We’ve already went over the top 20 catchers for 2009; soon we’ll go over the top 20 2nd basemen for 2009, then the top 20 shortstops… Well, right now we’re going over the top 20 1st basemen for 2009 fantasy baseball. It’s a look back, ya’ll! Don’t worry, soon we’ll look forward. With the 1st basemen, you’ll (maybe) notice that I’m a lot closer in my rankings and predictions for these guys as compared to the catchers. This is to be expected. 1st basemen are usually guys in the middle of the lineups that produce every year; catchers are a crapshoot for hitting. Okay, enough about catchers. Anyway, here’s the top 20 1st basemen for 2009 fantasy baseball and how they compare to where I originally ranked them:
1. Albert Pujols – With or without a major league capable hitter behind him… With or without a working elbow tendon… None of it seemed to matter to Pujols. Preseason Rank #1, 2009 Projections: 105/35/110/.335/5, Final Numbers: 124/47/135/.327/16
2. Prince Fielder – Here’s what I said in January of last year, “I’ve seen the big man falling into the third round of some drafts. Makes me feel like I need to clear something up. We’re drafting for 2009, not for what he did in 2008. Sure, Berkman had a great 2008, but he’s hardly just entering his prime. Yes, Fielder is the world’s fattest 24-year-old vegetarian and we should be worried about his general health when he’s in his 30s and needs a crane to get him to 1st base, but right now….” And that’s me quoting me! Preseason Rank #5, 2009 Projections: 85/40/110/.285, Final Numbers: 103/46/141/.299/2
3. Ryan Howard – I can predict his numbers in February with a blindfold on. Sure, a blindfold doesn’t impede my ability to think about what Howard will hit, but you get my drift. Preseason Rank #3, 2009 Projections: 100/45/140/.265, Final Numbers: 105/45/141/.279/8
4. Miguel Cabrera – He threw in an inconsequential 6 steals to help boost his value a bit. Otherwise, he fell short of mine and just about everyone’s projections, taking a step back in power. The RBIs were down, which was due to Leyland’s inability to find a decent #3 hitter. Clete Thomas saw 146 at-bats in the three hole and hit .205. I believe Clete hit third simply because his first name sounds basebally. Preseason Rank #2, 2009 Projections: 100/39/125/.305, Final Numbers: 96/34/103/.324/6
5. Mark Reynolds – Everyone was saying 3rd base was extremely shallow. And it was. So what do you do when something’s shallow? You either reach or you punt. At some point in March, I decided to punt 3rd basemen in all of my leagues. I wasn’t drafting high enough to get Wright (phew), Aramis had too many question marks for where he was being drafted and I wasn’t thrilled with Chris Davis as an upside pick. So going through all of the potential upside picks in the later rounds, there was only one player that could give me 30 homers and 10 steals. Actually, the more I looked at him, the more I couldn’t understand why he was being drafted so late. Was he that different than Chris Davis? So in every single league, I drafted this guy — Mini-Donkey. (He acquired 1st base eligibility during the season.) Ranked 14th for 3rd basemen, 2009 Projections: 75/31/100/.255/7, Final Numbers: 98/44/102/.260/24
6. Mark Teixeira – If I would’ve known exactly how the new Yankee Stadium would play — The Jetstream… Slide, Slide, slippity slide… — I probably would’ve guessed Tex could’ve done much more damage. But I didn’t, and he didn’t. Preseason Rank #4, 2009 Projections: 85/40/110/.285, Final Numbers: 103/39/122/.292/2
7. Derrek Lee – His season flummoxed me to a degree. I didn’t see him exploding for the power he did. I thought he still had some speed in his giraffe legs. On the other hand, when he started poor (April — 1HR, .189), I pushed people to buy into a rebound. Six of one, you know the rest. Preseason Rank #11, 2009 Projections: 95/22/90/.295/8, Final Numbers: 91/35/111/.306/1
