2012 Fantasy Baseball: MLB First Base (1B) Rankings

2012 Rankings: C | 1B | 2B | SS | 3B | OF | SP | RP | Cheatsheet

Adrian Gonzalez - photo by Keith Allison

After batting .338 with 27 HRs and 117 RBI last season, Adrian Gonzalez remains an early-round fantasy pick in all formats. (photo by Keith Allison)

2012 Fantasy Baseball First Base Rankings Outlook:
This is quite a different year for first basemen. Like no other year the drop off from the first to the second tier is more apparent. Tier one has all the studs that will get you a good average, tons of homeruns, and monster totals of runs batted in. These five guys: Pujols, Votto, Fielder, Gonzo, and Teixeira make up tier one and will be gone in most draft by the start of the third round. In years past we would say to let them go by and fill up on the other positions but that is not the case this season. If you can get one of these five guys early, we say do it, as the question marks start as early as our first player in tier two.

Tier two is our young guy tier and if they all live up to what their respective teams are hoping for we could be talking about how first base is the deepest of all positions. Until they prove it however, you have to be worried about banking on so many stats on a young first baseman. Out of the bunch our number 6 overall first baseman Eric Hosmer looks to be the safest as he came into the bigs early last season and was great from start to finish. Pair him with Davis, Freeman, and Goldschmidt and tier two is full of young upside guys.

Just outside of the top ten are all those guys that we know and love. Ryan Howard would have been higher on our rankings but he is coming off the nasty injury, and by all accounts will miss some games at the start of the season. Morales and Morneau are both coming off injuries as well but if healthy could have a great return on investment based on where you can get them in the draft.

Draft-Day Advice: Grab them early if you can. We are confident on the top five guys but after that the question marks start. There is a ton of youth in this tier and a ton of bounce back candidates so if you don’t get an elite guy grabbing one of each is not such a bad idea.

The following are our 2012 Fantasy Baseball Rankings, which are based on standard 5×5 scoring and take into account projected stats as well as upside and risk. Offensive categories include BA, HRs, Runs, RBIs, and SBs. Pitching categories are Wins, ERA, WHIP, Ks, and Saves. Although several players are eligible at multiple positions, they are listed at the position that they will most likely play the most in 2012. All leagues have different position eligibility requirements so be sure to check your settings before draft day.

Rank	Tier	Player	Tm	AB	H	AVG	HR	R	RBI	SB
1	1	Albert Pujols	ANA	579	173	0.299	37	105	99	9
2	1	Joey Votto	CIN	599	185	0.309	29	101	103	8
3	1	Prince Fielder	DET	569	170	0.299	38	95	120	1
4	1	Adrian Gonzalez	BOS	630	213	0.338	27	108	117	1
5	1	Mark Teixeira	NYY	589	146	0.248	39	90	111	4
6	2	Eric Hosmer	KC	523	153	0.293	19	66	78	11
7	2	Ike Davis	NYM	129	39	0.302	7	20	25	0
8	2	Freddie Freeman	ATL	571	161	0.282	21	67	76	4
9	2	Paul Goldschmidt	ARZ	156	39	0.250	8	28	26	4
10	2	Billy Butler	KC	597	174	0.291	19	74	95	2
11	3	Paul Konerko	CWS	543	163	0.300	31	69	105	1
12	3	Ryan Howard	PHI	557	141	0.253	33	81	116	1
13	3	Adam Lind	TOR	499	125	0.251	26	56	87	1
14	3	Kendrys Morales	ANA	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
15	3	Justin Morneau	MIN	264	60	0.227	4	19	30	0
16	4	Gaby Sanchez	FLA	572	152	0.266	19	72	78	3
17	4	Mitch Moreland	TEX	464	120	0.259	16	60	51	2
18	4	James Loney	LA	531	153	0.288	12	56	65	4
19	5	Mat Gamel	MLW	26	3	0.115	0	1	2	0
20	5	Mark Trumbo	ANA	539	137	0.254	29	65	87	9
21	5	Carlos Pena	TB	493	111	0.225	28	72	80	2
22	5	Brandon Belt	SF	187	42	0.225	9	21	18	3
23	5	Jesus Guzman	SD	247	77	0.312	5	33	44	9
24	6	Carlos Lee	HOU	585	161	0.275	18	66	94	4
25	6	Adam Dunn	CWS	415	66	0.159	11	36	42	0
26	6	Justin Smoak	SEA	427	100	0.234	15	38	55	0
27	6	Todd Helton	COL	421	127	0.302	14	59	69	0