When it's all said and done: Best First Basemen

[Crash2303]

I loved following these first basemen as they came up through the ranks (circa 2004/2005 peak yrs)- it seemed each year they would swap prospect status- and it'll be even more fun to watch their careers unfold. So, rank these guys in order of who you think will have the best career when it's all said and done. Here's my rankings:

1. Prince Fielder

2. Ryan Howard

3. Adrian Gonzalez

4. Justin Morneau

Probably don't need to put these two in the mix now, but you never know there's still time.

5. James Loney

6. Casey Kotchman (he was so awesome in the minors- all those injuries- a shame- but really glad we didn't take him over Mike Jones, which I was mad about at the time, but then we wouldn't have drafted Prince!)

[thebruce44]

1. AGon

2. Texiera

3. Prince

4. Morneau

5. Howard

 

Can I include Votto? I would put him ahead of Howard.

[NievesNoNO]

Tough to rank these guys, but I'll give it a shot.

 

1. Howard

2. Fielder

3. Morneau

4. Gonzalez

 

Fielder I think has the biggest potential. Howard just flat out produces though. Morneau is consistently good, but seems to get nicked up a bit costing him stats each year. Depending what team Gonzalez ends up on will have a big impact on who he finishes.

[barrelman2010]

I am also factoring in each ones defense

 

1. AGon

2. Texiera

3. Morneau

4. Howard

5. Fielder

[MessiahRp]

I'm probably crazy but I'd rather have Kevin Youkilis over any of these guys. He is a pretty darn good hitter and a terrific defender... also a team player who will switch to third or whereever he can help the team if need be. Some of these guys aren't really very good defensive players so while they have more power than Youk I still would prefer Youk as an overall package.

[endaround]

Fielder is the only one with a real shot at the HOF.

[topper09er]

Fielder is the only one with a real shot at the HOF.

Ryan Howard has a pretty good chance at getting to 500 HR, he will have 250+ by the end of this season at age 30.

 

 

[Ennder]

AGon

Votto

Fielder

Morneau

Howard

[And That]

Yah, FWIW, as long as you use 500 HR as a threshold for serious HoF consideration, according to Bill James' favorite toy calculation, Howard has a 60% chance to hit 500 or more jacks.

 

Fielder clocks in with 60% odds as well.

[jjkoestler]

Tex

Fielder

AGon

Morneau

Howard

[thebruce44]

I am shocked anyone would have Howard near the top of their list.

[HiAndTight]

1-Texiera

Playing the rest of his career in New Yankee's stadium will do numbers for him. Not to mention he's got the DH to help him out as he ages unlike Howard or the rest of the NL guys.

2-Prince

By far the youngest....will be interesting to see if his body holds up.

3-Howard

Averaging almost 50 HR's a year over the last 4 years. He's been pretty damn impressive.

4-Agon

A very good player...I can't imagine placing him above any of the 3 I have ahead of him.

5-Morneau

A very good player, but not great.

[HiAndTight]

Fielder is the only one with a real shot at the HOF.

Ryan Howard has a pretty good chance at getting to 500 HR, he will have 250+ by the end of this season at age 30.

 

And Tex is already at 250 having just turned 30 in April.

 

I think Texiera is vastly underrated. Throw in the fact that he plays for the Yankee's and everything that comes with that, PLUS the stadium he'll be hitting in and I think Texiera has as good of a chance to be a HOF'er as any of them.

 

 

[Ennder]

Well if you are going to include Tex you certainly have to include Cabrera and you would probably want to include Pujols since they are the same age. Howard might make the HOF but that is because he excels in the sexy stats more than because he is actually a great player. HR/RBI still get more press than they should.

[HiAndTight]

Well if you are going to include Tex you certainly have to include Cabrera and you would probably want to include Pujols since they are the same age. Howard might make the HOF but that is because he excels in the sexy stats more than because he is actually a great player. HR/RBI still get more press than they should.

Yeah, I wasn't really paying attention. Texiera appeared in a couple of the rankings. I didn't realize he wasn't in the first ranking.

 

AGon's the one I'm not sure of. Is he a .280/.360/.500 type hitter that he's been all of his career, or would he turn into a 1.000 OPS superstar playing outside of SD?

 

The fact that I don't think he would is why I've got him down a bit further....despite a sparkling OPS+.

 

[JohnBriggs12]

Morneau already has one MVP trophy, was 2nd another time and if the voting were held today, he have another as he's currently leading the AL in batting, OBP and slugging. It's hard to imagine a 2 time MVP winner won't be a strong HOF candidate.

