Today's Fantasy Rx

Today and tomorrow we present our 2006 Fantasy Baseball All-Star Teams. To compile these rosters, we're employing traditional 5x5 stats with OBP/SLG to resolve any otherwise tight races. We're also using the current All-Star roster rules, including:

At least one representative from every team;

At least two representatives from every fielding position;

Evaluating players at their expected pre-season position while slotting all DHs at their most logical fielding position with Pittsburgh's PNC Park hosting the game;

Twelve pitchers, including at least five starters and three relievers;

and five deserving candidates for the 32nd spot on each team.

Rotohelp's 2006 American League Fantasy Baseball All-Stars

Catcher: Minnesota's Joe Mauer ranks as one of the automatic picks here due to his league-leading batting average. While Ivan Rodriguez, Kenji Johjima, Jason Kendall, Ramon Hernandez, and Jorge Posada each offer strong stats, Cleveland's Victor Martinez secures the back-up spot by adding a high BA to his solid power numbers.

First Base: League-leading power numbers make David Ortiz an easy choice here despite a weaker BA than his primary competitors. Minnesota's Justin Morneau barely secures the second slot over Paul Konerko and Travis Hafner, who will receive serious consideration for bench spots.

Second Base: Brian Roberts' steals make him a tempting choice, but the superior power and tremendous batting average of New York's Robinson Cano earns him the start. Baltimore's Roberts qualifies as a solid back-up.

Third Base: Swiping over 50 bases only makes the Angels' Chone Figgins a back-up here. Despite a troubled season, New York's Alex Rodriguez still easily ranks as the top AL third baseman for fantasy teams.

Shortstop: Compiling the best overall stats of his career earns New York's Derek Jeter the start here. The higher homer and steal totals make Detroit's Carlos Guillen our back-up in a tight race with Mike Young.

Outfield: Tampa's Carl Crawford and Chicago's Jermaine Dye easily earn two of three starting jobs. As one of only a few players with both 100 Runs and RBI, not to mention a .300 BA and nearly 40 homers and 20 steals, the Rangers' Carlos Lee snags the third start. Among many worthy contenders, Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki, Cleveland's Grady Sizemore, and the Angels' Vladimir Guerrero look the best choices as back-ups.

Starting Pitcher: Minnesota's Johan Santana deserves the start here more than anyone else on the team. New York's Chien-ming Wang tied Santana for the big league lead in wins, and Toronto's Roy Halladay nearly matched that feat before another September injury felled him. Two rookies snag the last two spots, as while plenty of pitchers finished with around fifteen wins, only two hit double-digit wins with ERAs below Santana's mark. Minnesota's Francisco Liriano and the Angels' Jered Weaver merit rotation spots here despite each pitcher missing several weeks.

Relief Pitcher: The Angels' Francisco Rodriguez dominates his competition here, and in the amazingly solid second-tier of closers, Toronto's B.J. Ryan and Minnesota's Joe Nathan just edge Bobby Jenks, Huston Street, Jon Papelbon, J.J. Putz, and Mariano Rivera.

With four more pitching slots available, Street fills one as Oakland's rep. With few strikeout pitchers posting all-around strong numbers, Detroit's Jeremy Bonderman edges teammates Kenny Rogers and Justin Verlander for the second spot. Four months of dominance and a sub-1.00 ERA from Boston's Jon Papelbon merit inclusion more than the work of Jenks, Putz, and Rivera, and lastly, with his best campaign in years, New York's Mike Mussina gives us a seventh starter.

Bench: As Esteban German, Mark Grudzielanek, David DeJesus, Ryan Shealy, Mark Redman, and Ambiorix Burgos all failed to impress me, Mark Teahen will represent the Royals on the strength of two dynamic months of work. Cleveland's Travis Hafner ranks as the best hitter not on the team, and as he only failed to start at first courtesy of his injury, we at least need to add him here. Finally, Chicago's Paul Konerko edges Jim Thome, Jason Giambi, Raul Ibanez, Manny Ramirez, and Vernon Wells for the last spot due to a combination of qualitative stats and a high OPS magnified by a greater number of at-bats than most of these challengers.

32nd Man: In a surprisingly closed field, New York's Jason Giambi, Seattle's Raul Ibanez, Boston's Manny Ramirez, Chicago's Jim Thome, and Toronto's Vernon Wells easily rank as the best players not on the regular roster. Bobby Abreu, Corey Patterson, and Johnny Damon provide the best alternatives here.

Today's Fantasy Rx: Monitor the Cardinals and Astros games today. If the Astros win and Cardinals lose, many leagues will allow you to reset your lineups. Prioritize Cardinals since they could play both the Giants tomorrow and the Astros on Tuesday, though be wary of utilizing pitchers who could cost you needed qualitative points with one bad day of work.