First base in fantasy baseball is traditionally a position used for premier power hitters. Here’s what I wrote about first basemen last year:
The top 5 starters at this position are typically gone before the end of the 2nd round. When all is said and done, a starting first baseman that gets .300/30/100 will have a neutral to slightly negative effect on your overall stats. First base has to be the foundation of your power production.
Last year, only 25 major leaguers hit more than 30 home runs. Of those 25 players, 12 are eligible to play 1B in Yahoo Fantasy Sports. Last year, 26 players had 100 RBI or more with 13 of them being first basemen. This isn’t a position where being eligible at multiple positions is advantageous. There’s no reason to pick a versatile guy (like Jeff Kent 2 years ago) because they’re undoubtedly more valuable at any position other than 1B.
Not much has changed between 2009 and 2010. First base is still a position where you need to load up on power or risk having to find it elsewhere. Andy Behrens of Yahoo did a similar summary of 2009’s first basemen based on last year’s stats and he noted the following:
- Nineteen players with first base eligibility finished within the top 100 in the Yahoo! ranks in 2009
- Fourteen first basemen hit 30 homers, and another 16 hit at least 20
- Eleven first basemen finished with both 90 runs and 90 RBIs
- Five of last year’s top 10 batting averages were posted by first basemen
- In 2009, the average fantasy line for the top 30 first basemen looked like this: 85 R, 30 HR, 99 RBI, 4 SB, .285 AVG.
To put it bluntly, you’re screwed if you don’t have a good first baseman. That’s not to say that you can’t find a bargain. But attempting to wait on a sleeper first baseman can burn a fantasy owner worse than almost anything else. That’s why we’ve ranked the top first basemen along with noting potential sleepers and busts.
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