Key Stats: Since his first full season in 2006 Howard has averaged a staggering 43 HR's a year. He has the most HR's over that time with 262 and it isn't even close (Albert Pujols is 2nd with 244). In that same 6 year stretch he has 796 RBI, once again, tops in that time, and also, once again, the 2nd place Pujols is left in the dust with a paltry (in comparison) 708 RBI's. Power production has never been an issue for Howard, and even when he is batting in the .250's we haven't cared since 30 HR's and 100 RBI's were automatic.

The start of spring training means two things: 1) Opening day is almost here! 2) We’re about to be inundated with quotes from players and coaches about what type of shape players are in or what new mechanics player X worked on over the winter or which players will earn or lose a starting job based on a few meaningless games where the stats are themselves meaningless.

The quotes are already pouring out. Which words hold water and which are nothing more than words without meaning? 

The top of the Pirates prospect rankings is dominated by starting pitchers and outfielders. A trio of each vie for collectively cracking the top five. The three starters have as much upside as any group of triplets in baseball. no comments

Key Stats: Like many young pitchers tend to do, David Price gained better command of the strikezone in his second Major League season. The walks went down and the strikeouts went up, but despite this his ERA rose by three quarters of a run. That is why sometimes ERA isn't the best way to gauge a pitcher's performance. His xFIP, FIP, and WAR were all better in 2011 than they were in 2010, so although fantasy folks would tell you he had a down year it was really a better season.

Skeptics Say: All the numbers look great at the end of the season, but going game by game Price's season wasn't at all spectacular. His quality start percentage was tied for 46th among starters with at least 100 innings last year. That's a big part of the reason why he finished with more losses than wins and a reason to be concerned about taking him as one of the first twelve starting pitchers off the board next year. 

Paul McCartney's Yesterday was voted to be the best pop song of all time by Rolling Stone. The line "Yesterday... love was such an easy game to play. Now I need a place to hide away. Oh, I believe in yesterday." can be applied to baseball. There are dozens of guys that played the game with such ease one year, then fell flat on their face the next, and I would guess wish they were right back to where they were when things were going right. Using McCartney's ballad as inspiration, we take a look at those guys and try to figure out what is in store next for them.

In 2008 the Pirates that the #2 pick overall in the June Amateur draft and used that pick on Pedro Alvarez. After a lost 2008 due to a contract dispute, Alvarez finally got on the field in 2009 and at 22 years old hit 27 HR's and batted .288 across advanced A and AA. He didn't slow down in 2010 and smacked 13 more HR in 66 AAA games, then got the call, and played 95 games with the Pirates. He hit 16 HR's and batted .306 in Sept/Oct that year. A legend was born. The Pirates had their HR threat to drive in McCutchen and Walker. 

Key Stats: Mike Napoli started only 102 games last year, but still came out as a top 60 overall player in the Yahoo rankings. He went to the DL in June with a strained oblique, but other than that was healthy for the rest of the regular season. And the numbers showed it. Napoli hit .443 in July and .383 in the second half last season. He smashed 18 home runs after the all-star break. You could make a case given the position scarcity that he was the most valuable player in fantasy baseball after the all-star break last season.

Skeptics Say: Game six of the World Series saw a pretty ugly injury to Napoli (as well as the most painful loss in Rangers history), and Napoli said the ankle still isn't 100%. He did claim that he could hit and throw fine, but that doesn't mean the injury will get worse if he pushes himself. 

The Padres have one of the best systems in all of baseball. If you are looking for pitching, they've got some of that. If up the middle fielders are more your thing, well, they have those too. Then again, if you are the type that likes corner guys that can hit, they've got that covered too. There is a ton of depth here. If ten prospect hounds were tasked with compiling a top ten fantasy prospect list, there is a high probability that not a single list would look like another. In short, that means this list isn't going to please everyone. If you ask me to rank them again a week from now, my list may look drastically different.

Key Stats: For the first time since the 1998 season, Alex Rodriguez failed to reach 30 and 100 last season. He played in only 99 games last season, but if he did stay healthy for 150 games, he was on pace for something close to 24 home runs and 93 RBI. Good for any player, but for A-Rod those numbers look like a whimper. Is the end near?

Skeptics Say: Don't look for motivation to come in the form of money. The Yankees have their hands tied for five more years after this season. A-Rod is now 36 years old, and if we are calling this the post-steroid era, virtually nobody produces at this point in their careers. The highest any player was ranked that was 36 or older last season was 117 (Johnny Damon).