The 15 Best First Basemen in MLB
The 15 best First Basemen in Baseball
There are a lot of very good first baseman in baseball right now. A couple of years ago, I would have said the National League Central had the best crop of first baseman.
However, that was back when Albert Pujols was playing for the St. Louis Cardinals, Prince Fielder was playing for the Milwaukee Brewers, Lance Berkman was shining for the Houston Astros, Derek Lee was playing for the Chicago Cubs and Joey Votto was just arriving for the Cincinnati Reds.
Now, Votto is the only one left. The National League Central still has some good first baseman led by Votto, Anthony Rizzo, Allen Craig and Garrett Jones. That crop is not anywhere near the aforementioned bunch.
Maybe that American League Central is the cream of the crop now. Fielder, Justin Morneau and Eric Hosmer.
No matter what division or even which league has better first baseman, there is definitely a very good group of first basemen in the majors right now.
First base is a position that is definitely based on offensive ability. There is a reason that guys who are excellent defensively but not very good offensively, do not have a place on this list. Obviously, if you can hit though, defense is always a plus. Mark Teixeira has definitely benefited on his defense throughout his career.
In my opinion this list has changed more over the last couple of seasons than any other position.
This group is definitely one of the best first basemen we have seen in the majors recently.
#15 Eric Hosmer
Eric Hosmer had a down season last year, but he has a lot of talent and the ability to become a top of the line first baseman in the future.
#14 Paul Goldschmidt
Paul Goldschmidt has amazing power. Obviously, he has shown off a little bit more by playing for the Arizona Diamondbacks, but he is the definition of raw power in my mind.
#13 Ryan Howard
It is difficult for me to even put Ryan Howard on this list. All the injury issues and production drops worry me.
#12 Brandon Belt
Brandon Belt has an important role for the defending champions. He needs to produce well this year if they want to make it back to the postseason.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are very good and its going to take more than two or three offensive players to beat them.
#11 Anthony Rizzo
Sadly, Anthony Rizzo is a very talented young player, but on an awful team. Rizzo will shine while the Chicago Cubs will end in the cellar of the National League central.
#10 Freddi Freeman
Freddie Freeman has to start being a leader for the Atlanta Braves. He is one of the longest tenured players on roster now. He will produce well this year for a very good Braves team.
#9 Allen Craig
Allen Craig cant be called young, but can he still be called inexperienced? Yes.
Even in the minors, Craig has never slugged under .500. He will keep that pace.
#8 Justin Morneau
Justin Morneau still has it. If he can stay healthy and produce the way he proved he can, then he will be moving up this list.
#7 Edwin Encarnacion
Edwin Encarnacion exploded onto the scene last year once he was out of the shadow of Jose Bautista.
We will see if he can repeat his performance with a much improved Toronto Blue Jay lineup.
#6 Mark Teixeira
Even Mark Teixeira knows he is falling off. He said it right before the world baseball classic.
However, he is and will be the best defensive first baseman in the league until he retires.
#5 Adrian Gonzalez
Adrian Gonzalez has fallen off recently. A couple of seasons ago, he was top three. However, due to injury and poor production, he has dropped down to five.
There is nothing wrong with being the fifth best first baseman in baseball, but its not where you would expect to see Gonzalez.
#4 Paul Konerko
Paul Konerko is the definition of consistency. He will never be amazing, but he will always be far above average.
If I was a major league pitcher, Konerko would be the man I was most afraid of just because he can and will always hurt you.
#3 Albert Pujols
If you had asked me just two years ago, I would have told you that Albert Pujols was the best first baseman by a long shot. As of late, he has fallen off.
Not to say that number three is bad, but its not what I expected from Pujols a couple of seasons ago.
#2 Prince Fielder
I love Prince Fielder's power. Who doesn’t?
He is so incredibly strong and fun to watch. Not only does he hit for power, he hits for a good average too.
The mixture of Fielder and Miguel Cabrera will be huge again this year for the Detroit Tigers.
#1 Joey Votto
Without question, Joey Votto is the best first baseman in the majors. If he is healthy all season, he will prove just how far ahead of everyone else he really is.
