Rare was the fantasy team that didn't compete for a title with Alex Rodriguez's 54 home runs, 156 RBIs and 24 steals with the Yankees last season.

AP

Few positions are hotter right now than the hot corner, with three of the top 10 hitters in baseball residing at the corner of the infield. It's no surprise who is at the head of the class again

• Most Valuable: Alex Rodriguez, Yankees
• Most Overrated: Scott Rolen, Blue Jays
• Most Underrated:  Aramis Ramirez, Cubs
• Most likely to breakout: Alex Gordon, Royals
• Most likely backup to earn a starting spot: Andy Marte, Indians
• Most improved: Josh Fields, White Sox
• Most likely to flop: Rich Aurilia, Giants
• Comeback third baseman of the Year: Hank Blalock, Rangers
• Best rookie: Evan Longoria, Rays
• Best $1 Long shot: Dallas McPherson, Marlins

Locked At the Top

1. Alex Rodriguez, Yankees: What can you say about A-Rod's unconscious 2007? He was the runaway AL MVP and became a virtual lock for the Hall of Fame. If only he can help the Yankees to a World Series victory.

2. David Wright, Mets: In any other season Wright might be considered the best player, not only at his position, but in all of baseball after coming off of a season in which he drilled 30 homers and stole 34 bases with averages of .325/.416/.546. But Wright's not even the best third baseman in the five boroughs of New York. But don't let that stop you from picking him in the middle of the first round.

3. Miguel Cabrera, Tigers: On Opening Day Cabrera will still only be 24 years old. That's about all you need to know about the Tigers new third baseman, who will likely take an already formidable lineup and give it the potential to break all sorts of records this season. He's another first round or $40 player, and maybe even a bit more in keeper leagues.

4. Aramis Ramirez, Cubs: In four full seasons as a Cub, Ramirez has hit .305 with an average of 32.5 home runs and 104 RBIs, yet he's usually not considered one of the NL's top fantasy third basemen. He's as consistent as they get.

5. Chipper Jones, Braves: You know injuries are coming with Jones -- they're inevitable -- but he's so good when in the lineup that it's hard to stay away from him on draft day.

6. Garrett Atkins, Rockies: Before last season Atkins was being pushed for playing time by Jeff Baker and Ian Stewart. There's nothing like a cool 111 RBIs and a World Series appearance to quell any talks of your demise, at least for this season.

7. Mike Lowell, Red Sox: The World Series MVP had a dream season and re-signed with the Red Sox for a big contract. While you shouldn't expect him to duplicate his .324 average or 120 RBIs, he's still good for .280, 20 HRs and 90 to 100 RBIs.

8. Chone Figgins, Angels: Figgins owners were bailing on him left and right after he was injured almost all of April and came back hitting .133 with only three steals as late as May 28, but from that day on, he led the majors in hitting with a cool .381 and chipped in an additional 38 swipes. He's a category winner by himself in AL-only leagues and a solid addition to your team if you have power elsewhere.

The Next Best

9. Mark Reynolds, Diamondbacks
10. Bill Hall, Brewers
11. Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals
12. Alex Gordon, Royals
13. Pedro Feliz, Phillies
14. Troy Glaus, Cardinals
15. Adrian Beltre, Mariners
16. Hank Blalock, Rangers
17. Kevin Kouzmanoff, Padres
18. Josh Fields, White Sox
19. Scott Rolen, Blue Jays

Reynolds was overshadowed by Ryan Braun's exploits in Milwaukee, but the former University of Virginia shortstop was one of the NL's best rookies last year, slugging 17 home runs in 366 at bats. He'll have to cut down on his 129 strikeouts, however, to move up on this list ... Which Hall will show up this year, the one who hit 35 home runs and scored 101 runs in 2006, or the one who looked lost at times both in the field and at the plate in '07? Here's guessing that he'll bounce back into the 20s with the switch back to third base ... The optimist sees the Glaus for Rolen trade as being a great opportunity for two injury-plagued players with other off-the-field issues to enjoy fresh starts. The pessimist sees it as garbage in, garbage out. Glaus, caught up in the offseason steroids controversy, hit 95 home runs over the last three seasons and should benefit greatly from returning to the artificial-turf-free National League. Rolen has had problems with his last two managers and joins a Toronto team managed by John Gibbons, not always the easiest man to play for. He's coming off three years in which he totaled nearly four times as many games misses (176) as home runs (45) ... Blalock is over the injuries that sapped his home run stroke in the last two years. Don't be shocked to see the former All Star return to '03 through '05 form ... Kouzmanoff could be switched to the outfield or the bench to make room for the Padres top offensive prospect, Headley. It was reported that the devoutly religious Fields nearly retired in the offseason but decided the best way for him to bring about change was to stay in the game, something that everyone who has the promising power hitter in keeper leagues are very pleased about.

From the Risks to the Reaches

Chavez has said that he fully expects to be dealt so be very careful if you're in an AL-only league as the Dodgers and Giants could be in the market for a third baseman ... Hannahan would be the biggest beneficiary if Chavez actually is dealt ... There are also rumors of a pre-agreed trade of Crede from the White Sox to the Giants as soon as the former World Series hero shows in the spring that he's healthy. In that case Rich Aurilia would slide over to a first base platoon ... Lamb is someone to watch out for in Minnesota. He had more than 350 at bats only twice in his eight big league seasons but has reached double digits in home runs as a reserve in each of the last four seasons ... Blake has moved around a lot in Cleveland and could move again if Marte, out of minor league options, has a hot spring. In that case Blake could press Franklin Gutierrez and Jason Michaels for playing time in the outfield corners ... The arrival of Feliz in Philly means the end of any chance that Dobbs gets regular at bats without a major injury scenario taking hold ... With probable struggles ahead at times this year, Longoria is much more attractive in keeper leagues and those with bench spots than he would be in re-draft or full active roster league. If you have the ability to hide him in case of emergency, by all means draft him ... It would be very surprising if Garciaparra wasn't Joe Torre's choice as the Dodgers' Opening Day starter, earning the job over LaRoche, whose been mentioned in multiple trade discussions ... The Angels couldn't wait for McPherson anymore so the former top prospect had to settle for a bargain basement deal with the Marlins to try to jumps start his stalled career.

20. Eric Chavez, A's
21. Joe Crede, White Sox
22. Ty Wigginton, Astros
23. Mike Lamb, Twins
24. Melvin Mora, Orioles
25. Casey Blake, Indians
26. Edwin Encarnacion, Reds
27. Evan Longoria, Rays
28. Jose Bautista, Pirates
29. Nomar Garciaparra, Dodgers
30. Rich Aurilia, Giants
31. Andy LaRoche, Dodgers
32. Dallas McPherson, Marlins
33. Brandon Inge, Tigers
34. Chase Headley, Padres
35. Jeff Baker, Rockies
36. Ian Stewart, Rockies
37. Scott Moore, Orioles
38. Andy Marte, Indians
39. Jack Hannahan, A's
40. Willie Bloomquist, Mariners

Don't Even Think About

41. Greg Dobbs, Phillies
42. Vinny Rottino, Brewers
43. Wes Helms, Phillies
44. Aaron Boone, Nationals
45. Brian Buscher, Twins
46. Damion Easley, Mets
47. Travis Metcalf, Rangers
48. Willy Aybar, Rays
49. Luis Rodriguez, Padres
50. Mike Morse, Mariners
51. Tomas Perez, Dodgers
52. Joel Guzman, Rays

SI.com's 2008 Fantasy Preview:

• Avoiding holes key at catcher
• Power in short supply at first base
• Bargains can be found at second base
• Though top heavy, SS pool is deep