The American League is chalked full of great talent but with great talent comes with occasional disappointment. Not every single player that is supposed to have a good year does. This article is all about who you should stay away from when molding your championship fantasy team.

It’s no surprise that the Yankees have three of the 10 players making this list of players to avoid due to their age and players who have failed to produce overtime. The only other team to produce more than one player on this list is the Toronto Blue Jays.

Without further ado I present to you, the top ten American League players to avoid.  

10. Mariano Rivera, Closer, New York Yankees

Last season, the New York Yankees' nightmare happened. Their beloved closer who had 15 seasons of pure domination under his belt tore his ACL during batting practice. He was 42 when the injury happened and most thought his career would be over, but not so fast. Rivera declared he would be coming back for one more season in 2013. In terms of fantasy baseball, closers can appear out of nowhere. So taking the risk on a 43 year old who may not even have the same stuff he had in the past is a huge risk. Don’t waste a draft pick on this guy when you can pick up a closer on the waiver wire a month into the season. Even though he is the best closer of all time, it doesn’t mean he is the best closer right now.

9. Evan Longoria, Third Basemen, Tampa Bay Rays

The injury bug hit Longoria last season. He only played in 74 games due to a hamstring injury last season and missed 30 games in 2011. He has never batted .300 in his career along with not hitting over 100 RBIs in the past two years. You can take the risk on this third basemen if you think it’s worth it but don’t go about drafting him too early. Hamstring injuries are a nagging injury that can come back year after year. Just ask Matt Kemp how that worked out for him. Some might think putting Longoria on this list is blasphemy and to those people I tell you, take the risk and reap the consequences.

8. Melky Cabrera, Left Fielder, Toronto Blue Jays

We all know what happened to Cabrera last year, he was the leading candidate for MVP and then the news broke. It makes complete sense that Cabrera tested positive for steroids if you compare his numbers from the past to last season. Although he did bat .300 in 2011 his numbers in the past were nowhere near close to what he did last year. Assume that Cabrera will go back to his old, non steroid ways and bat around .260-.270. He will not hit more than 15 home runs and might not even drive in 50 runs. Last year was a once in a lifetime season that Cabrera likely won’t repeat ever again.

7. Joe Mauer, Catcher, Minnesota Twins

Mauer has been the poster boy of the Minnesota Twins for quite sometime now. He’ll be 30-years-old in April and injuries are something that scare me about him. Sure he played in 147 games last year but only 82 the year before that. His WAR has gone down each of the past three seasons and he has only hit 10 home runs once in the past three years. His average is solid but that is about it. He also has never reached 100 RBIs in his entire career. I understand that 100 RBIs is a lot but for a catcher who is supposed to be one of the top five in baseball his numbers don’t impress me.

6. R.A. Dickey, Starting Pitcher, Toronto Blue Jays

Fear the knuckleball. One rule to live by when drafting a fantasy team. Knuckleball pitchers like Dickey live and die by the knuckler. They rely on a pitch that have a mind of their own. His is thrown at anywhere from 55 to 70 miles per hour. He had an amazing year last year, don’t get me wrong but I don’t suspect it will happen again. He’s a career ERA pitcher of 4 and shall most likely lose a bit of success. At 38 years old let someone else risk an early round pick on him.

5. Adam Dunn, Designated Hitter, Chicago White Sox

Here is an interesting baseball player with some mind boggling stats. In 2011 he batted .159 but improved mightily batting .204 in 2012. That’s a joke there... You’d see these numbers and think he is a waste of time in the first place but he hit 41 home runs last year and drove in 96 runs. So what you’re getting here is a home run or an out. Drafting a baseball player who bats 200 is going to kill your team average. You could take the risk or draft someone who bats 260 and hits 15 home runs with 65 RBIs. The second option seems obvious.

4. Jon Lester, Starting Pitcher, Boston Red Sox

Lester has had his strikeouts drop every single year for the past three years. His walks have been a problem for him as well. Last year he ranked 9th in the American League in walks; along with being in the bottom 10 for batting average against with a putrid .273. The numbers continue, he allowed 216 hits last season which was second most in the American League. Stay away from Lester at all costs.

3. Mark Teixeira, First Basemen, New York Yankees

Teixeira hasn’t batted .300 since being traded to the New York Yankees. He had his worst season ever last year batting only .251 with 83 strikeouts. Recently he was injured while swinging in the batting cages at the World Baseball Classic and will be out for 8 to 10 weeks. He even stated himself that he is an overpaid baseball player. With this injury, those comments and slowly digressing numbers it could all but be over soon.

2. Colby Rasmus, Center Field, Toronto Blue Jays

The main reason to stay away from Rasmus is the simple fact that he can’t hit a curveball, or a breaking pitch at all for that matter. He batted .223 last season and struck out 149 times. Yes, you read that right 149 strikeouts. He isn’t helping his cause this Spring Training, batting .143 in 14 at bats. If he starts doing good during the season pick him up off the waiver wire.

1. Alex Rodriguez, Third Basemen, New York Yankees

Rodriguez has now had two hip surgeries in the past four years and his numbers are dropping faster than Felix Baumgartner from the Red Bull skydive. He is expected to be out for almost half of the year to recover from this surgery. He only hit 18 home runs last year and struck out 116 times. Do not draft Rodriguez no matter what you do! He is a 37 year old; injury prone, strikeout machine, whose best days are behind him.