 

He doesn't hit as many HR as the others but he could. More so than any of the others, Morneau will cut down his swing in situations where a single is needed.

 

I'd put him at the top of my list.

[pingman]

+1

 

....another vote for Morneau....

 

from Crash's original post I like Morneau the best.... Prince is the wildcard because he has the potential to eat himself out of the league

[cadillacjosh]

Tex is my favorite. Great hitter, great defender. Like many have said already, having that Yankee stadium should only add to his already impressive numbers.

 

I'm also surprised no one has mentioned Kendry Morales yet. He smashed last year and is off to a pretty solid start this year as well. Only his 2nd year in the league, fantastic hitter from both sides. Not the greatest defender, but he's better than a lot of first basemen.

 

Still though, if Prince is healthy, I think he can have a better career than any of the first basemen, besides Pujols.

[Ennder]

Morneau is having a great year this year but this is the first time he has put up an elite offensive season. He still has yet to hit a .950 OPS and really hasn't deserved an MVP award yet. He has to show me a full elite season for him to creep up my list. Votto has to prove he can stay healthy a full season to really deserve where I put him too but he easily could be the best of this bunch.

[topper09er]

Prince is the wildcard because he has the potential to eat himself out of the league

His daddy didnt even get started until he was 26, Prince's age now, and from ages 26 - 32 for Cecil:

 

Year	Tm	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	TB	GDP	HBP	SH	SF	IBB
1990-1996	DET,NYY	1035	4480	3874	588	999	149	4	258	795	2	3	543	974	.258	.351	.498	.849	125	1930	120	29	0	34	70
Average		148	640	553	84	143	21	1	37	114	0	0	78	139						276	17	4	0	5	10

 

 

[thebruce44]

Prince is the wildcard because he has the potential to eat himself out of the league

His daddy didnt even get started until he was 26, Prince's age now, and from ages 26 - 32 for Cecil:

 

Year	Tm	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	TB	GDP	HBP	SH	SF	IBB
1990-1996	DET,NYY	1035	4480	3874	588	999	149	4	258	795	2	3	543	974	.258	.351	.498	.849	125	1930	120	29	0	34	70
Average		148	640	553	84	143	21	1	37	114	0	0	78	139						276	17	4	0	5	10

 

Cecil also peaked at 26.

[Crash2303]

Pingman- eat himself out of the league- that cracked me up and i agree that's a good possibility especially once he hits his 30s. I like the other additions too- it's funny most of them were guys who came up as third basemen together during that same time period circa 2004/2005, from my memory in Pujols, Teixera, Youkilis, and Cabrera (who might have mostly played short, which is funny now), who now are all first basemen too. So, put in Joey Votto and Adam LaRoche who were in those years as well and we've got a nice top 10 list- should be real interesting now- especially when you include defense. so now i'd go:

1. Albert Pujols (obviously)

2. Mark Teixera

3. Miguel Cabrera (defense, has already done so much and is only 27)

4. Adrian Gonzalez (great defense and once he gets out of SD is going to put up even better numbers)

5. Prince Fielder (IS better than Howard on almost all levels and is more athletic as well)

6. Ryan Howard

7. Justin Morneau

8. Kevin Youkilis (so freakin' underrated- there's just a perception of him that he's not an elite guy- but look at what he's done the last 2 years- but is already 31)

9. Joey Votto

10.James Loney/Adam LaRoche

[young guns]

I think Pujols actually started out in the outfield while the Cards still had big mac. Personally, my list would look like the OP, except Votto would be 1 bumping everyone down a spot. I am a big fan of Vottos. Sucks that he's on the Reds.

[ELCABALLO45]

Agreed on the Morneau statment from Ender.

 

Morneau has a career line of .284/.357/.489/.867

 

While very solid, not elite. He has never OPS'd over .950 in a season. Doesn't walk as much as he should either. (However he is on a great pace right now)

[JohnBriggs12]

Stats don't tell you anything about situational hitting. Morneau is as good a situational hitter as anyone in the game at any position. Saturday's game is a perfect example. Down 1 run, leading off the bottom of the 9th, Fielder and Howard are thinking one thing: home run to tie the game. A smart pitcher that commands his pitches can use that to his advantage. Morneau, on the other hand is thinking about the best way to hit safely against the pitcher. He knows Villanueva doesn't want to surrender a HR and therefore is likely to work away. McGehee is off the line by a considerable amount, because the "spray charts" say Morneau is a pull hitter. Well he may be a pull hitter on cumulative charts, but in that situation, he will defy the charts. Villanueva commands his location down and away, Morneau goes right with for a double right down the left field line. That and Gerut's limited range, stole that game from the Brewers.