Evan Longoria is cleaning up

I know it's only two games, but it looks like Evan Longoria has taken a liking to batting cleanup.

The Tampa Bay Rays moved their cornerstone third baseman from third to fourth in the batting order this year, and while I've heard some chatter that he preffered batting in the No. 3 hole, the switch doesn't seem to have affected him much. So far he's 3-for-8 with four RBIs and blasted his second home run of the season Wednesday night against Baltimore.

In other words, he's cleaning up - and I don't just mean the cash he's raking in from his commercials.

Longo's been a popular pick from 2010 AL MVP, and I have to concur. I ranked him as the No. 2 3B entering the season, behind Alex Rodriguez and above David Wright, and I believe he can challenge A-Rod as fantasy's best third baseman this year.

Inside the Top 50

A few random insights into my Top 50 players list:

Albert Pujols is the consensus No. 1 fantasy pick in almost every rankings, including mine. But I went with Alex Rodriguez at No. 2 over Hanley Ramirez because I think A-Rod still has at least another year of elite production and could rival Pujols' offensive numbers. If you look at what Rodriguez did last year despite the missed games with a hip injury and the fallout from his steroid admission, you could easily make a case this will be a special year for him.

But I'd still be thrilled to build my team around Han-Ram at shortstop, even though his steals totals have been in decline.

Just a personal preference, but I don't like taking pitchers in the first round, which is why Roy Halladay and Tim Lincecum are just outside the top 10. And surprise - I like Halladay this year in the NL just slightly more than fantasy favorite Lincecum.

Evan Longoria edges David Wright as my top third baseman. I just can't put Wright's awful 2009 out of my mind, even though he says this year will be different.

Adrian Gonzalez is a tad higher on my list than some others I've seen. That's in the hopes that he gets traded somewhere this season - Boston, perhaps? He'd have hit 50 HRs or more last year if he didn't play home games in Petco Park.

I'm a little down on Ichiro Suzuki this year. Last season's leg troubles and declining SB/runs totals scare me a little.

I have similar concerns about Brian Roberts, who's stolen base numbers have dropped from 50 to 40 to 30 in the past three seasons and who's still recovering from a herniated disk that's kept him out of spring training games so far. But with 2B being such a shallow position he might be a risk I'm willing to take.

Jonathan Broxton is the only closer who cracks the top-50. And I'd still probably avoid taking him (or any closer) that high.

B.J. Upton rounds out the list in the hopes he'll have a bounce-back year at the plate. He could be a steal.

The great keeper debate

My primary baseball league the past few years has been one run by some of my newsroom cohorts. It's a 10-team keeper league with a regular snake draft, and it's pretty competitive (I've finished in the bottom half the past two years, much to everyone else's delight).

With the deadline for keepers rapidly approaching - each team must designate 5 players they'll "keep" from last year's squad - I thought I'd take you through my thought process.

Luckily it wasn't a very tough decision, but that's because my team last year just wasn't that talented. While some of my competitors had as many as 10 or more players they could legitimately make a case for keeping, I narrowed my list down to seven.

But first, some guys who didn't make the cut: Dan Uggla, Elvis Andrus, Alex Rios, Franklin Gutierrez, Alcides Escobar, Nolan Reimold, Scott Kazmir, Ricky Nolasco, Rick Porcello, Joba Chamberlain. All useful players, but not really keeper material in this format. We've never really had a "long-term" focus in this league; the way I see it, our keepers should more or less represent the top 50 (5 keepers a team, 10 teams) fantasy players. None of those guys qualify.

Next, the no-brainers: Ryan Howard, Jacoby Ellsbury, Felix Hernandez. Howard is a top-10 talent and my big thumper. I've come to love Ellsbury, one of the few players capable of single-handedly keeping you afloat in steals while not killing you in other categories. And King Felix is, in my mind, a potential top-5 starter this year.

Now, the tough decisions. I've got two keeper spots left for four players: Ryan Zimmerman, Jason Bay, Josh Beckett, Matt Wieters.

Wieters is obviously a great long-term keeper, as he has a real chance to develop into one of the game's top 2 catchers (along with Joe Mauer). But is he top-2 this year? Is he a top-50 player this year? I think not. Keeping Wieters will put me at a disadvantage. Sorry Matt.

How about Zimmerman? Last year's numbers (.292/33/106) were great, and third base is fairly weak this year. A slight improvement (far from impossible for a 25-year-old) and he could surpass contemporaries Evan Longoria and David Wright and finish behind only Alex Rodriguez among fantasy second baseman. I'm keeping him.

So that leaves Beckett and Bay for one spot. Beckett can be a top-15 pitcher this year if all goes well. Bay can be a top-15 OF. In a perfect world, I'd have a more sure thing to choose from, but these guys are the best I've got. I don't foresee a lot of pitchers being kept this year, which should leave the redraft pretty flush with them. Outfielders capable of 30 homers and 30 steals? Not so much. Bay it is.

So there you have it. Ryan Howard, Felix Hernandez, Jacoby Ellsbury, Ryan Zimmerman, Jason Bay. Let's go get em, guys.

