AL East

Only 10 percent of the population is left-handed. Despite a world against us (looking at you notebook spirals), being left-handed has its advantages. One place in particular is on the baseball field.

At 28 years old, Jorge Vaquez seems like an unlikely candidate to break the Yankees' big league lineup, but with the way he performs, I would not be surprised to see him as a backup corner infielder and all-around utility man.

Vazquez has been a member of the Yankees since 2009 when New York found him hanging around the Mexican League playing for the Quintana Roo Tigers where he was dominating the competition, posting a .313 batting average over eight seasons.

With the final two spots in the Yankees' rotation up in the air as they enter the 2011 season, the team is counting on A.J. Burnett to have a bounce-back year to solidify the front end of the pitching staff.

The right-hander started out on the right foot Wednesday against an Astros split squad team, allowing two hits and walking none, while striking out one over two scoreless innings. He recorded five outs on the ground and none in the air.

One of the most important qualities for a fantasy baseball starting pitcher is consistency. Having a pitcher who can deliver a solid performance week in and week out is worth its weight in gold, especially in head-to-head leagues that are scored on a weekly basis. 

Even the most seasoned pitcher will have an off night now and then. However, finding a bookend starter who will provide a consistent level of strikeouts and wins with a below-average ERA is the key to a successful season. 

I get a few butterflies in the ol' boilmaker when the Boston Red Sox throw a big time prospect into a trade. The butterflies turn into rabid raccoons when the Sox dump their entire farm team into a deal.

I love prospects. They are like your children in a way. They grow up in front of you, and before you even know it, they are making All-Star teams, start growing Lemmy Kilmister inspired facial hair and getting into fights with Manny Ramirez.

This year's American League East is going to be a very hotly contested division. With all five teams easily capable of putting together .500 or above seasons, the order of finish could be dictated by just a few games.

For the Tampa Bay Rays, the new look of the franchise gives them a new set of advantages and disadvantages over their division rivals. While the other teams within the division spent big bucks this offseason, the Rays were able to cut their payroll from over $70 million to approximately $42 million without sacrificing a tremendous amount of production.

Robinson Cano of the New York Yankees is quickly entering the discussion for best second basemen in the game today (if you don't think he already is), and the question is being asked if he could become the greatest second basemen ever. 

My goal is to see how he compares to the greatest in the game all-time, and see where his career might just end up.

Small market teams don't trade away a player that they control with two years to go before free agency.  Most teams would try to get the most out of him before trading such a player away. 

Which leaves me to the Twins floating around Francisco Liriano's name out in trade winds and more than likely trading him away this season.

Manny Banuelos trails only Jesus Montero in the Yankees' prospect rankings. Banuelos is clearly the best hurler the Yankees have in the minors, and he'll get a long look in spring training this season.

If his career minor league statistics are any indication of his future successes, he's going to be a quality pitcher for a long time.

6. Mark Reynolds, 3B

Mark Reynolds, 27, spent the past four seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks before he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for starter/reliever David Hernandez. The trade will make him Baltimore’s every day third baseman while prospect Josh Bell will most likely start off 2011 at Triple A Norfolk.