1. Albert Pujols – Despite
making his first ever trip to the disabled list last season, Pujols provided
his usual astounding production. He hit
.330 for the fourth year in a row and set new career bests with 49 homers and
137 RBI. If you’re looking for a
blemish, he failed to lead the majors in runs scored for the first time since
2002, but he still finished tied for sixth with 119.
FIC Spin: The
unquestioned number one overall pick, Pujols is a legitimate triple crown
candidate who even steals more bases than most first basemen.
2007 Projection:
|
G
|
AB
|
Avg.
|
H
|
2B
|
HR
|
Runs
|
RBI
|
SB
|
OBP
|
Slg.
|
OPS
|
|
157
|
556
|
0.334
|
195
|
37
|
47
|
128
|
132
|
10
|
0.467
|
0.675
|
1.142
|
2. Lance Berkman – Berkman
continued to tear up Minute Maid
Park in 2006, establishing new
career highs in both home runs (45) and RBI (136). What’s more, his unbelievable performance
came on the twelfth best offensive team in the National League, and he drove in
an amazing 18.5% of Houston’s total
runs. Toss in a .315 average and you had
yourself an absolute stud who qualified at both first base and in the outfield.
FIC Spin: With
Jeff Bagwell now officially off the books, Berkman can settle in as the regular
first baseman for the Astros. The
addition of Carlos Lee in the offseason should provide him with a little more
protection in the lineup, so he should have little trouble challenging last
season’s numbers.
2007 Projection:
|
G
|
AB
|
Avg.
|
H
|
2B
|
HR
|
Runs
|
RBI
|
SB
|
OBP
|
Slg.
|
OPS
|
|
154
|
556
|
0.317
|
176
|
36
|
42
|
102
|
123
|
7
|
0.427
|
0.610
|
1.037
|
3. David Ortiz – Ortiz’
54 homers in 2006 marked the seventh straight season that he’s improved in the
category, while he knocked in 130+ for the third straight year as well. However, teams finally seemed to be figuring
out one secret to dealing with Ortiz, as he was walked over 100 times for the
second straight season. Papi isn’t
likely to hit for average as well as a handful of the other top contenders at
the position, though he has hit .296 over the past three seasons.
FIC Spin: Papi
made ten starts at first base last season, meaning he should be eligible there
again in 2007 in most formats. He’s a legitimate first-round pick regardless
of whether he’s eligible at first base or just at the utility spot, and should
continue to have plenty of chances in a stacked Red Sox’ lineup.
2007 Projection:
|
G
|
AB
|
Avg.
|
H
|
2B
|
HR
|
Runs
|
RBI
|
SB
|
OBP
|
Slg.
|
OPS
|
|
149
|
559
|
0.285
|
167
|
32
|
51
|
114
|
130
|
1
|
0.430
|
0.632
|
1.062
|
4. Derrek Lee – Ordinarily
a picture of good health, Lee was unable to follow up on his breakout 2005 when
he broke his wrist in April. Though he
was able to come back from the disabled list in late June, he re-aggravated the
injury in mid-July and ended up missing almost three months total with the
injury. When he was healthy, he was
still solid, smacking eight homers and driving in thirty runs in just 175
AB. He also stole eight bases in limited
action, which ranked him second among regular first basemen.
FIC Spin: The two
trips to the DL were Lee’s first in nine years as a big league regular, and the
injury was a freak occurrence. Expect
his wrist to be healthy entering the 2007 season, and that means we might just
see him pick up where he left off in 2005.
2007 Projection:
|
G
|
AB
|
Avg.
|
H
|
2B
|
HR
|
Runs
|
RBI
|
SB
|
OBP
|
Slg.
|
OPS
|
|
154
|
567
|
0.302
|
171
|
41
|
39
|
107
|
109
|
13
|
0.385
|
0.585
|
0.970
|
5. Mark Teixeira – Normally
as consistent as it gets, Teixeira had an awful first half of 2006, batting
just .275 with 9 homers. However, his
power returned in the second half as he hit .291 with 24 homers and 61 RBI
after the break. He went on to finish
the campaign with a .280+ average, 30+ homers, and 110+ RBI for the third
straight season.
