In my main leage 1B and DH's are lumped together, and thus I give them together. 1B is a really deep talent pool. If you need to and don't get a top guy the guys from 15-30 are all going to put up similar stats.
1. Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals - He's the best player in baseball, no questions asked. He locks in 40, .330, 130, 120, and a handful of steals. You've got the #1 pick and that's a big advantage. Or if you have him in a keeper league that's even better.
2. Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies -He's a offensive lineman playing baseball. He hits bombs to all fields. He has his whole career from the minors on up. Maybe 58 homers is a stretch, but I'd be surprised if he didn't hit 50.
3. David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox - Big Papi is chalked in around 50 homers, 100+ runs, 120+ rbis, .280+ average. Not very difficult to draft him.
4. Travis Hafner, Cleveland Indians -The only thing you want more from Pronk is at bats. He has never played in more than 140 games in a given season. If he managed to do this his stats could go through the roof. For instance, Ryan Howard had 104 more at bats last season. Thats a big difference.
5. Lance Berkman, Houston Astros - Lance Berkman had by far his best season last year when he was practically the Astros entire offense. Hopefully this season the signing of Carlos Lee will give him some protection in the lineup so perhaps he could score some runs when he gets on base. The dual OF/1B eligibility is a nice little bonus.
6. Mark Teixeira, Texas Rangers - I feel as if Big Tex busts out this year and has better stats than in 05 when he had 43 homeruns and hit .301. Tex's 06 season got off to a terrible start, and if he can avoid this he will be among the top fantasy players at the end of 07.
7. Derrek Lee, Chicago Cubs - Who knows if Lee will ever put up the same gaudy numbers he did in 05, but this season he's going to hit in the middle of a much better lineup, and unlike almost all 1B he'll get you 10 to 20 steals.
8. Paul Konerko, Chicago White Sox - Konerko had his best season of his career last year hitting a career best .313 with 35 homers. The extra lineup protection from Thome and Jermaine Dye certainly helped last year and will continue to help this season.
9. Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins - I'm not a believer of Morneau replicating his 2006 stats. It was such a vast improvement from his previous seasons that I think there has to be a little dropoff in his numbers this season. He's still going to put up good numbers, I mean I still have him in front of Thome and Delgado, but most likely he will go prior to when I will be willing to pick him.
10. Jim Thome, Chicago White Sox - Back healthy and back mashing last year. No real negative with Thome other than the fact he's 36 and has been injured in the past.
11. Richie Sexson, Seattle Mariners - En Fuego the second half of the season last year. Just look at his split stats, post all star break in 70 games, Sexson hit .322 with 18 homers and 48 rbis. Pretty friggin good.
12. Carlos Delgado, New York Mets - Big power numbers from Delgado hitting in a fantastic lineup, but whats with the .265 average Carlos. And you were absoultely atrocious against left handed pitchers with a .226 average.
13. Jason Giambi, New York Yankees - Last year he started off incredibly hot than tanked the last month or so of the season. It will be interesting to see how becoming for the most part a full time DH will affect him. In the past he has hit better while playing in the field. But because he is so fat and slow in the field the Yanks signed Dougie Minkowitz.
14. Adrian Gonzalez, San Diego Padres - Gonzalez came out of nowhere last year to begin fulfilling his potential. Perhaps he just needed the playing time. Personally he will be a player I target in the middle rounds to fulfill my second 1B slot as he could provide solid numbers across the board including a + .300 average.
15. Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers - Had a strong rookie year and I expect him to bump up the average this season to around .285 and perhaps low to mid 30s in homers. Hell the big fella even had 7 steals last year.
16. Nick Swisher, Oakland A's - I saw a report that said that Nick Swisher added 20 lbs of muscle in the offseason. I don't know if this is necessarily a good thing, Swisher was already a big guy, perhaps some flexibility lost? Either way Swisher is a 40 homerun candidate, just a question of whether he can improve upon the average.
17. Todd Helton, Colorado Rockies - Can the power numbers come back? Because if they did he would zoom back up the list. He does still play at Coors field.
18. Adam LaRoche, Pittsburgh Pirates - If you look at his stats from last year you might be completely surprised to see he hit .285 and had 32 homers. The move to Pittsburgh shouldn't have much effect on his numbers, in fact he may end up getting more at bats with the Pirates.
