Check out our notes on the top 10 catchers you should target in fantasy drafts, and then the remaining ranked players you could consider in later rounds:

We know, we know, it’s all subjective. Still, it makes sense to get it going at First Base, so that’s where we’ll start. Keep in mind that we’ll be making changes to these rankings all the way up until the season starts, as injuries, signings, and rotation changes tend to shake things up a bit for your fantasy baseball draft.

Without further haste, here are our First Baseman rankings for the 2012 fantasy baseball season:

Room for Fielder’s bat in the lineup opened up when Victor Martinez tore a knee in Spring Training, likely putting him out for the season.
Prince grew up watching his father, Cecil, play for the Tigers, and famously hit a home run at Tiger Stadium when he was just 12 years old.

This offseason, it was well known that they Yankees wanted to add starting pitching to help out CC Sabathia. They had interest in Edwin Jackson, but decided they didn’t like Scott Boras’ asking price. It was also well known that the Mariners wanted to add a power hitter. They had interest in Prince Fielder, but decided they didn’t like Scott Boras’ asking price. Instead of dealing with Boras, the two teams decided to deal with each other.

But alas, new ownership will bring a deep-rooted, philosophical change to an organization that has been putting the pedal to the floor and spinning its wheels for far too long. The Cubs are starting over, and in time, they’ll be back on top. In their wake, they will leave a vacancy for the title of King Albatross. But which team will take their place? Who will be the heir to their overpriced throne? This off-season may have provided some clues.

The Washington Nationals

Early in the offseason, the Nationals had been rumored to be have made Prince Fielder an offer. Since then, the Nationals have vehemently denied interest in Fielder. However, some reports continue to link Fielder to Washington. If the Nationals sign Fielder, they will have one of the best teams in the NL. They will also have one of the most expensive future payrolls in all of MLB.

Fielder would mark the second top client of Scott Boras that the Nationals have signed in as many years, as they signed Jayson Werth to an enormous contract last season. After years of cellar-dwelling, and top-5 draft picks, the Nationals have a tremendous amount of young talent. Ryan Zimmerman is arguably the league’s best 3rd Baseman. Stephan Strasburg is arguably the league’s scariest Starting Pitcher. Drew Storen is the closer of the future. Bryce Harper has the potential to be an all-time great power hitter, while Wilson Ramos, Danny Espinosa, and Michael Morse fill out a solid lineup. Jordan Zimmerman has shown promise, and the Nationals have just bolstered their starting staff by trading for Gio Gonzalez.

The Nationals would love to sign Ryan Zimmerman to a contract extension, and if they want to remain competitive, they absolutely must keep Strasburg around by paying him sooner than later. But with Ryan Zimmerman, Stephen Strasburg, and Jayson Werth making $10-$20 Million for the next 6 years, the Nationals payroll could be on the verge of ballooning.

A Prince Fielder mega-deal will not just hinder Washington’s efforts to extend Zimmerman or Strasburg, but it could prevent them from retaining players like Ramos, Espinosa, Morse, and Harper further down the road. Combine the idea that their mega deals could prevent them from retaining their younger players with the possibility that a player gets hurtor has a decrease in production, and the Nationals could quickly become a future-day version of the Chicago Cubs.

The Los Angeles Angels

In a day, the Angels added the best free agent hitter and the best free agent pitcher on the market. In a day, the Angels became better on paper than the 2-time defending AL champion Texas Rangers. What was the cost, though? Pujols is going to make a lot of money over the next 10 years. But for the next two years, he’ll only make $12 and $16 million. That’s an incredible value for the Angels, as those should be the two most productive years of his contract. The Angels were able to get such good value in those first two years by severely back-loading his deal. In 2014, his salary will jump from $16 to $23 million, and will increase by $1 million each year until he is making $30 million in 2021.

Obviously it’s impossible to project the makeup of the Angels ’21 squad, but we do know one thing: A 42 year old Albert Pujols will be earning $30 million. So, while the Angels are getting Pujols’ best years for cheap, they’ll be paying a premium for his worst years.
As if a $250 million contract wasn’t enough, the Angels also signed left-handed pitcher, CJ Wilson to a 5 year, $77.5 million back-loaded deal that will pay him $10 million in 2012, and incrementally rise to $20 million in 2016. That means that in 2016, Pujols and Wilson will be able to pay the 2010 Marlins.

