Top 10 First Basemen and Designated Hitters

 The K Zone Overall RankingMike’s RankingIan’s RankingMojo’s RankingMaddie’s RankingJack’s RankingAaron’s Ranking
1J.D. Martinez (BOS)   J.D. Martinez (BOS)J.D. Martinez (BOS) J.D. Martinez (BOS)J.D. Martinez(BOS)J.D. Martinez (BOS) J.D. Martinez (BOS)
2Paul Goldschmidt (STL) Freddie Freeman (ATL)Paul Goldschmidt (STL) Paul Goldschmidt (STL)Paul Goldschmidt (STL)Joey Votto (CIN)Paul Goldschmidt (STL)
3 Freddie Freeman (ATL)Paul Goldschmidt (STL)Freddie Freeman (ATL) Joey Votto (CIN)Freddie Freeman(ATL)Paul Goldshcmidt (STL)Freddie Freeman (ATL)
4Giancarlo Stanton (NYY)  Giancarlo Stanton (NYY)Joey Votto (CIN)Freddie Freeman (ATL)Joey Votto (CIN)Freddie Freeman (ATL)Giancarlo Stanton (NYY)
5Joey Votto (CIN) Khris Davis (OAK)Giancarlo Stanton (NYY) Giancarlo Stanton (NYY)Giancarlo Stanton (NYY)Giancarlo Stanton (NYY) Joey Votto (CIN)
6Nelson Cruz (MIN) Nelson Cruz (MIN)Nelson Cruz (MIN) Nelson Cruz (MIN)Khris Davis (OAK)Max Muncy (LAD)Anthony Rizzo (CHI)
7Khris Davis (OAK)  Anthony Rizzo (CHC)Anthony Rizzo (CHC) Max Muncy (LAD)Nelson Cruz (MIN)Khris Davis (OAK)Khris Davis (OAK)
8Anthony Rizzo (CHC)  Rhys Hoskins (PHI) Khris Davis (OAK)Anthony Rizzo (CHC)Anthony Rizzo (CHC)Rhys Hoskins (PHI)Jesus Aguilar (MIL) 
9Max Muncy (LAD)  Max Muncy (LAD) Max Muncy (LAD) Rhys Hoskins (PHI)Rhys Hoskins (PHI)Nelson Cruz (MIN) Nelson Cruz (MIN)
10Rhys Hoskins (PHI)Jesus Aguilar (MIL) Rhys Hoskins (PHI)Jesus Aguilar (MIL)Max Muncy (LAD)Anthony Rizzo (CHC) Jose Abreu (CWS)

 

While first base as a position has shallowed in recent years, the addition of designated hitters to this list made it one of the most talented. It’s highlighted by solidified stars a the top, and underrated breakouts at the tail. Boston DH J.D. Martinez, to whom much of the team’s 2018 World Series campaign is attributed, top the chart. Martinez’s bat was one of the most potent this decade, as shown by his 170 wRC+ from a .330 batting average and 43 home runs. The Cardinals’ newest import, Paul Goldshmidt, ranks second after putting having his sixth consecutive season of at least 130 wRC+ and fifth out of six seasons with at least 140 with the Diamondbacks last year. Goldy narrowly edged out the comparable Freddie Freeman, who earned the third overall spot slashing .309/.388/.505 in 2018, helping lead his Braves to a division title. 2017 NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton took a step back after being traded to the Yankees for 2018, but he still swatted 38 home runs while staying healthy for the second year in a row. #5 first baseman Joey Votto also lost some power in 2018 (which Ian wrote about here), but the walk machine maintained a 17.3%, leading to his .417 OBP. The Twins’ newest addition, slugger Nelson Cruz, comes in at the six spot. Cruz has hit at least 37 home runs for five years in a row now, and has maintained an on base percentage above .360 in four of the past five. Khris Davis has easily overtaken his homophone counterpart in this category, after setting a career high with 48 bombs last season and, perhaps even more impressively, having a batting average of exactly .247 for the fourth year in a row. The eighth spot on the list went to Cubs’ first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who finished 2018 with a .376 OBP, which is actually his lowest in five years. Coming in ninth was Dodgers breakout Dodgers breakout Max Muncy, whose .263/.391/.582 line led him to 162 wRC+. Despite never being a top prospect, he paced for a 6 fWAR full season, and hopes to build on his success. Rhys Hoskins broke onto the scenes in 2017, and continued to impress last year with a 34 home runs and a very respectable .354 OBP, earning him the final spot on our list.

 

Advertisement

1 Comment

Leave a Comment

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s