Spring Preview: Tampa Bay Rays

SARASOTA - In just a few short years the Tampa Bay Rays have gone from major league afterthoughts to serious contenders. They've catapulted themselves past established AL East powers like the Blue Jays and Orioles - who I watched the Rays beat 8-3 on Tuesday at Ed Smith Stadium - to give the Red Sox and Yankees a run for their money.

A big part of that success has been the talent - specifically the young, homegrown variety - the fanchise has amassed. And all that talent makes Tampa Bay's roster extremely appealing to fantasy owners. Let's have a closer look, shall we?

BREAKOUT PLAYER: Starter Matt Garza is penciled in as the Rays' No. 2 starter behind James Shields, but he may have the best pure stuff on the staff. Though his W-L record (8-12) and ERA (3.92) were disappointments after a stellar 2008 season, keep in mind it was really only his second full season in the big leagues, and he struck out 189 batters in 203 innings. With a little luck and a little more maturity on the mound, the 26-year-old could be in line for a fine season.

BUYER BEWARE: Jason Bartlett had an outstanding 2009, but you have to be a tad skeptical about a player who added nearly 200 points to his OPS from the previous season, raised his batting average 30 points and almost tripled his previous career high in homers (from 5 to 14). I'm not suggesting there's anything fishy going on; I'm just saying we might have seen a once-in-a-career season out of the 29-year-old SS, who's going to cost you a lot more this draft day than he ever has.

ETC: Carl Crawford (top) is a top-10 talent, even if there's a decent chance he gets traded elsewhere by season's end. If that happens, minor league speedster Desmond Jennings instantly becomes a must-own. ... A lot people are down on B.J. Upton, whose stats fell for a second straight year last season after a stellar 2007. But I believe there's still hope for the 25-year-old, who was still recovering from shoulder surgery last year, to be an across-the-board contributor. ... keep an eye on IF/OF Sean Rodriguez, who's tearing it up so far this spring after being acquired in the Scott Kazmir deal and pushing for playing time. ... Evan Longoria is the second-best fantasy 3B in the game behind Alex Rodriguez, plain and simple. ... Carlos Pena is another Ray who could end up getting dealt by year's end, but don't let that scare you away. Can you say contract year? ... The versatile Ben Zobrist demands your attention after an awesome 2009 that came out of nowhere. He's a lot more comfortable this year, as the Herald's John Lembo reports, knowing the Rays will find ways to get him in their lineup, whether it's at second base or in right field. But I do have hesitation when it comes to a player who hit 27 homers in one season at age 28 after a total of 23 in more than 1,300 career minor league at bats. ... I've already spelled out how much I like new closer Rafael Soriano this year ... Want strikeouts? Get No. 3 starter David Price. Want an even cheaper source of strikeouts? Get No. 4 Jeff Niemann (above). Want a late-round sleeper with a ton of upside? Get Wade Davis.

Why we love Longoria

Sorry to mislead you, but I couldn't resist the cheap joke. This post isn't about everyone's favorite Desperate Housewife. No, it's about our boy Evan Longoria, another hot young talent who was finally called up to the big leagues Friday night, the Bradenton Herald reports.

Longoria is considered by most observers to be a superstar-in-waiting and checks in at No. 2 on Baseball America's list of Top 100 Prospects. The third overall pick in the 2006 MLB First-Year Player Draft has been favorably compared to David Wright as a future impact player at third base.

Many assumed Longoria would make the Tampa Bay Rays' major league roster out of spring training, but it soon became clear the franchise planned to keep him in the minors at the start of 2008, partly to delay him from becoming arbitration eligible. Despite a pretty solid spring campaign (.262, three HRs, 10 RBIs), Longoria was assigned to Triple-A Durham, and the Rays handed third base duties to the illustrious Willy Aybar. But you know what they say about the best-laid plans ... Aybar is on the DL, and Longoria is on his way to Tropicana Field.

This isn't the blueprint the Rays drew up. They hoped to have Longoria dominating Triple-A pitching when he got called up, but instead he was barely hitting .200 at Durham. They hoped to permanently install him as their third baseman, but this move was made out of sheer necessity, and if he doesn't hit right away, I could see them sending him back down for more seasoning and using another stop-gap third baseman. That would tick off a lot of Rays fans who are starting to believe in the team's youth movement and its march toward respectability.

Luckily, we don't need to worry about that right now. We need to get Longoria on our teams and in our lineups.

You may recall what Wright did the first time he got called up (.293, 14 HRs, 40 RBIs in 263 at-bats in 2004). You may have seen what Ryan Braun did last year as a rookie with the Brewers (.324, 34 HRs, 97 RBIs in 451 at-bats). And if you missed out on either of those phenomenons or have been reduced to tears watching Ryan Zimmerman or Edwin Encarnacion struggle to reach the Mendoza Line for your team, it's time to plug Longoria in at 3B and see what he can do.

The slow start at Durham is a little unsettling, especially when you take into account Longoria hit .269 in a 31-game Triple-A stint at the end of 2007, a number that doesn't exactly scream "superstar!" He also doesn't have the same kind of wheels Wright or Braun have shown, so don't expect double-digit steals. But these are small concerns. It's only a matter of time before Longoria blossoms at the big league level. I believe he can be a top-12 first baseman as early as this season if he sticks around. You'll want to be there from the beginning.