Many fantasy baseball drafts have already been held, and there are more on the way. I finally have a drafted team to look over every single day and check for injuries (so far, so good), so all is right in the world. But for those of you who have yet to draft, we've got the rankings and analysis you need to put your leaguemates to shame.
This round of rankings features seven of our experts. They are Brad Johnson, Max Petrie, Kyle Bishop, Harris Yudin, Jeff Kahntroff, Nick Mariano and myself. Today we'll cover first base. Assume a standard 5x5 redraft league when reading.
Editor's note: Just in case you've been living under a rock, be sure to also check out our 2016 fantasy baseball rankings dashboard. It's already loaded up with tons of great rankings articles and draft analysis. Aside from our tiered staff rankings for every position, we also go deep on MLB prospect rankings, impact rookies for 2016, and dynasty/keeper rankings as well. Bookmark the page, and win your drafts.
2016 Fantasy Baseball Rankings Analysis: First Base (1B)
Paul Goldschmidt is the unquestioned number one, and I don't need to waste many lines explaining why. Thirty homers, 100 RBIs, 20 steals and a .310 batting average are all conservative estimates for the three-time All Star. Good? Moving on.
I'll jump to Chris Davis, as I was by far the lowest on him. His horrid 2014 campaign was a clear outlier on what kind of hitter he really is, and I'm certainly not expecting anything near that in 2016. My argument is simple -I like a higher floor with first basemen.
Davis has the most power of any first baseman (and it's not particularly close), but I think he's due for some regression. His HR/FB% was an absurd 29.4% last year, and while it should be high in a ballpark like Camden Yards, I believe he'll be a bit less lucky this year. His walk rate certainly should help in OBP leagues, but his average will likely be somewhere between .250 and .265, assuming his BABIP hovers around last year's .319.
Personally, I would prefer a player like Prince Fielder, Freddie Freeman (assuming his health), or Adrian Gonzalez. While none will have the home run numbers that Davis puts up, they'll all approach similar RBI and run totals with a much higher batting average. In leagues that count strikeouts my argument strengthens even further. I'll take a well-rounded hitter over a two-category guy seven days a week and twice on Sundays, which will keep Chris Davis off all of my fantasy teams this year.
I'm the highest on Eric Hosmer of the group, and that's largely a leap of faith on my part. If he duplicates his stats from last year he'll be near or in the top 10 first basemen, and I expect him to approach the same run and RBI totals in 2016 with essentially the same lineup around him. However, I believe he can crack 20 home runs after posting his highest ISO in the last four years in 2015 (.162). He hit .297 last year, and I believe he'll change his approach in 2016, sacrificing some of that batting average for better power numbers. I don't see him breaking 25 homers, but I've got him in my top 10 if he improves on his HR and RBI totals from last year.
I want to point out Byung-ho Park, another player I was higher on than some others. With the fantasy-useless Joe Mauer still locked in at first base, Park will likely spend most of his days DH-ing for the Twins this year. The Korean import has a compact, explosive swing that should translate well in the big leagues (here he is hitting a 522-foot bomb in Korea). He hit 52 and 53 homers in his last two seasons in Korea while posting a .303 and .343 batting average. While there is no way those numbers translate to the MLB, he should still be an excellent source of raw power. The counting stats will be a little low, but given how late he's going I will (and have) taken a flier on him in round 15 or later.
I'm higher on Chris Carter than most, and I'll chalk it up entirely to his change of scenery. He'll now play his home games at Miller Park in Milwaukee, and I think that he'll renew his status as a 30-homer guy in 2016. Given his price, you're taking him entirely for the home runs (I'll quit fantasy if he hits .250 this year - write it down), but I think a pick in round 18 or later is well worth it. Miller Park is one of the most home run-friendly ballparks in the majors.
Carter does most of his damage by yanking the ball to the power alley in left field, and I think he'll thoroughly enjoy the 370' fence in that area of the ballpark. The Brewers lineup doesn't jump off the page, so one of those 30-homer, 80-RBI seasons is perfectly plausible, but he's well worth his cost if you're looking for fill-in power late in any draft.
First Base Tiered Fantasy Baseball Rankings (March)
Ranking | Tier | Name | Brad | Max | Kyle | Nick | Harris | Jeff | Bill |
1 | 1 | Paul Goldschmidt | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
2 | 2 | Miguel Cabrera | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
3 | 2 | Anthony Rizzo | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
4 | 2 | Edwin Encarnacion | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
5 | 2 | Joey Votto | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 4 |
6 | 2 | Jose Abreu | 7 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
7 | 2 | Chris Davis | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 10 |
8 | 3 | Freddie Freeman | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 9 |
9 | 3 | Adrian Gonzalez | 11 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 10 | 7 |
10 | 3 | Prince Fielder | 13 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 11 | 9 | 11 |
11 | 3 | Eric Hosmer | 10 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 12 | 8 |
12 | 4 | Brandon Belt | 9 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 17 | 15 |
13 | 4 | Albert Pujols | 17 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 12 |
14 | 4 | Lucas Duda | 14 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
15 | 4 | Mark Teixeira | 16 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 13 |
16 | 4 | Carlos Santana | 12 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 16 | 21 | 14 |
17 | 5 | Kendrys Morales | 15 | 17 | 19 | 16 | 19 | 18 | 17 |
18 | 5 | Adam Lind | 18 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 20 | 19 |
19 | 5 | Ryan Zimmerman | 19 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
20 | 5 | Byung-ho Park | 27 | 19 | 16 | 22 | 20 | 16 | 18 |
21 | 5 | Mark Trumbo | 21 | 27 | 26 | 21 | 22 | 14 | 21 |
22 | 5 | Mitch Moreland | 26 | 20 | 21 | 20 | 27 | 22 | 26 |
23 | 6 | Matt Adams | 22 | 25 | 22 | 23 | 28 | 27 | 23 |
24 | 6 | Justin Bour | 25 | 23 | 23 | 25 | 24 | 28 | 24 |
25 | 6 | Chris Carter | 23 | 34 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 23 | 22 |
26 | 6 | Mike Napoli | 24 | 26 | 27 | 31 | 26 | - | 32 |
27 | 6 | Pedro Alvarez | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 25 | 26 | 28 |
28 | 6 | C.J. Cron | 29 | 30 | 25 | 26 | 31 | 30 | 31 |
29 | 6 | Brandon Moss | 20 | 32 | 35 | 28 | 37 | 24 | 27 |
30 | 6 | Chris Colabello | 33 | 22 | 30 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 29 |
31 | 7 | Justin Morneau | 34 | 24 | 29 | 30 | 43 | 34 | 25 |
32 | 7 | Ryan Howard | 30 | 33 | 32 | - | 32 | 32 | 30 |
33 | 7 | Adam LaRoche | 32 | 31 | 34 | 34 | 29 | 33 | 34 |
34 | 7 | A.J. Reed | 31 | 35 | 31 | 32 | 42 | 29 | 39 |
35 | 8 | Steve Pearce | - | 40 | - | - | 40 | 25 | - |
36 | 8 | Ben Paulsen | - | 29 | 33 | 33 | 44 | - | 35 |
37 | 8 | Logan Morrison | 37 | - | 35 | 35 | - | - | |
38 | 8 | Joe Mauer | 35 | 39 | - | - | 34 | - | 36 |
39 | 8 | Yonder Alonso | - | 41 | - | - | 33 | - | 37 |
40 | 8 | Mark Cahna | - | 40 | - | - | 36 | - | 33 |
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