2015 First Base Rankings: A Look Back

The end of the 2015 fantasy baseball season has arrived, and we hope we were able to help you win your leagues this season, or at least finish in the money. If not, we hope our baseball and prospect coverage helped you begin your rebuild to win your leagues in 2016.

Our prospect team just completed publishing their Top 10 Fantasy Prospects for all American League East teams on Sunday, and they will continue to release their top 10 fantasy prospects for each team in the weeks and months ahead. Beginning sometime in January, we will begin to publish our 2016 consensus position rankings, but before that, I will review our 2015 consensus position rankings, beginning with the catcher position today. In addition to reviewing our preseason position rankings, I will address the impact of many of the offseason free agent signings and trades, and publish some player profiles along the way as well.

In each rankings review, I will provide 2015 season stats courtesy of FanGraphs, along with the end of season rankings for the top 30 players at each position according to the ESPN Player Rater.

With all that said, let's take a look at how our preseason top 30 first baseman performed in 2015, along with some thoughts on a few of the players, including a few first baseman that out-performed our rankings in 2015.

Joey Votto, Reds

Well,we were a bit too low on Votto, huh? Votto had his best power season since 2011, hitting 29 home runs and driving in 80 runs for a Reds team that completely fell apart in 2015. With the quad injury behind him, Votto is once a gain a top 5 fantasy first baseman heading into the 2016 season, and probably a top 2 fantasy first baseman in OBP leagues.

Paul Goldschmidt, Diamondbacks

Goldy started the season on fire, hitting 15 home runs by May 31st, and he appeared to be a shoo-in for 40 home runs, but a disappointing second half from a power stand point resulted in "just" 33 home runs from the DBacks first baseman. That said, he is my $1 fantasy first baseman heading into next year''s drafts, and my #1 overall pick as well. Some will prefer Mike Trout or Bryce Harper, but Goldy contributes in all five categories, for now. I could see the stolen bases dropping as he gets older, but give me the 30 home run, 20 stolen base hitter over the 40 home run hitter every day.

Anthony Rizzo, Cubs

Rizzo could challenge Goldschmidt as the #1 fantasy first baseman next season, as he can do everything that Goldy does, but with a lower batting average. Who saw 17 stolen bases from Rizzo this season. Raise your hand. Yeah, not many out there.

Miguel Cabrera, Tigers

Miggy endured his worst season at the plate since his rookie season, dealing with injuries, and hitting just 18 home runs in 119 games. That said, he still hit .338 with a .440 on base percentage, so we know he can still hit. My concern is whether he can stay healthy going forward. I will assume he can, and it will be interesting to see how far he falls in drafts in 2016, if at all.

Chris Davis, Orioles

Davis had another monster power season in 2015, rebounding from a disappointing 2014 season, hitting 47 home runs to lead the majors. He is a free agent this offseason, and it will be interesting to see where he lands, as his landing spot will determine where he will slot in our first base rankings next season. Davis hit 29 of his 47 home runs in the friendly confines of Camden Yards, so if he ends up in a pitchers park, his power could drop as a result.

Fantasy Rundown

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