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It's never too early to prepare for the 2007 fantasy baseball season! So many things can change between now and next opening day, but in order to give you a head start on your research, here are my early second base rankings, each of the top 25 at the position:

(Catchers and first basemen have already appeared, and I'll cover a new position each week of the offseason.)

1. Chase Utley, Phillies: With Alfonso Soriano no longer second base-eligible, Utley becomes the clear head of the second-base class for 2007. In fact, I'd say Utley would have stood a good chance at that honor even if Soriano stayed at second, since there's no saying Soriano won't see a slip in his numbers with a team switch and the loss of his contract-year status to motivate him. Regardless, what's important is Soriano's not in the mix right now, which leaves Utley as a clear second rounder with borderline first-round potential, perhaps as many as three rounds better a pick than any of the alternatives. He's 28, a .309-32-102-15 player in 2006 and is protected by Ryan Howard in the lineup, all things that should make him a .300-30-100-15 second baseman again in 2007.

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