Top 15 1st Basemen

1. Albert Pujols – Cardinals
2. Miguel Cabrera –Tigers
3. Joey Votto – Reds
4. Mark Teixeira – Yankees
5. Adrian Gonzalez – Red Sox
6. Adam Dunn – White Sox
7. Ryan Howard – Phillies
8. Prince Fielder – Brewers
9. Kevin Youkilis – Red Sox
10. Kendry Morales – Angels
11. Justin Morneau –Twins
12. Billy Butler – Royals
13. Paul Konerko – White Sox
14. Gaby Sanchez – Giants
15. Ike Davis - Mets

The Whys

·         Pujols is just a machine across the board. He may also throw in double digit steals.

·         Cabrera is the best player in baseball not named Albert.

·         Votto could be a repeat MVP. Just wish he would go by Joe or Joseph.

·         Teixeira is so potent in that lineup and pitchers have to pitch to him.

·         Gonzalez always hit a vast majority of his HR on the road when he played at Petco. He may struggle at first by switching to the American league but once he gets warmed up we could see 40+HR and 120 RBI.

·         Dunn will get his 40 HR and has taken more walks over the last couple of years. Did you know he has a higher career OBP then Juan Pierre? Yep, by 35 points and he is batting cleanup.

·         Howard is averaging an RBI every 4.32 AB for his career. That’s 138 for a season with 600 AB.

·         Fielder has twice had and OPS over 1.000 and his walks have increased every year. Will he bat 3^rd or 4^th this year? The Brewers experimented flipping him and Braun last year. If he bats 4^th and continues his good plate discipline (114 walks last year) he will score over 100 runs. Bonus is this cat does not miss a game!

·         Youkilis of course will have 3^rd base eligibility in mid April and not many players batting 3^rd can give your team that luxury. Should get a boost in RBI this year with Crawford and a healthy Pedroia hitting/stealing in front of him.

·         Morales has something to prove this year after his grand slam breakage from last year. My only concern is his cast around him is getting older. Hunter (35), Abreu (37) Rivera (33). Could they be on the decline?

·         Morneau may need a Football helmet or Hockey helmet (since he is from Canada ehh) to just stay healthy. He may drop in drafts this year due to being injury prone but he can flat out hit in Minnesota.

·         Butler may see more time at DH this year and I am still on the fence if that helps or hurts him. Seems like he has been around a decade now but he is only 25 in mid April. If he can ever turn some of those doubles into HR it could be scary sweet. I always like to have Butler if I can get one of the elite power hitting 3B or SS.  I actually traded Fielder for Butler and Pierre back in mid June last year.

·         Konerko might have been THE steal in all drafts last year. I know he went in the 18th round in one of my leagues. If you can get one of the first twelve mentioned above here is the best CI available. A must have in all formats.

·         Sanchez needs a little better plate discipline (Take some walks kid) and I see huge upside. Did I mention he is 27 this year?

·         Davis had more walks than RBI last year pretty solid for a kid 23 years old. I see a 15% increase in all his stats this year. I will refer to him as Mr. Upside this year.

Let me know if you agree, disagree or want to kick me in the knee...leave me a comment.