The 2011 Home Run Derby has a couple familiar faces this season, including two previous champions as “team captains.” 2010 winner David Ortiz will captain the American League, and 2009 winner Prince Fielder will head up the National League team. Of the eight 2011 participants, only four have previously appeared in the Derby before – Matt Holliday and Adrian Gonzalez are the other two.

Real quick side note: Ortiz has been in the contest four times before 2011 – not surprising. But can you believe Matt Holliday has been in the Home Run Derby twice before? I was surprised by that. That means after the derby this year that he will have been in as many derby’s as Prince Fielder, Ryan Howard, and Albert Pujols. No diss to Holliday, but that seems like a lot for the guy when compared to those three home run titans.

This year, Papi and Prince could pick players for their team without regard for whether or not the players are All-Stars. Both AL and NL homer totals will be added up to determine a winning team, captain, and charity. But don’t worry – there will still be an individual winner. Otherwise, the scoring format of the tournament will be the same.

The returning champs are well favored, but Blue Jays slugger Joey Bats is at the top of the list of favorites. Bautista has two home runs in 34 career ABs at Chase Field – but those dingers all came pre-2009 when he was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates, so who knows what to really expect from him? Ortiz has only batted 7 times in Chase Field, and has never gone yard. Prince has 4 home runs in 66 plate appearances at the Chase.

Among the other participants, Adrian Gonzalez played in Chase Field for years before getting dealt to Boston, and he hit very well there – going yard 13 times in 169 ABs there.  Matt Kemp has hit 5 bombs in 124, Holliday only hit 4 in 167, Rickie Weeks has hit 2 in 59… and Robinson Cano has gone 0 for 13 in Arizona.

2011 Home Run Derby Odds

Current Oddsmaker.com odds for Monday night’s Home Run Derby, sorted from the favorite to the longshot:

 
• Jose Bautista: 5 – 2
• David Ortiz: 3 – 1
• Prince Fielder: 3 – 1
• Robinson Cano: 5 – 1
• Adrian Gonzalez: 6 – 1
• Matt Holliday: 6 – 1
• Matt Kemp: 8 – 1
• Rickie Weeks: 12 – 1

So, after all of that, who’s gonna win this thing? Find out AFTER the jump… 

Who we like in 2011: Adrian Gonzalez.

Why? The shortest porch is in left field (330 feet), but that’s only four feet shorter than right field. The center field distance of 407 feet also seem to favor right-handed hitters, which is probably a big reason why Vegas loves Joey Bats the most. We like him to compete – but win? Nah.

With his career performance at Chase Field, his tendency to avoid the gaps when he hit home runs, and his status as a non-first timer in the derby, A-Gonz looks like a great bet to take the title in 2011. Check out his 2011 home run landing spots below, plus get some more insight from us on who his top competition will be after the pic!

Based on their 2011 home run landing spots, look for Bautista, Ortiz, Cano and Holliday to be Gonzalez’s top contenders. Weeks also fits a similar home run profile, but I just can’t imagine him competing in this thing (seriously, say this out loud to yourself – “Rickie Weeks, Home Run Derby Champion” – can’t do it without laughing, can you? Me either).

Left center and right center are actually the deepest parts of Chase Field (413), and this seems to work at a disadvantage for Fielder and Kemp. They simply have too great of a frequency of hitting their homers in the gaps.

So, what do you think? Who’s going to win the 2011 HR Derby? Let us know in the comments below!

See below for our power rankings for week 3 of the 2011 MLB season.

When the season started, the Phour Aces and the Philadelphia Phillies led the rotation of our preseason no. 1. After three weeks, though, the defending American League Champs have found their way to the top of the list. Following the jump, check out our updated MLB rankings, listed – 1-30. Feel free to leave your disagreements in the comments at the end.

