-
2008 Final First Base Rankings Player AB AVG R HR RBI Score Albert Pujols 524 .357 100 37 116 1385.254 Lance Berkman 554 .312 114 29 106 1294.206 Ryan Howard 610 .251 105 48 146 1244.37 Mark Teixeira 574 .308 102 33 121 1214.352 Miguel Cabrera 616 .292 85 37 127 1160.371 Aubrey Huff 598 .304 96 32 108 1146.084 Kevin Youkilis 538 .312 91 29 115 1134.221 Adrián González 616 .279 103 36 119 1131.121 Justin Morneau 623 .300 97 23 129 1121.211 Carlos Delgado 598 .271 96 38 115 1087.497 Johnny Damon 555 .303 95 17 71 1062.543 Prince Fielder 588 .276 86 34 102 1005.182 Jorge Cantú 628 .277 92 29 95 989.904 Derrek Lee 623 .291 93 20 90 967.6905 Garrett Atkins 611 .286 86 21 99 914.461 Joey Votto 526 .297 69 24 84 889.318 Jim Thome 503 .245 93 34 90 875.2715 Conor Jackson 540 .300 87 12 75 857.421 Carlos Peńa 490 .247 76 31 102 846.973 Jason Giambi 458 .247 68 32 96 815.297 James Loney 595 .289 66 13 90 804.9805 Mike Jacobs 477 .247 67 32 93 791.8555 David Ortiz 416 .264 74 23 89 774.144 Adam LaRoche 492 .270 66 25 85 765.788 Jason Kubel 463 .272 74 20 78 723.7 Jack Cust 481 .231 77 33 77 722.7715 Ryan Garko 495 .273 61 14 90 684.0055 Lyle Overbay 544 .270 74 15 69 658.312 Casey Kotchman 525 .272 65 14 74 651.595 Nick Swisher 497 .219 86 24 69 640.6145 Eric Hinske 381 .247 59 20 60 623.4055 Kevin Millar 531 .234 73 20 72 591.376 Paul Konerko 438 .240 59 22 62 565.367 Chris Davis 295 .285 51 17 55 555.1955 Gary Sheffield 418 .225 52 19 57 520.401 Jeff Baker 299 .268 55 12 48 498.871 Billy Butler 443 .275 44 11 55 474.1495 Hideki Matsui 337 .294 43 9 45 444.388 Rich Aurilia 407 .283 33 10 52 440.9745 Matt Stairs 337 .252 46 13 49 429.84 Daric Barton 446 .226 59 9 47 373.795 Ross Gload 388 .273 46 3 37 365.41 John Bowker 326 .255 31 10 43 340.108 Willy Aybar 324 .253 33 10 33 313.265 Chad Tracy 273 .267 25 8 39 301.6855 Todd Helton 299 .264 39 7 29 299.215 José Vidro 308 .234 28 7 45 286.93 Greg Norton 187 .262 29 7 35 283.864 Doug Mientkiewicz 285 .277 37 2 30 277.8685 Richie Sexson 280 .221 29 12 36 271.497 Pablo Sandoval 145 .345 24 3 24 260.8795 Frank Thomas 246 .240 27 8 30 237.031 Chris Duncan 222 .248 26 6 27 234.456 Wilson Betemit 189 .265 24 6 25 225.1395 Wes Helms 251 .243 28 5 31 224.6055 Miguel Cairo 221 .249 34 0 23 223.7015 Frank Catalanotto 248 .274 28 2 21 214.07 Aaron Boone 232 .241 23 6 28 203.615 Craig Monroe 163 .202 22 8 29 191.679 Sean Casey 199 .322 14 0 17 185.771 Ryan Shealy 73 .301 12 7 20 185.3575 Oscar Salazar 81 .284 13 5 15 148.771 Nick Johnson 109 .220 15 5 20 139.515 Travis Hafner 198 .197 21 5 24 137.386 Dmitri Young 150 .280 15 4 10 134.795 Travis Ishikawa 95 .274 12 3 15 134.161 Micah Hoffpauir 73 .342 14 2 8 132.485 Robb Quinlan 164 .262 15 1 11 130.749 Jeff Larish 104 .260 12 2 16 130.396 Tony Clark 151 .225 12 3 24 124.0285 Mike Sweeney 126 .286 13 2 12 121.747 Bryan LaHair 136 .250 15 3 10 103.115 Paul Lo Duca 173 .243 16 0 15 100.9025 Daryle Ward 102 .216 8 4 17 96.53 Eric Chávez 89 .247 10 2 14 94.8665 Kory Casto 163 .215 15 2 16 92.5525 Mike Hessman 27 .296 6 5 7 90.094 Chris Shelton 97 .216 14 2 11 87.338 Randy Ruiz 62 .274 13 1 7 82.053 Jeff Bailey 50 .280 10 