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We at RotoBaller like rankings. In preparation for the 2016 fantasy baseball draft season, we will deliver four rounds of composite rankings. This is the second position of the first round - first base.
Rest assured, more exciting positions and ever more detailed analysis lie ahead as we progress closer to draft season. Please note, value is somewhat fluid during the offseason. We originally submitted these rankings on December 6th. Please excuse any recent changes that have not been incorporated.
Don't forget to read all of our 2016 fantasy baseball rankings columns. There's lots of great rankings analysis including redraft, dynasty/keeper, prospects and positional tiers. On that note, let's get started.
2016 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: First Base
As usual, first base is as deep a position for fantasy baseball purposes as you'll find. Heck, Mark Teixeira hit 31 HR, and he couldn't crack our top 15. That speaks more to the star power up top than it does for Tex's 2016 outlook.
In most scenarios, first base will be a corner stone in your team's structure. While positions such as outfield and starting pitching can be filled by waiting in your draft, first base is a position you won't want to overlook. Paul Goldschmidt, Miguel Cabrera, and Anthony Rizzo were our consensus top three first basemen - with good reason! Goldschmidt was the only first baseman to record a 30/20 season, let alone a 20/20. Health issues plagued Cabrera, but he still was able to hit .338. Rizzo continued to improve as a player and has established himself as a potential top 10 draft pick.
Personally, the line of "elite" ends with Jose Abreu. It is a moment in which a pivot in strategy is crucial if your first base has not been filled. Why pay for Freddie Freeman when you can wait for Albert Pujols two rounds later? Keep in mind, 16 first baseman finished in the top 100 overall in 2015. That was without Freeman and Carlos Santana, two players who most pundits anticipate rejoining that group, and other solid contributors such as Adam Lind, Brandon Belt, Lucas Duda, and Kendrys Morales.
Now you may be thinking, why not stack up at first base? You're not wrong. One of the key advantages of playing first base is the lack of wear and tear on the body. Fifteen first basemen were able to complete 145 games, and the names below that threshold were held back mainly due to injuries.
Another edge is first baseman in the AL who typically find themselves spending time in the DH role, including Cabrera, Abreu, Edwin Encarnacion, Lind, Morales, and more. Drafting a top notch first basemen and pairing him with a value 1B such as Duda in the Util slot provides you with a contingency plan should an injury occur. You'll also have a valuable trade chip should your peers skimp on the position.
Again, securing a top-flight first baseman is ideal, but not required. One player all four of us agree on and has a great outlook for 2016 is Eric Hosmer. Hosmer was the 139th overall pick going into 2015 according to Yahoo! leagues and finished as No. 33 overall player and sixth among first basemen. He shortened his strike zone and benefited from the emergence of Lorenzo Cain and the addition of Morales, two players who will be back in 2016.
Overall we had similar rankings among the top 20. Brad was higher on Duda than the rest of us and down on Pujols, while I was down on Teixeira. I can see the rationale behind Pujols; he'll be 36 next season and has 2,274 big leagues games under his belt. While he did crush 40 HR, that number was inflated by a fantastic 26 HR first half and he saw a noticeable drop in his average and on-base percentage. My rationale is even if Pujols hits 30 HR with a .260 average (his Steamer projections for 2016), that easily exceeds his value based on his ADP.
In regards to Teixeira, I have trouble trusting Tex to stay healthy for a full campaign. He hasn't completed 125 games since 2011 and will be 36 next year. He's still a great fit for the sand box that is Yankee Stadium, hitting 31 HR in 111 games in 2015. It's likely Gregory Bird eats into his playing time as well. Given his health concerns, I'd be frightened if he was my only first basement going into next season.
Another player I was sour on compared to my peers is Justin Bour, although that ranking will likely be adjusted as we move closer to spring training. Bour hit 23 HR in 433 AB while his .479 SLG would have finished 11th among first basemen if he reached the minimum PA. Next season he'll have a full year with Giancarlo Stanton ahead of him and should have numerous RBI opportunities with a Dee Gordon-Christian Yelich-Stanton core. In hindsight I would have placed Bour closer to Ryan Zimmermann than Ben Paulsen.
My sleeper for 2016 is contingent on a change of scenery, and that's Mike Napoli. He finds himself behind Prince Fielder if he stays in Texas, but he has been rumored to be a candidate to end up in Boston, Pittsburgh, or Colorado, three excellent locations for Napoli. In Boston he'd have to share time with Hanley Ramirez but in Colorado and Pittsburgh his only roadblocks to playing time would be Paulsen and Michael Morse, respectively. He's averaged over 20 HR in the past four years and can be had for nothing on draft day. If Napoli finds himself stuck in Texas, I'd take a gamble with Byung-Ho Park.
Our Rankings
| Rank | Name | Brad | Max | Kyle | Nick | Composite |
| 1 | Paul Goldschmidt | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Miguel Cabrera | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Anthony Rizzo | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Edwin Encarnacion | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4.25 |
| 5 | Joey Votto | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5.25 |
| 6 | Jose Abreu | 7 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 5.75 |
| 7 | Chris Davis | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6.75 |
| 8 | Freddie Freeman | 8 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 8.75 |
| 9 | Adrian Gonzalez | 12 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9.5 |
| 10 | Eric Hosmer | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 10.5 |
| 11 | Prince Fielder | 14 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 10.75 |
| 12 | Brandon Belt | 11 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 13 |
| 13 | Lucas Duda | 9 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 13.25 |
| 14 | Albert Pujols | 18 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13.5 |
| 15 | Carlos Santana | 13 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 15.5 |
| 16 | Mark Teixeira | 17 | 20 | 13 | 13 | 15.75 |
| 17 | Adam Lind | 19 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 17 |
| 18 | Kendrys Morales | 15 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 16.5 |
| 19 | Byung-ho Park | 16 | 19 | 19 | 21 | 18.75 |
| 20 | Matt Adams | 22 | 18 | 21 | 19 | 20 |
| 21 | Ryan Zimmerman | 20 | 23 | 20 | 22 | 21.25 |
| 22 | Chris Carter | 27 | 32 | 28 | 21.75 | |
| 23 | Mitch Moreland | 25 | 21 | 22 | 20 | 22 |
| 24 | Justin Morneau | 24 | 22 | 25 | 27 | 24.5 |
| 25 | Justin Bour | 23 | 31 | 23 | 23 | 25 |
| 26 | Brandon Moss | 21 | 25 | 29 | 28 | 25.75 |
| 27 | Pedro Alvarez | 29 | 27 | 24 | 26 | 26.5 |
| 28 | Chris Colabello | 34 | 24 | 26 | 25 | 27.25 |
| 29 | C.J. Cron | 26 | --- | |||
| 30 | Gregory Bird | 29 | 27 | 30 | --- | |
| 31 | Logan Morrison | 28 | --- | |||
| 32 | Ben Paulsen | 30 | 30 | --- | ||
| 33 | Ryan Howard | 31 | --- | |||
| 34 | A.J. Reed | 32 | --- | |||
| 35 | Adam LaRoche | 33 | 28 | --- | ||
| 36 | Mike Napoli | 26 | 30 | 29 | --- |
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