MLB Rankings: Top First Basemen of 2019

Let us take a look at the top ten MLB first basemen.

As the baseball season nears with every passing day, and with Spring Training pretty much upon us, these positional rankings continue. Today’s list is, as the title says, the top first basemen currently in MLB.

These rankings do take into account performance prior to 2018 but these rankings are more about expected 2019 performance than entire career. So while there is some extra weight for players like Joey Votto who is a former MVP, we can’t rule out guys who did have really good years like Jesus Aguilar.

First base is one of the strongest positions in the league, especially at the top, but one to ten it’s a really talented group. While not all are the same as far as skillset, with some being more big boppers and others being more rounded as far as defense and contact, all have the potential to be All-Stars and some at the top could win MVPs.

Of course by midseason these rankings could change completely, with prospects graduating, some younger players realizing their potential.

So let’s do it.

*NOTE: Players who will not primarily play first base in 2019 are excluded from this list. Most notably Cody Bellinger of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Matt Carpenter of the St. Louis Cardinals.

8. Jose Abreu, Chicago White Sox

You have to give Jose Abreu credit, he has been the only threat on a weak White Sox team for the last few years. He really hasn’t had any help yet has still managed to have successful years over and over.

This was no different in 2018, except this time Abreu dealt with injury almost all year and played in just 128 games. Despite that the 32-year-old still went to his second All-Star game and earned his second Silver Slugger award, hitting 22 home runs and 36 doubles.

With a lineup that figures to have some upgrades in the near future like Eloy Jimenez (maybe Manny Machado?) Abreu could finally have some protection and with a return to health too there’s no reason to think he can’t return to the player that once hit 36 home runs and drove in 100 runs.

Abreu’s peripherals stayed mostly the same, his strikeout rate went up marginally, his walk rate also rose, and his hard hit percentage stayed above 35%. Going into the last year of his contract, Abreu will have even more incentive to perform well too.

7. Matt Olson, Oakland Athletics

Matt Olson is on his way to being one of the young new stars in all of baseball. The A’s first baseman first announced his presence in 2017 when he hit 24 home runs in just 59 games. It was could enough to get him a fourth-place finish in the Rookie of the Year voting that year.

In 2018 Olson obviously didn’t continue that power surge, but he still finished the year with 29. Overall Olson’s line was a good but not great .247/.335/.453 but he still was 17 percent better than average with a OPS+ of 117.

But Olson makes his money on defense, because in his first full year he earned himself a Gold Glove and even just by the eye test there’s no reason to believe the 24-year-old can’t add a few more by the time his career is over.

Going forward Olson will probably improve with the bat too, his hard hit rate is almost at 50%, he hardly hits the ball on the ground, and we’ve already seen he has the ability. Olson could very well be in the top 5 or 4 of this list next year.

6. Rhys Hoskins, Philadelphia Phillies

With Carlos Santana out of the picture in Philadelphia Hoskins can now move from left field back to his natural position at first base.

While Hoskins had a good 2018 with a slash line of .246/.354/.496 and 34 home runs it’s not quite the pace he was on when he hit 18 homers and put up a 1.014 OPS in just 50 games in 2017.

The difference between those two seasons is that in 2017 Hoskins played first base, and in 2018 he was moved to left field in an effort to accommodate the signing of Santana.

With the switch back to first, Hoskins should be able to focus more on his hitting again, without having to worry about being a net negative in left field. Meanwhile in his time at first thus far he’s been at least average if not a net positive.

Even with the switch to left field Hoskins was able to maintain a solid walk rate of 13% and was 54th out of 332 hitters in terms of average exit velocity. Protected by JT Realmuto in the lineup now opponents won’t be able to throw around Hoskins, and don’t be surprised if the 25-year-old makes his first All-Star appearance.

5. Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds

In 2018 Joey Votto played the fewest amount of games in a season since 2014 when he played in just 62 games.

This is notable because it may have contributed to the fact that he hit 12 homers in 2018 after 36 in 2017, and went from a guy who was runner-up in the MVP race in 2017 to a player who got no votes in 2018.

But at the end of the day Votto is still a guy who has won an MVP before, someone who has averaged .311/.427/.530 with 28 homers per year over his career.

Votto’s peripherals still hold up too. He still walks more (17.3%) then he strikes out (16.2%), he still hit the ball hard (40% hard hit rate) and sprays the ball all over the field (just a 35% pull rate).

On a Reds team that has added names like Yasiel Puig and Sonny Gray this offseason, Votto’s likely return to MVP caliber production could help Cincinnati start to emerge from their rebuild.

4. Max Muncy, Los Angeles Dodgers

Max Muncy burst onto the scene in a big way in 2018.

Prior to last season Muncy had recorded just 96 total games at the big league level, all of them with the Oakland A’s. In that time he hit just five home runs and slashed just .195/.290/.321.

But after being traded to the Dodgers Muncy came through on his potential, slashing .263/.391/.582 with 35 homers in 137 games, earning him some MVP votes at the end of the season.

At just 28-years-old Muncy is just entering is prime too, and his peripheral numbers suggest that he should be able to maintain his production. While the 27% strikeout rate isn’t ideal his walk rate of 16% helps offset that a bit.

He also had an exit velocity of about 90 MPH, 69th out of 332 qualified hitters.

3. Anthony Rizzo, Chicago Cubs

While Rizzo didn’t put up eye-popping numbers in 2018 (mediocre .283/.376/.470 with 25 homers) he was still one of the biggest leaders of the Cubs.

He racked up 2.9 WAR in 2018, won a Gold Glove award (his second) and got MVP votes for the fifth straight year.

On the periphery Rizzo posted his highest walk rate since joining the big leagues full time (min 100 games), and his lowest strikeout rate over the same time.

While it might have been a bit of a “down” year by his usual standards there is no denying the value Rizzo brings on the field and off the field.

2. Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves

Freddie Freeman is a close close second to Goldschmidt. He posted a .309/.388/.505 with an .892 OPS.

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While the Braves star doesn’t have quite the home run pop that Goldschmidt does he just so happened to lead the league in doubles and helped lead Atlanta out of it’s rebuild to the NL East division crown.

All of this led Freeman to finishing 4th in the MVP voting at the end of the year. Plus at just 29-years-old Freeman is still in his prime and will likely continue to be an important part of the Braves new contention window.

1. Paul Goldschmidt, St. Louis Cardinals

Paul Goldschmidt has been in every All Star game since 2013, while also being worth about 6 WAR in each of those years on average.

But specifically in 2018, Goldschmidt slashed .290/.389/.533 with a .922 OPS and 33 home runs. That line earned Goldschmidt a sixth place finish in MVP voting and his fourth Silver Slugger award.

The 31-year-old earns the top spot because not only is he one of the best hitters in the game but he also is a Gold Glove caliber defender (three in his career). Goldschmidt also presents a lot of value on the basepaths. While he only stole seven bases in 2018 he once stole 32 and 18 just two years ago in the 2017 season.

How complete of a player is led to the Cardinals trading for him in an attempt to make it back to the postseason, and if Goldschmidt performs up to the standard we expect they’ll have a pretty good chance.