MLB Hitters Who Are “Fantasy First”

Fantasy baseball is a game of numbers, and uses different formats to compete against other “managers.” The most common format is head to head, where two managers battle for a week and the one with the most stats in categories wins that match-up. There are many categories to go by but the most common in leagues are as follows when it comes to hitters; Runs, Home Runs, Runs Batted In, Stolen Bases, Batting Average.

I am not an expert per say but I’ve won my fair share of titles and lost some nail bitters in my day, and even got trounced by the best of the best.

Fantasy Firsts are who would you pick first for each position? Mind you these are my picks and not guaranteed 1st picks and I will give a very brief explanations why. Without further ado……..

catcher

I’ll start with the guy that calls the pitches the catcher (C) in years past the obvious pick was JT Realmuto, what’s not to like about a catcher than can run, but he strikes out a lot and is getting older. Adley Rutschman is the new (C) Fantasy First to pick here.

first base

1B is known for being a power hitting spot, Paul Goldschmidt was the obvious choice here. Much like Realmuto above, he swiped plenty of bags for a 1B so with that extra stat, what’s not to like? My pick here was hard, I am a Bryce Harper fan and he is stationed at the 1B position now. Bryce does it all well, but my Fantasy First pick is actually Freddie Freeman, he does it all very well and on top of that has been a pillar of good health. You can count on him usually playing almost every game as well as the fact that he is on a very stacked Dodgers team.

second base

Next up 2B, this one isn’t fair because Mookie Betts who was a Gold Glove last year in right field is going to play 2B full time for the Dodgers. But regardless, I am picking Marcus Semien as my Fantasy First here for two reasons; 1) Semien checks all the boxes and has all the tools and 2) like my 1B pick, Semien is typically a healthy player with no real injury issues and plays all the time.

Short stop

This one was a clear-cut choice for me, my Fantasy First is Bobby Witt Jr. He may be the most complete all around player with his feet in the dirt. I understand he is still young, but in 308 career games he already has a 5.3 WAR. And he is only going to get better as his WAR for this past year was 4.4.

third base

My third base Fantasy First goes to Jose Ramirez, no real lengthy explanation here, he’s a little older than some of the options I was weighing but he definitely checks all the boxes, power, OPS, good average and fast for a 3B, the last three seasons he’s had over 20 steals, and lastly for a power guy he doesn’t K a lot.

right field

Time to check out the outfielders, like I said RF is nobody else other than Ronald Acuna for my Fantasy First. I mean you can still win without him, its a team sport, but if I am first pick or even second and somebody took Witt or Julio Rodriguez instead for some reason, you definitely take Acuna.

center field

Julio Rodriguez is my Fantasy First has the power & speed combo that anybody would want in a player, J-Rod played in 155 games last year, so no real health risks here as of yet, and hopefully not.

Left Field

My choice for LF is easy as it gets as well, for me Corbin Carroll is my Fantasy First and takes this pick by a landslide. What’s not to like about a player with good numbers in every stat there is, especially the stolen base department. Carroll can fly. I almost want to do an AI photo of him with wings now that I think of it or photoshop a Peregrine falcon’s head on Corbin’s body.

So, just to wrap everything up, here are my Fantasy Firsts on the infield; (C) Adley Rutschman (1B) Freddie Freeman (2B) Marcus Semien (SS) Mookie Betts/Bobby Witt (3B) Jose Ramirez. Also, there will be a second edition of Fantasy Firsts coming out tomorrow (or is already out if you are reading past Friday) that is specific to pitchers.

Hope this was useful, have fun and good luck in your leagues.

By Rob Henderson

Photo Credit; Los Angeles Times, USA Today