Fantasy Baseball Off-Season Report: First Basemen

Published: 23^rd Jan 12 11:08 pm

by Adam McGill
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By Adam McGill

From a fantasy standpoint, the first base position has always produced the most home runs. It is the one offensive position where owners’ need a true stud because the difference between the first ranked 1B and twentieth ranked 1B is astronomical. Below is my latest fantasy baseball off-season report, first basemen:

Early Top Ten:

1. Albert Pujols, LAA – Even though Pujols had a so-called down year last season, he still hit a homerun every 15.6 at bats. The 32-year old will be energetic in his first year in Los Angeles, so owners should expect another 35 plus homer season from “Winnie the Pujols”.

2. Adrian Gonzalez, BOS – Gonzalez hit .338 in his first season in Boston with 117 RBI. However, with all the preseason hype, his 27 homers came as a bit of a disappointment to Bo-Sox fans. He will improve drastically in his second year, so a 40-45 home run season is not impossible.

3. Prince Fielder, MIL – For the time being Fielder is playing for the Brew crew, but that could change any day. His value will not go up too much with a change of scenery, so owners should expect a prototypical season from the 27-year old.

4. Miguel Cabrera, DET — “Miggy” led all first baseman in the NL with a .344 batting average, despite all the off-season attention from his life problems. He was also able to hit 30 homers and drive in 105 runs, so imagine what he could do sober and focused.

5. Mark Teixeira, NYY – Teixeira crushed 30 homeruns in 2011 and ended up having a much better season than hometown heroes Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriquez. He will continue to produce in pinstripes and is still in his prime at 31 years old. “Big Tex” will continue to smash the ball in the “Big Apple” and will again be a premier stick to grab early in any draft.

6. Joey Votto, CIN – Votto took a big step forward last year with 29 HRs, 103, RBI, and 110 walks. Apparently he is still on the trading block by the Reds, a move that is being looked at to possibly make way for prospect first baseman, Yonder Alonso. Votto is still a premier 1B who can hit for average and drive the ball into the outfield. He should easily hit over .300 with 35 home runs in 2012.

7. Ryan Howard, PHI – The late-season Achilles tendon tear was devastating for Howard owners. He hit 33 homers last year, but he is still a very risky option heading into the upcoming 2012 season. There has been no timetable for his scheduled return, which only adds more mystery to how he will produce this season. He is still a top-ten player at the position, but his injury concerns definitely keep him from cracking the top-five.

8. Ike Davis, NYM – Davis was on fire before missing the rest of the year with a very mysterious ankle injury. At first, he was only supposed to be out for a couple of weeks, but he eventually shut it down for the year when he was forced to have micro fracture surgery on his knee. He was still the Mets’ best hitter when he went out with 7 home runs in the first 37 games, even out producing both SS Jose Reyes and 3B David Wright in the process. He will be severely undervalued this season and if he is completely healthy could easily knock 30-35 balls out of the park.

9. Lance Berkman, STL – Berkman is still putting up numbers like he is a 25-year old. He still hit over .300 last year (.307) and also posted 31 homers with 94 RBI. He was an afterthought in 2010 drafts and will likely have the same value this season, despite posting another All-Star season.

10. Freddie Freeman, ATL – Freeman blasted 21 homeruns in his first full season in Atlanta, easily showing off his power to both fields. His massive 6’5” 225 pound size is indicative of a NFL tight end, not a first baseman. He will only become more patient as a hitter, so expect more of the same from 22-year old.

Preseason Awards:

2012 MVP: Albert Pujols, LAA

2012 Best Rookie: Anthony Rizzo, SD

2012 Breakout Players: Freddie Freeman, ATL and Eric Hosmer, KC

2012 Bust: Derek Lee, PIT

Best Source of Home Runs: Albert Pujols, LAA

Best Source of Batting Average: Miguel Cabrera, DET

Best Source of Stolen Bases: Eric Hosmer, KC

Stock Rising: Carlos Pena, CHC

Stock Falling: James Loney, LAD

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