2009 Top 20 Fantasy Baseball First Basemen
Albert Pujols and Ryan Howard Lead the List in 2009
Mar 11, 2009
First base is perhaps the strongest position in the 2009 fantasy baseball draft world. To prepare for your own upcoming MLB fantasy draft, take a look at this cheat sheet of the top 20 players at the deepest position.
The Top 10 Fantasy First Basemen
1. Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals. Pujols has a .334 career batting average. He averages 40 home runs, 122 RBI and 118 runs a year. He’s never hit lower than .314. He’s never hit less than 32 home runs. He’s never had less than 103 RBI, nor has he ever scored less than 99 runs. Last year, a chronically painful elbow was supposed to slow him down. It didn’t. Pujols hit .357 with 37 home runs, 116 RBI and 100 runs scored.
2. Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies. From 2006-2008, Howard hit .277 and averaged 51 home runs, 144 RBI, and 101 runs scored. His .251 batting average in 2008 was a big disappointment, but his 48 dingers and 146 RBI were not.
3. Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers. After a slow start last April, Cabrera quickly adjusted to his new team, new city and new league, and went on to have a typically brilliant year at the plate. Cabrera hit .292 with 37 home runs and 127 RBI, and while he only scored 85 runs, he did average more than 100 runs scored during his prior four seasons. Even if he doesn’t cross the plate 100 times in 2009, however, his other numbers justify taking him in the top five first baseman.
4. Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees. Teixeira is another guy with great three-year running averages ( .297 BA, 32 HR, 112 RBI), but will be hurt by the injury to Alex Rodriguez, who will be out until at least May after undergoing hip surgery on March 9, 2009. Nevertheless, Tex still has Johnny Damon, Derek Jeter, Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada surrounding him, so he should still to do pretty well even before Rodriguez returns.
5. Lance Berkman, Houston Astros. The Big Puma doesn’t get enough respect. He’s consistent, and there is no reason to think that he won’t do what he’s always done, which is hit the ball and hit it well.
6. Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins. 2008 numbers: .300 BA, 23 HR, 129 RBI, 97 R, 0 SB.
7. Kevin Youkilis, Boston Red Sox. Youk had a breakout year in 2008, hitting .312 with 29 home runs and 115 RBI. He seems to have come into his own as a hitter. He should hit around .300 with 25 dingers, 100 RBI and 100 runs scored.
8. Adrian Gonzalez, San Diego Padres. In 2008, Gonzalez hit .279 with 36 home runs, 119 RBI and 103 runs scored. He is still only 26 years old, and he’s been on an uptrend for three straight years. Even if he’s leveled off, well, he’s at a pretty good level.
9. Derrek Lee, Chicago Cubs. Aging, but still steady. In 2008, Lee hit .291 with 20 HR, 90 RBI, 93 runs scored and eight stolen bases.
10. Carlos Delgado, New York Mets. Just when everyone was counting him out, Carlos Delgado stepped up and had a great season in 2008, batting .271 with 38 home runs, 115 RBI and 96 runs scored. If you think he can match those stats this season, then take him in the top five. But keep in mind that Delgado is now 37 years old, and the inevitable decline could begin this year.
11. Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers. After his breakthrough 2007 season, Fielder’s production dropped off quite a bit in ‘08. He’s still a good shot for a .280 average, 32 home runs and 100 RBI.
12. Carlos Pena, Tampa Bay Rays. Pena backed up his monster 2007 season (46 HR and 121 RBI) with a respectable, if unspectacular, showing in 2008. His 31 home runs and 102 RBI were nice, but everything else was pretty crappy (.247 BA, 76 R, 1 SB).
13. Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds. A rookie in 2008, Votto hit .297 with 24 home runs, 84 RBI, 69 runs scored and 7 stolen bases. Even if he only matches those numbers this year, he’s a good pick at this level.
14. Chris Davis, Texas Rangers. Davis didn’t make his major league debut on June 26, 2008, and as a result, played in only 80 games last year. But in those 80 games, he hit 17 home runs, 55 RBI and 51 runs scored. Double those numbers, add in a .285 batting average, and you’ve got a helluva hitter. He is young, which makes him risky, but the upside, oh the upside.
15. Mike Jacobs, Florida Marlins. He had a breakthorugh year in 2008 (32 HR, 93 RBI). Was it a fluke or is this guy getting really good?
16. Paul Konerko, Chicago White Sox. Another aging star whose numbers have been dropping over the past few seasons. Can he rebound from a poor 2008 (.247, 22 HR, 62 RBI)?
17. Jason Giambi, Oakland A’s. He can still give you 30 homers and 90 RBI. For those of you in Sabermetric leagues, his OPS is very good for a bakup first baseman.
18. Ryan Garko, Cleveland Indians. 2008 stats: .273 BA, 14 HR, 90 RBI and 61 runs scored.
19. James Loney, Los Angeles Dodgers. 2008 stats: .289 BA, 13 HR, 90 RBI, 66 runs scored and 7 steals.
20. Adam LaRoche, Pittsburgh Pirates. 2008 stats: .270 BA, 25 HR, 85 RBI, 66 runs scored.
_______________________
