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Fantasy Baseball > 2018 Rankings > First Base

2018 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: First Base

Top Ranked Fantasy First Baseman Paul GoldschmidtPaul Goldschmidt is, predictably, the top-ranked fantasy first baseman for 2018. Power and speed at first base: 'nuff said.
First base has always been a position to fill the power spot in your fantasy baseball lineup. While that hasn't changed, There are a few guys who can also steal a decent amount of bases for you, too. Paul Goldschmidt, despite his size, has already stolen 117 bases in his career, not to mention 71 steals in the last three seasons, combined (18 last season). His speed, along with his power production numbers, has made him our top-ranked fantasy first baseman again in 2018. 

Aside from Paul Goldschmidt, we might see Cody Bellinger steal somewhere between 10-20 bases in 2018 - if he manages to get on base enough this season, which is to say, if he learns how to hit a right-hander's curveball this off-season (more on that dilemma later)... and Wil Myers is a near lock to steal 20 bases despite having a lot of issues with his batting average and on-base percentage. Anthony Rizzo also managed to steal 10 bases last season, and we don't think that's a fluke given the fact that he stole 15 bases 2 years ago. 

And then there's Ian Desmond who started 22 games at first base last season. He missed 67 games last season but was on pace for about 25 steals overall.

But, yeah, that's it when it comes to drafting any significant stolen bases at first base. Check out the 2018 fantasy rankings below for first basemen to see who else you can draft. There's still lots of power on the board at first base, so draft accordingly.
Reds First Baseman, Joey Votto
Joey Votto has led the NL in OB% for 6 of the last 8 seasons. That spells fantasy baseball success.
2018 Fantasy Baseball Download

Top 50 First Baseman for 2018

RANKPLAYERTeamGABRHHRRBIBBKSBAVGSLGOBPOPS
1Goldschmidt, PaulAZ15555811716636120 9414718.297.563.404.966
2Votto, JoeyCIN16255910617936100 134835.320.578.4541.032
3Rizzo, AnthonyCHC1575729915632109919010.273.507.392.899
4Encarnacion, EdwinCLE15755496143381071041332.258.504.377.881
5Bellinger, CodyLAD132480871283997 6414610.267.581.352.933
6Abreu, JoseCHW1566219518933102 351193.304.552.354.906
7Freeman, FreddieATL117440841352871 65958.307.586.403.989
8Hosmer, EricKC162603981922594 661046.318.498.385.882
9Zimmerman, RyanWSH1445249015936108441261.303.573.358.930
10Hoskins, RhysPHI501703744184837462.259.618.3961.014
11Bour, JustinMIA10837752109258347951.289.536.366.902
12Santana, CarlosCLE15457190148237988945.259.455.363.818
13Myers, WilSD155567801383074 7018020.243.464.328.792
14Smoak, JustinTOR158560851513890731280.270.529.355.883
15Morrison, LoganTB149512751263885811492.246.516.353.868
16Posey, BusterSF140494621581267 61666.320.462.400.861
17Olson, MattOAK5918933492445 22600.259.651.3521.003
18Desmond, IanCOL953394793740 248715.274.375.326.701
19Gallo, JoeyTEX14544985944180 751967.209.537.333.869
20Thames, EricMIL138469831163163 751634.247.518.359.877
21Mancini, TreyBAL147543651592478 331391.293.488.338.826
22Martinez, JoseSTL10627247841446 32604.309.518.379.897
23Carpenter, MattSTL145497911202369 1091252.241.451.384.835
24Bird, GregNYY481472028928 19420.190.422.288.710
25Cron, C.J.LAA10033939841656 22963.248.437.305.741
26Cabrera, MiguelDET130469501171660541100.249.399.329.728
27Gonzalez, MarwinHOU134455671382390 49998.303.530.377.907
28Reynolds, MarkCOL148520821393097691752.267.487.352.839
29Gurriel, YulieskiHOU13952969158187522623.299.486.332.817
30Bell, JoshPIT159549751402690 661172.255.466.334.800
31Healy, RyonSEA149576661562578 231420.271.451.302.754
32Alonso, YonderSEA142451721202867 681182.266.501.365.866
33Moreland, MitchBOS148505721252279 561190.248.446.327.772
34Mauer, JoeMIN1415256916077166832.305.417.384.801
35Davis, ChrisBAL12845665982661 611951.215.423.309.732
36Belt, BrandonSF10438263921851 661043.241.469.355.823
37Vargas, KennysMIN7824133611141 20770.253.444.314.758
38Duda, LucasTB12742350923064 601350.217.496.322.818
39Napoli, MikeTEX12442560822966 491631.193.428.285.713
40Headley, ChaseNYY147512771401261 601329.273.406.352.758
41Adams, MattATL1313394693206523880.274.522.319.841
42Valencia, DannySEA130450541151566401222.256.411.314.725
43Joseph, TommyPHI142495511192269 331291.240.432.289.721
44Flores, WilmerNYM11033642911852 17541.271.488.307.795
45Valbuena, LuisLAA11734742692265 481060.199.432.294.727
46Lind, AdamWSH11626739811459 28471.303.513.362.875
47Hicks, JohnDET601732546622 13512.266.439.326.766
48Aguilar, JesusMIL1332794074165225940.265.505.331.837
49Rivera, T.J.NYM732142762527 9321.290.430.330.760
50Romine, AndrewDET122313447142521666.227.332.282.615

Fantasy Comparison: Cody Bellinger vs. Edwin Encarnacion

Edwin Encarnacion or Cody Bellinger? Hmm... which to pick, which to pick? Despite Bellinger's chances of stealing a good amount of bases and the relative similarity of their power stats across the board, we chose Encarnacion over Bellinger just for the fact that Encarnacion has been doing this year in and year out. Bellinger, on the other hand, has one year under his belt. On top of that, the Houston Astros exposed a massive hole in Bellinger's swing that he either has to fix during this off-season, or he'll have a miserable campaign in 2018. Don't get us wrong: Bellinger could very well end up having a significantly better year than Encarnacion, but Encarnacion is the safer bet on draft day.

The Case for Freddie Freeman

Freddie Freeman hit 28 HR with 84 runs and 71 RBI last season... in 117 games played. Prorate those stats out to a full season and Freeman is on pace for 116 runs, 38 HR, 98 RBI and 10+ stolen bases. And he's doing this in Atlanta. Even better, the Braves may be much improved this year. They'll especially be more mature all through their lineup, giving Freddie Freeman more protection and more guys to drive in. And don't forget: Freeman already has 8 years of MLB experience under his belt and he's only going to be 28 years old this season. Draft him early and be willing to pay a good amount for him in an auction draft.

Are Last Year's Breakout First Basemen For Real?

The quick answer is, yes... mostly. Rhys Hoskins is for real. His pace last season is ridiculous, but expect 30-40 HR, 90 runs and 90 RBI out of him this season. Anything more than tat is gravy.
Justin Bour, to be honest, didn't surprise us at all last season, but it sure sucked to see his season get shortened by an injury. Last season, Bour was on pace for 78 runs, 38 HR and 125 RBI. In a depleted Miami Marlins lineup this season, we expect a drop-off to about 25-30 HR and 80-90 RBI. ​
For some reason, we just can't buy Justin Smoak's act after last season, although there's no rational reason why we shouldn't. Sure, he's never hit more than 20 home runs in a season before... and it's not like the Blue Jays' lineup was protecting him any more than any other lineup in his career. And he was 30 years old last season, so it's not like he had his breakout season at the usual 26 or 27 years old. But he's 6'4", 220, so maybe it all just came together for him. Whatever it is, we'll believe it when we see it again. Still, you can expect 20 HR out of him at the very least, we'd say, but draft him accordingly or make sure you get a relative bargain on him in an auction draft.
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Photos from Keith Allison, haydenschiff