Matt Holliday

Ah, what could have been.

The MLB's Rule Four Draft, better known as the First Year Player Draft, is not a simple process. Teams spend months preparing for the annual June draft, setting aside a budget, ranking a player's sign-ability and preparing alternatives in the event that their planned player is not available with their pick. If the draft were as simple as taking the best player available, imagine what baseball could look like today.

Our 2011 fantasy baseball projections will be released one-by-one until the top 100 players have been revealed. These rankings consider past achievements, current performance and expected future results based on standard 5×5 H2H settings.

For baseball fans, the pinnacle of the six-month grind awaits on the horizon.

With only a few weeks left in the regular season, it’s hard not to let the mind drift to October baseball, playoff drama, and the crowning of a new World Series champion.

Currently, three divisions stand all but settled.

The Minnesota Twins have a six-game lead in the American League Central, the Cincinnati Reds have a seven-game lead in the National League Central, and the Texas Rangers sit eight games up in the A.L. West.

That leaves us with three divisions up for grabs.

The players are swinging for the fences tonight and the big sticks are getting broken out.

The only things fans aren't real happy about is the fact that besides Matt Holliday, David Ortiz, and Miguel Cabrera, there aren't those big names participating that can put on a show for the fans in Anaheim.

Guys like Chris Young, Vernon Wells, Corey Hart, and Hanley Ramirez don't really make the every day Home Run derby fan stand up and take notice.

So, in case you didn't get a chance to catch it on television, here's a round by round breakdown of how things went tonight and the standout performers.

For a one-night event, the Home Run Derby attracts a lot of interest. For that matter, there are many different factors that ultimately affect the outcome of it.

Will there be any new records set in this year's Derby? How many home runs will it take to win it, and who will do so? Will there be another performance reminiscent of Brandon Inge's no-show last year?

Six participants for the 2010 Home Run Derby were announced yesterday: David Ortiz (DH, Boston), Corey Hart (OF, Milwaukee), Matt Holliday (OF, St. Louis), Miguel Cabrera (1B, Detroit), Robinson Cano (2B, New York Yankees), and Vernon Wells (OF, Toronto).

All told, it's not a terrible lineup.  There will be two more participants announced before the Derby, but you've already got old-school power hitters in Cabrera and Ortiz and some new blood in Cano and Hart.

The time has come for the National League Central Division to hit the panic button. Matt Holliday is on fire, and there is no sign of the fire marshal. 

After signing the biggest contract in St. Louis Cardinals history, Matt Holliday got off to a slow and inconsistent start in 2010. 

On June 18, Holliday discovered his long-lost swing that had provided enough consistency and power to land him a $120 million contract. 

In his last four games, Holliday is 11-for-17 (.647 avg) with five home runs and 10 RBI. 

The proof is in the pudding.

Matt Holliday has officially signed with the St. Louis Cardinals. Let me steal a line from Jack Buck here: "Pardon me while I stand and applaud."

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Okay, I'm back. Despite what pessimists say, this is a great signing for the Cardinals. I'm not here, however, to talk about the contract itself. I'm going to answer some questions that, for a lack of a better word, stupid people continue to ask.

Q: With Holliday making $17 million per season now, Pujols will want to be paid more than that in his next contract.