FIC Spin: Tex
was a lock first-round pick entering last season, but his slow start last
season may bump him down a few notches in 2007.
He’ll turn 27 in the season’s first month, is just entering his prime,
and is ready to mash in a powerful Rangers’ lineup. If he makes it out of the first round, it’s
time to pounce!
2007 Projection:
|
G
|
AB
|
Avg.
|
H
|
2B
|
HR
|
Runs
|
RBI
|
SB
|
OBP
|
Slg.
|
OPS
|
|
160
|
618
|
0.302
|
187
|
43
|
38
|
101
|
131
|
3
|
0.390
|
0.561
|
0.951
|
6. Ryan Howard – Howard’s
last two seasons have been kind of like the old Larry Bird/Michael Jordan
commercials, where each tries to continuously top what the other just did. After winning the NL Rookie of the Year award
in 2005, Howard had a strong first half and eventually won the Home Run
Derby. He then used the Derby as a
springboard for an amazing second half that saw him terrorize the National
League with a .355 average, 30 homers, and 78 RBI in just 265 AB. The year concluded with Howard winning his
first NL MVP award, narrowly defeating Mr. All-Everything Albert Pujols for the
crown.
FIC Spin: The
swing’s still long (184 K in 584 AB last year), and I just can’t see Howard
having a .455 BIPA again. Toss in that
managers were deathly afraid to pitch to him towards the end of the season, and
his numbers should revert to the norm a bit across the board simply because
he’ll have less opportunities. He’s
still a monster, though he’s not likely to be worth the top five (or even
first-round) pick that will be required to nab him.
2007 Projection:
|
G
|
AB
|
Avg.
|
H
|
2B
|
HR
|
Runs
|
RBI
|
SB
|
OBP
|
Slg.
|
OPS
|
|
161
|
536
|
0.292
|
157
|
24
|
45
|
101
|
128
|
0
|
0.432
|
0.591
|
1.022
|
7. Justin Morneau – Morneau
started a little slow, batting just over .240 in the season’s first two months,
but he went nuts in the second week of June and never looked back. From June on, Morneau hit .350 in 420 AB with
24 of his 34 homers and 94 of his 130 RBI.
He cleaned up in four of the five major fantasy categories and
eventually found himself the winner of a tight race for the American League MVP
honors.
FIC Spin: Morneau
became the first Twin in nearly twenty years to hit thirty homers last season,
but the wait shouldn’t be nearly as long for another thirty-homer man this
time. He’s displayed major home run
power in the minors, and he’s just hitting his prime. Bank on a few more homers out of Morneau this
season, though he’s unlikely to even sniff the .321 average he finished with in
’06.
2007 Projection:
|
G
|
AB
|
Avg.
|
H
|
2B
|
HR
|
Runs
|
RBI
|
SB
|
OBP
|
Slg.
|
OPS
|
|
158
|
612
|
0.288
|
176
|
35
|
42
|
91
|
127
|
2
|
0.373
|
0.554
|
0.927
|
8. Paul Konerko – Though
Konerko didn’t quite hit forty homers for the third straight season, he
continued his amazingly consistent across the board production. Konerko hit 35+ homers and drove in 100+ runs
for the third year in a row, while he even made up for his slightly lower power
totals by establishing a new career best with a .313 average.
FIC Spin: A
terrific option once the top names are gone.
He won’t blow you away with any of his numbers, but he’ll provide strong
four-category production.
2007 Projection:
|
G
|
AB
|
Avg.
|
H
|
2B
|
HR
|
Runs
|
RBI
|
SB
|
|
Fantasy Baseball 