19. Frank Thomas, Toronto Blue Jays - Is this guy going to stay healthy that's pretty much the issue. With health comes numbers, but the injury risk is so high with this guy that you could get anywhere from his fantastic numbers in 06 to a pulled hammy in spring training and 5 homers. High Risk/Reward guy.
20. Nomar Garciaparra, LA Dodgers - Another injury risk. Mr. Hamm should hit around .300 though and give you some good stats overall. One thing to be noted with Nomar is whether or not he will be floating around the field and perhaps play some 3B or outfield and give you some position flexibility. If that happens his value certainly increases. At 1B he's just middle of the pack.
21. Lyle Overbay, Blue Jays - A very good hitter with moderate power numbers is a fine option for your 2nd first baseman. He'll help your average, give you mid to low 20 homers and around 90 in both runs and rbis. Solid but non spectacular numbers around the board.
22. Conor Jackson, Diamondbacks - One of the prized Diamondback farm hand should be an everyday starter this season and develop into having numbers comprable to Lyle Overbay. A Solid Average and mild power numbers.
23. Mike Jacobs, Marlins - In his first full season in the bigs Jacobs hit 20 HRs at the huge Pro Player Stadium. I wouldn't expect much of a downturn from Jacobs, but am unsure if I would expect any upturn either.
24. Shea Hillenbrand, LAA Angels - Had pretty good numbers in last seasons split pre and post the fight with Jays Manager Gibbons. The power numbers could certainly use a boost, but being thrust into the Angels lineup, possibly behind Vlad, should give Shea some solid value.
25. Kevin Youkilis, Boston Red Sox - If only Youk could put up significant power numbers he'd be a great pickup. Another problem that lies with me is the fact that my league does not have on base percentage or walks as a category therefore Youk's big strength, his patience, is a non-factor.
Note #1: Nick Johnson - I would like to see Nicky J comeback at the beginning of the season and resume his numbers from last season, than he would jump up the list, but that leg injury was disgusting and he could miss a significant amount of time which could in turn knock him completely off the list.
Note #2: Gary Sheffield and Mike Piazza - will quickly gain eligibility at DH/1B. While 1B or OF importance is more debatable, if you have Mike Piazza and you are using him in your DH spot and not Catcher spot, than please lay off the bong hits.
1. Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals - He's the best player in baseball, no questions asked. He locks in 40, .330, 130, 120, and a handful of steals. You've got the #1 pick and that's a big advantage. Or if you have him in a keeper league that's even better.2. Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies -He's a offensive lineman playing baseball. He hits bombs to all fields. He has his whole career from the minors on up. Maybe 58 homers is a stretch, but I'd be surprised if he didn't hit 50.
3. David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox - Big Papi is chalked in around 50 homers, 100+ runs, 120+ rbis, .280+ average. Not very difficult to draft him.
4. Travis Hafner, Cleveland Indians -The only thing you want more from Pronk is at bats. He has never played in more than 140 games in a given season. If he managed to do this his stats could go through the roof. For instance, Ryan Howard had 104 more at bats last season. Thats a big difference.
5. Lance Berkman, Houston Astros - Lance Berkman had by far his best season last year when he was practically the Astros entire offense. Hopefully this season the signing of Carlos Lee will give him some protection in the lineup so perhaps he could score some runs when he gets on base. The dual OF/1B eligibility is a nice little bonus.
6. Mark Teixeira, Texas Rangers - I feel as if Big Tex busts out this year and has better stats than in 05 when he had 43 homeruns and hit .301. Tex's 06 season got off to a terrible start, and if he can avoid this he will be among the top fantasy players at the end of 07.
7. Derrek Lee, Chicago Cubs - Who knows if Lee will ever put up the same gaudy numbers he did in 05, but this season he's going to hit in the middle of a much better lineup, and unlike almost all 1B he'll get you 10 to 20 steals.
8. Paul Konerko, Chicago White Sox - Konerko had his best season of his career last year hitting a career best .313 with 35 homers. The extra lineup protection from Thome and Jermaine Dye certainly helped last year and will continue to help this season.
9. Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins - I'm not a believer of Morneau replicating his 2006 stats. It was such a vast improvement from his previous seasons that I think there has to be a little dropoff in his numbers this season. He's still going to put up good numbers, I mean I still have him in front of Thome and Delgado, but most likely he will go prior to when I will be willing to pick him.
