Who are the hottest fantasy baseball hitters right now? Here are five hitters who are on fire and can help lead any fantasy team to victory:

1. Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
For much of the 2009 fantasy baseball season, Albert Pujols has been on fire. In the last month, he has really, really been hitting well. In that time period, he has nine homers, 31 RBIs and 23 runs.

2. Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins
Hanley Ramirez has started to hit his stride. In the last month, the Marlins superstar has six homers, 15 runs, 33 RBIs and four stolen bases.

3. Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies
While he’s had a number of rocky moments this fantasy season, Tulowitzki has started to put it all together. In the last month, he has eight homers, 24 runs, 17 RBIs and seven stolen bases.

4. B.J. Upton, Tampa Bay Rays
Coming into the 2009 fantasy baseball season, many experts believed B.J. Upton was the biggest sleeper in the game. In the last 30 days, he has started to show that potential for the Rays. Most notable are his 13 steals during that time period.

5. Pablo Sandoval, San Francisco Giants
In the last month, Pablo Sandoval has done a great job of getting on base. His on-base percentage of .440 is impressive — as are hs nine homers, 24 RBIs and 17 runs.

Albert Pujols is a fantasy baseball stud (Image: Zuma Press)

A lot of the star fantasy baseball starting pitchers got off to slow starts. However, in the month of June, there are a lot of star starting pitchers who have warmed up with the summer heat. Here is a look at the best fantasy starting pitchers this month:

1. Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners
In June, Hernandez has been practically untouchable. In five starts, he has a 0.94 ERA and a record of 3-0. In 38.1 innings, he has 35 strikeouts and has given up only 25 hits.

2. Josh Beckett, Boston Red Sox
Beckett got off to a quick start and the began to slump. In June, that slump is over. In five starts, he is 4-1 with a 1.51 ERA. He has 35 strikeouts in 35.2 innings and has only given up 25 hits and four walks.

3. Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants
In many fantasy baseball drafts, Lincecum was the first player off the board. He’s now showing why. In five June starts, he has a 1.82 ERA to go along with a 3.1 record. In 39.2 innings pitched, he has 40 strikeouts.

4. Kevin Millwood, Texas Rangers
Millwood is no doubt the most surprising name on the list. He’s having a very good season for the Rangers and June has been no different. He has a 1.30 ERA in the month and a record of 4-1.

5. Dan Haren, Arizona Diamondbacks
Haren has a June ERA of 1.70. In 37 innings, he has 33 strikeouts and has given up only 19 hits and five walks. His season ERA of 2.25 and WHIP of 0.81 has him as an NL Cy Young award favorite.

Over the last month, many fantasy baseball catchers have cooled off. At the top of the catcher rankings, there are a lot of interesting names. Here are the top five hottest catchers in 2009 fantasy baseball:

1. Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins
Mauer is not a surprise on this list. For the season, he’s hitting .395 with 14 homers, 42 RBIs and 40 runs. Amazingly enough, his 14 homers are already a career-high.

2. Victor Martinez, Cleveland Indians
Last season, Martinez struggled at the plate and with injuries. This year, he’s playing much better. On the season, he is hitting .326 with 12 homers, 53 RBIs and 49 runs.

3. Miguel Olivo, Kansas City Royals
This is definitely a surprise. Over the last month, Olivo has hit seven homers to go along with 16 RBIs and 13 runs. If you want some power out of your catcher spot, consider picking up Olivo.

4. Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves
McCann has been hitting the ball very well as of late. For his 2009 campaign, he’s hitting .328 with an on-base percentage of .416. He has seven homers, 30 RBIs and 21 runs.

5. Geovany Soto, Chicago Cubs
It appears as if Soto was going to be a bust this season — but he’s finally starting to pick it up. In the last month, he has four homers, seven runs and 10 RBIs along with an on-base percentage of .370.

In fantasy baseball, a dependable closer is highly valuable. Here is a look at the top five best closers in baseball. These guys are deadly when it comes to winning time.

1. Jonathan Broxton, Los Angeles Dodgers
If you look at this guys stats, they are simply fantastic. Along with his 16 saves, he has six wins, a 1.41 ERA and an amazing 53 strikeouts in 32 innings. His 0.69 WHIP is also very impressive.

