So far, so good. Despite reduced velocity, Kimbrel has been perfect so far, so if you’re chasing saves, there is no one better than the K-man. Last year, his WHIP was 0.65. Just think about that for a moment. No reliever is capable of racking up strikeouts like Kimbrel and while the low BABIP suggests he’ll likely regress somewhat this year, we’re hardly sweating. Over the last couple of years, very few closers have been sure things, but Kimbrel bucks that trend.

He recorded his second straight 30-30 season (actually topping 40 homers for the first time) and nearly matched his slugging percentage from his MVP 2011 campaign. Braun has returned from his stint with Team USA at the WBC, but the BioGenesis controversy isn’t going away. A knee woe certainly didn’t slow him down in the WBC and shouldn’t be a factor as the season begins. Still, the positive test that was overturned last year really sticks in our craw. We’re expecting Braun’s baserunning skills to continue to slide this season, but not so much that he doesn’t ascend to the top spot on this list.

Ortiz has finally started taking BP, but has been unable to run the bases because of the injury, so you’d be wise to lower your projected at-bats for the big guy. The longer the pain lingers, the less likely it is he’ll be ready on Opening Day. MRIs have revealed inflammation in both of his heels, and let’s not forget that a similar injury last year limited him to 90 games. Uh oh.

Well, his extra-base pop wasn’t quite as good as it was in Miami, but he definitely did bring power to the west coast. Ramirez was having a decent comeback effort with the Fish, but his run total surprisingly went down after joining what was a more stacked Dodger lineup – at least on paper. Overall, he did hit better last year, but he’s still nowhere near the player he was from 2006 to 2010. Ramirez went to the Dominican Winter League, and while a shoulder woe kept him at DH and 3B, he did hit well. The Dodgers, however, wanted him to play more shortstop in anticipation of the upcoming season. To make matters worse, the solid work did not carry over to the Caribbean Series, making him a bit of a risk pending a clear health report. The fact that he also hurt his knee in the final Carribbean Series game is another worry, although it was reportedly not serious. You get the point, though: H-Ram is a tad fragile of late. And while Ramirez’s extra-base power recovered somewhat last season, a shoulder issue would make it difficult for him to return to his days of a .200+ ISO. Ramirez is also listed in our Third Base Rankings, coming shortly.