I know what you're thinking.

Another blog about fantasy baseball rankings?

Well, we ran our updated (again) rankings at News-Herald.com over the weekend (click here for the batters, here for the pitchers and here for the top 100 overall), and I wanted to explain a few of the key changes in the numbers between the N-H stories and the rankings that were posted on this blog.

-- We dropped Phillies second baseman Chase Utley from No. 5 to 8 at his position because of the news he would miss the start of the season with an ailing knee.

-- The Nationals' Michael Morse slipped three spots in the outfield (from 21 to 24) because of  a shoulder injury that has hampered his spring.

-- St. Louis' Chris Carpenter dropped from No. 23 to 35 at starting pitcher because of a "nerve irritation that has weakened his right shoulder." If the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's report from Friday that Carpenter likely will miss a couple of months is accurate, 35 is much too high. He should be drafted as a No. 5 or 6 starter at best in a 12-team league.

-- Royals closer Joakim Soria will miss the rest of the season because of elbow surgery, dropping him from No. 10 among the relievers to out of the rankings (obviously). After our rankings were published, we learned Reds closer Ryan Madson would also miss the season with an elbow injury.

With that in mind, Madson -- who had taken Soria's place at No. 10 in our rankings (the curse of No. 10?) -- is out and I would consider Seattle's Brandon League now among the top 20 in the bullpen after the recent run of injuries.

Before we go, remember Oakland and Seattle kick off the major-league season Wednesday and Thursday morning in Japan. In head-to-head leagues, those games will count in most leagues, and Week 1 will stretch over a ridiculous span of 19 days -- March 28 to April 15 -- since the remainder of MLB doesn't open the season until late next week, and the first full week of games isn't until April 9-15.

MARCH 23 N-H RANKINGS: Batters, Pitchers, Top 100 overall

UPDATED BLOG RANKINGS: Batters, Pitchers, Top 100 overall

EARLY POSITION RANKINGS:  Catchers, first basemen, second basemen, shortstops, third basemen, designated hitters, outfielders, starting pitchers, closers, top 100 overall

When you think of deep positions in fantasy baseball, the obvious ones -- outfield, first base and starting pitcher -- come to mind.

Second base? Not so much.

That has certainly been the case the last couple of years, though. When I was researching all of the positions for a (ridiculously early) top 100 overall, eight of the top 80 were second basemen. That matches the total at first base. (I'm counting only the players whose primary position is first or second, not all eligible players at each position.)

Our eighth-ranked second baseman in 2012 is the Brewers' Rickie Weeks, who batted only .269 with 49 RBI last season, but hit 20 home runs. In 2010, Weeks had 29 homers, 83 RBI, 11 steals and 112 runs scored.

Our No. 7 second baseman is the Braves' Dan Uggla, who hit 36 homers and scored 88 runs last season, and has averaged 32 homers, 91 RBI and 98 runs in his six-year career.

A player who just missed the cut in the top 100 (which will be unveiled shortly; please hold your applause until the end) is the Angels' Howard Kendrick. Our No. 9 second baseman batted .285 with 18 homers, 86 runs and 14 steals last year.

Without further delay, our top second basemen ...

Note: All players are ranked at the positions at which they are expected to spend the most time in 2012, not all positions at which they are eligible. ... Stats are from 2011.

Rank, player, team R-HR-RBI-SB-Avg.
1. Robinson Cano, Yankees 104-28-118-8-.302
2. Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox 102-21-91-26-.307
3. Ian Kinsler, Rangers 121-32-77-30-.255
4. Brandon Phillips, Reds 94-18-82-14-.300
5. Chase Utley, Phillies 54-11-44-14-.259
6. Ben Zobrist, Rays 99-20-91-19-.269
7. Dan Uggla, Braves 88-36-82-1-.23
8. Rickie Weeks, Brewers 77-20-49-9-.269
9. Howard Kendrick, Angels 86-18-63-14-.285
10. Dustin Ackley, Mariners 39-6-36-6-.273
11. Neil Walker, Pirates 76-12-83-9-.273
12. Danny Espinosa, Nationals 72-21-66-17-.236
13. Jemile Weeks, Athletics 50-2-36-22-.303
14. Jason Kipnis, Indians 24-7-19-5-.272
15. Aaron Hill, Diamondbacks 61-8-61-21-.246
16. Kelly Johnson, Blue Jays 75-21-58-16-.222
17. Daniel Murphy, Mets 49-6-49-5-.320
18. Brian Roberts, Orioles 18-3-19-6-.221
19. Gordon Beckham, White Sox 60-10-44-5-.230
20. Omar Infante, Marlins 55-7-49-4-.276

Last three out: Marco Scutaro, Rockies; Jose Altuve, Astros; Darwin Barney, Cubs.

