FIRST BASE CONSENSUS RANKINGS

[Todd Zola]

Please rank your top-10 first baseman using standard 5x5 rotisserie scoring rules (HR, BA, RBI, SB, R)

Feel free to provide commentary.

Scoring will be done MVP style, your top catcher will get 10 points.

Let's save Youkilis, Reynolds and Sandoval for Third base and leave Dunn for OF.

The first person to ask where Tatis will qualify for the rankings loses their membership.

[Hambowen]

1) Pujols
2) Cabrera
3) Fielder
4) Texeira
5) Howard
6) Gonzalez
7) Morales
8) Votto
9) Lee
10) Pena


What an embarrassment of riches. You can go another 4-5 guys and still have studs.

[Shyguy30]

1. Pujols- Hands down
2. Howard- Pencil in 40 HR and 130 RBI, and he'll exceed it
3. Fielder- Still room for growth, 2 great years out of 3
4. Teixeira- Consistency leaves him underrated
5. Cabrera- Not sure he'll ever hit 40 HR
6. Berkman- See Tex, only older
7. Votto- Fear of anxiety issue recurrence precludes me ranking him higher
8. Pena- See Howard but with smaller numbers
9. Lee- Has the talent if he can stay healthy
10. Gonzalez- I was a big believer last year, now he needs to do it again

Hammy, surely you forgot about Howard. He can't possibly reside outside your top 10, right?

[Kelly_Leak]

1. Pujols - alone

The next 4 are interchangeable IMO
2. Fielder
3. Cabrera
4. Teixera
5. Howard - Hambowen, I think you forgot him!

Young talent tier
6. Gonzalez - could easily move up if he were to get out of Petco this year
7. Votto
8. Morales

Veteran tier
9. Pena - HRs and Ks
10. Lee - he scares me a bit this year (gut feeling)

I tried to make an argument in my mind for LaRoche, Berkman and Morneau over either of those last two (or at least Lee), but couldn't.

[Mickey4081]

1. Pujols - alone

The next 4 are interchangeable IMO
2. Fielder
3. Cabrera
4. Teixera
5. Howard - Hambowen, I think you forgot him!

Young talent tier
6. Gonzalez - could easily move up if he were to get out of Petco this year
7. Votto
8. Morales

Veteran tier
9. Pena - HRs and Ks
10. Lee - he scares me a bit this year (gut feeling)

I tried to make an argument in my mind for LaRoche, Berkman and Morneau over either of those last two (or at least Lee), but couldn't.

I think Leak hit this one on the button except Mourneu definitely knocks out Pena heavily imo.
1-7 the same then
8. Mourneu
9. Morales
10. Lee

[cwk1963]

1) Albert Pujols
2) Prince Fielder
3) Ryan Howard
4) Miguel Cabrera
5) Mark Texeira
6) Adrian Gonzalez
7) Kendry Morales
8) Joey Votto
9) Derrek Lee
10) Carlos Pena

[deansdaddy]

1) Pujols- #1 overall pick

2) Cabrera - In deeper leagues I like Cabrera more, even with the baggage. That BA is a nice boost to go along with the rest of his numbers.
3) Fielder - I love the big guy but I'm not sure he tops last year.
4) Teixeira - Tex is as solid a 1st round pick as you can probably get. Even the early season slump has been predictable. But what if he doesn't have it one of these years? Like this year?

5) Howard - In deeper leagues the average hurts a bit. He needs to show that he can adjust to how teams are going to pitch him. If he does it's gravy, the power and RBI's will be there.

6) Votto - This kid looks ready and he has a great homepark and some table setters ahead of him - should take another step forward.
7) Youkilis - Yes he stills qualifies at 3B and in many leagues that's where you play him. But in the NFBC - you will see him starting at 1B for a lot of teams that miss out on the Big 5 at 1B - unless of course he's playing 3B on the team with Pujols. I've also seen a few NFBC teams who grab 3B in rd 2 (Reynolds/Sandoval) follow up with Youk in Rd 3.
8) A Gonzalez - If we knew where he was going to end up playing by the end of the year it would be fun. White Sox or Red Sox? Braves or Mets? Wherever he goes he'll hit - and anywhere but Citi Field likely helps the HR totals.

