By Dalton Del Don – Senior Writer
As promised, RotoScoop is going to start really focusing on baseball. I’ll start it off with some rankings, beginning at first base. I always struggle with placing guys who are eligible at multiple positions, but I’m going to at least attempt to put them into multiple rankings. Just realize you shouldn’t be drafting Howie Kendrick to put in your 1B slot. Additionally, I’ll be using a tier system, which I think is pretty helpful when in the middle of a draft.
FIRST BASE
1. Albert Pujols – In a class by himself. Jose Reyes and Johan Santana have arguments, but taking Pujols No. 1 is the right move. His best season is probably yet to come.
2. Ryan Howard – Because of his extremely high strikeout rate, his average is almost certain to fall .20 points this year.
3. David Ortiz – A DH in most leagues, Yahoo! makes him available at 1B this year.
4. Mark Teixeira – A great bounce back candidate. If he falls to you in the 2nd round, draft him and don’t think twice.
5. Lance Berkman – He may have had the most underrated season of any hitter in baseball last year. If the lineup around him improves with the addition of Carlos Lee, Berkman should score more runs, countering his likely drop off in HR production.
6. Derrek Lee – One of my bust candidate’s last year (an injury counts, right?), Lee enters this season as one of my favorite targets. The 10-15 SBs are gravy; go ahead and nab Lee in the third round.
7. Justin Morneau – It’s best not to count on another 130-RBI season.
8. Paul Konerko – As always, Konerko remains a solid option, but don’t expect the career .283 hitter to bat .313 again. Also, him hitting .366 with RISP again isn’t very likely either. Let someone else overpay.
9. Carlos Delgado – Make sure his elbow is fine during spring training. Delgado hasn’t played 145 games in a season since 2003.
10. Richie Sexson – Sexson proved he isn’t done with a big second half last year. Just make sure you can take the hit in average.
11. Prince Fielder – Although he hit just .235 during August and September, his improved plate discipline (25:40 BB:K ratio) over that time span suggests that number will climb this year. You won’t be able to get him this late for years to come.
12. Todd Helton – Helton’s fall from grace has come hard and fast, but he shouldn’t be completely written off at this point. A .320-25-100 line isn’t out of the question, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
13. Jason Giambi – Unlike base stealers, Giambi is more valuable in real baseball than he is in fantasy. His batting average often suffers at the sake of many walks and extra base hits. A full-time role at DH should lead to improved health, but his career line (.874 OPS at DH, 1.011 OPS at 1B) needs to at least be taken into consideration.
14. Nick Swisher
15. Howie Kendrick
16. Adam Laroche
17. Lyle Overbay
18. Nomar Garciaparra
19. Conor Jackson
20. Adrian Gonzalez
21. Kevin Youkilis
22. Ryan Shealy
23. Sean Casey
24. Mike Jacobs
25. Shea Hillenbrand
26. Dan Johnson
27. Nick Johnson
28. Xavier Nady
29. Rich Aurilia
30. Ryan Garko
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