Fantasy Baseball Cheat Sheet 2012: 1B Rankings

Most of what we do here at Scouting Book is about prospects and rookies, but we do get many requests for our opinions on veteran players, too. Especially from fantasy owners looking for extra tidbits of advice to help them with their upcoming draft.

If you're one of those types, you're probably thirsting for every drop of info or guidance you can find. So here, have a drink on us.

C	1B	2B	3B	SS	OF	SP	RP

	Player	Tm		Smart and/or Smartass Comments
1	Albert Pujols	LAA		Nice lineup, nice park, occasional days off as DH. What more could you want?
2	Miguel Cabrera	DET		Tiger lineup is deadly now. Miggy will benefit.
3	Prince Fielder	DET		Before Cabrera, after Cabrera, who cares? Prince smash.
4	Adrian Gonzalez	BOS		Still a monster lineup, still a nice porch to shoot for.
5	Joey Votto	CIN		Until they make the park bigger, Votto will always rank high.
6	Mark Teixeira	NYY		So he's gonna bunt. Okay, sure.
7	Billy Butler	KC		On a better-known team, he'd be a superstar.
8	Paul Konerko	CWS		Quiet professional continues to put up big numbers. Quietly.
9	Michael Young *	TEX		Yes, he's a first baseman now. And other things.
10	Eric Hosmer	KC		Sophomore slump? Maybe. Maybe not.
11	Lance Berkman *	STL		If he qualifies, why not squeeze another bacon sandwich in?
12	Michael Morse *	WAS		Possible trade bait, underappreciated hitter.
13	Mike Napoli *	TEX		But why would you ever play him at 1B if he's C eligible?
14	Carlos Santana *	CLE		See Napoli, Mike.
15	Kendrys Morales	LAA		The extra-S is for extra switch hitting. Or maybe extra 3B, OF and/or DH?
16	David Ortiz *	BOS		If he hits .100 in April again, please, nobody panic.
17	Freddie Freeman	ATL		Should take the next step this year. Atlanta offense should be better too.
18	Mark Trumbo	LAA		Unless, of course, he's a third baseman. Hard to imagine.
19	Howie Kendrick	LAA		Boring, safe, small. But he will get on base and again again, all year long.
20	Adam Lind	TOR		Big boy looking to smash baseballs. Inquire within.
21	Paul Goldschmidt	ARZ		No longer quite unknown, could produce in an intriguing Arizona team.
22	Justin Morneau	MIN		Coming back from a down season, should be cheap.
23	Mark Reynolds *	BAL		If you play in a league that doesn't penalize Ks, he moves up 15 positions.
24	Ike Davis	NYM		Should have a nice low-pressure opportunity to thrive.
25	Nick Swisher	NYY		If he qualifies, a nice option.
26	Carlos Lee	HOU		Still in Houston. Still hitting that train.
27	Travis Hafner *	CLE		Pronky Pronk will produce in a weird half-good Cleveland lineup.
28	Gaby Sanchez	MIA		Young monster will do better in a jazzed up lineup.
29	Michael Cuddyer	COL		Coors isn't Old Coors, but it's still a great park for hitters.
30	Chris Carter	OAK		Time to play. Some 1B, some OF, some DH. Shame about the ballpark.
31	Mike Carp	SEA		Now a Mariner, but he'll be pressed hard by Smoak.
32	James Loney	LAD		Is it time for Loney to make a Kemp-like leap to his potential?
33	Yonder Alonso	SD		Great hitter, great power stroke. But it's San Diego.
34	Ryan Howard	PHI		Available for cheap, probably, since he starts on the DL.
35	Carlos Pena	TB		He's probably a DH all year, but he should launch some shots in Tampa.
36	Brandon Belt	SF		It was too early for him before. Maybe it's the right time now.
37	Derrek Lee	FA		Unemployed. Seriously?
38	Aubrey Huff	SF		All he does is show up at the park and rake.
39	Brandon Allen	OAK		He's a bit of a stopgap in Oakland. He'll hit a little, but nobody will notice.
40	Garrett Jones	PIT		Someone has to play first base in Pittsburgh.
41	Luke Scott	TB		Should get some 1B time. Should hit some baseballs 450ft.
42	Todd Helton	COL		Yup, Todd Helton still plays baseball. He still hits .300, too.
43	Adam Dunn	CWS		He can only get better.
44	Mitch Moreland	TEX		Consistent ABs might be a problem, but he'll get 450 somehow.
45	Brian LaHair	CHC		Needs a hot start and a good season to keep Rizzo away.
46	Justin Smoak	SEA		He will get better. Believe.
47	Russ Canzler *	CLE		Some 1B and some DH, presumably. A quality (mature) prospect hitter.
48	Brett Wallace	HOU		Better in Toronto, but he'll do well enough as Houston's future DH.
49	Jim Thome	PHI		Reunion tour should be fun. What's he got left?
50	Matt LaPorta	CLE		Will probably start season in AAA. He's got one or two chances left.
51	Anthony Rizzo	CHC		Not really his time yet, but the Cubs have room to experiment. Midseason?
52	Daric Barton	OAK		High contact rate, but not much else.
53	Chris Marrero	WAS		Could be a pleasant surprise while fans are distracted by bigger names.

Warning: this information is 99.5% opinion, and isn't processed, scored, cross-checked, balanced or otherwise mathemagicked like our Prospects Rankings are. As such, it's even more highly subjective and much more subject to whim and error. Owner beware.

Asterisks denote players who might or might not qualify at 1B for you, depending on your league's own rules and the whims of real life. Check carefully, and use our handy Multi Position Qualifiers tool to find extra-valuable treasures. Green ® circles, obviously, mark rookies who have their own deeper profiles available right here at Scouting Book. These are not all possible rookies.