2. Francisco Rodriguez, New York Mets
Rodriguez got a big contract this past offseason to join the Mets. He’s now worth every penny. In 31.1 innings, he has 16 saves, 33 strikeouts, an ERA of 0.57 and a WHIP of 0.96.

Francisco Rodriguez - Best Closers in Baseball (Image: Zuma Press)

3. Trevor Hoffman, Milwaukee Brewers
Up until this past weekend, Hoffman hadn’t allowed an earned run. Even after he got scored upon, his ERA is still only 0.45. Add in his 15 saves and there’s no doubt he’s one of the best closers in baseball.

4. Heath Bell, San Diego Padres
When the Padres were playing very well, Bell was one of the main reasons why. Even though the Padres have cooled off, he has remained a very effective pitcher. In 27.1 innings, he has two wins, 18 saves, 32 strikeouts, a 1.32 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP.

5. Joe Nathan, Minnesota Twins
Nathan remains one of the most under-the-radar players in all of baseball. He’s pitching well once again this season — 1.78 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 15 saves and 29 strikeouts in 25.1 innings.

Want to find that fantasy baseball sleeper that can take your fantasy team to the next level? Here are some fantasy sleeper candidates that are available in many fantasy baseball leagues.

Adam Kennedy, Oakland A’s
Over the last month, Adam Kennedy has been very good. He has an on-base percentage over .400 and the rest of his stats across the board are very solid — 13 runs, 20 RBIs, five homers and six steals.

Aaron Rowand, San Francisco Giants
While the Giants have a weak lineup, Aaron Rowand has been a bright spot as of late. He has an on-base percentage of .431 over the last month, to go with 18 runs, 17 RBIs, four homers and three steals.

Cody Ross, Florida Marlins
In April Cody Ross was horrible. His on-base percentage was .250 and it seemed like he couldn’t do anything right. As of late, he’s dramatically turned around his season and he’s now worth a look in your fantasy baseball league.

Jose Contreras, Chicago White Sox
In his first handful of starts of the season, Jose Contreras looked like a retired man pitching. But since going to the minor leagues to work on his mechanics, Contreras has been money. In his two starts since his stint in the minor leagues, Contreras has pitched 16 innings and has given up only three hits, three runs and no runs while striking out 11 batters.

It’s more than a couple months into the 2009 fantasy baseball season and a few players are swinging an incredibly hot bat. Here are the top five hottest fantasy baseball players:

1. Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees
When the Yankees signed Teixeira to a $180 million deal, many baseball experts and baseball fans scoffed at the contract. Now? Teixeira is hitting so well that no one is talking about the contract anymore.

2. Raul Ibanez, Philadelphia Phillies
Ibanez has been in the news a lot, mostly due to his hot bat. However, he also got in the news for getting mad at a blogger.

3. Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins
When it comes to the best hitters in baseball, Morneau is sometimes forgotten. That is a mistake. The Twins’ first baseman is a hitting machine.

4. Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins
It’s amazing that Mauer missed all of the exhibition due to injury and then once he was healthy he starting hammering the baseball. Mauer and Morneau have been the best duo in baseball as of late.

5. Ben Zobrist, Tampa Bay RaysDefinitely the surprise of this list, Zobrist has played better than anyone could have imagined. Over the last month, he has an on-base percentage of .505 to go with seven homers, 22 RBIs, 23 runs and five steals.

If you have a lot of base stealers on your fantasy baseball team, you can quietly dominate the stolen base category without going after big name players. Here are the top base stealers in 2009 fantasy baseball:

Carl Crawford, Tampa Bay Rays
Amazingly enough, Carl Crawford already has 24 stolen bases in 38 games. All of last season, Crawford had 25 stolen bases in 109 games. Crawford’s career-high in stolen bases is 59.

Chone Figgins, Los Angeles Angels
Through 35 games, Chone Figgins has 17 stolen bases. Last year, Figgins had 34 stolen bases in 116 games. His career-high is 62.

Jacoby Ellsbury, Boston Red Sox
In 2008, Jacoby Ellsbury played his first full season in the Major Leagues and finished with 50 stolen bases. This year, Ellsbury already has 16 stolen bases.

Bobby Abreu, Los Angeles Angels
The 35-year-old Bobby Abreu has turned back the clock. He has 13 stolen bases, which is especially impressive considering he hasn’t had 30 stolen bases in a season since 2005. He’s actually on pace to beat his career-high of 40 stolen bases.