Eligibility notes: Zobrist could play a lot at first base and in the outfield, but he primarily was a second baseman in 2011. ... Arizona's versatile Ryan Roberts should be eligible here, but we have him ranked No. 12 at third base.

Key stats: In the last two seasons, Cano has norms of 29 homers, 114 RBI and 103 runs. He gets the nod over Pedroia because of his power.

PREVIOUS: Catchers, first basemen

NEXT: Shortstops

Entering last season, Chase Utley was a top five overall choice in fantasy baseball.

This season, he gave us the possibility of being a mid-round bargain because of a knee injury we were told would wipe out the first couple months of his season.

Utley returned Monday and was 0-for-5 with a strikeout against the Reds. If you drafted him, he might have started the week on your bench, and that could be a good thing.

Utley is 32, reportedly has a chronic condition in his knee, and Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. has said Utley likely won't play five times in a six-game span.

Last season, he was limited to 425 at-bats and batted .275 (18 points below his career norm) with 16 homers, 65 RBI, 75 runs, 13 steals and an .832 OPS.

If you drafted Utley expecting him to be anything close to the player who averaged 32 homers, 99 RBI and 113 runs in 2008 and '09, you almost certainly will be disappointed.

Utley was never a huge stolen-base threat. Aside from his 23-steal 2009, his next-highest total in the category was 16 in 2005. I'm going to go out on a Shaq-sized limb and say he won't be running a lot as he returns from a serious knee injury.

Utley, if he's operating at, say, 80 to 90 percent, might provide the biggest value to owners in the power department.

Second base is a deep position in 2011, but it doesn't have a ton of home-run threats. Of the second-base eligible players in ESPN.com fantasy leagues entering Tuesday, only five had hit seven or more homers. And one was the Angels' Howard Kendrick, whose career high is 10 homers. Another is the Braves' Dan Uggla, who is batting .185 and shouldn't be considered a starter in 12-team mixed leagues.

However, 11 players eligible at second had driven in at least 20 runs, and 12 had six more more steals.

All of which means Utley isn't a given to be a starter in 10- and 12-team mixed leagues.

For the time being, I'd consider him outside the top 10 at his position.

A sure sign of Utley's value plummeting: Whom would you rather have right now, Utley or the Cubs' Darwin Barney?

It's been that kind of season.

Second base has one more player in the top 70 overall than the hot corner, and six players at second are ranked in our top 42.

A player who has averaged 31 homers and 88 RBI the last two seasons is ranked ninth at the position (Aaron Hill), followed by a former stud in Chone Figgins and a promising Pirate who hit .296 with 12 homers and 66 RBI as a rookie in 2010 (Neil Walker).

Somewhere Ryne Sandberg is smiling.

On to the rankings:

Rank, player: R-HR-RBI-SB-Avg.
1. Robinson Cano, NYY: 103-29-109-3-.319
2. Dustin Pedroia, Bos: 53-12-41-9-.288
3. Ian Kinsler, Tex: 73-9-45-15-.286
4. Dan Uggla, Atl: 100-33-105-4-.287
5. Brandon Phillips, Cin: 100-18-59-16-.275
6. Chase Utley, Phi: 75-16-65-13-.275
7. Rickie Weeks, Mil: 112-29-83-11-.269
8. Brian Roberts, Bal: 28-4-15-12-.278
9. Aaron Hill, Tor: 70-68-68-2-.205
10. Chone Figgins, Sea: 62-1-35-42-.259
11. Neil Walker, Pit: 57-12-66-2-.296
12. Gordon Beckham, White Sox: 58-9-47-4-.252
13. Kelly Johnson, Ari: 93-26-71-13-.284
14. Howie Kendrick, LAA: 67-10-75-14-.279
15. Jose Lopez, Col: 49-10-58-3-.239
16. Juan Uribe, SF: 64-24-85-1-.248
17. Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Min: ROOKIE
18. Omar Infante, Fla: 65-8-47-7-.321
19. Mike Aviles, KC: 63-8-32-14-.304
20. Bill Hall, Hou: 44-18-46-9-.247

Preseason top 100 players (8): Cano (11), Pedroia (22), Kinsler (33), Uggla (41), Phillips (42), Utley (55), Weeks (56), Roberts (66).