2 6 76.73 Scott McClain 33 .273 7 2 7 67.3405 Max Ramirez 46 .217 8 2 9 64.935 Joe Dillon 75 .213 13 1 6 61.6415 Kendry Morales 61 .213 7 3 8 60.6625 Joe Koshansky 38 .211 5 3 8 59.524 Justin Huber 61 .246 5 2 8 57.368 Ben Broussard 82 .159 8 3 8 34.213 Dan Ortmeier 64 .219 4 0 5 32.65 Dan Johnson 26 .192 3 2 4 30.675 Kila Ka'aihue 21 .286 4 1 1 27.785 Shelley Duncan 57 .175 7 1 6 26.8835 Jason Botts 38 .158 2 2 5 19.498 Michael Aubrey 45 .200 2 2 3 18.466 Andy González 24 .208 3 1 2 18.335 Juan Miranda 10 .400 2 0 1 18.116 Josh Phelps 34 .265 4 0 1 18.017 Wes Bankston 59 .203 4 1 4 17.5355 Josh Whitesell 7 .286 1 1 1 15.784 Scott Hatteberg 52 .173 3 0 7 11.367
2008 Final First Base Rankings Player AB AVG R HR RBI Score Albert Pujols 524 .357 100 37 116 1385.254 Lance Berkman 554 .312 114 29 106 1294.206 Ryan Howard 610 .251 105 48 146 1244.37 Mark Teixeira 574 .308 102 33 121 1214.352 Miguel Cabrera 616 .292 85 37 127 1160.371 Aubrey Huff 598 .304 96 32 108 1146.084 Kevin Youkilis 538 .312 91 29 115 1134.221 Adrián González 616 .279 103 36 119 1131.121 Justin Morneau 623 .300 97 23 129 1121.211 Carlos Delgado 598 .271 96 38 115 1087.497 Johnny Damon 555 .303 95 17 71 1062.543 Prince Fielder 588 .276 86 34 102 1005.182 Jorge Cantú 628 .277 92 29 95 989.904 Derrek Lee 623 .291 93 20 90 967.6905 Garrett Atkins 611 .286 86 21 99 914.461 Joey Votto 526 .297 69 24 84 889.318 Jim Thome 503 .245 93 34 90 875.2715 Conor Jackson 540 .300 87 12 75 857.421 Carlos Peńa 490 .247 76 31 102 846.973 Jason Giambi 458 .247 68 32 96 815.297 James Loney 595 .289 66 13 90 804.9805 Mike Jacobs 477 .247 67 32 93 791.8555 David Ortiz 416 .264 74 23 89 774.144 Adam LaRoche 492 .270 66 25 85 765.788 Jason Kubel 463 .272 74 20 78 723.7 Jack Cust 481 .231 77 33 77 722.7715 Ryan Garko 495 .273 61 14 90 684.0055 Lyle Overbay 544 .270 74 15 69 658.312 Casey Kotchman 525 .272 65 14 74 651.595 Nick Swisher 497 .219 86 24 69 640.6145 Eric Hinske 381 .247 59 20 60 623.4055 Kevin Millar 531 .234 73 20 72 591.376 Paul Konerko 438 .240 59 22 62 565.367 Chris Davis 295 .285 51 17 55 555.1955 Gary Sheffield 418 .225 52 19 57 520.401 Jeff Baker 299 .268 55 12 48 498.871 Billy Butler 443 .275 44 11 55 474.1495 Hideki Matsui 337 .294 43 9 45 444.388 Rich Aurilia 407 .283 33 10 52 440.9745 Matt Stairs 337 .252 46 13 49 429.84 Daric Barton 446 .226 59 9 47 373.795 Ross Gload 388 .273 46 3 37 365.41 John Bowker 326 .255 31 10 43 340.108 Willy Aybar 324 .253 33 10 33 313.265 Chad Tracy 273 .267 25 8 39 301.6855 Todd Helton 299 .264 39 7 29 299.215 José Vidro 308 .234 28 7 45 286.93 Greg Norton 187 .262 29 7 35 283.864 Doug Mientkiewicz 285 .277 37 2 30 277.8685 Richie Sexson 280 .221 29 12 36 271.497 Pablo Sandoval 145 .345 24 3 24 260.8795 Frank Thomas 246 .240 27 8 30 237.031 Chris Duncan 222 .248 26 6 27 234.456 Wilson Betemit 189 .265 24 6 25 225.1395 Wes Helms 251 .243 28 5 31 224.6055 Miguel Cairo 221 .249 34 0 23 223.7015 Frank Catalanotto 248 .274 28 2 21 214.07 Aaron Boone 232 .241 23 6 28 203.615 Craig Monroe 163 .202 22 8 29 191.679 Sean Casey 199 .322 14 0 17 185.771 Ryan Shealy 73 .301 12 7 20 185.3575 Oscar Salazar 81 .284 