Jeff Kent

Kent is a future first-ballot Hall-of-Famer and while he may be old (40 in March) and a liability in the field, the bat is still there. Kent batted .302/.375/.500 and his .875 OPS was second in all of baseball (to Chase Utley) for second basemen. In order to keep him fresh for the second half, Kent was rested quite a bit last year (136 games played), but he should still be good for .290-20-80 next year in the final year of his contract.

Kent was plagued by a sore right wrist last off-season and a ribcage injury for much of 2006, so at age 39 (as of Opening Day 2007), it's likely his best days are behind him. Consequently, after having averaged 28 homers and 110 RBI in the preceeding nine seasons, Kent's fantasy numbers were down in 2006. Look more closely, though, as an .862 OPS for a second baseman is still very good, and Kent did finish strong, with .900-plus OPS months in August and September. Keep him near the top of your second base cheatsheets and hope for a healthy 2007 hitting behind Rafael Furcal, Juan Pierre and Nomar Garciaparra.

Kent didn't tail off as much as we might have expected last year with the move to Dodger Stadium. At age 38 this year, the odds of a decline are steepening. One cautionary note: Kent had a sore right wrist that needed examination by a specialist in December.

Kent bounced back form a slight dip in his stats in 2003 and had another solid season in 2004. His numbers should take a hit moving to Dodger Stadium from Houston's Minute Maid Park, but he'll still be a good source of power at second base. He could also play other positions around the infield with the Dodgers.

An injured wrist forced Kent to the disabled list for nearly a month in 2003 and limited his power output in the weeks following his return to action. He slugged .435 in June and .353 in July, but then returned to form by slugging .543 in August and .526 in September. Presuming a return to full-health, look for Kent's slugging percentage to return closer to customary levels, and for another 100-RBI season.

Perhaps the best hitter playing second base in baseball today. In his six years playing second base for the Giants, Kent averaged .297-29-115 per season - awesome for his position in the field. He turns 35 in the spring, but there's no reason to believe he doesn't have at least one or two more years like that in him.