8. Kendry Morales – I liked him coming into the year, but even I didn’t think he had this many homers in his bat, which makes me think he might be overrated next year, but until then… Preseason Unranked, but he did get a Sleeper Post, Final Numbers: 86/34/108/.306/3
9. Pablo Sandoval – Went over him in the recap in the top 20 catchers. (He acquired 1st base eligibility during the season.) Ranked #13 for Catchers, 2009 Projections: 60/14/65/.300, Final Numbers: 79/25/90/.330/5
10. Kevin Youkilis – The nice thing about Youuuuuk is his predictability. Will he hit 25 homers and bat near .300? Yup, probably. As with everyone, the RBIs and Runs are products of his environment. But even those stats are usually right in line with his norms. Death, taxes and Youk. Preseason Rank #9, 2009 Projections: 95/25/110/.295, Final Numbers: 99/27/94/.305/7
11. Joey Votto – For huge periods of 2009, Votto was a complete Failicorn. And… Wait, needs to be bigger… AND he still produced. I’m very excited about Votto for 2010. Preseason Rank #10, 2009 Projections: 85/28/100/.300/12, Final Numbers: 82/25/84/.322/4
12. Adrian Gonzalez – Imagine a world where there’s a new episode of The Wire on every night of the week, every meal consists of pork by-products in a tube shape and Adrian Gonzalez plays anywhere but Petco (and Metco). Oh, and we all live in igloos made of grape ice pops. Ah, yes, I like that. Preseason Rank #8, 2009 Projections: 85/34/95/.280, Final Numbers: 90/40/99/.277/1
13. Victor Martinez – Went over him in the recap in the top 20 catchers. (He acquired 1st base eligibility during the season.) Ranked #4 for Catchers, 2009 Projections: 65/18/95/.300, Final Numbers: 88/23/108/.303/1
14. Michael Cuddyer – Confession… Forgive me, Razzball Reader, but I wrote a good chunk of this post about two weeks ago. At that point, Cuddyer was ranked 20th. It didn’t help that Carlos Pena and Morneau were injured and Helton’s life-sized portrait of himself began to rapidly age, but it’s fair to say Cuddyer ended his season really well. Preseason Unranked, Final Numbers: 93/32/94/.276/6
15. Adam Dunn – Two donkeys, one list. Yeehaw! (He acquired 1st base eligibility during the season.) Ranked #23 for Outfielders, 2009 Projections: 80/40/85/.245/5, Final Numbers: 81/38/105/.267
16. Todd Helton – Eh, there’s guys below Helton I would’ve taken in his stead. Morneau, Pena and Butler for stead sake. Helton did have a much more productive season in 2009 than I thought he was capable of. His numbers at 1st are still kinda yawnstipating. Preseason Unranked, Final Numbers: 79/15/86/.325
17. Billy Butler – 51 doubles at the age of 23 is something to get very excited about. I’ve already talked about him a bit for 2010. I wouldn’t be surprised to see an Edgar Martinez-type season from him next year. That is a big compliment. Butler was in the preseason cheap alternatives post, where I said, “Bust can refer to Butler’s major league career thus far or his moobs…. Potential for 20 HRs and a .300 average.” And that’s me quoting me! Preseason Unranked, Final Numbers: 78/21/93/.301/1
18. Justin Morneau – I’ve never drafted Morneau on any team in any league ever — yes, I remember these types of things and forget loved ones’ birthdays. I don’t avoid Morneau as much as I never see 3rd round value in a 1st baseman that is going to max out around 30 homers. Weird that he plays in Minnesota because he gets big city hype every year. Somewhere Wheelock Whitney, Jr. smiles. Preseason Rank #7, 2009 Projections: 90/27/115/.285, Final Numbers: 85/30/100/.274
19. Paul Konerko – Konerko’s one of those late round corner men that is always welcome in deep leagues and always ignored in shallow ones. He falls between the cracks like C+ students. He also showed up in the cheap alternatives post too with the aforementioned Moobs. Preseason Unranked, Final Numbers: 75/28/88/.277/1
20. Carlos Pena – Led the AL in homers and missed about a month of the season. Put that in your skull bong and smoke it. Preseason Rank #14, 2009 Projections: 75/32/95/.265, Final Numbers: 91/39/100/.227/3