9) K Morales - I see no reason to not expect Morales to deliver another solid season.
10) D Lee - It was nice to see D Lee take a step "back" up last season. He showed some of the old power that was starting to look like it wouldn't come back. That said, I remain skeptical that he can stay healthy enough to match last year. He'll still be good - but if I'm looking for a 1B at the point his name comes up - I think I keep on waiting for the next guy on MY list and hope I get him....so if you want to knock Youkilis out and have a new #10 - Billy Butler

Edit: Realized I neglected Justin Mourneau. Then I realized that I'm not really a big fan of his and the back worries me. I actually have him about even with D Lee - But I think I would likely pass on both and slide down my rankings to Butler then try to grab a Laroche or C Davis at CI for support.

[kjduke]

1 pujols
2 howard
3 miggy
4 tex
5 prince

... air pocket ...

6 votto
7 a-gonz
8 pena
9 d lee
10 morales

[da_big_kid_94]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/w ... index.html

An interesting article from Tom Verducci of SI about Ryan Howard and what it is he's seeing when he hits. One line precis? No one in baseball sees more curveballs over the season than Ryan Howard ... and it's not close.

And BTW, Todd ... I can see Sandoval, Dunn and Reynolds (to a point) but once the Sox signed Beltre, how can you exclude Youklis from the 1B discussion?

[Todd Zola]

And BTW, Todd ... I can see Sandoval, Dunn and Reynolds (to a point) but once the Sox signed Beltre, how can you exclude Youklis from the 1B discussion?

By the rulebook definition, they're all eligible at both 1B and 3B so due to the relative strengths of each pool, I decided to include them as 3B. Dunn is 1B and OF.

Basically just a way to get more names discussed is all because they would show up on both lists.

[AllstonRockCity]

Pujols
Fielder - 50 bombs with a good AVG to boot
Cabrera - I'm buying. I believe in the sobriety and I like guys with something to prove. Might not have the same pop as some others, but has the best AVG of the non-Pujols group
Teixiera - consistently good
-----------------------
Howard - Nice HR and RBI numbers, I do not like the AVG or his 3 year trend vs. LHP
Votto - young stud on the rise, 5 CAT help at 1B
Gonzalez - .280 35+ 95/95. I'll take that every time
Morales - Better AVG than Gonzalez, but less HR. Not 'proven' yet, hence the lower rank than AdGon
Morneau - If the back is fine pencil him in for another .285 30+ 110/100 type of year
Berkman - Not the guy he was, but .285 25 95 with 5 or so bags is nothing to scoff at
-------------------------------
Butler, DLee, Dunn, Pena, LaRoche round out the top 15

[Black Sox]

1.Pujols, Albert - nuff said
2.Fielder, Prince - he's Howard with BA
3.Cabrera, Miguel - Complete hitter, will improve with better AL knowledge
4.Howard, Ryan - HR/RBI Machine but volatile BA
5.Teixeira, Mark - Last first tier stud
6.Votto, Joey - I'm drinking the kool aid, breakout is coming
7.Gonzalez, Adrian - Once he leaves SD/Petco overall production will increase
8.Morales, Kendry - great year last year, now do it again!
9.Butler, Billy - People forget just how young he is, continued growth/upside
10.Lee, Derrek - rather have him than the drain that is C.Pena

[Hambowen]

Howard who is this Howard you speak of?

Ya totally missed him. He would be #5 for me due to the BA issue. Will Edit my post now.

[Jim F]

The first person to ask where Tatis will qualify for the rankings loses their membership.

Classic, nicely done!

Here are mine-

1. AP - 'nuff said

2. Cabrera - I like the average upside and he should have more guys on base than ever in Detroit. Dumb luck will add 10 rbi's to his totals and he is still only 27 with almost 4,500 PA's already.
3. Howard - If he can imrpove the average against lefties even just a little he moves into #2.
4. Teixeira - Professional hitter in that park should let people sleep well at night.
5. Fielder - My only worry is how high he might try to pull his pants up this year. Could cause problems down the road.

