2011 First Base Rankings: September

One last set of first base rankings as we head down the stretch and into the season’s final month. You can find last month’s rankings right here, which link back through all the previous months.

Tier One
Joey Votto
Miguel Cabrera
Adrian Gonzalez
Prince Fielder
Albert Pujols

No surprises here, except that it’s September 1st and Pujols still has a lower wOBA than Alex Gordon and Alex Avila. At least he’s trending in the right direction.

Tier Two
Paul Konerko
Lance Berkman
Mark Teixeira
Ryan Howard
Kevin Youkilis
Michael Morse

Morse jumps into the tier of very, very goods thanks to his continued power and batting average output. Dude’s hitting .306/.365/.544 with 39 homers in his last 767 plate appearances. Pretty nuts. Youkilis is on the DL but is expected to be activated as soon as tomorrow. He’s more valuable at third base anyway. I looked at Teixeira’s continually declining batting average two days ago.

Tier Three
Michael Young
Todd Helton
Carlos Pena
Casey Kotchman
Mark Trumbo
Billy Butler
Freddie Freeman
Michael Cuddyer
Eric Hosmer

This tier is like the ghost of fantasy past. Young? Helton? Kotchman?!? They’re all hitting though, and have been all season. Trumbo has the power numbers, obviously, but he’ll kill your rate stats, especially in an OBP league.

Tier Four
Jesus Guzman
Lucas Duda
Mike Carp
Carlos Lee
James Loney
Brandon Allen
Kyle Blanks
Mitch Moreland
Gaby Sanchez
Adam Lind

Lots and lots of new faces here as non-contenders have started to break in some new players down the stretch. Loney actually has the second highest wOBA (.473) behind Votto (.498) over the last 30 days (among first baseman), and those two are way, way ahead of the pack (Konerko’s third at .437). Sanchez and Lind have been stuck in some brutal and prolonged slumps, and I probably would have dropped them further if they weren’t guaranteed everyday jobs.

Tier Five
Garrett Jones
Brandon Belt
Yonder Alonso
Paul Goldschmidt
Aubrey Huff
Ty Wigginton
Russell Branyan
Eric Hinske
Adam Kennedy
Justin Morneau
Lyle Overbay
Adam Dunn

Morneau’s really only in this tier because he’s on the active roster, but he’s again experiencing concussion-like symptoms and doesn’t figure to be much of a factor down the stretch. The fact that there are two guys below him is a nod to his track record and the general awfulness of the other two. Dunn’s fall from grace is painful to watch.

Off The Radar
Daniel Murphy
Justin Smoak
Matt LaPorta
Chris Davis
Derrek Lee
Xavier Nady
Anthony Rizzo
Juan Miranda
Brett Wallace
Ike Davis
Luke Scott
Daric Barton
Brad Hawpe
Adam LaRoche
Kila Ka’aihue
Dan Johnson
Kendrys Morales
Chris Carter
Jorge Cantu

LaPorta was just sent to Triple-A but figures to be back on the ten-day period ends. The other five droppers are all hurt, though Lee is working his way back and could be activated with a week or two. Wallace and Rizzo are all but certain to come back up this month, Barton and Ka’aihue as well. Playing time is a question, though.