Top 1B for the 2012 Season

Here are the 1B rankings for the 2012 season.

1. Albert Pujols (LAA-1B)– Albert has left my redbirds, which is very sad, but from a fantasy standpoint I actually think he will be a little better in Anaheim. From a ballpark standpoint Angel stadium saw better offensive production than Busch, with a worse lineup in place. So with Pujols ability to drive to the gaps he will probably see more 2B than he normally does, which is usually a lot! I think now that the contract stuff is over, and lots of games in Arlington, I expect him to have a great season. I probably have to much of a crush on Pujols to take him out of this spot for a least 2 more years…hey just being honest!

2012 projection: .324 avg, 123 r, 44 hr, 124 rbi, 7 sb

2. Miguel Cabrera (Det-1B, 3B)– Miguel has been 1.b for the last several seasons to Pujols but after his 2nd straight better season than Pujols (statistically) he has finally taken over the #1 spot in most peoples eyes, but not mine. He will have 3B eligibility too, which helps his fantasy value, but could potentially hurt his game. He has lost about 35-40 pounds already this offseason and from a picture I saw of him he looks like he did when he first came in the league…which he played some 3B then too. Oh and Prince hitting behind Miggy should only help him.

2012 projection: .338 avg, 111 r, 34 hr, 118 rbi, 3 sb

3. Adrian Gonzalez (Bos-1B)– Gonzalez saw his power numbers decline some last season, but he also saw a career high in batting average. I fully expect his average to dip some, but his power numbers to shot up as a result. Gonzalez is just a solid hitter from top to bottom and playing 80 games in Fenway again isn’t going to hurt any of his stats. The next 2 guys could have been at this spot, but I like Gonzalez line just a little better than Prince and Votto.

2012 projection: .328 avg, 107 r, 35 hr,  122 rbi, 1 sb

4. Prince Fielder (Det-1B)– Prince surprised everyone when he signed with the Tigers this offseason, but when you look at what that lineup could look like it is scary good from top to bottom. Prince will be batting most likely behind Miguel (arguably best hitter in baseball) and then probably in front of Avila (rising star at C) or Boesch (player with a lot of pop in his bat). That is a lot of potential damage to other teams. Plus the AL central in my opinion has worse top to bottom pitching staffs than the NL Central (not by much but it is worse).

2012 projection: .291 avg, 101 r, 43 hr, 131 rbi, 3 sb

5. Joey Votto (Cin-1B)– Votto is another stud option at 1B, but I  just don’t like him as much as some others. He isn’t in as good of a lineup as the 4 guys above him, and the trade talks/contract stuff around him this year could become a slight distraction. Don’t get me wrong he will still have a great year, but I just see him a step below the 4 above him.

2012 projection: .312 avg, 96 r, 31 hr, 108 rbi, 9 sb

6.Mark Teixiera (NYY-1B)-Tex had his worst pro season last year, and it has been 3 straight seasons of decline. So I debated dropping him even further (around 8). But with the short porch in RF, a loaded Yankees lineup, and hopefully a healthy season will help Tex return to a great 1B instead of just an average one. He is on the wrong side of 30 so I won’t be surprised if the last two years are the norm instead of the exception. Draft Tex at your own risk.

2012 projection: .278 avg, 98 r, 39 hr, 114 rbi, 5 sb

7. Mike Napoli (Tex-C, 1B)– Read my catcher rankings if you want all the details on the “Nap Dog.”

2012 projection: .301 avg, 71 r, 32 hr, 78 rbi, 5 sb

8. Eric Hosmer (KC-1B)– Hosmer is the young star that KC thought they had in Alex Gordon, and lucky for the Royals that both played great last season. Hosmer has above average power, a great eye at the plate, and will finally get a full season in the majors. If you were to simply extrapolate his stats from the 128 games last season he will finish with a great line, but I expect there to be a little improvement across the board.

2012 projection: .304 avg, 86 r, 25 hr, 98 rbi, 12 sb

9. Michael Morse (Was-1B)-Morse finally got his shot to be a full time player and he didn’t look back. He hit over .300 and had 30 hr, he was definitly one of the major surprises from last season. He still should be right in the thick of a sneaky good Nationals team. They will have some good players in their lineup with a potential spark in Bryce Harper. Not only do I expect Morse to have another solid year, I’m going to project a competitive Nationals team in the heavy NL East.

2012 projection: .296 avg, 79 r, 33 hr, 98 rbi, 1 sb

10. Lance Berkman (STL-1B, OF)– Lance was the best hitter in the Cardinals lineup for the first three months of last season, but after the all-star break he cooled off tremendously. Lucky for the Cardinals he seemed to have just enough in the tank to have a solid playoff line. I don’t expect the same power outburst that Berkman had last season, but I do expect another really good line for the “Big Puma.”

2012 projection: .295 avg, 89 r, 25 hr, 97 rbi, 4 sb

Sleeper: Ike Davis (NYM-1B)– Ike was off to a great start last year, and then got injured and never got back on track. I really like what he could bring to the table this year. You can get him really cheap as your backup 1B or in deeper leagues you could take him as your number 1 and since he has always played well when he is healthy (minors and short stint in the pros so far). He won’t disappoint you.

2012 projection: .303 avg, 80 r, 23 hr, 85 rbi, 5 sb

Bust: Paul Konerko (ChW-1B)– Paul Konerko has been ole’ reliable for the White Sox. He is not letting “father time” catch up with him at all. (he’s probably on the juice! JK I don’t really think he is) Paul will probably still drive in a lot of runs and hit a fair share of HR, but I can see him starting his steady decline this season just like Jim Thome did in 09. I don’t wish him to fail, but my head and heart says at age 36 the decline is going to happen sooner rather than later.

2012 projection: .275 avg, 76 r, 27 hr, 92 rbi, 1 sb

My Rankings	ESPN	Yahoo!	CBS
Albert Pujols	2	2	2
Miguel Cabrera	1	1	1
Adrian Gonzalez	4	4	4
Prince Fielder	5	5	6
Joey Votto	3	3	3
Mark Teixiera	6	6	7
Mike Napoli	9	14	8
Eric Hosmer	8	11	14
Michael Morse	12	12	12
Lance Berkman	11	16	10
Sleeper: Ike Davis	24	18	17
Bust: Paul Konerko	7	8	11

There won’t be any posts going up until Monday, so check in then for the 2B rankings by my good friend. If you have any questions about fantasy baseball leave a comment, or if you have any of your own 1B projections let us know what you think. Like always don’t forget to follow the blog, or like “H2H Hombre” on facebook. Good luck to you all this fantasy season.