6. Votto -Why do I have a slight twitch when I think about a 2nd round pick for him?
7. Gonzalez - Any trade anywhere puts him 2nd on this list

8. Morales - He should move up in the order and gain some RBI's chances. His opposite field homerun totals sure give me confidence he can repeat
9. D Lee - I would pass on him for gut feeling reasons but when he is hot he is fun to have.
10. Berkman - Tough call between he and Morneau. I just prefer Lance in MM park vs Target field and the unknown.



Edit: Sorry Black Sox, didn't see your "Nuff Said" until after I posted mine. Great minds and all.....

[david_hume]

1. Pujols
2. Cabrera
3. Fielder
4. Teixeira
5. Howard
6. Votto
7. Gonzalez
8. D Lee
9. Berkman
10. Morales

[Bodhizefa]

1. Albert Pujols - The one and only.
------------------
2. Mark Teixeira - I would take Teix and New Yankee stadium before anyone else in this tier/pocket.
3. Prince Fielder - Miller Park plays best for lefty power hitters, and that's why I rank him above Miguel Cabrera (who plays in a fairly crappy hitters park for his style.)
4. Miguel Cabrera - It's more the park than the alcoholic tendencies, but Fielder and Teixeira both seem like slightly better bets to me.
5. Ryan Howard - He scares the total crap out of me whenever I face him in Head-to-Head leagues.
------------------
6. Adrian Gonzalez - If he weren't in Petco, it's possible he'd be Top 3.
7. Kevin Youkilis - I think he's constantly underrated. Generally, when I see him on a team, that team is usually contending because they know what they're doing value-wise.
------------------
8. Justin Morneau - I'm worried about the back, but not enough to really knock him out of the Top 10 at the moment.
9. Joey Votto - His depression issues are real, and I think it warrants enough merit to not try to up-rank him in lieu of a potential breakout. I think there's just as good a chance that a recurrence in his mental health issues pops up this year as there is of him having a massively awesome year.
10. Lance Berkman - Still good, and I take him over Derrek Lee because he still has some steals left in him.


Honorable Mention:
Kendry Morales - He's going into the age-27 season, so he might not regress too much. Still, I would take Berkman or Lee over him due to what they bring to the table RBI and/or speed-wise).
Billy Butler - I'm not totally sure what the upside is just yet, but he's going to be at least a solid player for the long haul. I abhor the Royals' offense and think that Butler is probably still one more year away from really breaking into Top 10 territory. But I like him nonetheless.
Derrek Lee - He was a longtime fave of mine when he was with the Marlins as he was almost always underrated in drafts. I've always felt like he was athletic enough to age a bit more gracefully than most older first basemen.

EDIT TO ADD: I forgot Morneau, so I had to edit the last three spots on my rankings. Derrek Lee got bumped out of my Top 10 due to the change.

[Captain Hook]

Tier One...of one by one for one
1) Albert Pujols

Tier Two
2) Ryan Howard
3) Miguel Cabrera
4) Prince Fielder
5) Mark Teixeira

Tier Three
6) Adrian Gonzalez
7) Kendry Morales
8) a healthy Joey Votto
9) Justin Morneau
10) Derrek Lee

[bahamamike]

1 Pujols-duh!
2 Fielder
3 Teixeria - less pressure this year, plus a healthy A-Rod to start the season,
4 Howard
5 Miggy Cabrera
6 Adrian Gonzales - imagine him getting out of that black box in SD
7 Votto
8 Morales
9 D Lee
10 Billy Butler

WOW 1B is deep...I know I left out Morneau (worried about back), Pena, Berkman, etc

[Todd Zola]

7) Youkilis - Yes he stills qualifies at 3B and in many leagues that's where you play him. But in the NFBC - you will see him starting at 1B for a lot of teams that miss out on the Big 5 at 1B - unless of course he's playing 3B on the team with Pujols.

I realize all this but the request was to hold Youkilis for the 3rd base rankings so we could get the most names discussed.