his campaign after 518 at-bats. Injuries are the biggest flaw in his candidacy to be the top outfielder.
13. Ryan Braun, OF, Brewers (27): Unlike Hamilton, he's not a threat to hit 40 homers every year. Unlike Gonzalez, he's not a threat for 40 steals. What he is: Consistently productive in all five categories.
14. Roy Halladay, SP, Phillies (33): He and Pujols are the only players in the 30-and-over club who made the top 20. Halladay is 90-43 the last five seasons and hides his age almost as well as Connie Britton. (Let me guess: You don't watch "Friday Night Lights." Give it a try. Like Halladay, it never disappoints.)
15. Joe Mauer, C, Twins (27): I was tempted to rank him higher, then I remembered he has hit more than 13 home runs once and driven in more than 85 runs one time. But, man, can he hit.
16. David Wright, 3B, Mets (28): He's a .305 career batter who might hit more homers and steal more bases than Longoria, but his 2009 numbers (10 homers, 72 RBI) still scare me slightly.
17. Carl Crawford, OF, Rays (29): Do you want your top outfielder to score 110 runs, bat better than .300, hit 17 to 20 homers, drive in 80-plus runs and steal 50 bases? He's your guy, no matter where he lands in free agency.
18. Dustin Pedroia, 2B, Red Sox (27): I wouldn't worry about the foot injury that wrecked his season. Pedroia's 2010 numbers projected over a 600 at-bat season: .288, 24 homers, 81 RBI, 18 steals and 105 runs.
19. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B, Padres (28): Can the Padres afford to keep him around? Probably not. Can we? As long as we don't mind a 30-homer, 100-RBI masher who hits for average.
20. David Price, SP, Rays (25): As a 25-year-old 19-game winner, you might expect Price to be in the top 12 to 15. I just wish he was more of a threat to rack up strikeout numbers within 25 of Lincecum and Hernandez.

Five who almost made it

We ranked the Mets' Jose Reyes third among shortstops, but he's an injury risk -- and, in his case, injuries affect what he does best, which is steal bases. ... The Braves' Jason Heyward should be drafted among the top 10 outfielders next season, and he's a top-25 overall keeper at age 21. ...The Nationals' Ryan Zimmerman should be selected ahead of A-Rod at third base and is a 30-homer, 100-RBI threat who hits for average. ... The Red Sox's Jon Lester is a great story, and a darned good pitcher. ... Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright wins 20 games, strikes out more than 200 and posts an ERA in the 2.50 range. That's enough for a spot in the top 25.

We hope you enjoyed the series, and we'll be back soon with rankings for 2011 -- the standard, non-keeper, We're Playing To Win It This Year breakdowns.