RotoGraphs Consensus Rankings – May Update: First Basemen

With the catchers already released, we’re in the midst of our first in-season rankings update which will run through next week. The remarkably stacked first base position remains so almost two months into the season with many of the expected studs doing their part while some mid-round assets have emerged to keep the position deep and strong even as a few would-be studs have sputtered and failed to deliver up to expectations just yet.

First base is one of those positions where earning the eligibility at the position isn’t automatically going to improve your value. The bat required to carry the position in fantasy is at such a high level that multi-eligible first basemen are often much more valuable at their other position(s). As such, there is little value to ranking someone like Buster Posey at the position.

At no point should you really be putting him in at first base as a long-term solution because then you’re running two catchers in your lineup which hurts your counting categories given their built-in off days. Posey definitely plays more than a lot of catchers as his days off are often spent at first, but even with that he’s only peaked at 610 PA for a season. That would’ve been good for 11th-most at the position last year.

Other names you won’t find here, but instead at their primary position include Todd Frazier (3B), Carlos Santana (3B), and Logan Forsythe (2B). Both Frazier and Santana have the bat to carry being a fantasy first baseman, but we’re putting ’em at third.

If you feel we missed including someone, please let us know in the comments.

For this update, you’ll get the rankings of myself, Zach Sanders, and Mike Podhorzer. Jeff Zimmerman will return for the midseason update. Without further ado:

• The largest disparity in the group unsurprisingly comes with V.Mart. Mike and Zach are 20 spots on him and I lean much closer to Mike than Zach, though I completely understand the concerns surrounding V.Mart given his health, remarkably slow start, and the simple fact that he’s currently on the DL.

• There wasn’t total consensus on anyone, but it was really close on Goldschmidt, Rizzo, and Loney, all of whom had two rankers dead on and the third ranker just a spot away.

• The depth of the position is outlined by the fact that the AL leader in RBIs (Morales) sits 21st overall. Even my high-end ranking still only got to 16th. He’s been a top 10 1B to date, but it’s driven primarily on the gaudy RBI and R totals. He’s pacing toward 137 RBIs and 118 Rs, I can’t imagine either holds at that pace. His .302 AVG and 23 HR pace are much more in line with the Morales we saw from 2009-2013 when he averaged 22 HRs with a .286 AVG.

• The Top 10s were near consensus in terms of who showed up in them. There were just 12 different players among the trio of Top 10s. Fielder made it for myself and Mike, but not Zach; Hosmer didn’t make Mike’s, Duda only made Zach’s, and Pujols only made Mike’s. The eight names within all three Top 10s were Goldschmidt, Cabrera, Rizzo, Abreu, Encarnacion, Gonzalez, Votto, and Freeman.