The Hutch Award winner for his work on and off the field, Butler is relegated to a DH only slot this year after qualifying at first base in 2011. Last season was Butler’s most productive campaign in the bigs, but his strikeouts rose back up, bringing his percentages down. More flyballs translated into a few more homers, but we’re still waiting for Butler to have a serious power breakout, and that may yet be coming. If he can get his batting eye back to its 2010 levels and continue his upward power surge, we could be looking at .310-25-100 RBI man here. And as the Royals’ overall lineup improves, opponents won’t be able to intentionally walk him 15 times like they did last year, which could mean more RBI opportunities. We’re expecting Butler to hike his isolated power numbers up substantially over the next two-to-three seasons, so keeper league owners in particular should be holding him or targeting him.

The Dodgers rewarded of the game’s best with a whopping eight-year, $160-million extension and now he’s got to figure out a way to top one of the greatest seasons in recent memory. Where do you start with Kemp’s 2011? How about a career-high 115 runs despite having to hit in a lacklustre lineup? How about a career-best 195 hits as part of a near Triple- Crown season? Oh, and then there’s the fact that he fell one dinger shy of joining the ultra-rare 40-40 club. Kemp will probably strike out a few more times this season, but another 30-30 season at the very least seems like a slam dunk assuming he stays healthy. Kemp’s performance last year far outstripped the investment you had to make; considering what you’ll have to pay this year, he’ll be hard-pressed to do so again.

Filling that corner-infield slot from the first base pool is a strategy that many will employ this season, and for good reason. Get your hot corner option while you can as after the Top 10 are off the board the choices are simply not all that good. Go early or go home is the mantra when drafting third basemen in 2012.