The good news for the Angels’ future, despite carrying several other large contracts (Vernon Wells, Dan Haren, Ervin Santana, and Jared Weaver), is that they just negotiated a new TV deal with Fox that will be worth $3 billion. $3,000,000,000! That’s like a century’s worth of Marlins teams!

The new TV deal means that the Angels should have no problem paying their players. However, when you backload long-term deals like this, you run the risk of having a team full of aging players that are either injured or underperforming. The Angels are going to look great for the next 2-3 years, but things could change very swiftly after that.

The Miami Marlins

Those Marlins jokes you just read aren’t exactly applicable anymore. I had to get them in while I could because the Marlins are no longer a joke. Or, at least they’re not the same kind of joke. The Marlins were so notoriously cheap that MLB had to intervene last season, forcing them to spend more of the revenue sharing money that they receive each year.

As the Marlins open a new stadium in Miami, they’ve decided to open their pocketbooks. They overpaid Jose Reyes and signed Mark Beurhle to a 4-year contract. They even made a far-too-serious offer to Pujols. Miami has been spending like there’s a Mayan calendar hanging on Jeffrey Loria’s wall.

The Marlins are already paying a lot of money to Josh Johnson and Hanley Ramirez. They will soon need to pay a lot of money to Logan Morrison, Gaby Sanchez, and Anibal Sanchez. The money can’t continue to come out of nowhere, can it?

Obviously, the Marlins are putting a lot of stock into the new stadium’s ability to create revenue. The days of 7,000 fans per night are over. The new stadium is in a much better location, it’s actually a baseball stadium, and there will be a competitive product on the field. It will certainly create revenue, especially in its inaugural season.

The problem becomes whether or not the stadium can create a sustainable amount of revenue. Florida fans have been historically apathetic, so even if there is a huge influx of fans in 2012, it seems foolish to bet as much money as the Marlins bet this offseason on attendance remaining high in a city like Miami. At least when the Angels decided to increase payroll, they had an actual contract stating that revenue was going to increase for the next 20 years. The only guarantee that the Marlins have is that there are plenty of other things to do in Miami.

Despite spending all sorts of money that they’ve never spent before, the Marlins managed to maintain one sliver of sanity. The Marlins still refuse to offer no-trade clauses. Just like the little red button that we all like to imagine the President has, the Marlins have the ability to blow it all up if things get out of hand.

Are the Marlins the most likely team to become the newest version of the Cubs? That remains to be seen, but the odds might not be in their favor. The Angels have worse contracts, but at least we know they can afford them. The Nationals could be on the verge of doubling their payroll, but their owners are incredibly wealthy, and they have plenty of young talent to back it up. The Marlins, on the other hand, just have a whole lot of question marks.

Per reports, Pujols’ new deal is the second-highest contract in MLB history, just $19 million less than the $275 million deal Alex Rodriguez signed with the New York Yankees. The Angels have confirmed the deal, which is now pending a physical for completion.

Fantasy Analysis

Already a winner at the highest level, Pujols throws caution to the wind with a near-record deal. Pujols is still in the prime of his career at just 31 years old, and should once again be one of the most coveted first baseman options in fantasy baseball in 2012.

The Marlins, have now signed two of the offseason’s biggest free agents in Heath Bell and Jose Reyes, and are still being linked to Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, and CJ Wilson despite entering the 2010 season with a $57.6 Million payroll.

The spike in payroll comes as the Marlins are opening a new stadium in Miami, and expecting a rise in attendance.  Miami is expected to move Hanley Ramirez to 3rd Base.

Fantasy Analysis

Reyes should be in line for great fantasy production in Miami, with the only real concern being his health. As always with injury-prone superstars that sign hefty long-term deals – buyer beware.

National League West – In the NL West, the race is all but over, and has been for some time. While a comeback from last year’s World Series champion San Francisco Giants is still numerically possible, the Arizona Diamondbacks appear poised to secure the playoff spot out of the West.