Short hops
Cano set career highs in home runs, RBI and OPS (.914) last season and tied his career best in runs. ... We had Utley ranked second at second and No. 18 overall, but bumped him to No. 6 and 55, respectively, because of concerns about his right knee. He has been receiving cortisone injections in the knee and was limited to 425 at-bats by injury last season. ... Uggla has averaged 31 homers, 91 RBI and 100 runs in his five-year career, and his stats could improve in Atlanta. ... The D-Backs’ Johnson was awful in 2009, but set career highs in homers, RBI, runs, steals and OPS (.865) in 2010. ... Keep an eye on the Rockies’ Lopez, who had 25 homers and 96 RBI in 2009. If he beats out Eric Young Jr., he could be a late-round steal playing half of his games at Coors Field. ... Another possible late-round bargain is Uribe, who posted career bests in homers and RBI last season. ... A name outside the top 20 to remember: Sean Rodriguez of the Rays. He had nine homers, 40 RBI, 13 steals and 53 runs in 343 at-bats in 2010, his first full big-league season, and he should be more of a regular in 2011. ... Martin Prado is expected to be the Braves’ starting left fielder, but is much more valuable at second. If you are playing him at second, consider him among the top 10 on the above list. ... The Rays’ Ben Zobrist will be ranked on our list of the top outfielders and is eligible at second after playing 58 games there in 2010. He would be ranked 15th on the above list, ahead of Kendrick, but behind Prado and the players ranked 1 to 13.

NOTE: Statistics are from the 2010 season. ... Players are listed only at the positions at which they are expected to spend the most time in 2011.

THIS WEEK: Catchers, Sunday; first baseman, Tuesday; second baseman, today.

NEXT WEEK: Shortstops, third basemen and designated hitters.

The likes of Robinson Cano, Dan Uggla, Rickie Weeks, Ty Wigginton, Kelly Johnson, Juan Uribe, Martin Prado and Howie Kendrick have made up for the fact that three of the preseason top five players at second base have suffered major injuries.

Twelve players who are eligible at second base in many leagues have hit at least nine home runs this season, 14 have compiled 35 RBI or more, and 11 have scored at least 42 runs.

This week, however, was not one for feel-good stories, puppies and long walks on the beach.

Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia is on the disabled list with a broken left foot. The injury won't require surgery, but the 2008 American League MVP likely will miss about six weeks. That leaves his return in the Aug. 7 range -- the end of Week 18 of the regular season.

The Phillies' Chase Utley joined Pedroia on the DL on Tuesday, and Thursday it was disclosed Utley has a broken thumb that could sideline him for eight weeks. That might mean Utley will be out of your lineup through Week 21.

Then there's the case of Baltimore's Brian Roberts, whose infrequent injury updates get more gloomy each time. At best, he'll be back in August, but I wouldn't plan on Roberts helping you the rest of the season.

If you're among the affected, the players mentioned in the first paragraph were drafted or are long-gone waiver-wire acquisitions.

That leaves you searching for a bargain. Here are 10 players who could be decent starters in deeper mixed and AL- and NL-only leagues. All stats are through Wednesday:

1. Sean Rodriguez, Rays (owned in 22 percent of the leagues on ESPN.com): The third-year player earned regular at-bats by hitting .289 with four homers, 15 RBI, 12 runs, five steals and an .828 OPS in June.

2. Carlos Guillen, Tigers (40.7 percent): He moved to second base upon returning from the DL on May 28. The switch made Guillen relevant in fantasy again, as he batted .293 with three homers, 12 RBI and an .803 OPS in June. He's no longer a stolen-base threat, but Guillen can help you in batting average, homers and RBI.

3. Clint Barmes, Rockies (19 percent): He's playing shorstop in Troy Tulowitzki's absence, and he's a powerful option no matter which middle-infield spot you select. Barmes had 23 homers and 76 RBI in 2009, and he hit .313 with 14 RBI and an .858 OPS in 80 June at-bats. For the season, he has six homers and 38 RBI, but beware his batting average (.247).

4. Gordon Beckham, White Sox (37.7 percent): He's been a bust thus far -- .207 average, two homers, 20 RBI and 29 runs in 246 at-bats. In 2009, Beckham batted .270 with 14 homers, 63 RBI, 58 runs and seven steals in 378 at-bats. He seems to regaining that form of late. Beckham is 6-for-18 (.333) with five runs scored, one homer, two doubles, a triple and four RBI in his last six contests.

5. Mike Aviles, Royals (29.1 percent): He will be a boost to your batting average and runs scored, but not much else. Aviles, a career .300 hitter, batted .317 in May and .333 in June. But he hasn't homered since May 9 and has 12 RBI and two steals in 180 at-bats.

