Every season, there are always surprises in the MLB. The 2007 Rockies, 2009 Ben Zobrist, the 2008 Cubs getting swept out of the playoffs. All things nobody could have predicted to perfection. However, not all surprises are good and if you took any of these 10 guys on this list, chances are, you were cursing their names as much as Ruxin cursed Antonio Gates’ name in “The League.” The only requirements for this list were that the players had to be relatively healthy and for the position players, they needed to appear in at least 100 games. Yes, everybody was upset with Brandon Webb and Jose Reyes, but the injuries were not necessarily their fault and it’s not like they were playing and sucking it up like this Terrible Ten.

10. J.J. Hardy (.229 AVG, 53 R, 11 HR, 47 RBIs, Average Draft Position: 130.2)

Hardy wasn’t drafted too high in most leagues (his ADP indicates he was taken in the 10^th round in standard 12-team leagues), but those terrible numbers for a mid-round pick made owners sick. I can attest to that as Hardy rotted in my starting lineup for most of the season. I kept waiting for him to turn around. I waited too long, as did anybody else who kept Hardy on their roster past the end June. Just a little heads up as to how disappointing Hardy was, in his two seasons prior to 2009, Hardy averaged 25 bombs and 77 RBIs. Not too shabby from a shortstop, which explains his high ADP. Next year, despite his move to the Minnesota Twins (that’s right, he was traded to Minnesota for Carlos Gomez in maybe the best trade nobody’s heard of) he likely won’t be drafted in any leagues. As well he shouldn’t. Maybe he needs to go back to solving crimes with his brothers, Frank and Joe. Or, maybe he should enlist in the Hardy Boys services to ascertain why he was so dreadful in 2009. Either way, stay away from him until he proves he can be successful again.

9. Garrett Atkins (.226, 37, 9, 48, ADP: 97.3)

Atkins’ three year averages from 2006-2008: .305, 95, 25, 110. His numbers in ’09 weren’t half that. What the heck happened? It’s not like he wasn’t in a hitter’s park anymore (he still hit in Coors Field). It’s not like he wasn’t in a quality lineup—Brad Hawpe, Todd Helton and Troy Tulowitzki still managed to hit. Maybe Atkins had some separation anxiety with the loss of Matt Holliday. Maybe Atkins was just a three-year fad like the popular diet by the same name. Whatever it was, Atkins’ game was bread-free all year and disappointed all owners who drafted him in the 8^th-10^th rounds.

8. Scott Kazmir (10-9, 4.89 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 117 K, 147.1 IP, ADP: 101.5)

Kazmir’s highest ERA the previous four seasons was 3.77. If you take away his six starts with the Angels in the last month-plus of the season (1.73 ERA), Kazmir gave up an average of 5.92 runs per nine with the Rays. Tampa Bay even put him on the DL, citing a quad injury (yeah, right), because he just couldn’t figure it out on the mound. I, being the idiot that I was as a fantasy owner in 2009, kept Kazmir for almost a month, mainly because I knew his great strikeout capabilities (742 Ks in 689.2 IP the previous four seasons). Luckily, I salvaged the dumb move by throwing Kazmir in as a trade to get Dan Haren, but he was nonetheless frustrating to everybody who selected him in ’09.

7. Vladimir Guerrero (.295, 59, 15, 50, 2 SB, ADP: 49.5)

Guerrero’s low stolen base numbers and overall slight decline in production dropped his stock prior to the 2009 season as he fell from a top 20 pick to barely cracking the top 50. Guerrero was hampered by injuries all season (he played in 100 games, just barely making the cutoff for this list), but it was the first season ever that he hit below .300. It was the first time his free-swinging ways looked to be more of a disadvantage than anything else as well, as his power numbers were half of what they normally come in at (he averaged 34.5 HR and 111.5 RBIs in the previous 11 seasons). A traditional model of consistency, Guerrero is all but done as a stud in the fantasy circuit. He may have to reinvent himself as a pitcher or something with that Howitzer of an arm he carries.

