Sunday, February 14, 2016

Fantasy Baseball: So You Need a First Baseman?


So you want to build a snow… wait, wrong blog. Sorry about that. So you want to build a strong fantasy baseball team this year but you’re not quite sure who to choose as your first baseman? Don’t fret and keep reading as I try to rank and educate on the first baseman across the league much like we ranked the catchers around the league earlier this month. First baseman are usually a lot easier to find than catchers are but the right first baseman can give your offense and team the lift it needs when facing tough competition in a close week. 

Obviously at the top you have the Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt but if you’re not lucky enough to have one of the top two or three picks (FYI he should never fall to three) then you may want to consider, in this order, Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs, Edwin Encarnacion of the Toronto Blue Jays, Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers and Jose Abreu of the Chicago White Sox. Rizzo is something special and may be playing with one of the best offensive teams in the league giving him plenty of RBI and runs scored opportunities while the same can be said for Encarnacion. Encarnacion was fantastic last season and may only be the third best hitter on his team, let that sink in. Meanwhile I like Abreu better than Cabrera if I am building an All-Star team but Cabrera has the better offense and more protection around him while Abreu will get his fair share of intentional walks in 2016. For those reasons these are my Top 5 first baseman in the league.

To take that list one step further I would have to with Chris Davis of the Baltimore Orioles sixth, especially since he’s hitting in Camden Yard again, Eric Hosmer of the Kansas City Royals seventh, Joey Votto of the Reds eight, Adrian Gonzalez of the Los Angeles Dodgers ninth and Brandon Belt of the San Francisco Giants 10th. I like Votto, I like him a lot actually, but he has nothing around him in Cincinnati and will likely receive a lot of the same treatment Jose Abreu will receive in Chicago. I also wanted to put Freddie Freeman on this list somewhere in the Top 10 but could not justify it for the same reasons leaving me to add Belt, Hosmer and A-Gon. 

If you miss out on any of these Top 10 or 11 first baseman there are still true options out there but the risk factors start to show their ugly heads. Players like Albert Pujols, Carlos Santana and Lucas Duda always have injury concerns following them around while Mark Trumbo of Baltimore and Byung-Ho Park of Minnesota come attached to huge question marks and unknowns. And then, for the Yankees fans reading, there is Mark Teixeira. Who knows what to expect out of Teixeira? Will he need a DL stint or three? Will he push for 40 home runs again or will he miss more games than he hits home runs? I have no idea so unless you just need a first baseman and need to take a chance it may be wise to stay away from Teixeira unfortunately.


And there you have it, your first baseball rankings from across the league. If you are unsure of what first baseman to take in your draft then keep this bookmarked as a point of reference. I hope it helps, enjoy!

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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)