Looking At Fantasy First Basemen in 2010

In honor of some of wrestling’s greatest tag teams, here are my fantasy first basemen rankings for 2010.

The Road Warriors Division

This is the best of the best. The Road Warriors defined tag team wrestling and these seven first basemen represent the best fantasy first baseman in 2010.

1. Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals. Simply the best player in the game right now. He should be the No. 1 overall pick in most fantasy formats. The fact that he stole 16 bases last season makes him even more impressive.

2. Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees. The new Yankee Stadium is made for Teixeira. His home runs and RBI’s have increased three straight years.

3. Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers. Big Prince bounced back from a disappointing (by his standards) 2008 season. Look for him to top 40 home runs and 120 RBI in 2010.

4. Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers. I think Cabrera is as focused as ever headed into 2010. Not too many first basemen can put up a .320/35/120 hitting line in a season.

5. Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies. If you need home runs, Howard is your guy. He has topped 45 home runs three straight seasons.

6. Adrian Gonzalez, San Diego Padres. Gonzalez’s home runs, OBP, and Slugging Percentage have increased three straight years. If this guy ever had any support in the lineup, he would be right behind Pujols in the rankings.

7. Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins. Morneau was having a typical Morneau season until a stress fracture ended his season in September. With an improved lineup surrounding him in 2010, Morneau should top the 120 RBI mark.

The Midnight Express Division

I am talking about the Bobby Eaton and Stan Line Midnight Express, not the Dennis Condrey and Randy Rose garbage. The Midnight Express were right below the Road Warriors, but were still pretty awesome. Same goes for these seven first basemen.

8. Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds. Votto is a superstar in waiting. If he stays healthy this year then he is my pick for breakout fantasy player. .300/30/110 is possible.

9. Mark Reynolds, Arizona Diamondbacks. If your league doesn’t count strikeouts, then Reynolds is your guy. Not only did he hit 44 home runs last season, but he also stole 24 bases. Now if he can just get his average and OBP up, he would be a top-five first baseman.

10. Kendry Morales, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The Angels put their faith in Morales last year and Morales delivered with a .306 average, 34 home runs and 108 RBI. Expect the same type of production this year from Morales.

11. Victor Martinez, Boston Red Sox. Martinez should thrive in a full season in the middle of the Boston lineup. Martinez has more fantasy value as a catcher, but still serves as a pretty good option at first.

12. Kevin Youkilis, Boston Red Sox. Youkilis’ OPS has increased three years in a row and he should continue his production in 2010. “Youk” is good for a .308/26/105 hitting line this year.

13. Pablo Sandoval, San Francisco Giants. Sandoval came on the national scene last year with the Giants and had himself a pretty darn good season. Sandoval hit .330 with 25 home runs and 90 RBI last year.

14. Billy Butler, Kansas City Royals. Butler used a torrid second half (.314/13/55) to finish with career highs in hits (188), home runs (21), RBI (93), and OPS (.853). I expect him to take that second half and continue it for a full season in 2010.

The Hart Foundation Division

The Hart Foundation were good, but I never considered them an elite tag team. They were just a notch below the elite. This next group of first basemen fall into the same category.

15. Adam Dunn, Washington Nationals. Dunn has been one of the most consistent fantasy performers in the game over the years. Every year you can pretty much pencil him in for a mediocre batting average around .255 with 40 home runs and 95-100 RBI.

16. Derek Lee, Chicago Cubs. After a couple of sub-par seasons, Lee had a tremendous 2009. He knocked out 35 home runs and drove in a career high 111 runs. He is entering his free agent year, so Lee could have another nice year in 2010.

17. Carlos Pena, Tampa Bay Rays. Despite missing most of September with a broken finger, Pena still tied for the league lead in home runs with 39. While Pena can still hit the long ball, his average on OBP have declined three straight years.

18. Lance Berkman, Houston Astros. There is a chance Berkman could miss Opening Day following left knee surgery. Berkman did miss 26 games last year because of injury, so this could be a start of a trend. Despite his injuries, the switch-hitter is still good for a .290 average with 25 home runs.

