Athlon Sports' updated consensus fantasy rankings reveal the AL's strength at first base
Opening Day is just a few weeks away and Athlon Sports has all the fantasy baseball rankings you need to get ready for the upcoming season.
Athlon Sports has combined nine fantasy baseball big boards from around the web to compile an updated consensus Top 200 as well as positional breakdowns.
At first base, not much has changed in the updated positional rankings. Miguel Cabrera, who's moving to third this season, and Albert Pujols flip-flop places atop the first base rankings, followed by Joey Votto, Adrian Gonzalez and Prince Fielder, the reason why Cabrera is moving over to the hot corner.
The biggest changes are all injury or illness-related as Ryan Howard (Achilles), Ike Davis (lung infection), Justin Morneau (concussion-related symptoms and numerous surgeries) and Mark Trumbo (stress fracture in foot) all dropped in the rankings. Howard is out until at least May, if not longer, which is the main reason why he has fallen in the rankings. Davis and Trumbo were both limited early on in spring training by their situations, but appear to be back on track, while Morneau has struggled to find his timing and power at the plate.
There has been some positive news on the injury front, however. Kendrys Morales, who last played on May 29, 2010 due to a severely fractured ankle, has been making slow, but steady progress during spring training. He is scheduled to make his long-awaited return to game action later this week.
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Rank – Position ranking
OVR – Overall ranking on The Big Board
LR — Last Ranked, where player was ranked on The Big Board that was published on Feb. 20, 2012
NR — Not Ranked, means player did not appear on The Big Board that was published on Feb. 20, 2012
AS – Athlon Sports (updated 3/19/12)
CBS – CBSSportsline.com (as of 3/16/12)
ESPN – (updated 3/13/12)
FOX – FOXSports.com (updated 3/7/12)
MLB – MLB.com (as of 3/15/12)
RC – RotoChamp.com (updated 3/18/12)
RS – RotoSummit.com (updated 2/27/12)
USA - USAToday.com (updated 2/13/12)
Y! – Yahoo! Sports (updated 2/24/12)*
*Yahoo! ranked only 120 players on their list, while Athlon's Big Board contains 200. The aggregated scores of the other eight big boards were used to extrapolate Yahoo!’s rankings to 200 players.
Athlon Sports Fantasy Rankings**: Big Board | C | 1B | 2B | 3B | SS | OF | SP | RP
**Positional rankings will be updated throughout the week
| Rank | OVR | LR | Player | Team | Pos | AS | CBS | ESPN | FOX | MLB | RC | RS | USA | Y! |
| 1 | 1 | 3 | Miguel Cabera | DET | 1B | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| 2 | 2 | 1 | Albert Pujols | LAA | 1B | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| 3 | 9 | 7 | Joey Votto | CIN | 1B | 16 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 9 | 5 | 9 | 10 | 7 |
| 4 | 10 | 9 | Adrian Gonzalez | BOS | 1B | 7 | 13 | 14 | 7 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 9 | 9 |
| 5 | 17 | 16 | Prince Fielder | DET | 1B | 17 | 26 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 7 | 18 | 18 | 14 |
| 6 | 23 | 21 | Mark Teixeira | NYY | 1B | 22 | 33 | 24 | 23 | 24 | 18 | 27 | 31 | 23 |
| 7 | 36 | 33 | Carlos Santana | CLE | C/1B | 52 | 17 | 52 | 30 | 35 | 32 | 46 | 40 | 41 |
| 8 | 38 | 38 | Mike Napoli | TEX | C/1B | 57 | 43 | 47 | 27 | 39 | 30 | 41 | 36 | 53 |
| 9 | 39 | 48 | Pablo Sandoval | SF | 1B/3B | 34 | 54 | 33 | 44 | 68 | 27 | 38 | 69 | 39 |
| 10 | 46 | 42 | Paul Konerko | CHW | 1B | 70 | 97 | 36 | 37 | 40 | 38 | 35 | 65 | 47 |
| 11 | 52 | 49 | Eric Hosmer | KC | 1B | 41 | 106 | 45 | 39 | 74 | 43 | 40 | 60 | 68 |
