Today's Fantasy Rx

Today we conclude our presentation of the 2007 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;

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

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

Rotohelp's 2007 National League Fantasy Baseball All-Stars

Catcher: Russ Martin of the Dodgers finished the year at or near the top of every major offensive category among catchers. While Ben Molina posted solid numbers, Atlanta's Brian McCann claims the back-up job with higher run and RBI totals, as well as a superior OPS.

First Base: Fifty homers make Milwaukee's Prince Fielder our starter here. Despite a relatively down year, the Cardinals' Albert Pujols provided the overall value, particularly with his BA, to relegate Philadelphia's Ryan Howard to one of the four bench spots.

Second Base: Cincinnati's Brandon Phillips posted outstanding numbers, including an amazingly quiet 30-30 season, but with Philadelphia's Chase Utley on the very short list for MVP in addition to his great roto numbers, Utley deserves the start here.

Third Base: New York's David Wright, who deserves serious MVP consideration despite the Mets' collapse, paced the Senior Circuit here. The fifteen steals added by Milwaukee's Ryan Braun gives him the second berth at third ahead of Chipper Jones and Miguel Cabrera.

Shortstop: You can't go wrong with picking NL shortstops as three players turned in ridiculously good fantasy seasons. Florida's Hanley Ramirez, the best NL offensive player this year and another great MVP candidate, gets to start thanks to adding more steals and a much higher batting average than Philadelphia's Jimmy Rollins. However, with seventy-eight steals and a 119 runs, New York's Jose Reyes absolutely demands one of four flexible bench spots.

Outfield: Arizona's Eric Byrnes paces the circuit with his combination of speed and power, though likely batting champ Matt Holliday of Colorado similarly impressed. For the third starting slot, despite an awful OBP that essentially doomed the Dodgers, Juan Pierre stole over sixty bases, hit nearly .300, and scored almost a hundred times, numbers that make him an easy choice here. The five-category contributions of Philadelphia's Aaron Rowand, Houston's Carlos Lee, and Chicago's Alfonso Soriano will complete our outfield.

Starting Pitcher: San Diego's Jake Peavy easily paces all NL starters, though Arizona's Brandon Webb at least posted respectable overall numbers. Cincinnati's Aaron Harang provided strong contributions in strikeouts, wins, and WHIP, and Atlanta's John Smoltz, despite a fairly unimpressive fourteen wins, added sufficient strikeout and qualitative support to earn a slot. Finally, in a surprising result, finishing third in the league in WHIP while adding fifteen wins and 177 strikeouts makes Philadelphia's Cole Hamels the fifth most valuable NL starter.

Relief Pitcher: While you essentially can't make a bad pick here, Jose Valverde of the Diamondbacks, Francisco Cordero of the Brewers, and especially Takashi Saito of the Dodgers require inclusion.

With three more pitching slots available, San Diego's Trevor Hoffman also demands a berth. Washington's Chad Cordero thankfully gives the Nationals a representative on merit, and lastly, Pittsburgh's Matt Capps provided sufficient five-category value to deserve the Pirates' slot.

Bench: With Jose Reyes and Ryan Howard already occupying two of these four spots, only two remain for the Giants' rep and the best remaining offensive player in the league. Considering San Francisco hosted the game and only features one offensive force in the lineup, the Giants' Barry Bonds, who finished only a few plate appearances shy of leading the NL in OPS, receives one last opportunity to represent his hometown. Finally, while Carlos Beltran, Adam Dunn, and particularly Chipper Jones posted solid numbers, Florida's Miguel Cabrera appears the best choice to complete this offense.

32nd Man: Among many essentially equally deserving pitchers, the Dodgers' Brad Penny, San Diego's Chris Young, Atlanta's Tim Hudson, New York's Billy Wagner, and the Cardinals' Jason Isringhausen appear the best NL pitchers who couldn't crack the top eleven. With Penny posting a mediocre WHIP and Young winning just nine games, Hudson actually appears the best option here, particularly considering we selected five starters and six relievers earlier.

Today's Fantasy Rx: If Alex Rodriguez signs somewhere like San Francisco, the balance of fantasy power appears set to shift to the National League for the first time in possibly more than a decade. With several intriguing upper-level prospects set to reach the majors in 2008, led by the Reds' Jay Bruce, I see plenty of reasons for the NL to continue gaining on the AL over the rest of the decade. Yes, the Red Sox, Yankees, Tigers, and Angels possess extremely deep pockets and could keep the AL kicking, but with the Mets, Phillies, Cubs, and Dodgers similarly loaded, not to mention crops of talent on the Brewers, Diamondbacks, and Rockies to rival the young rosters of the Rays and Indians, we may start seeing even greater parity develop throughout the majors. With no team either winning or losing more than ninety-six games this year, baseball appears as healthy as ever, so feel free to invest in those long-term contracts in stable keeper leagues.