1. Texas Rangers
2. Colorado Rockies
3. Philadelphia Phillies
4. New York Yankees
5. Cleveland Indians
6. Los Angeles Angels
7. Kansas City Royals
8. Cincinnati Reds
9. San Francisco Giants
10. Florida Marlins
11. Milwaukee Brewers
12. Washington Nationals
13. St. Louis Cardinals
14. Oakland Athletics
15. Chicago Cubs
16. Tampa Bay Rays
17. Detroit Tigers
18. Los Angeles Dodgers
19. Pittsburgh Pirates
20. Atlanta Braves
21. Chicago White Sox
22. San Diego Padres
23. Baltimore Orioles
24. Toronto Blue Jays
25. Arizona Diamondbacks
26. Minnesota Twins
27. Boston Red Sox
28. Houston Astros
29. New York Mets
30. Seattle Mariners

Last season, Fantasy Baseball Dugout was honored to have one of the six voting spots in Yardbarker’s weekly MLB Power Rankings.

In 2011, we weren’t invited back… in fact, I’m not even sure if YB is running a power rankings this season. No worries, it’s cool… because we’re bringing back our own rankings for 2011.

See below for our preseason power rankings for the 2011 MLB season. Last season we split our time providing analysis on each AL West team and NL East team. Considering the fact that there is so little you can put on wins and losses in Spring Training, you’d think the Giants and Rangers should start 1-2… yeah, they don’t.

Instead, to start the season off, the Phour Aces lead the rotation of our preseason no. 1 – the Philadelphia Phillies. After the jump, check out our full preseason list – 1-30. Feel free to leave your disagreements in the comments at the end. 

1. Philadelphia Phillies
2. Boston Red Sox
3. Minnesota Twins
4. San Francisco Giants
5. New York Yankees
6. Cincinnati Reds
7. Atlanta Braves
8. Colorado Rockies
9. Tampa Bay Rays
10. Texas Rangers
11. Chicago White Sox
12. Los Angeles Dodgers
13. Detroit Tigers
14. San Diego Padres
15. Oakland Athletics
16. Baltimore Orioles
17. St. Louis Cardinals
18. Milwaukee Brewers
19. Toronto Blue Jays
20. Los Angeles Angels
21. Florida Marlins
22. Washington Nationals
23. New York Mets
24. Seattle Mariners
25. Kansas City Royals
26. Chicago Cubs
27. Pittsburgh Pirates
28. Houston Astros
29. Arizona Diamondbacks
30. Cleveland Indians

Fantasy Baseball Dugout is proud to have one of the six voting spots in Yardbarker’s Blogger Poll for MLB Power Rankings 2010. In addition to providing our insight on ranking each MLB team 1-30, we also monitor the NL East each week and drop a little insight on each team.

See below for our rankings for MLB Week 21.

It’s been about 10 weeks or so since we last published our poll. At the time, the Yankees had just taken over the Rays as the top team on the list. Due to going 7-3 in their last 10 games and seeing how they’ve once again tied the Yanks atop the AL East, the Rays once again sit atop our power rankings.

In other major AL East news, the Orioles finally moved out of the cellar in our power rankings… so props to the O’s. This week, they’re all the way up to no. 29 overall.

The links below point to our team archives in case you want to read everything we’ve got on each team.

1. Tampa Bay Rays
2. New York Yankees
3. San Diego Padres
4. Atlanta Braves
5. Cincinnati Reds
6. Minnesota Twins
7. Boston Red Sox
8. Texas Rangers
9. Philadelphia Phillies
10. San Francisco Giants
11. Chicago White Sox
12. St. Louis Cardinals
13. Toronto Blue Jays
14. Colorado Rockies
15. Los Angeles Dodgers
16. Detroit Tigers
17. Oakland Athletics
18. Florida Marlins
19. New York Mets
20. Los Angeles Angels
21. Milwaukee Brewers
22. Houston Astros
23. Washington Nationals
24. Kansas City Royals
25. Chicago Cubs
26. Cleveland Indians
27. Arizona Diamondbacks
28. Seattle Mariners
29. Baltimore Orioles
30. Pittsburgh Pirates

Fantasy Baseball Dugout is proud to have one of the six voting spots in Yardbarker’s Blogger Poll for MLB Power Rankings 2010. In addition to providing our insight on ranking each MLB team 1-30, we also monitor the NL East each week and drop a little insight on each team.