19. Todd Helton, Colorado Rockies. Despite being 100-years-old, Helton keeps rolling along. Helton came back from back surgery and hit .325 with 15 home runs and a .416 OBP. As long as he keeps playing, Helton will keep hitting.

20. Michael Cuddyer, Minnesota Twins. Thanks to Morneau’s injury last year, Cuddyer got a chance to play first and qualifies at the position this year. Cuddyer had a career high 32 home runs last season.

21. Jose Lopez, Seattle Mariners. Very quietly Lopez hit 25 home runs and drove in 95 runs last year. He is a good fantasy first baseman, but has much more value as a second baseman.

The Killer Bees Division

The Killer Bees never won any titles, but they were a serviceable, good mid-card tag team. These next nine first basemen are serviceable and won’t kill your fantasy team.

22. James Loney, Los Angeles Dodgers. One of these years his power is going to come. I think this is the year he hits 20 home runs.

23. Adam LaRoche, Arizona Diamondbacks. If fantasy owners can tolerate his almost nonexistent first half, then they should get some good results in the end. LaRoche is always good for a .270 average with 25 home runs and a .340 OBP.

24. Nick Johnson, New York Yankees. You know two things with Johnson going into the season. One, he is going to get hurt and two, he is going to give your fantasy team a high OBP.

25. Jorge Cantu, Florida Marlins. With the Marlins lineup remaining in tact for 2010, Cantu will have the chance to knock in 100 RBI again.

26. Nick Swisher, New York Yankees. Swisher is the third and final Yankee on this list. Swisher had a nice bounce back year in 2009 with 29 home runs and as long as he is in the Yankee lineup, he should produce.

27. Chris Davis, Texas Rangers. Everyone’s fantasy man crush fell flat on his face last season. Davis was even sent to the minor leagues at one point. He still managed to hit 21 home runs in 391 AB’s. With 500 AB’s, he could hit 30 plus.

28. Paul Konerko, Chicago White Sox. Konerko won’t win you any leagues, but he won’t lose a league for you either. Good for 25 home runs and 85 plus RBI.

29. Troy Glaus, Atlanta Braves. Glaus only played in 29 games last year, but goes int0 2010 entrenched as the Braves’ starter at first base. Glaus is not a “sleeper” because he has been around for quite some time, but he is a bounce back candidate.

30. Matt LaPorta, Cleveland Indians. I am a big fan of LaPorta, but I have no idea what he is going to do in 2010. I still think he is a year away from becoming the hitter everyone thinks he is going to be.

The Bodydonnas Division

The Bodydonna (Chris Candido as skip and Tom Prichard as Zip) were never good, but they were never that bad either. They were just there. Occasionally they could do something productive. The next three guys fit that bill.

31. Luke Scott, Baltimore Orioles . Scott is better than most people think. Over the last two years he has hit 48 home runs.

32. Garrett Jones, Pittsburgh Pirates. Jones was a Quadruple A player and then came out of nowhere to hit 21 home runs in 314 AB’s. Be careful, he could be another Kevin Mass.

33. Mark DeRosa, San Francisco Giants. DeRosa has value because of his versatility, but should see his numbers dip playing in the cavernous AT&T Park.

The Young Stallions Division

Paul Roma and Jim Powers were the bottom of the barrel when it comes to tag teams of the past. Draft any of these guys and your team will be at the bottom of the barrel in your league.

34. Jeff Clement, Pittsburgh Pirates. Will get his shot in Pittsburgh, but I am not expecting much.

35. Lyle Overbay, Toronto Blue Jays . Overbay is a poor man’s Mark Grace. Very poor.

36. Casey Kotchman, Seattle Mariners. If Overbay is a poor man’s Mark Grace, then Kotchman is a homeless man’s Mark Grace.

37. Aubrey Huff, San Francisco Giants. He will be batting fourth for the Giants. Yeah, that won’t help.

38. Daniel Murphy, New York Mets. With Ike Davis, Fernando Tatis, and Mike Jacobs breathing down his neck, Murphy’s job is as insecure as anyone’s in the majors.

That’s all for first basemen. Next up will be the fantasy second baseman of 2010.