The Phenom's Top 5 Fantasy Firstbasemen for 2011

The Phenom's Top 5 Fantasy Firstbasemen for 2011

1. Albert Pujols/ STL: This might be Pujols' last season as a Cardinal and he may want to go out with a bang. The indecisive nature of the Cardinals' management tells us that they have doubts about Pujols' future. Well, I don't! Pujols will be huge in 2011!

Projected 2011 Stats: .331 avg., 42 hr's, 123 rbi, 113 runs, 12 sb's

2. Ryan Howard/ PHI: Howard played through some injuries in 2010 and missed more games than ever before. When he's healthy, he's one of the top fantasy players in the MLB.

Projected 2011 Stats: .278 avg., 43 hr's, 125 rbi, 96 runs, 3 sb's

3. Miguel Cabrera/ DET: Cabrera is about as consistent as any player in the MLB. More importantly, he stays healthy and rarely misses any games.

Projected 2011 Stats: .325 avg., 36 hr's, 118 rbi, 104 runs, 3 sb's

4. Mark Teixeira/ NYY: Fully-capable of being an overall top 5 fantasy player, Teixeira has not produced at the level he has in the past. That being said, he's good for 30+ hr's and 100+ rbi.

Projected 2011 Stats: .284 avg., 35 hr's, 108 rbi, 106 runs, 2 sb's

5. Joey Votto/ CIN: Votto just might move up this list in 2011, but I need to see more of what he did in 2010.

Projected 2011 Stats: .318 avg., 32 hr's, 104 rbi, 102 runs, 12 sb's

2011 Firstbase Draft Strategy: Firstbase is, by far, the deepest individual position in fantasy baseball. It would be great to get one of the aforementioned top 5 firstbasemen, but it won't kill your season if you don't. In fact, there is great value in the second tier of 1B's, which would include guys like Fielder, Adrian Gonzalez, Kevin Youkilis, Adam Dunn, Kendry Morales, and Justin Morneau. What's even better is that these guys can be had in the early to middle rounds. However, if you have the chance to get Pujols...you absolutely take him. That means that if you have the #1 overall pick, you MUST take Pujols. Howard and Cabrera are absolute first round picks, along with Pujols. Teixeira and Votto could be late first round picks, but might slip to the second round. You will get a shot at a good 1B and there's not much of a difference between Teixeira/ Votto and Fielder/ A. Gonzalez. Therefore, I suggest that you get a good 1B in the first few rounds. Otherwise, your opponents might stock up on 1B's with intentions of using the extras as UTIL or DH, in which case you would miss out on a guaranteed 30+ hr, 100+ rbi fantasy player.

The Phenom
thephenom@fantasysportsphenom.com
http://www.fantasysportsphenom.com/