13 5 15 148.771 Nick Johnson 109 .220 15 5 20 139.515 Travis Hafner 198 .197 21 5 24 137.386 Dmitri Young 150 .280 15 4 10 134.795 Travis Ishikawa 95 .274 12 3 15 134.161 Micah Hoffpauir 73 .342 14 2 8 132.485 Robb Quinlan 164 .262 15 1 11 130.749 Jeff Larish 104 .260 12 2 16 130.396 Tony Clark 151 .225 12 3 24 124.0285 Mike Sweeney 126 .286 13 2 12 121.747 Bryan LaHair 136 .250 15 3 10 103.115 Paul Lo Duca 173 .243 16 0 15 100.9025 Daryle Ward 102 .216 8 4 17 96.53 Eric Chávez 89 .247 10 2 14 94.8665 Kory Casto 163 .215 15 2 16 92.5525 Mike Hessman 27 .296 6 5 7 90.094 Chris Shelton 97 .216 14 2 11 87.338 Randy Ruiz 62 .274 13 1 7 82.053 Jeff Bailey 50 .280 10 2 6 76.73 Scott McClain 33 .273 7 2 7 67.3405 Max Ramirez 46 .217 8 2 9 64.935 Joe Dillon 75 .213 13 1 6 61.6415 Kendry Morales 61 .213 7 3 8 60.6625 Joe Koshansky 38 .211 5 3 8 59.524 Justin Huber 61 .246 5 2 8 57.368 Ben Broussard 82 .159 8 3 8 34.213 Dan Ortmeier 64 .219 4 0 5 32.65 Dan Johnson 26 .192 3 2 4 30.675 Kila Ka'aihue 21 .286 4 1 1 27.785 Shelley Duncan 57 .175 7 1 6 26.8835 Jason Botts 38 .158 2 2 5 19.498 Michael Aubrey 45 .200 2 2 3 18.466 Andy González 24 .208 3 1 2 18.335 Juan Miranda 10 .400 2 0 1 18.116 Josh Phelps 34 .265 4 0 1 18.017 Wes Bankston 59 .203 4 1 4 17.5355 Josh Whitesell 7 .286 1 1 1 15.784 Scott Hatteberg 52 .173 3 0 7 11.367
* Note that all players who will only qualify at the DH or UT slot in your league are included in the first base rankings. These players may include Jim Thome, Travis Hafner, Gary Sheffield, and some others depending upon your league's positional qualifications.
The Beast: Albert Pujols
Simply put, with nearly a 100 point lead in both last year's final rankings and the three-year averages, Albert Pujols deserves a tier all by himself. Rather than calling it a tier, we're just going to separate him from the rest. Barring some really strange drafting, Pujols will likely go either first or second overall in your fantasy draft. Not only is he an absolute four category monster (.334/.425/.624 lifetime hitter with an average of 40 homers, 122 RBI, and 118 runs in eight seasons), he also runs well compared to the players at his position. Simply put, as deep as first base is, there's nobody at this position who is even comparable to Albert Pujols.
Tier I: Lance Berkman, Ryan Howard, Mark Teixeira, Miguel Cabrera
There's a bit of a dropoff after these four players leave the board, but it's not all that dramatic. Depending upon what you're targeting, each of these players could be the best choice for you. Ryan Howard is obviously the big power hitter of the bunch, though he's someone who is liable to hurt you in the batting average department. Berkman is probably a touch behind Teixeira and Cabrera in terms of his power production, but the converted outfielder also nearly doubled all of the other qualifying first basemen with 18 stolen bases in 2008. Cabrera and Teixeira figure to post pretty similar numbers, with Cabrera having a slight edge in batting average and Teixeira scoring a handful more runs with a few more RBI. You can't go wrong with any of these guys if you don't get Albert.