National League Central – The Central race also looks to be just about over, though once again there is some small possibility that the St. Louis Cardinals could make a dramatic run. However, in all likelihood the Milwaukee Brewers will be the team representing the Central division. St. Louis, meanwhile, has an outside shot at the Wild Card, as they remain 4.5 games out (and 3 games ahead of San Francisco).

National League East – In the East there is virtually no chance that the Philadelphia Phillies lose hold of the top spot. With 94 wins already, the Phillies are almost certainly on their way to the best record in baseball. However, the second place team, the Atlanta Braves, should get a nice consolation prize, as they currently hold a 4.5 game lead in the Wild Card race.

American League West – This may be the last meaningful division race in baseball, as the Los Angeles Angels have caught up, and are now only 2.5 games behind the Texas Rangers, with roughly 17 games to play. However, as of now the Rangers are still in the lead.

American League Central – This division wasn’t quite sealed as of a few weeks ago, but the Detroit Tigers are surging ahead, and now hold a comfortable 10.5 game lead over the Chicago White Sox, and an 11 game lead over the Cleveland Indians. The Tigers could conceivably end up with the American League’s best record.

American League East – Typically one of the most hotly contested divisions in baseball, the East is once again uncertain with only a few weeks to go. Currently, the New York Yankees hold a (very) slightly comfortable 3.5 game lead over the Boston Red Sox. The interesting thing in the East, however, is whether or not the Tampa Bay Rays can catch up to Boston. The Rays are currently 3.5 games behind Boston, and whoever wins that race should almost certainly earn the AL Wild Card.

Dan Uggla, 2B Atlanta Braves

Uggla’s hitting streak finally came to end, but in the fantasy scheme of things, that’s meaningless. Uggla has finally busted out of his slump and has been arguably the most consistent player in fantasy baseball over the past several weeks.

Jose Constanza, OF Atlanta Braves

No- not George- Jose, and if you haven’t heard of him yet it’s time to wake up. The unheralded speedster for the Braves has taken the NL by storm, hitting .441 since his callup and swiping bags and scoring runs like a madman. The best part is he’s probably still available in your league, so grab him and ride his hot streak for as long as it lasts.

Jason Kipinis, 2B Cleveland Indians

Kipinis is another youngster who is simply playing out of his mind right now. He has 4 homers and 8 RBI’s over his last 10 games.

Jay Bruce, OF Cincinatti Reds

Bruce had been in a bit of a lull, but what he did last week was utterly ridiculous. He capped off one of the best single week performances of the season with 5 homers for 15 RBI’s and a .440 average.

Tim Lincecum, SP San Francisco Giants

Big time Timmy Jim’s win-loss record may not look stunning, but don’t let that fool you, he has been much better than his 10-9 record this year. He garnered the win in his last two starts while giving up just 1 earned run in 15 innings with 15 strikeouts.

David Ortiz, DH Boston Red Sox

Big Papi clearly still has it, as he showed this week with a .500 batting average that amounted to 3 homers and 7 RBI’s.

Curtis Granderson, OF New York Yankees

Granderson has always been a solid player, but not even the most obnoxious of Yankee fans could have envisioned this kind of a year from him. He keeps on chugging along at a ridiculous pace, crushing another 5 homers this week on a .300 batting average.

Justin Verlander, SP Detroit Tigers

Arguably the best pitcher in all of baseball this year, Verlander has now notched a win in his last 5 starts and has totaled 196 strikeouts on the year.

Justin Upton, OF Arizona Diamondbacks

Upton struggled a bit coming out of the All-Star Break, but has since turned it back into high gear, crushing 3 homers and 7 RBI’s for a .481 average this week with 2 stolen bases to go along.

J.J. Hardy, SS Baltimore Orioles

The Orioles have to be loving the extension they just signed Hardy to right now, as he went off this week for 4 homers, 10 RBI’s, and a .323 average.

So let’s get into it. From giant bellies to giant busts, here is your Milwaukee Brewer-centric Week 17 in Review.