See below for our rankings for MLB Week 11.

They fell from the top of our Power Rankings (which they originally topped) in MLB week 2 and dropped all the way to no. 3 by week 4. But this week, thanks to a 3-7 slide over a 10-game span by De Rays, Da Yanks have retaken the top spot in our power poll. Thanks to hot streaks by both the Da Sawks and the Braves, De Rays fall to no. 4 in Week 11.

Biggest movers of the week: the New York Mets, up six spots and the Cincinnati Reds, down seven.

Below, in ( ), you will find our week 10 power ranking for each team. Links point to our team archives in case you want to read everything we’ve got on each team.

1. New York Yankees (2)
2. Boston Red Sox (4)
3. Atlanta Braves (7)
4. Tampa Bay Rays (1)
5. Texas Rangers (9)
6. San Diego Padres (3)
7. Minnesota Twins (5)
8. New York Mets (14)
9. Los Angeles Angels (10)
10. St. Louis Cardinals (11)
11. San Francisco Giants (12)
12. Toronto Blue Jays (13)
13. Los Angeles Dodgers (6)
14. Detroit Tigers (15)
15. Cincinnati Reds (8)
16. Colorado Rockies (16)
17. Philadelphia Phillies (17)
18. Chicago White Sox (21)
19. Oakland Athletics (18)
20. Florida Marlins (19)
21. Chicago Cubs (22)
22. Washington Nationals (20)
23. Kansas City Royals (24)
24. Milwaukee Brewers (23)
25. Seattle Mariners (28)
26. Arizona Diamondbacks (27)
27. Cleveland Indians (25)
28. Houston Astros (26)
29. Pittsburgh Pirates (29)
30. Baltimore Orioles (30)

Fantasy Baseball Dugout is proud to have one of the six voting spots in Yardbarker’s Blogger Poll for MLB Power Rankings 2010. In addition to providing our insight on ranking each MLB team 1-30, we also monitor the NL East each week and drop a little insight on each team.

See below for our rankings for MLB Week 10.

De Rays remain at no. 1, but Da Yanks are closer to taking over that top spot then than they have been in weeks. Duh Twins dropped a couple spots in my book as teams like the Padres (up six this week) and Red Sox (up two) continue to win at a more consistent clip. As the Phillies plummet towards .500, they continue to fall in the rankings. The Cardinals also took a major drop in the rankings this week.

Below, in ( ), you will find our week 9 power ranking for each team. Links point to our team archives in case you want to read everything we’ve got on each team.

1. Tampa Bay Rays (1)
2. New York Yankees (2)
3. San Diego Padres (9)
4. Boston Red Sox (6)
5. Minnesota Twins (3)
6. Los Angeles Dodgers (10)
7. Atlanta Braves (5)
8. Cincinnati Reds (8)
9. Texas Rangers (11)
10. Los Angeles Angels (12)
11. St. Louis Cardinals (4)
12. San Francisco Giants (14)
13. Toronto Blue Jays (7)
14. New York Mets (17)
15. Detroit Tigers (15)
16. Colorado Rockies (18)
17. Philadelphia Phillies (13)
18. Oakland Athletics (16)
19. Florida Marlins (19)
20. Washington Nationals (20)
21. Chicago White Sox (22)
22. Chicago Cubs (21)
23. Milwaukee Brewers (25)
24. Kansas City Royals (24)
25. Cleveland Indians (29)
26. Houston Astros (28)
27. Arizona Diamondbacks (27)
28. Seattle Mariners (26)
29. Pittsburgh Pirates (23)
30. Baltimore Orioles (30)

Fantasy Baseball Dugout is proud to have one of the six voting spots in Yardbarker’s Blogger Poll for MLB Power Rankings 2010. In addition to providing our insight on ranking each MLB team 1-30, we also monitor the NL East each week and drop a little insight on each team.