Tier II: Justin Morneau, Prince Fielder, David Ortiz, Kevin Youkilis, Garrett Atkins, Adrian Gonzalez
There was a time when Ortiz would certainly have been considered in the elite group above. However, he drops here for a handful of reasons that include his injury problems last season, the fact that he slipped a bit in the second half after Manny Ramirez' departure, and (perhaps most importantly) that he doesn't provide the average the above group does to go along with the power. He can hit with Howard, but he just doesn't have Howard's power. He's not getting any younger either.... Prince Fielder struggled through a disappointing follow-up to his breakout 2007 season. The young slugger will turn just 25 in May, though, and could well join the elite if he can get back just a bit of that power he showcased two years ago... If you're drafting Atkins, you're drafting him as a third baseman. He's a nice option at first as well, but doesn't play nearly as well in fantasy at the deeper of his two positions. He's slipped significantly in each of the past two seasons, but is still in his prime and capable of hitting .300/30/100....
It's hard to be disappointed with a kid just hitting his prime who hit .300 and drove in 129 runs last season, but Justin Morneau failed in his effort for a third straight 30 homer season. We'll forgive him for it, but take note of the fact that he doesn't have the power of an Ortiz or Fielder when you're drafting him. 35 homers would appear to be his ceiling.... Awful lineup support and awful home park, be damned! Adrian Gonzalez has traded some of that magnificent average-hitting potential we expected from him in the minors for more power. Though his average (.279) left him a tad short of the elite last year, Gonzalez hit 36 homers while scoring and driving in more than 100 runs. Like Morneau, he's just hitting his prime years....
The biggest boom or bust option on this list is Kevin Youkilis, who has been known primarily for his strong average-hitting and amazing plate discipline (yeah... that Greek God of Walks) throughout his career. His 29 home runs last season certainly look like an anomale, as his fly ball to homer rate was completely out of whack with what you'd expect of any power hitter... much less his own career. Expect the homer production to slip back from 29 to about 20, but expect him to turn back into a more patient hitter. I don't know if it's just that everything was going right with the stick for him or what, but Youkilis seemed a lot less patient at the plate last season, drawing 15 less walks in 25 more plate appearances than he did in 2007.
Tier III: Aubrey Huff, Derrek Lee, Carlos Delgado, Carlos Pena, Jim Thome
Both Thome and Delgado are nearing the end of outstanding careers. While neither contributes in the average department like they used to, they combined for 72 homers, 189 Runs, and 205 RBI last season. Both are fine options at the position, but be wary of the fact that Thome should only qualify at the DH/UT spot.... It's hard to say that Derrek Lee is past his prime (hey.... I'm 33, too! While I admit I don't feel like I did when I was 25.......), but a lengthy injury history seems to have aged him faster than we would have liked. He's still a safe bet to hit for a strong average, and it wouldn't be a major shock to see him have another 30 homer season or two, but it has to be said that his 20 dinger season last year was kind of soft at a position known for power. He's a fine pick with this group, but shouldn't go any higher...
After a disappointing 2007 effort, Aubrey Huff rebounded in the heart of an improving Oriole lineup to bat .304 with career bests in Runs, Doubles, and RBI. He fell just two short of his career best with 32 home runs. At 32, he's nearing the end of his prime, but his lineup support in Baltimore suggests that it would be foolish to think he can't repeat last year's performance.... A year after leading the AL in homers, Carlos Pena took a big step back with both his power numbers and his batting average. Still just 30 and in a loaded lineup, Pena should be expected to rebound a bit in the batting average department, but his 46 homers in 2007 look to be a bit of an abberation. That's not to say he shouldn't have a good shot at hitting 30+ for the third year in a row.
Tier IV: Adam LaRoche, Conor Jackson, Paul Konerko, James Loney, Nick Swisher, Jason Giambi, Ryan Garko, Jorge Cantu, Joey Votto, Todd Helton, Chris Davis
Helton can hit for average with the best of them, but his power ceiling for the rest of his career would appear to be 20 homers. If he's hitting his usual .310+ with plenty of RBI in the most hitter-friendly park in baseball, you can stomach that... LaRoche barely makes this list, and it's his three-year average that helps him more than anything else. He tends to start pretty slow, but should finish with 25+ homers and an average in the .270-.280 range again. The Bucs are getting a little better around him, too.... Paul Konerko is another somewhat flawed veteran in this group. Once considered a strong average-hitting prospect with middling power for the position, he's reversed fields altogether. His 22 homers were a bit down last year, but that stems largely from the fact that he missed a lot of time. As for the .240 average? Well.... let's just say that he's streaky from year to year.... Jason Giambi has the best power of the bunch, but is also the most likely to kill your batting average. That's something you don't have to worry about as much if you play in a league that values OBP instead, so he could be bumped up a tier in those leagues.