6. Freddy Sanchez, Giants (19.8 percent): A .299 career hitter, Sanchez has similar assets as Aviles. Since he was activated from the DL on May 19, he is hitting .291 with 18 runs, one homer, 19 RBI and zero steals in 141 at-bats.

7. Cristian Guzman, Nationals (29.4 percent): He's also eligible at shortstop, and was surprisingly productive in 2008 and '09 (combined averages of .301, eight homers, 54 RBI, 75 runs and five steals). Guzman struggled in June (.236) and has only one homer and 21 RBI on the season.

8. Felipe Lopez, Cardinals (3.5 percent): Since he is filling in for an injured David Freese at third base, Lopez likely would be a temporary aid. In his last four games, he is 7-for-16 (.438) with four runs. In 2009, Lopez batted .310 with nine homers, 57 RBI and 88 runs with Milwaukee and Arizona.

9. David Eckstein, Padres (4.6 percent): This would strictly be a desperation move. Eckstein is a decent hitter (.281) and might steal 10 to 15 bases (he has five this season).

One really long shot

Tribe shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera hasn't played second base since 2009, but he is eligible there in some leagues and his broken forearm caused many owners to drop him. He's available in more than 73 percent of the ESPN leagues.

He could return in late July -- just in time to help you for a month until Utley comes back.

For fantasy updates, follow Kevin Kleps on Twitter.

Meaningless trivia question of the day: Aside from first base, which infield position features the most top 100 overall players?

Since you’ve already read the headline on this blog, the answer is more obvious than the contempt many baseball fans have for Tim McCarver.

Otherwise, would you have guessed second base has 10 top-100 players (at least in our opinion), compared to nine for third base and six for shortstop?

The position has only one top-20 pick — the Phillies’ Chase Utley, who should go off the board in the top five — but it’s stacked with talent from Round 3 on.

The top 10 second basemen on the list below feature:

-- Four players with 31 or more home runs last season.

-- Seven with 25-plus homers.

-- Six with 90 or more RBI.

-- Five with 20-plus stolen bases.

-- Six with more than 100 runs scored.

The top 10, on average, batted .281 with 26 homers, 90 RBI, 97 runs and 16 steals last season.

You don’t want to wait too long to select one, however, since there’s a pretty big difference between Robinson Cano at No. 4 and Jose Lopez at No. 10.

A player outside the top 10 who could have a big impact is the White Sox’s Gordon Beckham, who had 58 runs, 14 homers and 63 RBI in 378 at-bats as a rookie last season. The 23-year-old was drafted eighth overall by Chicago in 2008 and was promoted to the big leagues after only 233 minor-league at-bats.

On to the rankings:

Rank, player: R-HR-RBI-SB-Avg.
1. Chase Utley, Phillies: 112-31-93-23-.282
2. Ian Kinsler, Rangers: 101-31-86-31-.253
3. Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox: 115-15-72-20-.296
4. Robinson Cano, Yankees: 103-25-85-5-.320
5. Brian Roberts, Orioles: 110-16-79-30-.283
6. Aaron Hill, Blue Jays: 103-36-108-6-.286
7. Brandon Phillips, Reds: 78-20-98-25-.276
8. Ben Zobrist, Rays: 91-27-91-17.297
9. Dan Uggla, Marlins: 84-31-90-2-.243
10. Jose Lopez, Mariners: 69-25-96-3-.272
11. Howie Kendrick, Angels: 61-10-61-11-.291
12. Gordon Beckham, White Sox: 58-14-63-7-.270
13. Martin Prado, Braves: 64-11-49-1-.307
14. Orlando Hudson, Twins: 74-9-62-8-.283
15. Rickie Weeks, Brewers: 28-9-24-2-.272
16. Clint Barmes, Rockies: 69-23-76-12-.245
17. Kelly Johnson, Diamondbacks: 47-8-29-7-.224
18. Freddy Sanchez, Giants: 56-7-41-5-.293
19. Luis Castillo, Mets: 77-1-40-20-.302
20. Kazuo Matsui, Astros: 56-9-46-19-.250

Preseason top 100 players (10): Utley (5), Kinsler (22), Pedroia (25), Cano (39), Roberts (49), Hill (54), Phillips (57), Zobrist (74), Uggla (91), Lopez (98)

