MLB Fantasy Baseball: Top 15 First Basemen for 2011 for OBP Formats

For those who are in standard 5×5 formats that use batting average, you can check out our general first base rankings by clicking here.  If you are in a league that utilizes on-base percentage, however, things take on a bit of a different look. 

Let’s take a look at how are first base rankings look when we take average out and replace it by OBP:

1. Albert Pujols – St. Louis Cardinals
2. Joey Votto – Cincinnati Reds
3. Miguel Cabrera – Detroit Tigers
4. Adrian Gonzalez – Boston Red Sox
5. Prince Fielder – Milwaukee Brewers
6. Mark Teixeira – New York Yankees
7. Ryan Howard – Philadelphia Phillies
8. Adam Dunn – Chicago White Sox
9. Kevin Youkilis – Boston Red Sox
10. Justin Morneau – Minnesota Twins
11. Paul Konerko – Chicago White Sox
12. Kendry Morales – Los Angeles Angels
13. Carlos Pena – Chicago Cubs
14. Billy Butler – Kansas City Royals
15. Victor Martinez – Detroit Tigers

Thoughts:

• Miguel Cabrera was not dropped because of his issues this spring (though they could eventually to cause him to fall even further).  Joey Votto has simply shown a tremendous job of getting on base (.414 & .424 the past two years).  While Cabrera did post a .420 in ’10, his career mark is .388.  In an OBP league, the two are incredibly close, but I’d give a slight edge to Votto.
• We all know that Adam Dunn is a tremendous player once you take his average out of play.  If he could hit .270 then he would be ranked even higher, but the potential for a low average does also affect his OBP.  The power is as good as anyone’s, and when you look at OBP, he’s got to be considered a top option.
• Like Dunn, Carlos Pena gets a boost in value thanks to the inclusion of OBP but do not push him up the rankings quite as much.  If you knew he was going to hit close to 40 HR, things may be different, but having years of 31 and 29 in two of the past three years puts a red flag over him.  He has the potential to be a great option, but it’s tough to depend on him on draft day.
• Kendry Morales’ potential value falls in a league like this (he was ranked No. 9 in our standard rankings).  He has a career walk rate of 6.9 percent, including marks of 7.4 percent and 5.7 percent over the past two years when he truly broke out.  Compare that to Paul Konerko (11.4 percent in ’10), who has the same type of power potential. 
• You may be tempted to push Gaby Sanchez up your rankings but be cautious.  He certainly didn’t show an elite walk rate in the major leagues in 2010 (8.9 percent), and his minor league mark (12.3 percent) isn’t much different than Ike Davis’ (11.6 percent).  Yes, Sanchez’ numbers is based on a bigger sample size, but Davis brings significantly more power potential.  Both players just miss the top 15, but I would still rather have Davis if you are in a deeper format.
• Prince Fielder and Mark Teixeira flip spots in the rankings due the inclusion of OBP.  Both are elite options, but with walk rates of 15.3 percent and 16.0 percent, Fielder gets a slight edge, especially since both players have the potential to go .295/35/100/100 or better.

What are your thoughts on the rankings?  Who’s too high?  Who’s too low?

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Make sure to check out our 2011 rankings:

• Top 15 Catchers
• Top 15 First Basemen
• Top 15 Second Basemen
• Top 15 Shortstops
• Top 15 Third Basemen
• Top 30 Outfielders
• Top 30 Starting Pitchers
• Top 15 Closers
• 2011 Fantasy Draft First Round Breakdown

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