Fantasy Baseball: Ray's First Base Rankings for 2010

by Ray Guilfoyle on Mar 13, 2010 9:52 AM EST in Baseball Comment 0 comments

To complete the first base rankings, here are my 2010 rankings with their 2009 stats:

NO.	Name	G	AB	HR	R	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG
1	Albert Pujols	160	568	47	124	135	115	64	16	0.327
2	Prince Fielder	162	591	46	103	141	110	138	2	0.299
3	Ryan Howard	160	616	45	105	141	75	186	8	0.279
4	Mark Teixeira	156	609	39	103	122	81	114	2	0.292
5	Miguel Cabrera	160	611	34	96	103	68	107	6	0.324
6	Joey Votto	131	469	25	82	84	70	106	4	0.322
7	Adrian Gonzalez	160	552	40	90	99	119	109	1	0.277
8	Kevin Youkilis	136	491	27	99	94	77	125	7	0.305
9	Kendry Morales	152	566	34	86	108	46	117	3	0.306
10	Lance Berkman	136	460	25	73	80	97	98	7	0.274
11	Justin Morneau	135	508	30	85	100	72	86	0	0.274
12	Adam Dunn	159	546	38	81	105	116	177	0	0.267
13	Billy Butler	159	608	21	78	93	58	103	1	0.301
14	Derrek Lee	141	532	35	91	111	76	109	1	0.306
15	Carlos Pena	135	471	39	91	100	87	163	3	0.227
16	Paul Konerko	152	546	28	75	88	58	89	1	0.277
17	Todd Helton	151	544	15	79	86	89	73	0	0.325
18	Adam LaRoche	150	555	25	78	83	69	142	2	0.277
19	Jorge Cantu	149	585	16	67	100	47	81	3	0.289
20	Russell Branyan	116	431	31	64	76	58	149	2	0.251

The first base position is fairly deep in 2010 with about 15-16 capable of going 30-90 in 2010. At number 1, Albert Pujols is the total package, and he will provide solid production in all five categories in 2010, including stolen bases. He chipped in with 16 last year.

I may have the Reds first baseman Joey Votto ranked higher than most people, but he was top 5 or top 6 in OPS last season, and I think he can put together a Top 5 season in 2010 if he stays healthy. He hits in a hitters park and in an improving lineup in Cincinnatti.

I thought about switching Prince Fielder and Ryan Howard, but Fielder will hit for the higher BA. The top 3 first baseman can hit 40+ HRs and should all be first or early second round selections in fantasy drafts.

One of these years the Tigers Miguel Cabrera will approach the 40 HR club, and it could be in 2010. If he is truly over his off field issues, he can put together a 40-120 season for fantasy owners.

Lance Berkman had a down year in 2009, but he will be looking to improve upon that in 2010, as the Astros have a club option for 2011. They could let him become a free agent in 2011, so Berkman will be looking to stay healthy and put together a solid season power wise if he wants to land a nice contract next offseason. (Note: these were posted over at SB Nation's fantasy page on February 28th, before yesterday's news that Berkman will be out for 2-4 weeks. I would probably move him down a bit now.)

I think the Royals Billy Butler has the bat to approach 30 HRs in 2010 as he hit 51 doubles last year.

Last year was the first year since 2003 where Adam Dunn didn't hit 40+ HRs in a season. Could this be the new trend for Dunn?

One guy who could enter the top 20 in 2010 if he can show improved power is the Dodgers James Loney. He has the potential to hit 20-25 HRs, and drive in 100 runs, and 2010 just may be the season he reaches that total.