See below for our rankings for MLB Week 9.

The Phillies continue their descent down the rankings as they continue to lack any power in the lineup. De Rays remain at no. 1, Da Yanks stay at no. 2, and the Duh Twins are again no. 3. The biggest movers of the week are the Braves (up 7) and the Angels (up 8 spots) as each team has gone on impressive win streaks over their last 10 games.

Below, in ( ), you will find our week 8 power ranking for each team. Links point to our team archives in case you want to read everything we’ve got on each team.

1. Tampa Bay Rays (1)
2. New York Yankees (2)
3. Minnesota Twins (3)
4. St. Louis Cardinals (5)
5. Atlanta Braves (12)
6. Boston Red Sox (11)
7. Toronto Blue Jays (9)
8. Cincinnati Reds (4)
9. San Diego Padres (6)
10. Los Angeles Dodgers (8)
11. Texas Rangers (10)
12. Los Angeles Angels (20)
13. Philadelphia Phillies (7)
14. San Francisco Giants (15)
15. Detroit Tigers (14)
16. Oakland Athletics (13)
17. New York Mets (17)
18. C0lorado Rockies (16)
19. Florida Marlins (19)
20. Washington Nationals (18)
21. Chicago Cubs (21)
22. Chicago White Sox (22)
23. Pittsburgh Pirates (26)
24. Kansas City Royals (23)
25. Milwaukee Brewers (25)
26. Seattle Mariners (26)
27. Arizona Diamondbacks (24)
28. Houston Astros (29)
29. Cleveland Indians (28)
30. Baltimore Orioles (30)

Think there’s something horribly wrong with our list this week? Tell us about it in the comments below.

See below for our rankings for MLB Week 8. Since it is our responsibility to provide analysis of each NL East team, I’ve sprinkled that throughout the post below, too.

So, after moving the Phillies into the top 2 last week, they promptly forgot how to score runs for an entire 7-day stretch and plummeted in this week’s rankings – down five spots to no. 7. Therefore, De Rays and Da Yanks are back in the top 2 spots, and the Twins have entered the top 3. Otherwise, there is very little movement in this week’s rankings – the Reds move up four spots to no. 4 and the Padres move up three spots to no. 6.

Below, in ( ), you will find our week 7 power ranking for each team. Links point to our team archives in case you want to read everything we’ve got on each team.

1. Tampa Bay Rays (1)
2. New York Yankees (3)
3. Minnesota Twins (4)
4. Cincinnati Reds (8)
5. St. Louis Cardinals (5)
6. San Diego Padres (9)
7. Philadelphia Phillies (2)
8. Los Angeles Dodgers (6)
9. T0r0nto Blue Jays (10)
10. Boston Red Sox (12)
11. Texas Rangers (7)
12. Atlanta Braves (13)
13. Oakland Athletics (15)
14. Detroit Tigers (11)
15. San Francisco Giants (14)
16. C0lorado Rockies (18)
17. New York Mets (20)
18. Washington Nationals (17)
19. Florida Marlins (16)
20. Los Angeles Angels (21)
21. Chicago Cubs (22)
22. Chicago White Sox (23)
23. Kansas City Royals (25)
24. Arizona Diamondbacks (19)
25. Milwaukee Brewers (27)
26. Pittsburgh Pirates (24)
27. Seattle Mariners (26)
28. Cleveland Indians (28)
29. Houston Astros (29)
30. Baltimore Orioles (30)

Think there’s something horribly wrong with our list this week? Tell us about it in the comments below.

Fantasy Baseball Dugout is proud to have one of the six voting spots in Yardbarker’s Blogger Poll for MLB Power Rankings 2010. In addition to providing our insight on ranking each MLB team 1-30, we also monitor the AL West NL East (props to Lady Loves Pinstripes for taking over the AL West beat) each week and drop a little insight on each team.

