The other day I looked at the fantasy studs from the AL at each position. Today, as promised, I will go through the Senior Circuit. Enjoy!

Catcher: Benji Molina – It is hard to ignore Russell Martin’s steals at the position (eight so far), but he has lagged significantly in other areas this year. McCann is the only backstop in the league currently sporting a .300 average, but he has missed too many games for that to be incredibly significant. The elder Molina stands out in a rather lukewarm class thus far.

First Base: Albert Pujols – It doesn’t get much more obvious than this. What is somewhat surprising, though, is that Albert has already swiped ten bags. Adding steals to his repertoire is just icing on an already very rich cake. It is a shame that Prince Fielder’s fabulous season is being completely eclipsed, but that is what happens when you play the same position as the best player in the game.

Second Base: Chase Utley – As Albert is to all positions, Utley is to second basemen. It seems like years ago that people were avoiding him in drafts because they were concerned about his ability to come back from hip surgery. He has not missed a beat, as he continues to be a five-tool threat. Give credit to Brandon Phillips, though – I was a major skeptic going into the year, but he has put up solid numbers thus far.

Third Base: Mark Reynolds – The subject of my latest profile, Reynolds has had a surprisingly solid season. His batting average is digging its way back to .250 again, but his surplus of steals offsets that quite nicely. It is difficult to distinguish between him and David Wright (Wright leads significantly in BA yet trails equally significantly in home runs and RBI), but, if for no other reason, Reynolds gets the nod because he came at a much, much cheaper price this year. 

Outfield: Ryan Braun, Justin Upton and Raul Ibanez – First of all, how good has the Phillies’ outfield been this year? I could easily make a case that the three of them deserve these three spots, although I put Braun and Upton in ahead of them because of their significant contributions in all five categories. Ibanez gets the edge amongst the Phillies’ outfielders because he is dominant in four categories while still managing to swipe a few bags.

Reserves: Shane Victorino, Jayson Werth and Matt Kemp 

Starting Pitcher: Tim Lincecum – This may have been the most difficult choice on the roster. Lincecum and Dan Haren have established themselves as the clear favorites for fantasy league studs amongst NL starters, with the former having advantages in wins and strikeouts and the latter leading in WHIP and ERA. The choice really comes down to personal value of each pitching category, but I went with Lincecum because I like to get good win and strikeout value from my starters. It is also worth pointing out that Javier Vazquez has quietly had a fabulous season. 

Reserves: Dan Haren, Javier Vazquez, Yovani Gallardo and Josh Johnson 

Closer: Heath Bell – A number of NL closers are having fine seasons, but saves leader and first-year closer Bell emerges as the favorite. Perhaps the best year that has gone largely unnoticed, however, belongs to Rafael Soriano. Splitting the closer role with Mike Gonzalez has cut back on his saves, which kept him from this list, but other than that he has kept up with the best in the league. 

Reserves: Francisco Rodriguez, Ryan Franklin and Jonathan Broxton 

One final observation: you may have noticed that a good majority of these selections were actually selected to the All-Star team. As I stated in the previous write-up, these selections were based solely off of their fantasy league contributions. I think it speaks to how fantasy baseball has taken over fans’ appreciation of the game, as we as fans tend to base much of our perception on a player’s worth on how they do in these core stats. I suppose fans have always had a fascination with home runs, RBI and the like, but it seems to be a rather extreme case these days.

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