He's become one of the more consistent shortstops in the NL during his career, with OPS' in the high .700's, 30 SB, 100+ Runs scored, and OBA around .350.  His .814 OPS in 2006 was a career high, and each of his rate statistics has hugely improved over the last three seasons.  That along with his .963 OPS in the second half last season (.339 AVG) causes me to believe 2007 will be a last hurrah of sorts before he starts his inevitable decline. Can anyone believe that little Rafael Furcal is going to be 29 this year?  I can remember when he came up, and was all the rage.  ‘The times they are a changin'.  He struck out 98 times last year.  He struggles mightily on the road; managing only a .680 OPS away from Chavez-Ravine last year.

5. Billy Hall, Milwaukee Brewers

Hall is a very good player in the making. His OPS has climbed from .650 to .898 since 2004, and his 78 XBH were more than Cabrera and Wright.  He seemed to get better as the year went on, as evidenced by his .949 OPS, and should improve in 2007 at 27 years old. He struck out 26.7% of the time, an unbelievable amount.  If he puts up numbers like these though, does anyone really care?  He's bound to improve a little, but this is a nice level to stay at if he can.  It's tough to be a guy 'in the making' when you're going through your peak seasons right now.  At least he'll get a good couple of years to be a serviceable major leaguer, and possibly an All-Star.

6. Felipe Lopez, Washington Nationals

When given the green light, he's finally beginning to put together some great SB totals.  He stole over 40 bases last season, and gets on base frequently enough to do it very successfully. It looks as if the majority of that power he showed a couple of years ago will be going by the wayside in Capitol City.  He managed just two jacks in 320 PA after the trade to Washington.  He's still striking out way too much, and it doesn't look as though he'll be getting very much better at this stage in his career.