Fantasy Baseball 2012: Early ADP - 1B

1 (70)

Michael Young

DH,1B,3B

TEX

71.19

30

465

100.0%

8 (293)

Edwin Encarnacion

DH,1B,3B

TOR

229.51

127

-ND-

49.5%

25 (89)

Lance Berkman

OF,1B

STL

90.93

47

323

100.0%

27 (95)

Michael Cuddyer

OF,1B

COL

96.01

57

318

100.0%

46 (189)

Carlos Lee

OF,1B

HOU

190.40

133

-ND-

96.6%

52 (205)

Brandon Belt

OF,1B

SF

206.73

138

-ND-

90.2%

73 (266)

Lucas Duda

OF,1B

NYM

226.85

156

-ND-

72.0%

• Like the picture has it, I have M-Cab number one overall. Him adding 3B, will make next year's fantasy forecasters claim that 3B is deep- well duh.
• On average it seems as though 4-5 1B are going in the first round. 1-2 more in the 2nd round. Basically logic is telling me that you can either take 1B in round 1 or you can then reach for the position later and get about 80% of the production as the top 6 first baseman.
• Ok, let me say that I like Paulie K. I'm not in love with him especially since his ADP, the 4th round, seems to be a consolation prize for people who miss out on one of the top 6. They get that "oh snap" reflex and say "I need a first baseman, because its too early for Morse or aren't sold on Hosmer". Konerko will still give you the 30 HR's your looking for but the 300 avg from last year could easily become 270. So basically, he becomes Teixeira-lite with 30 less runs scored.
• Mike Morse is my homeboy, whether he likes it or not. A 30 Hr guy that also has an OF eligibility in the 6th-7th round, I am cutting the line here to take him. Outfield (which we will get to next week) is modestly shallow. For the sake of comparison the 2 OF being drafted closest to him are Adam Jones and Drew Stubbs. I'd rather have the steals later in the draft, and pull a He-man, and say "I have the power".
• I'm lumping the next group together regardless of what the trends say. Ike Davis, Freddie Freeman and Paul Goldschmidt are all that 80% group I was talking about. If it's a standard league I would rather have Ike and Freeman, Goldschmidt needs the OBP stat to make him look prettier. Can't go wrong though if you miss out on a 1B in RD1-2 as long as you're getting that HR guy there instead (Joey Bats and Stanton).
• I wanna see more of Kendrys Morales and Ryan Howard to be anywhere close to sold on drafting them. Howard is reportedly going to miss the first month and I am passing already.
• I would happily take Carlos Pena in the 18th or later rounds, but only if I don't already have an average killer on the roster. His 4yr avg numbers in TB: 237/ 36 Hr / 101 RBI / 83 Runs. Now I'm not saying he gets to any of those numbers, but as your second 1B or CI those are some pretty numbers minus the Avg.
• From a deeper league view Daniel Murphy is a lottery ticket, who has multiple eligibility (1B, 3B, and 2B). If he can stay healthy and the Mets actually give him enough Ab's, he should be a decent end of draft gamble.

So my theory of drafting a 1B this year is either get one early or suffer with the 80% factor. Now that may play itself out if you get a huge bat somewhere's else in the first 2 rounds, but its hard to name more than 4 guys who will have better HR/RBI potential than the top 6 1B. So as always questions and comments are always welcome, and sorry I ate all the pie. Happy drafting.