The Top Ten Players to watch in 2011 - 3/4/11

10. Jay Rozell- Yes, Jay Rozell. He was huge offensively for his teams in 2006-2008, but recently has been putting up sub-par numbers, when he shows up. He played in just 10 games last year and put up only 11 RBI's, by far a career low. This season should be different for Jay, the Mets will need him on the mound this year if they want to advance in the playoffs, or make the playoffs. He doesn't have to be an elite pitcher but he must get his control and command back, when he's throwing strikes he is very effective but strikes are few and far between for him of late. In addition to being a presence on the mound he'll have to do the same at the plate, he has been around for 6 seasons and is rarely fooled, but you'll never get comfortable in the box if you only make half the games. The Mets don't need Jay to be league MVP, they need him to be their MVP.

9.Eddie Varno-Theres is alot of noise about one of the new teams in town, the Brooklyn Dodgers. Some of it comes from the controversial move to Brooklyn, but part of that noise is from the signing of former Royals slugger Eddie Varno. Eddie went for 18 RBI's last season and was tied for the team lead in homeruns. His power was on display in full at the all-star game where he won the HR derby by belting a total of 12 homeruns, far and away the most of any of the 8 competitors. Eddie will have to be large in the batters box this season for a Dodgers team looking to get over the hump, they're surrounded by alot of hype but will their bite be as bad as their bark?

7.Aussy-Finally...the Auss has COME BACK TO HESS FIELD WIFFLEBALL. Thats what he says at least. Many are a little more skeptical given his career low in RBI's, homeruns, hits, runs and games played last season. Does "coming back" mean attending more games? The millions and millions certainly hope so but there are whispers that he may not be able to handle the bright lights that the Braves are usually under, only time will tell. The Braves NEED vintage Aussy this season, with Stegmann clearly on the decline (or off HGH) and Strang being so streaky, Aussy has to be the ROCK he claims to be in the middle of that lineup that forces pitchers to stay honest. The Braves are pretty good at playing small ball and letting their pitching do the talking but that isn't Aussy's style, and some say the Braves system just doesn't suit him. Whether thats the case or not Aussy needs to make it work and needs to put fear back into pitchers like he did in 2008. Aussy's gotta know his role.

6.Josh Longo-Coming off a great year statistically he now signs with the best team in the league, talk about the rich getting richer. However Josh will play a role he has never played before, he will be the #2 pitcher behind Chris Horwedel. His career as an ace has panned out nicely going 13-6 thus far and the Cards certainly hope to see more of the same and believe he will adjust nicely. Behind him in the rotation is Tom Tierney, don't be surprised if Tom pushes Josh all season for the #2 spot, even if he doesn't want it. Longo is coming off a career year at the plate in which he led the Angels in almost every offensive category including a .373 average which was second in the entire league. The Cards don't need more power in their lineup but if Josh can hit for a solid average it will make the best offense in the league even better. Although it is believed that Zac Longo will remain team captain, expect Josh to have input with regards to setting up their rotation and making key decisions in the playoffs, he's one of the best at strategizing in the league.

5.Alex Kelly-A.K. had an MVP year last year for the Hess League champion Indians, unfortunately for him so did his brother, Brian, who gathered most of the award hardware. The Indians though know how important Alex is to the team, his improved pitching last season was what pushed the Indians past the Braves as best team in the Hess League. He has never hit for a high average but he's a feared, aggressive hitter that comes through in the clutch. Last season alone he hit the game winning HR against Chris Hess in game 1 of the HLCS and had the game winning hit against the Rockies in game 2 of the Wiffleball World Series. The Indians will need A.K. to keep hitting this year, their lineup is an asset for the first time and he needs to take advantage of that, pitchers can no longer pitch around him. Just as importantly he will need to have another fantastic year on the Mound, he led the league in strikeouts last season with 141 but his 2.89 average has to come down a little bit if he wants to be considered a shutdown pitcher. Expect another MVP caliber year from A.K., but the real question is, can we expect a championship?

4.Justin Mara-As the league teased about "the next big thing", some may have thought we were talking about Justin Mara. Justin is a clever throwing lefty that showed flashes of brilliance, but struggled as a whole from the mound last season. His ERA of 11.67 will be far from acceptable if his Dodgers are going to be a contender. The Dodgers wont need him to shut down every lineup he sees but they will need him to be a legitimate ace and to beat teams that he is expected to beat. Whether Justin will pitch from the north mound or south mound is yet to be determined but either way he has the movement and speed to be effective from both. Certainly the Dodgers will need more than just an ace to win a championship but an ace is the first step. Look what Tom Tierney did for the Athletics or what John Dyer has done for the Red Sox, they immediately legitimized the team. For the sake of the league and everyone who follows it we all hope the hype around this team and around Justin is matched on the field. Brooklyn stand up!

3.Adam Trigger-Very few are sure how to define Triggers season in 2010. He struggled at the plate, hitting for career lows in most category's. He wasn't the only one of the Angels that struggled offensively but much bigger things were expected of him given his career numbers. Trigger didn't take to the mound at all until the end of the season where he promptly no hit the Mets in 4 innings. He followed up that performance by defeating the number one ranked Cardinals in game 2 of the LLDS. In the Lamb Championship Series he was rocked by the powerful offense of the Rockies but was said to have felt a pop in his elbow during the 2nd inning which caused him to lose velocity and movement, and the game. With or without that loss he showed a lot of promise on the mound, enough to be the Tigers ace as of now. Not even the Tigers know what to expect from Trigger but they know what they need from him, they need him to go HAM. Kanye West would tell you best, no one man should have all this power, but as Trigger goes so do the Tigers.

2.T.O.-Few people have been in the wiffleball media more than T.O. this offseason. Although it was the first year he played and did not win the cy-young, it was perhaps his most successful year. His ERA of 1.13 was the lowest in the league and he went 4-0 in the playoffs for the Rockies on their way to the championship. His struggles offensively with the Rockies were largely overlooked due to the powerful offense around him that was still considered the best or one of the best lineups in league history. His team this year is not quite as offensively gifted so he will have to improve his 2010 average of .167 drastically in order to compete with the top level teams. If Tadd thought all eyes were on him this offseason, just wait until the 'Sox take the field in 2011. He is the key ingredient that is supposed to get the Red Sox a championship and whether fairly or unfairly he may be the one to blame if the Red Sox fall short.