First Basemen

2011 Fantasy baseball Position Tiers — First Basemen

1st Tier:  Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, Joey Votto, Adrian Gonzalez

     Do I really need to get into more detail?  These guys are straight up fantasy monsters.  Pujols and Cabrera are perennial triple crown threats, Votto doe sit all and throws in some speed too, and A-Gone finally escapes Petco Park and should be a 40-120 guy in Beantown.  Nothing gives me a bigger smile than having one of these guys on my team.  OK, maybe not nothing…

2nd Tier:  Prince Fielder, Adam Dunn, Ryan Howard, Mark Teixeira

     A small step below the first tier, but not by much.  Fielder will prove that last year’s decline was a fluke, Tex will get off to his usual slow start but put out great overlal numbers, and Howard and Dunn are high power, low batting average.  Neither are the best of options for leagues that penalize for strikeouts, but if that’s not an issue, then draft with confidence.  For Dunn owners, there may be a slight adjustment period moving to the AL, but U.S. Cellular Field plays even better to his swing than Great American did.

3rd Tier:  Justin Morneau, Kendry Morales, Kevin Youkilis, Billy Butler, Aubrey Huff, Paul Konerko

     Still some solid talent here, but there are obviously a few things that separate them from the above mashers.  Morneau and Morales are both coming back from major injuries.  I think Morales will have the easier path as his fluke broken ankle was what cut his 2010 short.  He’s completely healed and should return to that 30+ HR power we enjoyed in 2009.  Morneau’s road to recovery is a lot more tricky as it was both the concussion and the bad back that ruined his 2010 season.  There’s even talk about him not being ready for the start of the season so draft with caution.  But when healthy, he’s an RBI machine.

     Youk (a better option at thrid eventually) and Butler might not have the same power of their contemporaries, but both keep their batting averages above the .300 mark, post solid RBI totals and can still cross that 20 HR mark.  As for Huff and Konerko, both are solid options that can post a decent batting average and pop 20+ as well.  They’re a little older, but that shouldn’t be too much of a concern this year unless you’re thinking long term keepers.

4th Tier:  Buster Posey, Gaby Sanchez, Adam LaRoche, Derrek Lee, James Loney, Michael Cuddyer, Adam Lind, Carlos Lee, Ike Davis, Mike Napoli

     Kind of a mixed bag here and obviously not my ideal choices, but still serviceable.  Posey and Napoli are here based on position eligibility, but if I’m drafting either of them, you can bet it’s for my catcher position.  LaRoche and Cuddyer are decent options for 20+ HR power and an ok batting average and Loney has the average and RBI’s, but not the power.  I’m curious to see what the comeback trail brings for Carlos Lee (likely a better OF option) and Derrek Lee.  Carlos needs to shake off that batting average issue from last season and Derrek makes the move from Wrigley to Camden Yards.  Should be an interesting transition to watch.

     I like the upstarts here in Lind, Sanchez and Davis.  Lind has already shown the power capabilities while Sanchez and Davis are just getting going.  All three should finde themselves in the 20-25 HR range and we’ll likely see batting averages right around .270.  I prefer to have these guys as my corner infielders, but you could do worse if you’re waiting on first basemen.

5th Tier and Beyond:  Garrett Jones, Lance Berkman, Carlos Pena, Logan Morrison, Freddie Freeman, Mitch Moreland, Justin Smoak, Dan Johnson, Brett Wallace

     These are just some of the names you’ll see adorning fantasy rosters in deeper mixed leagues as well as the mid-sized AL/NL only leagues.  It’s a nice mix of youthful potential – Morrison, Freeman, Smoak, Wallace – older players with somethjing left in the tank – Berkman, Pena, and a few also rans that could be decent late round sleepers – Jones, Johnson, Moreland.  The beauty of first base is that there’s plenty of depth, so feel free to check the rankings and go even lower for some corner infield help.