Top 10 First Basemen for 2011 in Fantasy Baseball

It is crucial to know the position rankings for Fantasy Baseball. In this article I will rank the Top 10 First Basemen in fantasy value. This is one of the most difficult positions to pick from because of its incredible depth and the question on whether to pick a top-tier guy or save the pick for a position with less depth. So now let us examine the top 10 first basemen for 2011. For the record I will not be including Buster Posey and Victor Martinez as first basemen because no one will be using these guys at first base. If they are then you need to rethink your strategy.

1. Albert Pujols

An obvious choice for the top ranking first basemen. He is a rock with 110 runs, 35 HR and 115 RBI. Now let us top that off with a stupendous .330 career average. There may be a first basemen that outproduces him, but Albert is the safest choice in the draft with production and health. At the top of the draft that is exactly what I'm looking for.

2. Miguel Cabrera

Cabrera is the guy that could out produce Pujols if he produces another monster year. He has had consistency problems in his career and he has never scored as many runs as Pujols. Still you could get 100 runs, 35 HR and 120 RBI with a .320 AVG. Worst case scenario you still get a respectable 90-30-100 season out of Cabrera.

3. Adrian Gonzalez

I know I will receive a ton of criticism for picking Gonzalez here. The thing is this guy has been Mr. Consistent and the only reason he has been the poor man's Pujols for the last couple years is because of the home park and home team he played with. That has now changed with a much more home run friendly park in Fenway and a team that is one of the best at producing runs in the Red Sox.

4. Joey Votto

I know most of you are wondering why I picked Gonzalez over Votto. Some of the reasons are listed above, but if you still need another reason it is that 2010 was a peak year for Votto. I don't think he will ever match 2010 again. Instead, I expect a season of 95 runs, 30 HR and 100 RBI from the Red's slugger. Another bonus for Votto is he did manage to steal 16 bases last year which is pretty rare to find at first base.

5. Ryan Howard

You will hate this guy when you see the strikeouts and the mediocre batting average. You will forget that though when he starts launching the long balls on his way to a 90 run, 40 HR and 120 RBI season.

6. Mark Texeira

This might actually be a little low for Tex if he manages to fully rebound to his previous great seasons. I'm predicting a partial bounce back since he is a good hitter, but I think the pressure of NY may be getting to him. He is the only consistent 100 runs and 100 RBI option left available to me so I grab him quickly.

7. Prince Fielder

This is one of the toughest players to rank in all of baseball because he is so infuriatingly inconsistent from year to year. It could be a frustrating year like in 2010 when he produced .261 AVG and only 83 RBI. The other option is the glorious year of 2009 when he hit .299 and drove 141 RBI along with 46 HR. I am going to predict another healthy year with stats somewhere in the middle. The line I would expect is a .280 AVG, 90 runs, 110 RBI and 35 HR.

8. Kevin Youkilis

Youk is a very consistent player in the stats he will produce game to game. The problem over the last couple years is predicting whether he can stay healthy. I'm predicting another year that he grinds out 130 games along .300 AVG. He will complement that with 90 runs, 25-30 HR and 100 RBI. The average is what keeps him above, Mr. Consistent, Adam Dunn.

9. Adam Dunn

This man will never suffer a terrible injury. He will never 35+ Home Runs combined with 100 RBI. He also will strike out a ton and sport an average that will hang around .250. This is his downfall and the reason he is always ranked as low as he is despite being a known quantity every year in the home run and RBI category.

10. Justin Morneau

This was the toughest pick as I wanted to go with Morneau, Butler, Morales and Konerko. In the end I went with the pick that feels the sexiest to me. By that I mean if Morneau can actually stay healthy(knock on wood) he has the potential to have the biggest numbers. I'm hoping for 100 runs, 25 HR, 110 RBI and .300 AVG. I know I won't get what I hope for, but I think it will still be close enough to deserve this spot as number ten.