10. Jim Thome, Chicago White Sox - Back healthy and back mashing last year. No real negative with Thome other than the fact he's 36 and has been injured in the past.11. Richie Sexson, Seattle Mariners - En Fuego the second half of the season last year. Just look at his split stats, post all star break in 70 games, Sexson hit .322 with 18 homers and 48 rbis. Pretty friggin good.
12. Carlos Delgado, New York Mets - Big power numbers from Delgado hitting in a fantastic lineup, but whats with the .265 average Carlos. And you were absoultely atrocious against left handed pitchers with a .226 average.
13. Jason Giambi, New York Yankees - Last year he started off incredibly hot than tanked the last month or so of the season. It will be interesting to see how becoming for the most part a full time DH will affect him. In the past he has hit better while playing in the field. But because he is so fat and slow in the field the Yanks signed Dougie Minkowitz.
14. Adrian Gonzalez, San Diego Padres - Gonzalez came out of nowhere last year to begin fulfilling his potential. Perhaps he just needed the playing time. Personally he will be a player I target in the middle rounds to fulfill my second 1B slot as he could provide solid numbers across the board including a + .300 average.
15. Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers - Had a strong rookie year and I expect him to bump up the average this season to around .285 and perhaps low to mid 30s in homers. Hell the big fella even had 7 steals last year.
16. Nick Swisher, Oakland A's - I saw a report that said that Nick Swisher added 20 lbs of muscle in the offseason. I don't know if this is necessarily a good thing, Swisher was already a big guy, perhaps some flexibility lost? Either way Swisher is a 40 homerun candidate, just a question of whether he can improve upon the average.
17. Todd Helton, Colorado Rockies - Can the power numbers come back? Because if they did he would zoom back up the list. He does still play at Coors field.
18. Adam LaRoche, Pittsburgh Pirates - If you look at his stats from last year you might be completely surprised to see he hit .285 and had 32 homers. The move to Pittsburgh shouldn't have much effect on his numbers, in fact he may end up getting more at bats with the Pirates.
19. Frank Thomas, Toronto Blue Jays - Is this guy going to stay healthy that's pretty much the issue. With health comes numbers, but the injury risk is so high with this guy that you could get anywhere from his fantastic numbers in 06 to a pulled hammy in spring training and 5 homers. High Risk/Reward guy.
20. Nomar Garciaparra, LA Dodgers - Another injury risk. Mr. Hamm should hit around .300 though and give you some good stats overall. One thing to be noted with Nomar is whether or not he will be floating around the field and perhaps play some 3B or outfield and give you some position flexibility. If that happens his value certainly increases. At 1B he's just middle of the pack. 21. Lyle Overbay, Blue Jays - A very good hitter with moderate power numbers is a fine option for your 2nd first baseman. He'll help your average, give you mid to low 20 homers and around 90 in both runs and rbis. Solid but non spectacular numbers around the board.
22. Conor Jackson, Diamondbacks - One of the prized Diamondback farm hand should be an everyday starter this season and develop into having numbers comprable to Lyle Overbay. A Solid Average and mild power numbers.
23. Mike Jacobs, Marlins - In his first full season in the bigs Jacobs hit 20 HRs at the huge Pro Player Stadium. I wouldn't expect much of a downturn from Jacobs, but am unsure if I would expect any upturn either.
24. Shea Hillenbrand, LAA Angels - Had pretty good numbers in last seasons split pre and post the fight with Jays Manager Gibbons. The power numbers could certainly use a boost, but being thrust into the Angels lineup, possibly behind Vlad, should give Shea some solid value.
25. Kevin Youkilis, Boston Red Sox - If only Youk could put up significant power numbers he'd be a great pickup. Another problem that lies with me is the fact that my league does not have on base percentage or walks as a category therefore Youk's big strength, his patience, is a non-factor.
Note #1: Nick Johnson - I would like to see Nicky J comeback at the beginning of the season and resume his numbers from last season, than he would jump up the list, but that leg injury was disgusting and he could miss a significant amount of time which could in turn knock him completely off the list.
Note #2: Gary Sheffield and Mike Piazza - will quickly gain eligibility at DH/1B. While 1B or OF importance is more debatable, if you have Mike Piazza and you are using him in your DH spot and not Catcher spot, than please lay off the bong hits.
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