| 12 | 59 | 53 | Michael Young | TEX | 1B/2B/3B | 74 | 56 | 95 | 43 | 101 | 26 | 57 | 75 | 61 |
| 13 | 69 | 72 | Kevin Youkilis | BOS | 1B/3B | 58 | 45 | 98 | 59 | 77 | 105 | 76 | 68 | 60 |
| 14 | 70 | 79 | Michael Morse | WAS | 1B/OF | 103 | 83 | 71 | 53 | 82 | 42 | 70 | 83 | 62 |
| 15 | 77 | 76 | Joe Mauer | MIN | C/1B | 43 | 48 | 131 | 58 | 66 | 77 | 85 | 93 | 95 |
| 16 | 83 | 87 | Lance Berkman | STL | 1B/OF | 105 | 78 | 59 | 77 | 96 | 52 | 77 | 99 | 86 |
| 17 | 90 | 90 | Howard Kendrick | LAA | 1B/2B/OF | 85 | 119 | 118 | 79 | 84 | 88 | 91 | 101 | 72 |
| 18 | 98 | 98 | Billy Butler | KC | 1B | 55 | 111 | 102 | 129 | 153 | 37 | 121 | 85 | 123 |
| 19 | 109 | 107 | Freddie Freeman | ATL | 1B | 81 | 147 | 120 | 76 | 143 | 81 | 127 | 97 | 115 |
| 20 | 112 | 120 | Michael Cuddyer | COL | 1B/2B/OF | 96 | 152 | 92 | 123 | 156 | 139 | 98 | 121 | 70 |
| 21 | 115 | 113 | Mark Reynolds | BAL | 1B/3B | 120 | 98 | 156 | 107 | 111 | 101 | 123 | 124 | 128 |
| 22 | 141 | 149 | Nick Swisher | NYY | 1B/OF | 163 | 170 | 150 | 146 | 115 | 137 | 158 | 114 | 153 |
| 23 | 142 | 143 | Paul Goldschmidt | ARI | 1B | 136 | - | 182 | 150 | 117 | 126 | 192 | 113 | 98 |
| 24 | 145 | 136 | Adam Lind | TOR | 1B | 158 | - | 135 | 142 | 133 | 110 | 115 | 195 | 142 |
| 25 | 158 | 183 | Gaby Sanchez | MIA | 1B | 156 | 182 | 162 | 133 | 200 | 154 | 175 | 115 | 161 |
| 26 | 160 | 118 | Ryan Howard | PHI | 1B | 159 | 126 | 196 | 171 | 187 | - | 160 | 150 | 94 |
| 27 | 161 | 137 | Ike Davis | NYM | 1B | 157 | 149 | 208 | 172 | 152 | - | 168 | 140 | 111 |
| 28 | 165 | 153 | Justin Morneau | MIN | 1B | 59 | 191 | - | 176 | 181 | - | - | 126 | 151 |
| 29 | 172 | 200 | Carlos Lee | HOU | 1B/OF | 161 | - | - | 147 | - | 150 | 183 | 123 | 175 |
| 30 | 182 | 190 | Kendrys Morales | LAA | 1B | 154 | - | - | - | 168 | 122 | - | - | 176 |
| 31 | 207 | NR | Lucas Duda | NYM | 1B/OF | - | - | - | - | - | 173 | - | 143 | 190 |
| 32 | 209 | 155 | Mark Trumbo | LAA | 1B/OF | - | - | - | 155 | - | - | 177 | - | 185 |
| 33 | 210 | NR | Brandon Belt | SF | 1B/OF | - | 197 | - | 190 | 186 | 192 | - | 154 | - |
| 34 | 218 | NR | Carlos Pena | TB | 1B | - | - | 192 | - | 182 | 180 | - | 178 | - |
| 35 | 223 | 216 | Yonder Alonso | SD | 1B/OF | 181 | - | - | - | - | 176 | - | - | - |
| 36 | 232 | NR | Mike Carp | SEA | 1B/OF | - | - | - | - | - | 166 | - | - | - |
| 37 | 236 | NR | James Loney | LAD | 1B | - | - | - | - | - | 168 | - | - | - |
| 38 | 253 | NR | Adam Dunn | CHW | 1B/DH | - | - | - | - | 188 | - | - | - | - |
Other names to consider (in alphabetical order): Chris Davis (BAL, 1B/3B), Todd Helton (COL, 1B), Aubrey Huff (SF, 1B/OF), Garrett Jones (PIT, 1B/OF), Adam LaRoche (WAS, 1B), Mitch Moreland (TEX, 1B/OF), Daniel Murphy (NYM, 1B/2B/3B), Justin Smoak (SEA, 1B), Ty Wigginton (PHI, 1B/3B/OF)
— by Mark Ross, updated on March 21, 2012
Other Fantasy Baseball Content:
2012 Fantasy Baseball: First Base Rankings
2012 Fantasy Baseball: Second Base Rankings
2012 Fantasy Baseball: Shortstop Rankings
2012 Fantasy Baseball: Third Base Rankings
2012 Fantasy Baseball: Outfield Rankings
2012 Fantasy Baseball: Catcher Rankings
2012 Fantasy Baseball: Starting Pitcher Rankings
2012 Fantasy Baseball: Relief Pitcher Rankings
2012 MLB Fantasy Closer Grid
2012 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers and Busts: Infield
2012 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers and Busts: Outfield
2012 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers and Busts: Starting Pitching
2012 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers and Busts: Closers
Fantasy Baseball Studs to Avoid in 2012
2012 Fantasy Baseball Deep Sleepers
For more fantasy baseball help, visit our friends at the Fantasy Baseball Hub.
