Kevin Youkilis leads the league in batting (.433) with five HRs, 13 RBIs and a 1.317 OPS.
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) -
Fantasy first base has always been a strong position, but in April, it has been even more than that. It looks like leagues are at least two-deep at the position.
What this does is make each individual first baseman a little less valuable on the trade market.
Yes, Albert Pujols is off to an outstanding start, hitting .355 with six home runs and 21 runs batted in, and is still tradable for any player in the league, but there aren't many people searching for first basemen in a trade because there is so much talent there.
Beside the obvious, Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, Ryan Howard, Mark Teixeira, Lance Berkman and Justin Morneau, the six first basemen who had Top-25 Average Draft Positions (ADP), there are plenty of others who you could be playing with equally good results.
Carlos Pena leads all of baseball with eight HRs and is tied with Pujols for the league lead in RBIs with 21. Yet Pena was an 80 ADP.
Aubrey Huff (ADP 78) is batting .303 with three HRs and 17 RBIs. He's hitting in the cleanup spot for the Orioles, so he's likely to continue to get opportunities to knock in runs with Brian Roberts, an improved Adam Jones and Nick Markakis in front of him.
Joey Votto (ADP 68) is the "real deal" in Cincinnati, hitting .375 with three HRs and 16 RBIs.
Kevin Youkilis leads the league in batting (.433) with five HRs, 13 RBIs and a 1.317 OPS.
Adrian Gonzalez continues to pound the ball (.310, 6 HRs, 12 RBIs) in San Diego despite a "pitcher-friendly" park and very little protection in the lineup.
Lyle Overbay has joined in the "hit-fest" in Toronto batting .310 with three HRs and 10 RBIs.
Even Adam LaRoche, historically a weak first-half hitting (career pre All-Star break OPS .777) and a very good second-half hitter (post All-Star break OPS .907), is off to a fast start, batting .288 with three HRs and 10 RBIs.
And the list so far hasn't included perennial favorites, Carlos Delgado, Price Fielder, Derrek Lee, or first-base eligible players like Nick Swisher, Casey Blake, Jorge Cantu, Adam Dunn and Hank Blalock.
What this means to you as a fantasy owner is that while your first basemen have value to you and your lineup, if you are looking to strengthen one of your weaknesses, you will probably have to use another position as trade bait.
Newspaper Subscriptions
eEdition
RSS
Newsletters