MLB Top 10 First Basemen- 2017

The First Base position is full of longtime veterans, young veterans, and newcomers to the position. First Base is generally considered a position with power hitters but they also need to have adequate defense. Almost every First Basemen on this list has high amounts of HR and RBI as well as being adequate to great Fielders. One qualification this list has is the players must have played full time First Base in 2016.

(note: NL= National League, AL= American League, HR= home run, RBI= runs batted in, OBP= on base percentage, SLG= slugging percentage, SO= strike outs, BB= walks, SB= stolen bases, E= errors, TC= total chances with putouts, assists, errors, TC= total chances with putouts, assists, errors put together)

10. Wil Myers- 26, SD

Wil Myers is the youngest player on the list and has potential to be a great First Basemen. 2016 was his first full season as a First Basemen in which he was selected to the NL All-Star team, he also won the AL Rookie of the Year in 2013 but was playing Right Field at the time. He had a good first year at First Base batting .259, hitting 28 HR, 29 Doubles, driving in 94 RBI, with a .336 OBP, a .461 SLG, 68 BB, and 160 SO. His fielding was also impressive with a .998 fielding percentage and only 3 Errors in 1325 TC. He is ranked number 10 because he has only played First Base for year even though he showed potential offensively and defensively and he could move up the list after 2017.

9. Hanley Ramirez- 33, BOS

Hanley Ramirez is a 12-year veteran who has played majority of his career at different positions, notably at Shortstop and Third Base. The reason he makes the list is because in 2016 he had an impressive first year at First Base with no experience at the position in his previous 11 years. He has been selected to three All-Star teams but has not been selected since 2010. He has won two Silver Sluggers but his last one was in 2009. It is important to note he played a different position for his All-Star appearances and Silver Slugger awards. In his first year at First Base he batted .286, hitting 30 HR, 28 Doubles, driving in 111 RBI, with a .361 OBP, a .505 SLG, 60 BB, and a low amount of strikeout for a First Basemen with only 120. His fielding was impressive as well with a .996 fielding percentage and only 4 Errors in 1043 TC. Hanley Ramirez is number 9 because he has only played one year at First Base but he had an impressive year. He can move up the list if has another good season at first base, but he might not due to of his age.

8. Chris Davis- 30, BAL

Chris Davis is an eight-year veteran who is more known for his offense with a lot of HR over his last five seasons. He made the AL All-Star team in 2013 along with winning the Silver Slugger the same year. He has been consitant over his last five seasons with 25 plus HR each year with two being 45 plus HR, 20 plus Doubles in five seasons, and has only gotten 90 plus RBI in two seasons one of which was 138 RBI. He has been a good defensive First Baseman with a career .995 fielding percentage and only one season with 10 plus Errors. In 2016 he only batted .221, hit 38 HR, 21 Doubles, drove in 84 RBI, with a .332 OBP, a .459 SLG, and 88 BB but less impressively 219 SO. He is a good fielder with a .993 fielding percentage but with a less impressive 10 Errors in 1397 TC. He is number 8 because he has more experience at First Base than the previous two First Basemen on the list, is a great HR hitter, and is good defensively. What holds him back from being higher on the list is his less consistent offensive stats, has had a high SO rate, and he is older.

7. Eric Hosmer- 27, KC

Eric Hosmer is a young veteran First Baseman who has played six seasons where he has been more impressive defensively, although he has been consistent offensively the last two seasons. He was on a World Championship team in 2015. He was selected to the 2016 AL All-Star team and has won three Gold Gloves from 2013-2015. 2016 was his best all-around year where he batted .266, hit 25 HR, 24 Doubles, drove in 104 RBI, with a .328 OBP, a .433 SLG, only 57 BB, and 132 SO. He is also a good fielder as well with a .995 fielding percentage and only 6 Errors in 1320 TC. He is better defensively than offensively even though he has improved his offense. He is number 7 because he has not been consistent offensively but has been great defensively and he is still young so he can still improve. He could go higher if he repeats his latest offensive successes to show he a great all-around First Baseman.

6. Freddie Freeman- 27, ATL

Freddie Freeman is a seven-year veteran who is still young and is more known for his defense but has had good offensive numbers. He was selected to the 2013 and 2014 NL All-Star teams. Defensively he has averaged a .995 career fielding percentage and has six or less Errors in 5 of 7 years. He has been good offensively with a career average of .288 but has only hit 25 plus HR in one season, 25 plus Doubles in six seasons, and has three seasons with 90 plus RBI. Last year he batted .302, hit 34 HR, 43 Doubles, drove in 91 RBI, with a .400 OBP, a .569 SLG, 89 BB but with a less impressive 171 SO. He is a great fielder with a .996 fielding percentage and impressively only 5 Errors in 1417 TC. He is number 6 because he has been a great defensive First Baseman and has been good offensively but less consitant in offense. He is still young and can repeat his 2016 numbers to consistency offensively so he has potential to move up the list in the future.

