Guest Author - Mona McKenzie

With a little less than two months remaining before the Division Series begins, some players are asserting themselves as key players in fantasy baseball rankings. Infielders Albert Pujols, Hanley Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez and Chase Utley seemingly hold the top four spots respectively in the rankings. These rankings might seem a little off, since Pujols is coming out of a minor hitting slump since the All-Star break; Ramirez has been banged-up and was hitless in a recent game; and with Rodriguez’s inconsistent batting, you might believe these guys might be ranked lower than they actually are. Tim Lincecum, Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Prince Fielder, Carl Crawford and Ryan Braun round out the Top 10. As much as we heard about Roy Halladay possibly being traded, his fantasy stock stayed just about the same this week and he still ranks in the Top 25. Only a few other pitchers managed to make the Top 25. Of course, these rankings are extremely subjective.

If you are trying to stay on top of your fantasy baseball team picks, a great way to follow your picks is to follow FantasyMLB on Twitter. MLB’s official tweets have approximately 1,500 followers and I’m sure the number will grow as word gets out about MLB on Twitter. MLB.com is also another great source of information. Further, Yahoo! Sports has a fairly unsophisticated fantasy baseball section that gives you general info on player stats.

My favorite fantasy baseball source, however, is ESPN’s site. The site has various podcasts you can listen to, player videos to watch, written opinions regarding players to keep or let go, and daily player updates. The “Player Rater” is a great tool for following players by position with current and historical data. Another cool aspect is the “Closer Chart,” which anticipates and/or projects the next 4 closers by team. That’s really getting in the nitty gritty! You can also get an idea of what fellow fantasy players are doing with their roster with the “Added/Dropped” section. ESPN’s site has the fantasy game down to a science and I just love it.

Staying on top of your team takes a lot of dedication and perseverance. Keeping a good team takes a lot of luck too, since injuries, hot/cold streaks, as well as trades or benchings play a role in the final outcome. If you are really in the hunt for winning your league, now is a fantastic time to really get on top of your team…tick tock goes the clock. Good Luck!