Michael Bourn, Houston Astros
Michael Bourn is one of the fastest players in the game. This year, he’s actually hitting the ball well, which has increased his overall value in fantasy baseball. He has 13 stolen bases and is hitting .298 for the Astros.

Having a group of quality starting pitchers is a very powerful tool for a fantasy baseball owners. Early on in the 2009 fantasy baseball season, there are a handful of starting pitchers who are heads and pitching arms ahead of the rest.

Here’s our look our starting pitcher rankings for the 2009 baseball season so far:

Zack Greinke is a Fantasy Baseball Force (Image: Newscom)

1) Zack Greinke, Kansas City Royals
Number one on this list is a no-brainer. Greinke has been amazing. He has six wins and an ERA of 0.51.

2) Johan Santana, New York Mets
While he hasn’t been quite as good as Greinke, Santana has been very good for the Mets. He has four wins and an ERA of 0.78 to go along with 60 strikeouts.

3) Johnny Cueto, Cincinnati Reds
The young native of the Dominican Republic has a 1.59 ERA to go along with three wins. He’s pitched very well as of late and seems to be living up to all of his potential.

4) Wandy Rodriguez, Houston Astros
Rodriguez has long had a good set of pitches but he’s finally putting it all together. He has an ERA of 1.80 to with 37 strikeouts and three wins.

5) Dan Haren, Arizona Diamondbacks
Arizona coveted Haren for his amazing arm and he’s not disappointing. He has a 2.09 ERA to go along with 56 strikeouts and a WHIP of 0.86.

To begin the 2009 fantasy baseball season, the list of the hottest second basemen has a lot of recognizable names. However, there are also a few surprises near the top of the list. Here’s a look at the hottest fantasy baseball second basemen:

Ian Kinsler, Texas Rangers (Image: Newscom)

1) Ian Kinsler, Texas Rangers
No one should be surprised Kinsler is at the top of the list. Last season when he was healthy, he was an American League MVP candidate. In 2009, he has already hit for the cycle and is looking better than ever.

2) Emilio Bonifacio, Florida Marlins
Who? Bonifacio has come out of nowhere to be one of the biggest surprises of the 2009 fantasy baseball season. While he’s already cooling off a bit, he’s worth keeping on your roster for the time being.

3) Aaron Hill, Toronto Blue Jays
For a long while, Hill has been touted as a prospect with a lot of potential. This season, he seems like he’s living up to that potential. He’s hitting for power and his glove hasn’t disappointed yet.

4) Orlando Hudson, Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers thought they got a bargain when they signed Hudson and the early returns appear to be positive. He’s hitting the ball great and he’s been a terror on the base paths.

5) Brian Roberts, Baltimore Orioles
A lot of fantasy experts expected Roberts to start a decline. But so far, so good in 2009. He’s stealing bases and his on-base percentage is over .500 at this early stage of the 2009 fantasy baseball season.

With the 2009 fantasy baseball season less than a week old, here’s a look at the hottest fantasy players in either league so far in April. Not surprisingly, a number of superstars are on the list.

1. Adam Lind, Toronto Blue Jays
No one is swinging the bat quite like Adam Lind. The left fielder is hitting .462 with three homers and 12 RBIs. His RBIs are a high in either league. Coming into this season, Lind only had 22 home runs in his entire big league career.

2. Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers
Through six games, Miguel Cabrera is proving why many scouts believe he’s the most talented player in all of baseball. He’s hitting .500 with three dingers and ten RBI. He also has two doubles and three walks so far in the 2009 baseball season.

3. Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
In fantasy baseball, Albert Pujols was a top three pick. So far, he’s living up to his billing. The Cardinals slugger went to work on Sunday night, hitting two home runs and knocking in seven runs.

4. Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays
Last season, Evan Longoria was the prized rookie phenom for the Rays. This year, he’s already heading toward superstar status. His four home runs lead the major leagues and his .455 batting average isn’t too shabby, either.

5. Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins
Hanley Ramirez is another superstar who is starting the season like a superstar. He has a .421 batting average to go with his two home runs and his nine RBIs. On Saturday, the Marlins finally lost their first game of the season.

Hanley Ramirez tribute video: