2016 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: First Base
Wow, man... lots of talent at the first base position in 2016. First base used to be where you hid your power-hitting, knuckle-dragging goons out on the field, but not so much, anymore. Paul Goldschmidt led all fantasy first basemen in 2015 again with his gaudy statistics (33 HR, 110 RBI, 103 Runs, .321 average and 21 SB), and there are plenty more super-talented first basemen out there who can carry the majority of your team's load.
Anthony Rizzo surprised everyone last season. Not with his bat so much as his speed. Rizzo reeled off 17 stolen bases to go along with his 31 HR, 101 RBI and 94 Runs. While we don't expect he'll eclipse double-digit steals this season, we also don't predict any reduction in his batting stats. The Cubs' lineup is absolutely stacked from top to bottom so there's no way to pitch around Rizzo again this year. And now, we'll go ahead and address the Miguel Cabrera issue: |
We see minimal issues with Miguel Cabrera. Yes, he was hurt for a good portion of last season, but the guy still hit .338 in 429 ABs (119 Games). He's a beast and, supposedly, he's going to be healthy. We see a lot of so-called experts out there already throwing Cabrera out with the trash, but we're not jumping on that bandwagon. Hell, even if you do draft him and he only plays 100 games, those100 games will definitely bring you some wins. Plus, there are so many top-notch first basemen right now, you'll be able to make up the difference pretty easily in HR and RBI at the very least. Don't be afraid to draft Cabrera. Last season was his first with any significant injury and he's still only 33 in April.
Chris Davis, on the other hand, could have issues... but we doubt it. He strikes out a lot and his 2014 season was awful, but he came back nicely and led the league with 47 HR last year (along with 208 strikeouts). The problem with big strikeout guys is that they tend to go in huge slumps that can completely ruin their season, and are even sometimes career-ending or career-threatening (Adam Dunn, anyone? Chris Carter - are you reading this?). We think he'll be fine, but, at the time of this analysis, Chris Davis is still a free agent. There's not much danger in finding a ballpark that he can't hit the ball out of, but we'd definitely like to see his agent restrict offers to AL teams, only. |
Fantasy First Basemen Rankings 2016
Click here to read our 2015 First Base Archives.
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First Basemen We Like in 2016
#10: Eric Hosmer |
#15: Mark Teixeira |
Sleepers at First Base for 2016
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#25: Travis Shaw (Red Sox) |
Rockies' First Basemen: Mark Reynolds and Ben Paulsen
What's not to like about a goon like Mark Reynolds hitting in Colorado? Well, to be fair, we'll tell you what's not to like: his career .230 average. Even worse, his average over the past three years is .216. The 2016 season will mark his 5th team in four seasons (CLE, NYY, MIL, StL, COL). But just putting the ball in play in Colorado gives him a chance to raise his batting average to .240, and that would only be because a few extra balls would leave the yard instead of being flyouts. Someone in every draft always takes a shot with Mark Reynolds, but this may be the best sleeper opportunity yet with him.
Mark Reynolds
Ben Paulsen ('15)
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Then again... Ben Paulsen played pretty well for the Rockies in 2015, so there's no saying that he won't win the starting job, outright. A bit of a late bloomer, Paulsen is entering his third year at the age of 28. Paulsen played in 116 games (325 AB) and hit .277 with 11 HR, 49 RBI and 42 Runs. He, like Reynolds, strikes out a ton (92 SO vs. 23 BB), so the Rockies are damned if they do, damned if they don't... but... Mark Reynolds is already a proven bust, and Paulsen still has a future ahead of him, by comparison, anyway.
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