Top 10 by Position

I have evaluated all the teams and now I will do my top 10 by position. The name of the player followed by their team. Both offense and defense are considered for the player's rank. I base the rankings on the player's past three seasons to get a large enough sample size, also accounting for age.

Catcher

1. Buster Posey - San Francisco Giants
2. Joe Mauer - Minnesota Twins
3. Yadiar Molina - St. Louis Cardinals
4. Miguel Montero - Arizona Diamond Backs
5. AJ Pierzynski - Texas Rangers
6. Matt Wieters - Baltimore Orioles
7. Carlos Santana - Cleveland Indians
8. JP Arencibia - Toronto Blue Jays
9. Jared Saltalmaccia - Boston Red Sox
10. Jesus Montero - Seattle Mariners

"I'm the hero San Francisco deserves." 

First Base

1. Joey Votto - Cincinnati Reds
2. Albert Pujols - Los Angeles Angels
3. Prince Fielder - Detroit Tigers
4. Adrian Gonzalez - Los Angeles Dodgers
5. Paul Konerko - Chicago White Sox
6. Mark Teixeira - New York Yankees
7. Ryan Howard - Philadelphia Phillies
8. Adam Laroach - Washington Nationals
9. Chris Davis - Baltimore Orioles
10. Justin Morneau - Minnesota Twins

"Hey Brandon, look at what I can do!"

Second Base

1. Robinson Cano - New York Yankees
2. Dustin Pedroia - Boston Red Sox
3. Brandon Phillips - Cincinnati Reds
4. Jason Kipnis - Cleveland Indians
5. Ian Kinsler - Texas Rangers
6. Aaron Hill - Arizona Diamond Backs
7. Jose Altuve - Houston Astros
8. Danny Espinosa - Washington Nationals
9. Marco Scuttaro - San Francisco Giants
10. David Murphy - New York Mets

"#Swag"

Third Base

1. Miguel Cabrera - Detroit Tigers
2. Adrian Beltre - Texas Rangers
3. David Wright - New York Mets
4. Evan Longoria - Tampa Bay Rays
5. Pablo Sandoval - San Francisco Giants
6. Aramis Ramirez - Milwaukee Brewers
7. Chase Headly - San Diego Padres
8. Ryan Zimmerman - Washington Nationals
9. Mike Moustakis - Kansas City Royals
10. Kevin Youkilis - New York Yankees

"You can call me King Cabrera"

Short Stop

1. Troy Tulowitzki - Colorado Rockies
2. Starlin Castro - Chicago Cubs
3. Jose Reyes - Toronto Blue Jays
4. Derek Jeter - New York Yankees
5. Hanley Ramirez - Los Angeles Dodgers
6. Elvis Andrus - Texas Rangers
7. Ian Desmond - Washington Nationals
8. JJ Hardy - Baltimore Orioles
9. Alexi Ramirez - Chicago White Sox
10. Erick Aybar - Los Angeles Angels

"I play for which team?"

Left Field

1. Ryan Braun - Milwaukee Brewers
2. Josh Hamilton - Los Angeles Angels
3. Carlos Gonzalez - Colorado Rockies
4. Matt Holliday - St. Louis Cardinals
5. Michael Morse - Seattle Mariners
6. Justin Upton - Atlanta Braves
7. Alex Gordon - Kansas City Royals
8. Josh Willingham - Minnesota Twins
9. Jason Kubel - Arizona Diamond Backs
10. Bryce Harper - Washington Nationals

"Spittin seeds like I'm hittin homers."

Center Field

1. Matt Kemp - Los Angeles Dodgers
2. Andrew McCutchen - Pittsburgh Pirates
3. Mike Trout - Los Angeles Angels
4. Adam Jones - Baltimore Orioles
5. Curtis Granderson - New York Yankees
6. BJ Upton - Atlanta Braves
7. Shin-Soo Choo - Cincinnati Reds
8. Jacoby Ellsbury - Boston Red Sox
9. Angel Pagan - San Francisco Giants
10. Austin Jackson - Detroit Tigers

"What did Cano say?"

