Fantasy Edge- Looking Ahead to 2009- 1b

Last week I covered, my preliminary rankings for the catcher position in 2009. This week is a continuation of my rankings, this time covering the first base position.

First base which is often considered a deep position, and 2008 helped solidify that statement. A couple position shifts, and breakthroughs have made the argument even more compelling and the position just that much deeper.

All season long, there has been one first baseman who's been above and beyond the competition, the rest of the rankings changed daily. It's interesting to see how my rankings compare to others and vice versa. With 1b being such a deep position there are sure to be more then a couple disagreements, bar fights even.

So to avoid keeping you readers waiting here are the Unofficial Official 1b rankings.



Albert Pujols, still the undisputed king.

1- Albert Pujols- Despite injury concerns, delivered. The guy is money.

2- Miguel Cabrera- A league switch and position switch didn't slow him down.

3- Mark Teixeira- Despite not knowing where he'll be, the guy is a major contributor

4- Ryan Howard- Seems like 40 hr are a guarantee, but it goes along with a .240 avg.

5- Justin Morneau- The most underrated 1b in the league, all he does is collect RBI.

6- Prince Fielder- A drop in production, but that was to be expected.

7- Adrian Gonzalez- Does anyone else wish he played for the Rangers?

8- Lance Berkman- Faded badly during the second half of the season, age catching up?

9- Kevin Youkilis- Kills me to have this high, but he's a producer.

10- Aubrey Huff- A remarkable return to his Devil Rays form, might slide in a a few drafts/

11- Carlos Pena- Monsterous season last year, good season this year, has shown he can stay productive.

12- Carlos Delgado- He's old, brittle, and productive, at least one more left.

13- Derrek Lee- The power is slipping, and he's get up in age, yes ranked below Delgado!

14- Jorge Cantu- He's 26, making his mark, again, great numbers, and more then enough talent to repeat.

15- Joey Votto- .360 OBP, 22 hr, hitters park, weak division, a sexy pick next season.

16- Garret Atkins- Two years of declining stats. Draft him for his 2008 production, 2006 was an aberration.

17- Jason Giambi- Power hitter, can still mash, the batting average, is bad, but he's going to hit another 30 hr next year.

18- Connor Jackson- A solid batting average, not enough power, but a few Sb are nice.

19- Mike Jacobs- Made that jump to 30 hr, but the Avg, and Obp, aren't very nice.

20- Chris Davis- 16 hr, in 284 ab, as a rookie, in a hitters park. 30 hr is a real possibility next season.

Other notable 1b, that may get drafted and deserve a look during the draft and through out the season. Nick Swisher, Paul Konerko, Casey Kotchman, Adam LaRoche, Ryan Garko, and James Loney.They will all undoubtedly be drafted to fill out a CI/Util/Bn spot, and will all undoubtedly spend some time on the waiver wire. Inconsistency, and playing time will plague this group of guys, but picking them up when they're hot, could be the key to a 2009 championship.

Stay tuned for my 2b rankings next week.

Fantasy Edge- Looking Ahead to 2009 - Catcher

It's unfortunate, sad but true, that the fantasy baseball season is winding down. A few (to many) managers have stopped paying to their teams, and have shifted their focus to fantasy football. There is nothing wrong with paying attention to your FFB team, but if you manged to play 23 of the weeks, I'm sure you last another 3.

With that being said, most managers have an idea of what their roster will like next season in keeper leagues. Other mangers in one and done leagues, know which players they're going to draft, which they aren't, who "their" sleepers are, and some even have a rough idea of where they're drafting those guys. Count me in that category.

Others will go through the winter without even a wandering thought about fantasy baseball. Come February, when the first magazine comes out they buy it and read through it. Start to formulate a basic draft strategy, and then wait.

By this time, March has rolled around and now they're starting to see that "their" sleeper is on everyone's list (ie 2008 Dustin McGowan). Some will start to buckle down and do some research, others will wait until the day before the draft. Bring their books and notes(you do make notes right?) to the computer sit down for 3 hours, and draft away.

Fanatics such as myself, will have spent all winter breaking down, stats, farm systems, and displaying, generally neurotic, and overly obsessive behavior. We'll wake up in cold sweats screaming, "Lastings Milledge, $12!".
Hunched over our laptops, and PC's creating crude spread sheets, and notes, all to gain the slightest edge over the competition ( a group of guys you've likely never met in person. We'll learn, and begin to become consumed by menial, and generally useless facts, such as, Matt Cain posting just 30 career victories in 103 games. But you'll still draft him, hoping the one day he'll get run support and finally win 16-18 games like he was meant to from the time he left his mothers womb. But I digress.

This is the first in a series of installments in this blog, ranking the top 20 players at each position, followed by a list of the top 50 prospects for next season, and finally, my own "sleepers" , or players that I like to refer as undervalued commodities, that I like to think no one else on the planet knows about.

So without further ado, and all that good junk here they are...

Catcher-

1- Brian McCann- Best pop at the position, make your argument.

2- Russel Martin- Will he ever get a rest?

3- Geovony Soto- Sure this was break out season, do you doubt him?

4- Joe Mauer- Consistently making you wait for power. I'm done waiting.

5- Victor Martinez- Sure he's been injured, but the position flexibility
helps.

6- Ryan Doumit- Finally seized the job, Ronny who?

7- Benjie Molina- Yeah he's getting old, but he's still productive

8- Kelly Shoppach- Is V-Mart a full time 1b next year? I say yes.

9- Chris Iannetta- An improvement this season, I look for more next year.

10- Dioner Navarro- Finally delivered on his promise, a poor mans Joe
Mauer.

11- Yadier Molina- His best is yet to come. Will be the best Molina.

12- AJ Pierzynski- Don't draft him, let him fall to you.

13- Chris Snyder- Will he ever be the full time guy?

14- Pablo Sandoval- I love catchers who don't spend all their time at catcher.

15- Jesus Flores- Is he the Nats saviors? No too sac religions OK sorry.

16- Kurt Suzuki- Not a great fantasy option, but he'll get AB, plenty of them.

17- Jorge Posada- Did surgery prolong his career?

18- Jarrod Saltalamacchia- Remember your catcher/1b sleeper last year? Ouch.

19- Taylor Teagarden- Highly touted prospect, will he grab the job from #20?

20- Gerald Laird- Will he finally get dealt or hold onto the job?

Other notable catchers- Ivan Rodriguez, Rob Barajas, Jason Varitek, Kenji Johjima, Mike Napoli, will all likely get draft and will all definitely be owned at some point, but are better left on the waiver wire. These options are either too old, not productive enough, or too streaky to be your everyday catcher.

So those are my tentative, no authoritative, catcher rankings for next season.

Next week, we'll cover 1b, guess who reigns supreme there...

As always leave a comment.