If you’re a succesful Fantasy Baseball player, you know that it’s nearly impossible to finish near the top of the standings without having power at the corners. Unless you’ve secured significant pop at both First Base and Third Base, it’s a good bet you’ll be one of the first in your league looking to make a trade.

A quick glance at the top of your 2010 Fantasy Baseball Draft sheets should reveal quite an imbalance between the two slots. You’ll probably have as many as twelve first tier options and a number of second and third tier guys capable of giving you 20+ HR and 90+ RBI. At third base, however, the pickins’ grow slim. There are but five top tier selections to be made; six if you’re confident that David Wright can bounce back in CitiField. As the talent at the Hot Corner begins to thin, you’ll find yourself scrambling to find adequate options. Good luck.

The solution? Well, even though Moonlight’s First Commandment tells us to never, ever draft for position in the first few rounds, it might be wise to grab an elite third sacker early as long as his stats are not dwarfed by another available player.

Stars

At First Base, we all know the cream of the crop, as Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder, Ryan Howard and Mark Teixeira should all be gone by the middle of the second round. There is a group of studs, however, who fall to the fourth round and beyond in most mocks that may actually return more value than the aforementioned stars, if only that they’ll be selected so much later. Give a long look to Justin Morneau, Adrian Gonzalez, Derek Lee and Adam Dunn. Across the diamond, Alex Rodriguez, Evan Longoria, Ryan Zimmerman, Pablo Sandoval and Mark Reynolds lead the pack. Reynolds and Sandoval might also be eligible at 1B in your league but you’d be silly to use them in that slot.

Sleepers

Take advantage of your last opportunity to grab Billy Butler and Joey Votto in any round after the second. These two young superstars will rocket to the top of the rankings in 2011. Gordon Beckham is a star on the rise for the White Sox who’ll be at 2B this year but still carry 3B eligibility. In Oakland, Kevin Kouzmanoff is happy to be away from pitcher friendly Petco Park, where he somehow managed 18 HR and 88 RBI.

Slippers

You won’t find Moonlight among those that think David Wright’s stats will return to their old levels. He’s still a star, but 20 HR, and not 30, may be the max in his new home. Lance Berkman had minor knee surgery last weekend and will miss two to four weeks. His numbers slipped badly last year and the Astros have a lot of talent in the Minors.

Stiffs

Both of our stiffs are getting their mail in Seattle these days. At 1B, Casey Kotchman doesn’t have nearly enough pop to be considered and should go undrafted in a mixed league while 3B Chone Figgins will have you scrambling to make up HR and RBI all year. Avoid both.

Moonlight Graham’s Top Ten Fantasy Corner Infielders

Albert Pujols                                                 Alex Rodriguez

Prince Fielder                                                Evan Longoria

Mark Teixeira                                                Mark Reynolds

Miguel Cabrera                                              Ryan Zimmerman

Ryan Howard                                                David Wright

Billy Butler                                                    Pablo Sandoval

Justin Morneau                                             Kevin Youkilis

Joey Votto                                                   Aramis Ramirez

Derek Lee                                                     Chipper Jones

Adrian Gonzalez                                         Gordon Beckham

Got a call the other day from Jack Sullivan, proprietor of The Big Steins in the Hausier’s Krowedum Rotisserie League and proud owner of the second and sixth picks in the upcoming HKRL Fantasy Baseball Draft.  Jack had just started his draft prep by going over a few mock drafts and Top 100 lists.  He was surprised to find Joe Mauer listed no higher than 12th on any of the material he was studying and had a question for me. “Now, with the second pick, Hanley Ramirez is a no-brainer. But, with the sixth pick, I want Joe Mauer.”  “The list I’m looking at has him listed 12th but I’m not sure he even lasts until number 6.  Am I crazy?”

Well, Jackson, one could make the argument that, in fact, you are; especially after your tragic decision to waive Jason Kubel just a day after last year’s draft.  But, in this case, you’re right on the mark with Kubel’s teammate, the great Joe Mauer.  As a matter of fact, the rationale behind your first pick confirms Mauer as worthy of a mid-first round choice.

In most drafts, Albert Pujols is the logical first choice.  Ramirez usually goes second, not so much because his statistics are markedly better than alternative choices such as Ryan Braun or Alex Rodriguez but due to the fact that he produces at their level while playing a very thin position.  Think about what your roster would look like were you to pick Braun.  You’d have a stud outfielder but would now be forced to dip down into the shortstop pool later on; let’s say to the 10th round where both Jason Bartlett and outfielder Nelson Cruz will be available.  Your team is obviously stronger with Ramirez and Cruz than with Braun and Bartlett.

The same logic must be applied to Mauer.  He’s a three time batting champ and the reigning MVP who, by the way, became a stud power hitter last year while batting .370.  Those stats put him in the first round no matter what his position.  That his is actually the weakest of all, you absolutely cannot afford to turn down his kind of production at that spot.  So, do you think you’re better off with Mauer and Joey Votto in the fifth round or with Mark Teixeira and Brian McCann?  Looks like an easy decision, Jack.  Good luck.

Buy Low- Not surprising to find a Colorado Rockie leading this list, as they are the hottest team in the game. Troy Tulowitzki leads the charge, raising his BA more than 40 points over the last two weeks while rediscovering the power he displayed during his stellar rookie year… John Danks has put two dominating performances back to back as the White Sox rotation has started to turn things around… Been waiting all year to add Francisco Liriano to this list. The projected Twins’ ace has looked like his old self in his last two outings…

Sell High- Jesse Palmer currently sports a 7-1 record for the Angels. Make a point of that and deal him before your trade partner notices that he doesn’t strike anyone out and has a 5.16 ERA… Despite vying for the NL batting lead, Pablo Sandoval hasn’t logged any time behind the plate; significantly lowering his value heading into next season’s Fantasy Baseball Draft. If yours is not a keeper league, you might consider moving him for a lot of help in return…

Grab Bag- Mike MacDougal has been a nice surprise for the Nationals since taking over as closer… I know it was only the Mets, baseball’s version of a AAAA team, but Chien Ming Wang turned in his second straight solid performance vs. the Amazins on Sunday. If you’re looking for pitching, you could take a flier on much worse… Oakland turns to Gio Gonzalez after losing Josh Outman to Tommy John surgery. Gonzalez, long a top prospect, was 4-1 2.50 at AAA Sacramento… Chad Gaudin shut out the Rangers in Arlington on Sunday; his third straight dominant outing for Seattle. His K total has spiked over that time as well…

Drop Zone- Bill Hall may have seen his last day as the Brewers staring 3B. With his BA at .197 and Mat Gamel playing well, Hall doesn’t figure to see the field anytime soon… It pains me to write the name Vladimir Guerrero in this spot but that’s just where Vladdy’s power outage has landed him. Take him out of your lineup until he starts driving the ball… Getting close to the time to give up the ghost on the struggling Elijah Dukes…

Sick Bay- It’s starting to become more likely that Brandon Webb won’t be returning to the D’Back’s anytime soon. He’ll seek the opinions of three specialists this week as to what might be wrong with his shoulder and could be out for the season… Braves’ SS Yunel Escobar is trying to play through a hip problem that has forced him to the bench on occasion… Jose Reyes took ground balls and BP over the weekend but still appears to be out until after the break… Carlos Quentin is in the midst of a running program but is no closer to returning from a foot injury…