See below for our rankings for MLB Week 7. Since it is our responsibility to provide analysis of each AL West NL East team, I’ve sprinkled that throughout the post below, too.

De Rays and Da Yanks have been neck-in-neck for weeks as the league’s best team, but the Phillies have moved into the top two this week as the Yanks have gone 4-6 in their last 10. The Diamondbacks and Braves are the biggest movers of the week, both up multiple spots thanks to their success over the last 10 games.

Below, in ( ), you will find our week 6 power ranking for each team. Links point to our team archives in case you want to read everything we’ve got on each team.

Think this list sucks? Tell us about it in the comments below.

1. Tampa Bay Rays (1)
2. Philadelphia Phillies (3)
3. New York Yankees (2)
4. Minnesota Twins (4)
5. St. Louis Cardinals (5)
6. Los Angeles Dodgers (10)
7. Texas Rangers (11)
8. Cincinnati Reds (12)
9. San Diego Padres (9)
10. Toronto Blue Jays (8)
11. Detroit Tigers (6)
12. Boston Red Sox (16)
13. Atlanta Braves (20)
14. San Francisco Giants (7)
15. Oakland Athletics (17)
16. Florida Marlins (13)
17. Washington Nationals (14)
18. Colorado Rockies (15)
19. Arizona Diamondbacks (26)
20. New York Mets (19)
21. Los Angeles Angels (18)
22. Chicago Cubs (21)
23. Chicago White Sox (24)
24. Pittsburgh Pirates (22)
25. Kansas City Royals (28)
26. Seattle Mariners (27)
27. Milwaukee Brewers (23)
28. Cleveland Indians (25)
29. Houston Astros (29)
30. Baltimore Orioles (30)

Fantasy Baseball Dugout is proud to have one of the six voting spots in Yardbarker’s Blogger Poll for MLB Power Rankings 2010. In addition to providing our insight on ranking each MLB team 1-30, we also monitor the AL West each week and drop a little insight on each team.

See below for our rankings for MLB Week 6. Since it is our responsibility to provide analysis of each AL West team, I’ve sprinkled that throughout the post below, too.

Since the last time we published the rankings here on FBD (MLB Week 1), several things have changed – but the top is still very similar. De Rays and Da Yanks have been neck-in-neck for weeks as the league’s best team, and the Phillies are right behind them to round out the top three.

Below, in ( ), you will find our week 1 power ranking for each team.

Think this list sucks after 6 weeks? Tell us about it in the comments below.

1. Tampa Bay Rays (4)
2. New York Yankees (1)
3. Philadelphia Phillies (2)
4. Minnesota Twins (9)
5. St. Louis Cardinals (3)
6. Detroit Tigers (10)
7. San Francisco Giants (5)
8. Toronto Blue Jays (15)
9. San Diego Padres (29)
10. Los Angeles Dodgers (7)
11. Texas Rangers (19): Hanging on to the division no one wants to win. Next 9 games are soft (ANA, BAL, CHC, @KC)
12. Cincinnati Reds (18)
13. Florida Marlins (20)
14. Washington Nationals (27)
15. Colorado Rockies (8)
16. Boston Red Sox (6)
17. Oakland Athletics (13): Texas got swept over the weekend and the A’s still lost 2 games in the standings. Falling back to earth.
18. Los Angeles Angels (11): Keeping pace with the Rangers over their last 10 (6-4) heading into an interesting 2-game series in Arlington.
19. New York Mets (22)
20. Atlanta Braves (17)
21. Chicago Cubs (23)
22. Pittsburgh Pirates (16)
23. Milwaukee Brewers (21)
24. Chicago White Sox (24)
25. Cleveland Indians (26)
26. Arizona Diamondbacks (14)
27. Seattle Mariners (12)
28. Kansas City Royals (25)
29. Houston Astros (30)
30. Baltimore Orioles (28)