Right Field

1. Giancarlo Stanton - Miami Marlins
2. Jason Heyward - Atlanta Braves
3. Jay Bruce - Cincinnati Reds
4. Nick Swisher - Cleveland Indians
5. Andre Ethier - Los Angeles Dodgers
6. Jose Baustista - Toronto Blue Jays
7. Carlos Beltran - St. Lewis Cardinals
8. Hunter Pence - San Francisco Giants
9. Nick Markakis - Baltimore Orioles
10. Ichiro Suzuki - New York Yankees

"Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one on the field."

Designated Hitters - Top 5

1. David Ortiz - Boston Red Sox
2. Edwin Encarnacion - Toronto Blue Jays
3. Billy Butler - Kansas City Royals
4. Victor Martinez - Detroit Tigers
5. Kendrys Morales - Seattle Mariners

"Hitting singles is too mainstream" 

Starting Pitcher

1. Clayton Kershaw - Los Angeles Dodgers
2. Justin Verlander - Detroit Tigers
3. Felix Hernandez - Seattle Mariners
4. Jered Weaver - Los Angeles Angels
5. David Price - Tampa Bay Rays
6. RA Dickey - Toronto Blue Jays
7. Matt Cain - San Francisco Giants
8. Stephan Strasburg - Washington Nationals
9. CC Sabathia - New York Yankees
10. Cole Hamels - Philadelphia Phillies

"Koufax said he liked my stuff!"

Closers

1. Craig Kimbrel - Atlanta Braves
2. Aroldis Chapman - Cincinnati Reds
3. Mariano Rivera - New York Yankees
4. Fernando Rodney - Tampa Bay Rays
5. Johnathon Papelbon - Philadelphia Phillies
6. Sergio Romo - San Francisco Giants
7.  Kenley Jansen - Los Angeles Dodgers
8.  Rafael Soriano - Washington Nationals
9. Steve Cishek - Maimi Marlins
10. Jim Johnson - Baltimore Orioles

"Right handed Billy Wagner? How about non left handed Craig Kimbrel?"

Remember it isn't just the players that make a team good. It is how they play together and they players around them.

The Cincinnati Reds

The Reds finished the 2011 season with a record of 79 wins and 83 losses. They had a busy off season and are going to work hard for a division title.

The Reds have the 26 year old right handed pitcher Jonny Cueto. Cueto pitched 156 innings with an ERA of 2.31. Cueto has a lot of talent, but needs to work a little harder. The Reds also have 35 year old Bronson Arroyo.Arroyo is an innings eater. He has pitched 200 innings the past 7 seasons and has a 4.19 ERA over that time. An ERA that high is acceptable over so many innings. Mike Leake is 24 years old and pitched 167 innings with a 3.86 ERA in 2011. Finally The Reds traded for 24 year old right handed pitcher Matt Latos. Latos pitched 184 innings in  2010 and 194 innings in 2011. in 2010 he had a 2.92 and a 3.47 ERA in 2011. Since he is only 24 he will only get better with time. The Reds have a very stable and strong pitching rotation; the 5th spot may be taken by Homer Bailey or Andrew Brackman.

The 2010 MVP award was taken by Joey Votto. In 2011 Votto continued to be a huge offensive threat. In 161 games he hit 29 home runs, 40 doubles, 103 RBI's and had an on base percentage of .416. Votto also won the gold glove award in 2011, showing that he is improving in all aspects of his game. Jay Bruce is the other slugger in the lineup for The Reds. Bruce hit 32 home runs and had a .474 slugging percentage in 2011. Lets not forget about all star second baseman Brandon Phillips. He hit 18 home runs while having a .353 on base percentage and wining the gold glove award.

The Bullpen for The Reds has taken a revolutionary turn for the better. They signed free agent closer Ryan Madson. Madson has pitched wonderfully over the past 2 seasons, collecting a 2.45 ERA, a 1.10 WHIP, and a 10.0 K/9. They also acquired Sean Marshal from The Cubs. Coincidentally the lefty has a 2.45 ERA over the past 2 seasons as well. Aroldis Chapman is the flamethrower in the bullpen for The Reds. Chapman throws 98-100 MPH fast balls consistently and a deadly slider that is 87 MPH. I do not want to get hit with that. Jose Arredondo threw 53 innings in 2011 with an ERA of 3.23 and Nick Masset threw 70 inngs with a 3.71 ERA in 2011. The Reds have a very strong bullpen.

I have the Reds set to win the NL Central in 2011. They will compete with their rivals The Cardinals for the division title. It will be interesting to see the conflict between the 2 rise throughout the 2011 season.