Conor Jackson and Ryan Garko are both steady young vets who are a little weak in the home run department at a power position. Jackson, who makes up for it with fantastic gap power and a high batting average, is the safer bet of the two. Garko's worth has been partially dependent upon the talent around him, as he's posted some stronger numbers in the RBI department... You can't say you know what you're going to get out of Jorge Cantu, because... well... you don't have a clue. He had a monster breakout season for the Marlins last season. Then again, didn't he have a monster breakout season for the Rays in 2005 as well? Now, honestly. Tell me that there was one time (unless you were the poor sap who drafted him in 2006) between May of 2006 and last season when you thought to yourself, "Oooooooohhh... somebody dropped Cantu. It's time to use my waiver priority!" The talent's certainly there, and he should have another solid season in Florida, but the fact that he just about completely disappeared for two years after a 28 homer season in 2005 has to be worrisome.
Joey Votto lived up to the hype in his first full season, batting .297 while jacking 24 bombs. The good part is that he's already approaching those prime years. The down side is that there's not much more of a ceiling for him. Votto should have a few 30 homer seasons in the majors, and he'll continue to hit around .300. He's a fine option who should find himself one tier higher than this by the time the year's up. Until he proves he can repeat last season, he stays here... While he was coming up, everything I heard about James Loney led me to believe he was Adrian Gonzalez reincarnated. Amazing glove. Amazing average-hitter. Power that was developing, but nothing to write home about. That's about what we saw from him in his first full season. While we should expect the power to develop, his ceiling could well be 25 homers or so unless he has one of these average-hitter to uber-slugger transformations. The steroid era is over, right?????? Perhaps the most impressive thing about Chris Davis' spot on both last year's rankings and the three year rankings is that it was done in half a big league season. Davis had little trouble adjusting to big league pitching, batting .285 with 17 homers, 23 doubles, 51 Runs, and 55 RBI in just 295 big league at bats. What makes him an even better selection in your draft is that he'll qualify at third base (thinner) as well. Davis will likely go well before the players in this group, and his minor league track record would indicate that he's for real. However, he simply doesn't fit in with the tried and true options in the third tier. He did deserve his own special paragraph, though.
Tier V: Mike Jacobs, Travis Hafner, Billy Butler, Casey Kotchman Jacobs will kill your batting average, and he'll perform even worse in leagues that use OBP. However, he did hit 32 homers last season, and has legitimate power. He's really nothing more than a utility option in mixed leagues, but he's still worth a look.... Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Two years ago, Travis Hafner was near the top of this list. After a disappointing 2007 campaign and an awful, injury-riddled 2008 that saw him hit below the Mendoza Line, Hafner is nothing more than an afterthought as we enter draft season. That's not to say that he couldn't surprise and be his old self, but make sure the risk is low.... Casey Kotchman was awfully disappointing after the Braves acquired him in the rent-a-Tex deal with the Angels. Kotchman hit just .237 with a pair of homers in 152 at bats for Atlanta, though his overall numbers (.272 with 14 homers and 74 RBI) weren't nearly as terrible. Always considered a touch week in the power department, Kotchman should be used as a last resort in mixed leagues.
We're all about giving players their own paragraph, but we'll highlight another terrific sleeper candidate in Billy Butler. Butler was bad enough in the first half that he was sent down to Omaha, but looked like the kid that the Royals thought he was after being recalled in the second half. Butler rebounded to hit .305/.341/.476 with 9 homers in 210 at bats after the break. His pedigree indicates that he should become a player capable of hitting .300+ with 30+ homer power. It may take a year, but expect a big step forward in 2009.
Sleepers: James Loney, Chris Davis
Super-Sleepers: Billy Butler, Travis Hafner
Busts: Kevin Youkilis, Mike Jacobs
Don't Forget About: Jim Thome, Carlos Delgado
Don't Overpay: Chris Davis
First Baseman Rankings
Final 2008 First Base Rankings
by James Meyerriecks - Thu Mar 12
