Ray Flowers breaks down each position as the 2015 baseball season has reached its conclusion. Here are links to all of the individual breakdowns:
FIRST BASE
- Rankings from March.
| Rank | Tier | Player | Team (W-L) | 10 Team ($) | 12 Team ($) | 15 Team ($) |
| 1 | 1 | Paul Goldschmidt | Diamondbacks | 39 | 38 | 38 |
| 2 | 1 | Miguel Cabrera | Tigers | 37 | 35 | 35 |
| 3 | 2 | Anthony Rizzo | Cubs | 33 | 33 | 32 |
| 4 | 2 | Edwin Encarnacion | Blue Jays | 31 | 31 | 31 |
| 5 | 2 | Jose Abreu | White Sox | 30 | 29 | 29 |
| 6 | 2 | Freddie Freeman | Braves | 29 | 28 | 27 |
| 7 | 2 | Todd Frazier | Reds | 28 | 27 | 26 |
| 8 | 2 | Adrian Gonzalez | Dodgers | 25 | 24 | 24 |
| 9 | 2 | Buster Posey | Giants | 21 | 24 | 24 |
| 10 | 3 | Albert Pujols | Angels | 21 | 22 | 22 |
| 11 | 3 | Chris Davis | Orioles | 20 | 21 | 21 |
| 12 | 3 | Carlos Santana | Indians | 20 | 21 | 21 |
| 13 | 3 | Joey Votto | Reds | 19 | 20 | 20 |
| 14 | 3 | Victor Martinez | Tigers | 18 | 18 | 18 |
| 15 | 3 | Prince Fielder | Rangers | 18 | 18 | 18 |
| 16 | 3 | Mark Trumbo | Mariners | 16 | 16 | 16 |
| 17 | 3 | Brandon Belt | Giants | 16 | 16 | 16 |
| 18 | 3 | Eric Hosmer | Royals | 15 | 15 | 15 |
| 19 | 3 | Justin Morneau | Rockies | 14 | 15 | 14 |
| 20 | 3 | Adam LaRoche | White Sox | 13 | 12 | 13 |
| 21 | 3 | Lucas Duda | Mets | 13 | 12 | 12 |
| 22 | 4 | Joe Mauer | Twins | 12 | 11 | 11 |
| 23 | 4 | Mike Napoli | Rangers | 12 | 11 | 11 |
| 24 | 4 | Matt Adams | Cardinals | 12 | 11 | 11 |
| 25 | 4 | Billy Butler | Athletics | 11 | 10 | 10 |
BUSTS
Freeman wasn’t crushed by a lack of teammates as many expected. His average dipped .012 points to .276, his OBP went down to .370 (from .386) and his SLG was up .010 at .471. Same as always. Only 18 homers, 66 RBIs and 63 runs scored, though, as he was limited to 416 at-bats because of multiple injuries.
Santana admitted when the season was over that his back was jacked virtually all year long. His average dipped to .231 and he hit just 19 homers, at least partially as the result of ill health. The 85 RBIs and 72 runs scored were still solid numbers.
V-Mart was a superstar in 2014 (.335/.409/.565). I warned everyone to be cautious and foretold of a serious regression -- still didn’t think it would be so drastic. Martinez went .245/.301/.366 with 11 homers, 64 RBIs and 39 runs scored.
Trumbo hit .262, which is fine, but the 22 homers, 64 RBIs and 62 runs scored were well below expectations for a guy folks had pegged as a 30/90 bat.
Morneau had a solid .310/.363/.458 slash line. Unfortunately, concussions limited him to three homers, 15 RBIs and just 49 games played.
LaRoche is always a 25/75 guy when healthy. He was thought likely to do that again in an offensive environment in Chicago. He dealt with injury, too, but it was just a mess as he hit 12 homers with 44 RBIs and a .634 OPS. Dismal.
Mauer did his normal thing with 10 homers, 66 RBIs and 69 runs scored. However, for the second straight year his slash line was anemic (.265/.338/.380).
Napoli hit .207 with a .693 OPS over 98 games with the Red Sox. He found his stroke, hitting .295/.396/.513 over 35 games with the Rangers but it wasn’t enough to overcome his start (.224-18-50-46).
Adams had a .657 OPS and five homers over 175 uninspiring at-bats.
SURPRISES
Adam Lind (ranked 27th) had a down season of only 290 at-bats and six homers which caused a few to forget that when healthy he can really hit righties. In 2015 he went .277-20-87-72 overall and .291/.380/.503 against righties.
Mark Teixeira (29th) from 2012 to 2014 Tex hit 24, three and 22 homers and had 84, 12 and 62 RBIs, respectively. His season was ended due to a leg issue and he only appeared in 111 games, yet he still managed to sock 31 homers, drive in 79 and score 57 times.
Kendrys Morales (32nd) led the Royals with 22 homers and 106 RBIs. He also hit .290 with 81 runs scored. The last time he was close to this good was back in 2009.
Mitch Moreland (38th) tied his career best with 23 homers, but he also set career bests in RBIs (85), batting average (.278) and OPS (.812).
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Daulton Varsho picked up three hits, three RBI and a homer in a win over the Angels on Thursday.
Varsho has only played in seven games this year, but they’ve been seven good ones. He’s homered three times already, and his slugging percentage is a remarkable — and entirely unsustainable — .727 over 22 at-bats. Varsho has been a mediocre offensive player in his two seasons with the Blue Jays, but it’s possible at the age of 28 he’s having a breakout campaign. Far from a guarantee, but possible.
Taylor Ward hit a two-run homer in a loss to the Blue Jays on Thursday.
Ward, 31, gave the Angels a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer off Chris Bassitt in the first inning. He’s now gone deep in two of his last three games, and it ‘improves’ his slash to .181/.224/.391. Ward has been one of the most hot/cold players players in the sport over the last few years, so fantasy managers who can afford to make some roster moves may want to look at Ward while the going is good.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. picked up three hits and scored twice in an 8-5 win over the Angels on Thursday.
Guerrero also drew a walk. It gives the first baseman multiple hits in back-to-back games, and it’s the third time in May that he’s reached that mark. That’s helped raise his average from .268 to .295, and the only thing fantasy managers can be disappointed with is his .432 slugging percentage. That number should continue to climb as the season unfolds, but Vladdy Jr. has had some inconsistent seasons when it comes to power production.
Chad Green picked up his first save of 2025 with a scoreless ninth against the Angels on Thursday.
Green got the save after Jeff Hoffman worked in back-to-back games — and struggled — in the first two contests against the Angels. He struck out two and looked the part while needing just nine pitches to get through the inning. Hoffman should remain the closer, but Green is on his tail if the struggles were to continue.
Chris Bassitt allowed five runs — four earned — while working six-plus innings against the Angels on Thursday while picking up a win.
Bassitt allowed three runs over the first two innings on a pair of homers, but settled down over his next four frames. He came out to work the seventh, but ended up being charged for two more runs after leaving the contest. The 36-year-old veteran has forged a 3.35 ERA and outstanding 49/8 K/BB ratio over the first quarter of the season, but this wasn’t him at his best. He’ll get the Rays next week if the rotation order stays the same for Toronto.
José Soriano allowed three runs over five innings while not factoring in the decision Thursday against the Blue Jays.
Soriano left with a 4-3 lead, but it was erased quickly after his departure. The 26-year-old was not exactly dominant in his outing with eight hits allowed and four free passes, but he did strike out six to help balance things out a smidgen. Soriano takes an even ERA of 4.00 into a scheduled start against the Padres in San Diego on Tuesday. There should be better options for that one.