Review/Preview: First Base Early Rankings

As free agency has now slowed to a near halt and the flurry of trading appears to be over, it is time to resume my early season reviews and previews with first base. As with the catchers previously, the first part of this article will be looking back at last year’s leaders both overall and in individual roto categories. These ranks should hopefully benefit those in leagues which do long slow drafts over a few months to get a leg up on their opposition as well as those people looking to lock in their 2015 keepers.

2014 Review: (Roto points are based on a scoring system I have devised and use in my own personal rankings. Points are according to CBS official website.)

ESPN Player Rater		Roto		Points
Player	Rating	Player	Points	Player	Points
Victor Martinez	11.74	Jose Abreu	24	Jose Bautista	569
Jose Abreu	11.16	Jose Bautista	23	Victor Martinez	564
Jose Bautista	10.44	Victor Martinez	23	Miguel Cabrera	535
Miguel Cabrera	10.39	Miguel Cabrera	23	Albert Pujols	515
Todd Frazier	9.58	Todd Frazier	19	Jose Abreu	511
Anthony Rizzo	8.57	Albert Pujols	18	Adrian Gonzalez	487
Albert Pujols	8.47	Adrian Gonzalez	17	Anthony Rizzo	479
Adrian Gonzalez	8.19	Anthony Rizzo	17	Freddie Freeman	478
Buster Posey	7.76	Chris Carter	17	Todd Frazier	463
Edwin Encarnacion (EE)	7.74	EE	16	EE/David Ortiz	461

 

As you will see from the table above, eight players appear in all three lists. Unsurprisingly the powerful but free swinging Carter does not appear in the points due to his poor average and he also doesn’t appear in the ESPN player rater top 10 where there is less weighting on home runs than in my roto scoring.  On the points side, Freeman and Ortiz jump into the top ten when they weren’t present in either of the other lists; Freeman’s points total benefited from him having 600-plus AB’s and nearly 700 plate appearances, Ortiz, on the other hand, suffered in roto due to a lack of runs scored (59). The other name who appears one just on list is Posey but the fact he is even close to the top 10 as a first basemen shows just how good he is at catcher.

The 2014 roto category top 10’s

Runs		Homeruns		RBI		Stolen Bases		Average
Bautista	101	Carter	37	Gonzalez	116	Frazier	20	Martinez	0.335
Cabrera	101	Abreu	36	Cabrera	109	Holt	12	Lind	0.321
Freeman	93	Bautista	35	Abreu	107	Goldschmidt	9	Morneau	0.319
Pujols	89	Ortiz	35	Pujols	105	Alvarez	8	Abreu	0.317
Rizzo	89	EE	34	Ortiz	104	Headley	7	Cabrera	0.313
Frazier	88	Rizzo	32	Bautista	103	Bautista	6	Posey	0.311
Martinez	87	Martinez	32	Martinez	103	Medica	6	Lucroy	0.301
Gonzalez	83	Duda	30	EE	98	Alonso	6	Goldschmidt	0.300
Abreu	80	Frazier	29	Howard	95	Kelly	6	Van Slyke	0.297
Goldscmidt / EE	75	Pujols	28	Duda / LaRoche	92	7 players tied	5	Pearce	0.293

 

The main stand out points here are:

• The appearance of Bautista in the top three overall and in the top 10 of four categories; Bautista will not be 1B eligible to start the season and is unlikely to earn eligibility early in the year.
• Frazier hitting 29 homers and stealing 20 bases is extraordinary for a first baseman but Votto healthy for the full year could limit some of his time at first base meaning he could lose eligibility in future years (Keeper leagues take note)
• Goldschmidt had just 400 AB’s compared to a preseason projected total of 550-600. In a full season 13-15 SB’s would have been possible and increased counting stats in the other categories
• Cabrera is a monster at whatever position he’s eligible. However, he is currently injured and if this stretches into spring training it could affect his early season form. His injury could open the door to Martinez getting increased time at first base but this shouldn’t significantly increase his overall playing time as he figures to be there every day DH
• If EE can stay healthy all year and reach 550 AB’s he will lead the position in home runs and potentially could reach the fabled 40 mark. The addition of Donaldson at 3B will help EE improve either in runs or RBI depending on the batting order. (The Blue Jays line-up feels stacked!)

My Early 2015 Rankings

1. Goldschmidt, ARI
2. Cabrera, DET
3. Encarnacion, TOR
4. Abreu, CWS
5. Rizzo, CHC
6. Freeman, ATL
7. Frazier, CIN
8. Martinez, DET
9. Pujols, LAA
10. Gonzalez, LAD
11. Santana, CLE
12. Votto, CIN
13. Posey SF
14. Davis, BAL
15. Fielder, TEX
16. Carter, HOU
17. Adams, STL
18. Trumbo, ARI
19. Duda, NYM
20. Zimmerman, WSH
21. Hosmer, KC
22. LaRoche, CWS
23. Lucroy, MIL
24. Belt, SF
25. Moss, OAK