Hope everybody’s All-Star Break is going smooth and you are able to catch up on seeing your family more and maybe getting into a new show or two to help you get through this dead period of our sport that consumes our daily lives. The 2nd half will be fast and furious with trades, playoff chases and record chases so let’s get ready and buckle up it should be a great finish to the season! I’m doing a mid-year rankings today on First Baseman so without further delay let’s get to it.
TOP DOGS
1. Paul Goldschmidt Cardinals Has slowed down a touch since his torrid May but still holds the #1 spot in my rankings for an impressive 1st half to the season. Drafters who picked a trendy Matt Olson over Goldy are kicking themselves right now as they could be sitting in a much better position if they made Goldy their pick.
2. Freddie Freeman Dodgers Freeman edges out Cron here as Freeman’s OBP and steals give him the edge. .407 avg in the month of July and 4 HR already makes me think Freddie is just getting started and will challenge for that #1 position.
3. C.J. Cron Rockies Great 1st half from Cron. Expect similar returns the rest of the year.
4. Pete Alonso Mets A little bit of a rough July so far from Pete at .203 but he’s capable of getting it going at any time and going on an epic run.
5. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Blue Jays Vlad has been battling a wrist injury all season so that could explain some of the drop-off from his numbers from last season. He has hit better of late hitting ..304 in July.
SOLID PROS
6. Josh Bell Nationals Having a very productive year playing for a sub-par team. Outperforming all his career averages which gives me some pause but I’d be willing to gamble on him.
7. Anthony Rizzo Yankees 10 HR in June was certainly impressive but the avg is still a little rough at .224.
8. Jose Abreu White Sox .346 in June with great plate discipline followed by a .386 so far in July with a.979 OPS certainly is what Abreu’s owners were hoping when they drafted him.
9. Matt Olson Braves Olson is picking it up in July hitting .264 with 5 HR already and 18 RBI’s. Hard-hit rate is at 93%.
10. Ty France Mariners France’s avg did drop as I thought it would back on June 1’s rankings but France still is batting .308 and still has the elite plate discipline.
STUCK IN MIDDLE
11. Andrew Vaughn White Sox Vaughn has put together a really nice season so far. He drives in a lot of runs and squares up the ball more often than not. I think Vaughn will break into the Top 10 very soon as he seems to be playing every day finally.
12. Rhys Hoskins Phillies
13. Ryan Mountcastle Orioles Makes great contact but still would like to see him chase fewer balls out of the strike zone and be more patient at the plate.
14. DJ LeMahieu Yankees Great July hitting .351. Has always had that great plate discipline 48BB’s/45K’s. Avg is at .279 which I expect to go higher and crack the .290’s.
15. Luis Arraez Twins Arraez gets 1B eligibility and immediately rockets up to #15. He’s got outstanding plate discipline only striking out 28 times out 0f 348 PA. Hitting .338 he already has his career HR total at 5 and he looks like a steal where you drafted him.
16. Tyler Stephenson Reds Back from injury and looking great at the plate hitting .400 in July so far.
17. Wilmer Flores Giants All the guy does is drive in runs. 51 to be exact and a lot of them have been clutch hits to win or tie-up games.
18. Rowdy Tellez Brewers Average has come all the way down to .227. Still has the pop with 18 HR and 57 RBI’s.
19. Christian Walker Diamondbacks Same deal as Rowdy above low average which can kill you in a category at .204 but has the power if you need that at 22 HR’s and 46 RBI’s.
20. Jake Cronenworth Padres Cron Zone still does a good job putting the ball in play but not much has come of it lately. Still a useful player in fantasy with how many at-bats he gets.
HAZY FUTURE
21. Jose Miranda Twins
21. Nate Lowe Rangers
22. Josh Naylor Guardians
23. Jared Walsh Angels
25. Garrett Cooper Marlins
Honorable Mention: Trey Mancini Orioles
That’s it for today. Hope everybody has a great week and see ya back next time!