5. Adrián González- 34, LAD

Adrián González is a 13-year veteran with 11 full seasons and he has been a consistent First Baseman throughout his career. He has many accomplishments including being selected to five All-Star teams with the last being in 2015, winning two Silver Sluggers with the last being in 2014, and winning four Gold Gloves with the last being in 2014. He has been consistent offensively with a career average of .290, seven years with 100 plus RBI, seven years with 25 plus HR, and 10 seasons with 30 plus Doubles. He has been consistent defensively as well with a career .995 fielding percentage. Last year he batted .285, hit 18 HR, 31 Doubles, drove in 90 RBI, with a .349 OBP, a .435 SLG, and only 55 BB but only 117 SO. He is also a great fielder as well with a .998 fielding percentage and only 2 Errors is 1192 TC. He is number 5 and in the top 5 because he has shown to be consistent offensively and defensively for his entire career and is still a top First Baseman. He has also been durable playing 155 plus games in all of his 11 full time seasons. What holds him back from being higher is his age and the fact he has declined slightly the last two seasons and that may continue.

4. Jose Abreu- 29, CHW

Jose Abreu is a First Baseman in his prime and has only played three seasons. In 2014 he was selected to the AL All-Star team, he also won the AL Rookie of the Year and Silver Slugger awards the same year. He has played for a short period with three seasons but has put up some impressive stats. Over his first three seasons he has batted at least .290, hit 25 plus HR, 30 plus Doubles, and drove in 100 plus RBI. He still had a great year although it was his worst year so far where he batted .293, hit 25 HR, 32 Doubles, drove in 100 RBI, with a .353 OBP, a .468 SLG, only 47 BB, and only 125 SO. He is also a good fielder as well with a .993 fielding percentage but with a less impressive 10 Errors in 1337 TC. He is number 4 because he has put up good to great numbers, which shows he is consistent. What holds him back from being higher up is he is not as good at fielding than others on the list and does not have as much experience with only three seasons.

3. Paul Goldschmidt- 29, ARI

Paul Goldscmidt is a younger veteran First Baseman who is in the prime of his career. He has accomplished a lot in his six-year career being selected to four straight NL All-Star teams, has won two NL Silver Sluggers, and has won two NL Gold Gloves. This shows he is a consistent every year including being consistent offensively and defensively. In 2016 he batted .297, hit 24 HR, 33 Doubles, drove in 95 RBI, with a .411 OBP, a .489 SLG, 110 BB, and 150 SO. He is also a great fielder as well with a .997 fielding percentage and impressively only 4 Errors in 1498 TC. He is a great First Baseman offensively and defensively with a lot of accomplishments, which is why he is number 3. He also has potential to remain a top First Baseman for a many more years while he is in his prime.

2. Anthony Rizzo- 27, CHC

Anthony Rizzo is great First Baseman with six years of experience who is still young while also entering his prime years as well as accomplishing a lot. He has been selected to three straight NL All-Star teams, won the 2016 NL Silver Slugger and Gold Glove awards, and was on a World Championship team in 2016. He has played four full seasons all at First Base and so far, has shown to be consistent and durable. Last year he batted .292, hit 32 HR, 43 Doubles, drove in 109 RBI, with a .385 OBP, a .544 SLG, 74 BB, and only 108 SO. He is also a very good fielder as well with a .996 fielding percentage and 6 Errors in 1399 TC. He is number 2 because he is an accomplished First Baseman and is young with potential to have many more great years. He has also shown in a short period to be consistent on offensive and defense, and he has shown to be durable as well.

1. Miguel Cabrera- 33, DET

Miguel Cabrera is a veteran who has played for 14 years and is still a great First Baseman. He has won 2 AL MVP awards with the last one being in 2013 and he has been selected to 11 All-Star teams including seven straight selections. He has won seven Silver Slugger awards including five of the last seven. He was also on a World Championship team but he was a rookie and playing another position. He has been a durable player too having played 150 games in 11 of 14 season. He has been consistent as well batting .300 in 11 seasons, hitting 25 plus HR in 12 years, 30 plus Doubles in 11 seasons, and 100 plus RBI in 12 seasons. He is also still productive because in 2016 batted .316, hit 38 HR, 31 Doubles, drove in 108 RBI, with a .393 OBP, a .563 SLG, 75 BB, and only 116 SO. Although he is more known as a great hitter, his fielding was very good as well with a .995 fielding percentage and 7 Errors in 1288 TC. He is number 1 because he has been great for a long time showing he is consistent and durable but he is also still a great First Baseman. It is worth noting that he is older being 34 years old and can decline quickly. His durability is also at risk because in 2015 he only played 119 games.