Fantasy Baseball 2012: First Basemen Tiers

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The 2012 fantasy baseball season is closer than you think—after all, it's already February.  Drafts are right around the corner.  The following are six tiers of first basemen for all 30 MLB teams.

Tiers are very subjective and one player could easily be considered just good enough or just bad enough to be in the next higher or lower tier.

Let me know what you think.

Tier 1

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Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera*, Adrian Gonzalez, Joey Votto, Prince Fielder

It doesn't really seem fair that two Tigers are in tier 1 of first basemen, unless of course you're a Tigers fan. These five guys are pretty obvious choices.

 

*Not primary position but eligible for first base

Tier 2

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Mark Teixeira, Carlos Santana*, Mike Napoli*, Michael Young*, Paul Konerko, Michael Morse

Morse has a ton of value.  Don't be afraid to use a late second-round or early third-round pick to get him.

 

*Not primary position but eligible for first base

Tier 3

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Kevin Youkilis, Lance Berkman, Eric Hosmer, Ryan Howard, Pablo Sandoval*, Freddie Freeman, Gaby Sanchez, Billy Butler, Michael Cuddyer*

If Sanchez's average was about .020 to .030 higher he'd be a tier 2 first baseman.  Howard will miss some time because of injury or he'd be in tier 3 as well.

 

*Not primary position but eligible for first base

Tier 4

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Mark Reynolds, Adam Lind, Justin Morneau, Ike Davis, Paul Goldschmidt, Kendrys Morales*, Carlos Lee*

Davis should see a slight increase in power numbers with Citi Field closed in—that is, if he stays healthy.

 

*Not primary position but eligible for first base

Tier 5

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Carlos Pena, Brandon Belt, Mike Carp*, Garrett Jones, Mitch Moreland, Justin Smoak, Derrek Lee, Aubrey Huff, James Loney, Lucas Duda, Todd Helton, Matt LaPorta

I see a lot of wily vets and young guns.  Pena has the best power numbers of the group, but I think he might close his eyes sometimes when he swings, hence the .225 AVG.  Guess who had his 12th season of batting at least .300 in 2011?  One Todd Helton.

*Not primary position but eligible for first base

Tier 6

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Daniel Murphy*, Adam LaRoche, Casey Kotchman, Lyle Overbay, Chris Davis, Jesus Guzman, Daric Barton

Close your eyes and point your finger for this tier.  At best, they're going to be injury replacements—maybe even second injury replacements—or deep utility players.