5. Prince Fielder – 1B – Milwaukee Brewers

As Prince Fielder goes, so do the Brewers.  The Brewers have won 11 of 12, and, big surprise, Prince Fielder is on fire.  In the last two games, alone, Prince is 6/7.  For the week, he hit .500 (10/20) with 2 HR, 9 RBI, 9 Runs, and 6 BB!  With a week like that, I could probably have you believing that the man stole 6 bases.  You don’t believe it?  Alright, never mind.  Boy, nothing gets by you.

4. Ricky Romero – SP – Toronto Blue Jays

Ricky Romero has been having a special season.  On Sunday, the 26 year old pitched his 3rd straight 8+ inning game.  In doing so, he earned his 10th win of the season and dropped his ERA below 3.00.  In his 18 innings of work this week, Romero has a 1.69 ERA and a tiny, little 0.56 WHIP.  He probably won’t get any Cy Young votes considering the year Verlander is having and the fact that he plays in Canada, but any respect he’s missing from the national media is certainly made up for with respect from his opponents.  This season, opposing batters are hitting just .220 against him, and striking out 21.4% of the time.  Those numbers are tough to beat.

3. Matt Holliday – OF – St. Louis Cardinals

Matt Holliday can swing the bat.  He may not be the same Matt Holliday that should have won the MVP in 2007 with his 1.012 OPS, but he still has the ability to carry an offense that has Albert Pujols in its lineup.  This week, Holliday hit .400 with 4 HR and 10 RBI.

He was a huge reason why the Cards were able to snag their only win against the Brewers by hitting a HR, stealing a huge base, and scoring 3 times.  His production this week is also a huge reason why the Cardinals didn’t lose more than half a game to the front running Brewers.  Keep your eye on him.  If the Cardinals win the Central, there’s a very good chance that Holliday wins the NL MVP award.

2. Ervin Santana – SP – Los Angeles Angels

It’s not easy for a player to make the top storylines of the week 2 weeks in a row based on their performance.  I guess, maybe if you’re in a steroid scandal and new developments are constantly breaking, or at least breaking once a week, they’d probably continue to make the list.  But if the player makes the list based solely on their production, that player is on one heck of a streak.

Ervin Santana came 2/3 of an inning away from pitching his third straight complete game on Sunday.  The first was last week’s 10 K no-hitter, and the second was Tuesday’s 7 K, 1 BB, 8 H, 1 ER outing.  Yesterday’s game was nearly identical to Tuesday’s, as Santana pitched 8 1/3 Innings, allowing just 1 run on 7 H, and 1 BB, and he also struck out 7.

Santana’s ERA is down to 3.32, and his WHIP is just 1.16.  It’d be appropriate to mention that he’s below .500, but that would just prove that Wins and Losses are pointless stats for a pitcher.  Anyway, have yourself a week, Ervin.  You are a huge reason the Angels are just 1 game behind the Rangers.

1. Milwaukee Brewers – NL Central

The Brewers are the hottest team in baseball.  On the week, they scored a Major-League-leading 7.50 runs per game.  They’ve won 11 of their last 12, and all were against their division.  Sure, 9 of the 11 games that they won came against the Astros and Cubs, but the other two came against the Cardinals.  Not only are the Brewers hotter than Mila Kunis in a sauna, but their rivals are dropping like a drunken frat boy… hitting on Mila Kunis in a sauna.

The Pirates lost every single day this week.  They didn’t even get an off day to catch their loser breath, and have now lost 10 in a row.  What’s worse is that they gave up 8.4 runs per game to the Cubs and the Padres.  The Cubs and the Padres!  The pitching that carried the Pirates into a post-deadline playoff race took a Rip Van Winkle-style nap this week.  Pittsburgh now sits 10 games out of 1st place.

Pittsburgh wasn’t the only NL Central team knocked out of the playoff hunt this week.  The Cincinnati Reds went 2-4 against the same bottom feeders that the Brewers so happily feasted on.  The Astros and Cubs made Cincy say uncle, and made Walt Jocketty’s lack of deadline moves look like a stroke of genius.  Wait, maybe they should have made some trades.  Which one is it?

Luckily for competitive balance, however, the Cardinals were able to survive the week by sweeping a four-game series against the Marlins, and finish the week at 5-2, losing just half a game in the standings.  And speaking of competitive balance, the Brewers will visit Busch Stadium to take on St. Louis in a series that starts on Tuesday.