Injuries and ineffectivness have been causes for a shakeup in our Week 7 player rankings. Preseason No. 1 Alex Rodriguez (quad) still clings to a top-five position as he nears a return from the disabled list. Meanwhile, slugging first basemen Ryan Howard, Prince Fielder and David Ortiz are all on the decline because of sluggish starts.

The hottest hitter in baseball, Houston first baseman Lance Berkman, charges from the No. 20 spot all the way to No. 5 behind a remarkable May, in which he has hit .574 with seven homers and 18 RBIs. Alfonso Soriano is also on a tear, moving into our top 10 with five home runs and 10 RBIs over his last five games.

All the numbers below are as of May 16 games; previous rankings are in brackets at the end of each player’s caption.

THE TOP 50:
1. Hanley Ramirez, SS, FLA: Needs to pick up HR pace to reach 40-40 [2]
2. Chase Utley, 2B, PHI: Has competition from Uggla for top 2B honors [3]
3. David Wright, 3B, NYM: Scuffling and still tied for RBI lead (32) among 3B [4]
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B, NYY: May be returning from quad injury next week [1]
5. Lance Berkman, 1B/OF, HOU: Big Puma unmatched for early fantasy MVP [20]
6. Albert Pujols, 1B, STL: 42-game on-base streak came to end on Saturday [8]
7. Matt Holliday, OF, COL: Lineup mates not providing many RBI opps [6]
8. Jimmy Rollins, SS, PHI: Hit the ground running off DL (ankle) [17]
9. Alfonso Soriano, OF, CHC: Red-hot: 5 HRs, 10 RBIs over last 5 games [18]
10. Miguel Cabrera, 1B/3B DET: Has just 13th-best OPS (.794) among 1B [7]

11. Jose Reyes, SS, NYM: Has looked ordinary with .258 avg, 12 SBs [5]
12. Ryan Braun, 3B/OF, MIL: Heating up with 5 HRs, 7 RBIs in last 6 [15]
13. Chipper Jones, 3B, ATL: Giving .400 a good run; .423 through 38 games [41]
14. Johan Santana, SP, NYM: Acceptable 4-2 start with 3.10 ERA, 1.11 WHIP [9]
15. Derrek Lee, 1B, CHC: Big comeback from wrist injury; .302-10-29 [29]
16. Carl Crawford, OF, TB: Has most RBIs (25) of any player with 10+ SBs [14]
17. David Ortiz, DH/1B, BOS: Early slump still shows in .234-7-29 line [12]
18. Brandon Webb, SP, ARI: Win streak at 9 starts and counting [31]
19. B.J. Upton, 2B/OF, TB: Narrowly the best Upton in fantasy MLB [19]
20. Manny Ramirez, OF, BOS: Chugging along at Manny-like pace; .308-8-27 [21]

21. Ryan Howard, 1B, PHI: On 8-game hit streak and still has .185 avg [13]
22. Ichiro Suzuki, OF, SEA: SBs are nice surpirse; leads AL with 16 [24]
23. Jake Peavy, SP, SD: Woeful run support poses big problem [11]
24. Prince Fielder, 1B, MIL: Another power outage: 1 HR in last 17 [10]
25. Carlos Lee, OF, HOU: Will get his usual 30 HRs, 110 RBIs, 10 SBs [26]
26. Brandon Phillips, 2B, CIN: Had 1 HR in first 20, 7 in last 20 [25]
27. Grady Sizemore, OF, CLE: Just shy of 30-30 pace, but with ..268 avg [22]
28. Carlos Beltran, OF, NYM: Has 10 RBIs over 8-game hitting streak [16]
29. Vladimir Guerrero, OF, LAA: Power way down and getting fewer RBI opps [23]
30. Miguel Tejada, SS, HOU: Leads all shortstops with 32 RBIs [46]

31. Garrett Atkins, 3B, COL: Little power in May: .375-1-5 in 13 games [28]
32. Justin Morneau, 1B, MIN: Hitting .519 with 1 HR, 6 RBIs over his last 7 [25]
33. Rafael Furcal, SS, LAD: Could return from DL (back) by mid-next week [36]
34. Nick Markakis, OF, BAL: Been pretty good, best always comes in 2nd half [33]
35. Cole Hamels, SP, PHI: Among elite because he works deep into every start [35]
36. Josh Hamilton, OF, TEX: Story continues, leads MLB with 49 RBIs [99]
37. Dan Uggla, 2B, FLA: Only Berkman has been hotter in May (9 HRs, 18 RBIs) [NR]
38. Jonathan Papelbon, RP, BOS: Stock is down, but look for quick rise [34]
39. Aramis Ramirez, 3B, CHC: Wrist injury a threat to his power numbers[27]
40. Alex Rios, OF, TOR: Hitting .197 in May, has 0 HRs in last 15 games [30]

41. Josh Beckett, SP, BOS: Has factored into decision in all 7 starts (4-3) [40]
42. Cliff Lee, SP, CLE: Not fluke numbers, but not sustainable either [81]
43. Francisco Rodriguez, RP, LAA: MLB saves leaders makes case for HOF [55]
44. Edinson Volquez, SP, CIN: Sophomore sensation is 6-1 with 1.26 ERA [NR]
45. Ian Kinsler, 2B, TEX: Quietly ranks among MLB top 10 in runs and SBs [52]
46. Carlos Zambrano, SP, CHC: Contract behind him, pitching like ace [44]
47. Jacoby Ellsbury, OF, BOS: Has exceeded lofty expectations with 15 SBs [52]
48. C.C. Sabathia, SP, CLE: Back on track with 4 quality starts in last 5 [32]
49. Magglio Ordonez, OF, DET: Only Tigers hitter meeting expectations [42]
50. Torii Hunter, OF, LAA: Slow start, still on target for 25 HRs, 10+ SBs [43]

THE NEXT 25:
51. Nate McLouth, OF, PIT [NR]
52. Mark Teixeira, 1B, ATL [38]
53. Daisuke Matsuzaka, SP, BOS [68]
54. Brian McCann, C, ATL [63]
55. Matt Kemp, OF, LAD [NR]
56. Brian Roberts, 2B, BAL [40]
57. Russell Martin, C, LAD [48]
58. Chone Figgins, 3B, LAA [42]
59. Curtis Granderson, OF, DET [39]
60. Ervin Santana, SP, LAA [NR]

61. Conor Jackson, 1B, ARI [NR]
62. Tim Lincecum, SP, SF [NR]
63. Joe Nathan, RP, MIN [71]
64. Dan Haren, SP, ARI [NR]
65. Roy Halladay, SP, TOR [NR]
66. Carlos Quentin, OF, CWS [NR]
67. Eric Byrnes, OF, ARI [45]
68. Justin Upton, OF, ARI [NR]
67. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B, SD [69]
69. Mariano Rivera, RP, NYY [NR]
70. Erik Bedard, SP, SEA [57]

71. Carlos Guillen, 1B/3B/SS, DET [49]
72. Carlos Pena, 1B, TB [54]
73. Shaun Marcum, SP, TOR [NR]
74. Chris Young, OF, ARI [70]
75. Carlos Gomez, OF, MIN [NR]

Dustin Hockensmith is editor of ImaginaryDiamond.com. He can be contacted at dhockensmith[at]fantasysports101.net.