Alfonso Soriano's 40-40 season makes him one of the top fantasy performers for 2006.

Posted: Monday October 2, 2006 12:15PM; Updated: Monday October 2, 2006 4:17PM

For all the talk about the American League being so dominant over the National League, you couldn't necessarily tell from the cream of the crop of fantasy players. A good chunk of this year's fantasy all-stars were from the Senior Circuit, including arguably the four best hitters this season. On the other hand, pitching was good but not great across the board.

Let's take a look at the top fantasy players over the course of the 2006 season.

1B: Ryan Howard, Phillies: It's a loaded position, as usual, but it's hard to pass up a guy with 58 homers. The past couple of years, it seems to be Albert Pujols vs. some other big-time slugger for the slot here. If Pujols didn't have a DL stint, who knows what his numbers would've been.
Honorable mention: Albert Pujols, Cardinals; Justin Morneau, Twins; Jim Thome, White Sox; Paul Kornerko, White Sox

2B: Alfonso Soriano, Nationals: He won't be eligible here next year, but it's almost instant fantasy all-star status when you put up a 40-40 season. Other than Utley, it was a position lacking in studs but filled with a lot of decent guys.
Honorable mention: Chase Utley, Phillies; Dan Uggla, Marlins; Robinson Cano, Yankees; Ray Durham, Giants

SS: Jose Reyes, Mets: Another loaded position with a bunch of players in double-digits in homers and steals with high averages, but it's hard to pass up 64 steals, 122 runs plus 19 homers, 81 RBIs and a .300 average.
Honorable mention: Derek Jeter, Yankees; Jimmy Rollins, Phillies; Hanley Ramirez, Marlins; Miguel Tejada, Orioles; Carlos Guillen, Tigers; Rafael Furcal, Dodgers

3B: Alex Rodriguez, Yankees: The ridiculous expectations from him make his overall numbers (.290-113-35-121-15) a slight disappointment, but those are still great stats. He gets the nod slightly over Miguel Cabrera's big year, marked by a .339 average.
Honorable mention: Miguel Cabrera, Marlins; David Wright, Mets; Garrett Atkins, Rockies; Aramis Ramirez, Cubs

C: Joe Mauer, Twins: Leading the league in hitting plus solid run-production numbers and a handful of steals have Mauer at the top, as there's a bit of a changing of the guard with a bunch of young backstops in the mix.
Honorable mention: Brian McCann, Braves; Victor Martinez, Indians; Josh Willingham, Marlins

OF: Jermaine Dye, White Sox: Always a pretty good fantasy outfielder, he made the leap to fantasy stud this year with career highs in both home runs (44) and RBIs (120).

OF: Carlos Beltran, Mets: Arguably last year's highest-priced fantasy bust, he showed why he was worth big bucks by shattering career highs in homers (41) and RBIs (116) to go with his 18 steals, although his September swoon was a disappointment.

OF: Lance Berkman, Astros: Tough call for the third spot with a lot of deserving candidates, but his numbers trail only Pujols and Howard. He played mostly first but is also eligible in the outfield next year.
Honorable mention: Carlos Lee, Brewers/Rangers; Matt Holliday, Rockies; Vladimir Guerrero, Angels; Carl Crawford, Devil Rays; Grady Sizemore, Indians; Vernon Wells, Blue Jays

DH: David Ortiz, Red Sox: He won't be eligible at first base in many leagues, but it's hard to pass up Big Papi's first 50-homer season.
Honorable mention: Travis Hafner, Indians

Utility: Bill Hall, Brewers: I'm throwing this in here for a player eligible at a whole bunch of positions, like Hall. While he'll only be eligible at shortstop next year, he did provide lots of positional flexibility this year with 30-plus homers probably very cheaply too.
Honorable mention: Michael Cuddyer, Twins; Chone Figgins, Angels; Freddy Sanchez, Pirates; Rich Aurilia, Reds

SP: Johan Santana, Twins: He won just one game in April, but turned it on after that to tie for the major league lead with 19 wins en route to the pitching triple crown. The only sure-fire All-Star among pitchers.

SP: Chris Carpenter, Cardinals: The reigning NL Cy Young winner didn't match the wins from 2005, but his other stats were solid across the board.

SP: Brandon Webb, Diamondbacks: After cutting down on the walks and getting a bit of run support, Webb has solidified his place as a stud NL starter. Hard to believe he tied for the NL lead with 16 wins, though.
Honorable mention: Francisco Liriano, Twins; John Smoltz, Braves; Carlos Zambrano, Cubs; Roy Halladay, Blue Jays; Roy Oswalt, Astros; Justin Verlander, Tigers; Mike Mussina, Yankees; Bronson Arroyo, Reds; Aaron Harang, Reds; Chien-Ming Wang, Yankees.

RP: Jonathan Papelbon, Red Sox: Before being shut down in September, he was practically unhittable. He was a great bargain pick if you drafted him before the season.

RP: Joe Nathan, Twins: Ridiculously consistent over the past three years -- lots of saves, great strikeout totals, microscopic ERA and WHIP.

RP: Francisco Rodriguez, Angels: Leading the league with 47 saves with the same ridiculous ERA, WHIP and strikeout numbers gives him the nod over a loaded set of big-time closers.
Honorable mention: Trevor Hoffman, Padres; B.J. Ryan, Blue Jays; J.J. Putz, Mariners; Billy Wagner, Mets; Mariano Rivera, Yankees