Mound Talk

The great power position, first base. Here is the MoundTalk.com top 20 1B:

1. Albert Pujols. Best player in the game.
2. Howard. Power and average are his calling card. He’s a top half of the first round pick and he ought to be well worth it.
3. David Ortiz. If he’s eligible in your league at first base, Ortiz is one of the best options. Excellent power, great lineup both in front and behind him and can hit for a good average.
4. Lance Berkman. Incredible protection now that Carlos Lee is in Houston. Production should increase with the better lineup around him.
5. Mark Teixeira. We see a bounce back from the big man in Texas. There’s just too much talent on his team and in him to not produce at a high level.
6. Justin Morneau. Lots of RBI opportunities with the guys ahead of him. Morneau should have another excellent season.
7. Derrek Lee. New lineup means more opportunities for DLee to show off his skills. He’s definitely worth the risk as he should slide to the late second or third round.
8. Paul Konerko. Coming off a career year so don’t be suckered into taking him too early.
9. Nick Swisher. Swish will be playing mostly first with the Shannon Stewart signing and can concentrate on one position and hitting, he continues to improve as he gets more service time.
10. Carlos Delgado. His injuries could be an issue but has been steady throughout his career and has a tremendous lineup around him. He’s worth taking a chance on his health but be ready with a backup just in case.
11. Prince Fielder. He should improve on last years numbers as he gets more service time. The lineup around him will improve as they should stay healthy and gain experience. Fielder could turn out to be the best value pick of the 2007 fantasy season.
12. Jason Giambi. Because he hits in the NY lineup he’s going to rack up stats. He primarily will serve as a DH after the Yankees signed Mientkiewicz this offseason.
13. Richie Sexson. With him, injuries are always an issue and he doesn’t have a great supporting cast, he could easily be overvalued at this spot but when you’re the 13^th 1B there isn’t a lot of risk but quite a bit of reward.
14. Adrian Gonzalez. He has a better lineup around him but expectations will be higher for him to recreate last year. Add to that the much improved pitching in his division and he could easily falter.
15. Adam LaRoche. He might not have the power around him this year, but expectations will be lower going to a non contending team and the guys in front of him will be on base.
16. Lyle Overbay. He’s a safe pick to get 25 hr, .290 avg & 90runs, not flashy and not what you want out of the first base slot but can be a great guy to hedge against injuries to the likes of Giambi, Sexon and Delgado.
17. Ryan Shealy. He has tremendous upside and is in a young offense that will have a lot of ups and downs, he won’t have much pressure playing in KC and will have Sweeney as a mentor. Look for his production to increase as Alex Gordon gets called up.
18. Todd Helton. The next two picks are out of the NL West where the pitching has improved greatly, so these guys are unlikely to have great years. Helton has been declining for some time and will most likely get drafted much higher than this, but if he is still around in the late rounds then he is definitely worth the risk. Trade talks could hinder is numbers as well. A great platoon option.
19. Conor Jackson. He has a lot of upside and I would rank him as high as 13 if he wasn’t in the NL West and if he had some more proven players around him.
20. Kendry Morales. Here is a real sleeper pick. He has tremendous potential in a very good lineup where he won’t have to be “it”. Playing on the West coast also carries less pressure and the AL West pitching is nothing too spectacular.

Next up: Second Baseman