Hollywood's Top 10 First Baseman

                                                                                                         Avg. Draft Position (Yahoo.com)

1. Albert Pujols- St. Louis Cardinals                                                            1.2

2. Miguel Cabrera- Detroit Tigers                                                                 3.9

3. Prince Fielder- Milwaukee Brewers                                                         21.2

4. Joey Votto-Cincinati Reds                                                                         7.1

5. Adrian Gonzalez- Boston Red Sox                                                         10.8

6. Mark Texiera- New York Yankees                                                            19.0

7. Ryan Howard- Philadelphia Phillies                                                        16.6

8. Adam Dunn- Chicago White Sox                                                             49.9

9. Kendry Morales- Los Angeles Angels of Anahiem                               60.3

10. Justin Morneau- Minnesota Twins                                                        59.8

Sleeper: Justin Morneau

Bust: Justin Morneau

Justin Morneau

                                 
                                     Hollywood's Take                                  

This first base position is deep up top but thins out quickly. After the top eleven or twelve you’re left with either guys who don’t play first base regularly (Kevin Youkilis or Victor Martinez), or players who had disappointing 2010 seasons (Carlos Pena, Derrick Lee). Kevin Youkilis is eligible at first base, which is great for position flexibility but I think he would be much better suited at third, which is a much weaker position.

I absolutely love Prince Fielder this year.  I think he puts up the same type of production first round guys put up but one round later. His struggles were a combination of extension talks, trade rumors and constant losing in Milwaukee. The team seems much improved now, thanks to Zach Grienke so I think the Brewers are going to be strong contenders in the NL Central.

The most confusing pick in the whole draft is Justin Morneau. This guy was an RBI machine in the past and on his way to another MVP season, but his issues with concussions could be a reason to worry. He didn’t play the entire second half of the season and it showed in the playoffs when the Twins struggled to score runs against the Yankees.

According to the average draft results, there are ten first baseman taken in the first six rounds.  I’ve heard plenty of talk about waiting to take a hitter, but if you don’t get one early you may end up starting a Derrick Lee or a Carlos Pena. And as we know around the Tampa Bay area, you don’t want to be left with Carlos Pena when everyone else in the league is getting solid production.

Prince Fielder