Some people think that first baseman are players that cannot field the ball and just hit for power. This is too stereotypical. Nowadays, first base is a very diverse position. If it is so diverse, how can we rate it? This is my opinion. All stats are compiled from Baseball Reference .com.
Just Missed:
Eric Hosmer - Kansas City Royals - 25 year old, Eric Hosmer, led his team to the World Series last year. Unfortunately, he missed the list because he did not have the best regular season hitting .270 with only nine home runs. However, in the postseason he hit .351 with 12 runs batted in. This may translate into the 2015 season.
Steve Pearce - Baltimore Orioles - Steve Pearce had a breakout season in 2014. The 31 year old had never played more than 70 games in a season and suddenly, due to injuries, played 102 this year. Also, he had 21 home runs in only 338 at bats. If you apply that to the 633 at bats Albert Pujols had he would have had 34. That would place him tied for 8th in the home run leaders for 2014 with Edwin Encarnacion.
List:
10: Matt Adams - St. Louis Cardinals - Only going into his fourth season in 2015, Adams has developed a name for himself in the MLB. In 2013 and 2014, his only two full seasons, hit over .280. This is respectable for a first baseman. Also, he hit a key home run in the NLDS, versus the Dodgers, to put the Cardinals into the NLCS.
9: Edwin Encarnacion - Toronto Blue Jays - Year after year Edwin Encarnacion is on the top of the home run list. In the past three seasons, he has hit more than 30 home runs. Also, all of the past three years he has hit more than 120 hits and a OPS above .900. This makes him in the top ten.
8: Albert Pujols - Los Angeles Angels - Five years ago, Albert Pujols was considered the best player in the game of baseball. He still has some power, at age 34, hitting 28 home runs in 2014. The reason he ranks so low is because he led the league in grounding into double plays (GIDP or GDP), with 28. The next closest is Matt Dominguez of the Houston Astros with 23. Still, over his career he averages a .317 batting average. Even with that, the baseball world does not know if he can bring the flare that we remember.
7: Justin Morneau - Colorado Rockies - The only reason why Justin Morneau is this high (and on this list) is because he won the NL Batting Title this year. In 2014, he batted .319. Weirdly, he hit .321 in 2006, his MVP year with the Minnesota Twins, and came in 7th in the batting title race. This is just another example of how the American League is more offensive based than the National League.
6: Freddie Freeman - Atlanta Braves - Freddie Freeman is a very consistent player. He has played more than 145 games the past four years. Also, he has made the NL All-star Team in 2013 and 2014. Right now, he is only 25 and you can be sure to expect more from him in the years coming.
5: Adrian Gonzalez - Los Angeles Dodgers - Adrian Gonzalez is certainly living up to his #1 overall pick expectations. This year he led the NL in batting average driving in 116 runs. Also, he came in 7th in the NL MVP race this year. Just to add to that, he won the NL Silver Slugger and Gold Glove Awards for the NL.
4: Anthony Rizzo - Chicago Cubs - Only twenty-five, Anthony Rizzo has accomplished many feats. He hit 32 home runs this year placing him second in the NL behind Giancarlo Stanton. Also, he came in third in NL with a On-Base plus Slugging Percentage of .913. Also, in the statistic offensive winning percentage, (according to Baseball Reference .com : The percentage of games a team with nine of this player batting would win. Assumes average pitching and defense.
Minimum of 1000 IP, 3000 PA, 500 games (fielding, 500 IP for Ps), 200 stolen base attempts (catchers) or 80 stolen base attempts (baserunners only since 1951) or 100 decisions for career and active leaderboards for rate statistics.) he would in third again with a .749 winning percentage. That puts him at number four.
3: Paul Goldschmidt - Arizona Diamondbacks - This year, Goldschmidt was out with injury forcing him to only play 109 games. Still, he hit .300 and was an All-Star. In 2013, Goldschmidt played the whole season and finished with 36 home runs and 125 RBIs. Those led the NL in their categories. Also, Goldschmidt that year won the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger for the NL. Hopefully, he will stay healthy in 2015.
2: Jose Abreu: Chicago White Sox - After escaping Cuba in 2014, Jose Abreu took the baseball world by storm this year. He hit .317, had 36 home runs, and 107 RBIs. He also won the Rookie of the Year Award for the AL, the first baseman Silver Slugger, and was an All-Star. That was all just in his rookie season. What is next from him?
1: Miguel Cabrera - Detroit Tigers - Miguel Cabrera could very well be the best player in baseball over the last decade. Every year that he has player over 100 games he has hit over 25 home runs and over. Nine of those eleven season he hit 30 home runs and over. Also, all of his seasons, except for his rookie year, he has hit over .290. Also, he won the Triple Crown of hitting (leading in average, home runs, and RBIs in your league, NL or AL) in 2012. He was the first to do so since Carl (Yaz) Yastrzemski in 1967. That places him as the #1 first baseman right now.
No comments:
Post a Comment