Short hops
Utley has averaged 29 homers, 101 RBI and 15 steals the last five seasons. ... Kinsler batted .319 in 2008, but is a career .279 hitter. ... Roberts has stolen 156 bases the last four years. ... Hill’s 36 homers last season were eight more than his combined total from 2005-08, a span in which he went deep 28 times in 1,728 at-bats. ... Phillips, a former Indian, has norms of 24 homers, 90 RBI and 27 steals the last three seasons. ... Uggla is a very good source of power and runs scored, but he won’t help you in average (.257 career) and he’ll hurt you in points leagues that penalize for strikeouts (611 in four seasons). ... Weeks is an intriguing prospect who can rack up steals (a combined 44 in 2007 and ’08), but he’s yet to live up to the hype. ... The Diamondbacks’ Johnson could be a late-round find if he produces like it’s 2007 or 2008 (when he had combined totals of 28 homers, 137 RBI, 177 runs and 20 steals with the Braves).

NOTE: Statistics are from the 2009 season. ... Positions listed are according to the depth charts at mlb.com.

THIS WEEK: Catchers, Tuesday; first baseman, Thursday; second baseman, today.

NEXT WEEK: Shortstops, third basemen and designated hitters

The knock on Joe Mauer was always a lack of power.

We knew he'd hit well over .300, walk more times than he struck out, get on base twice as often as David Dellucci and drive in 70 or 80 runs.

This, we never could have guessed -- especially not after the Twins catcher missed the first month of the season because of a back injury.

I'm no hitting coach -- and I don't play one on the Internet -- but I would think recovering from a back injury wouldn't help a player's chances of hitting a home run. In Mauer's case, he's turned into the Albert Pujols of backstops.

In 224 at-bats, he's hit 15 home runs -- two more than his previous career high -- and his 1.118 OPS is almost 200 points better than his prior best.

Aside from Pujols, Mauer was the easiest selection on the list that follows. Without further adieu, our first-half fantasy all-stars. All stats are through Wednesday night's games.

Sorry, fellas, no incentive clauses included.

Catcher: Joe Mauer, Twins -- Did we mention he's batting .388 and has scored 48 runs in 60 games? Runner-up: Victor Martinez, Indians. What a difference a year makes.

First base: Albert Pujols, Cardinals -- Now that he's stealing bases (10 on the season), you couldn't ask for more. He's batting .331 with 67 runs, 31 homers, 82 RBI, 34 more walks than strikeouts (69-35) and a 1.184 OPS. Runner-up: Justin Morneau, Twins. With 21 homers, he is just two away from his 2008 total.

Second base: Chase Utley, Phillies -- So much for spring training injury concerns. Utley narrowly edges Ian Kinsler, thanks to his .306 batting average, 57 runs and .997 OPS. Runner-up: Ben Zobrist, Rays. Possibly fantasy's biggest surprise, Akinori Iwamura's replacement at second in Tampa has 17 homers and 50 RBI, along with a 1.017 OPS, in only 232 at-bats. More on Kinsler in a bit.

Shortstop: Hanley Ramirez, Marlins -- We've had fun at his expense, but only because of many owners' draft-day decision of Ramirez over Pujols at No. 1 overall. He's currently bothered by a hip injury and his stolen-base total is way down (12, after averaging 46 the previous three years), but he's still been great. Ramirez is batting .346 with 14 homers and 60 RBI. Runner-up: Derek Jeter, Yankees. Even at 35, he's a fantasy standout, batting .315 with 10 homers, 35 RBI, 55 runs and 17 steals.

Third base: Mark Reynolds, Diamondbacks -- Before the season, I never would have guessed this would be the worst position at the top. Reynolds is batting only .262 and he strikes out even more often than an Indians regular (115 in 313 at-bats). But he hits for power (24 homers and 62 RBI), steals bases (14), has an .896 OPS and is on pace to reach triple figures in runs scored. Runner-up: David Wright, Mets. He's batting well and stealing bases, but what happened to his power (five homers, after totaling 63 the previous two years)?

Designated hitter: Ian Kinsler, Rangers -- Like Utley, he hits for power (20 homers and 54 RBI) and scores a lot of runs (60). He's better on the basepaths (17 steals), but will bring down your batting average (.252).

Outfielders: Carl Crawford, Rays; Jason Bay, Red Sox; and Ryan Braun, Brewers. Crawford is batting .314 with 43 steals, and Bay has done everything but hit for average (.263). Braun, however, is the best of the bunch -- .324, 59 runs, 16 homers, 58 RBI, seven stolen bases and a .962 OPS.

Runner-up: Torii Hunter, Angels. He sat out Wednesday's game with an abdominal injury, which is a concern after a fantastic first half (.305, 17 homers, 65 RBI, 56 runs, 13 steals).

Next up: The pitchers.