6. Geovany Soto (.218, 27, 11, 47, 1, ADP: 74.4)

Talk about a sophomore slump! Soto, who was also injury-prone in ’09, only played in 102 games but was half the man he was in 2008 when he won the NL Rookie of the Year award. And not half the man in physical stature, as he looked more like Mo Vaughn behind the plate for the Cubbies. Soto’s 2008 season (.285 66, 23, 86) looked more like a mirage than the norm. Hopefully Soto drops some weight and gains some game heading into the ’10 season.

5. Cole Hamels (10-11, 4.32, 1.29. 168 K, 193.2 IP, ADP: 40.5)

Pert Plus, what happened? Did you spend too much time looking in the mirror, fixing your hair or with that scrumptious wife of yours and not enough time working on your game on the  mound or what? I mean, you were the 2008 World Series MVP! Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Hamels’ inefficiency left the Phillies to search for an ace elsewhere (Cliff Lee, anyone?) and left his fantasy owners wishing they wouldn’t have drafted the pitcher-turned-celebrity in the 3^rd or 4^th round. When you wish upon a star, good things happen. Not in this case. He’s too good not to rebound, so do your best to get over this year (if you owned him) and take him next year in the 6^th or 7^th round when his stock is way down.

4. Brad Lidge (0-8, 31-42 in save chances, 7.21, 1.81, 61 K, 58.2 IP, ADP: 77.4)

How the heck did the Phillies make the World Series? Their top two pitchers from ’08 were the top two duds on the mound in ’09. Evidently the old adage pitching wins championships isn’t as true as it seems, huh? Lidge, who I hear is trying to get a cameo on “The Mentalist,” is as big of a mental headcase as they come. He was perfect in both the regular season and the playoffs last year closing out games and proceeded to follow that up with a year so bad that it made his pitch to Pujols in the ’06 playoffs look good. To reiterate again from the Phillie failures, oh, how the mighty have fallen.

3. Alfonso Soriano (.241, 64, 20, 55, 9, ADP: 14.9)

Looking at this list, it’s no surprise the Cubs didn’t make the playoffs in ’09. Soto and Soriano, two of the top bats in Chicago’s lineup last year, had two of the most disappointing seasons this year. Soto’s story could be blamed on his youth and inexperience, but Soriano was a veteran in his ninth year in the Majors. What happened? Well, to put it simply, Soriano’s free-swinging ways may have caught up to him as all pitchers had to do was throw a slider low and away and Alfie was a sucker. His left knee was a hamper all season as well and the Cubs had to shut him down at the end of the season. Not good from a perennial 40-20 guy.

2. David Wright (.307, 88, 10, 72, 27, ADP: 4.6)

Wright couldn’t have been more wrong in the power department in ’09. After averaging 29 homers in the previous four seasons, Wright mustered up just a third of that number this year. Many people blame Citi Field. Some people blame it on the injuries to Jose Reyes and Carlos Delgado putting more pressure on him in the lineup. Whatever the reason, if it wasn’t for his average and stolen base numbers (and the shockingly sub-par season of this next guy on the list), Wright would have been the biggest Fantasy Bust of the 2009 season after he went in the top 5 in just about every draft. FYI: he was the 49^th best hitter in my points league. That warrants a 5^th round pick at best, not top 5 overall.

1. Grady Sizemore (.248, 73, 18, 64, 13, ADP: 9.2)

Grady’s Ladies weren’t the only ones upset in 2009. His fantasy owners were downright disgusted with his overall performance. He did battle injuries all season (only 106 games played), but when he was on the field, his shimmy made the ladies in Cleveland want to puke (remember Jack Parkman? Yeah, I knew you did.) His average was well below where it should be. His runs were way down (though that can be attributed to some lack of production in the rest of his lineup). His bombs were down. His RBIs were down. His stolen bases were down. His star-studded, acrobatic plays in center field were down. What happened, Grady? Hopefully we can just chalk it up to the fact that maybe the injuries hindered him more than anybody let on. Either way, fantasy owners everywhere are clamoring for a turnaround in ’10.