Here’s the 2012 LestersLegends First-Base Rankings for AL-Only Leagues.

1.  Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers: Cabrera is entering the 2012 season in a better place than he was last year. His personal issues did not affect his play. Adding Prince Fielder makes him even more dangerous. What sets Cabrera apart from Albert Pujols and Adrian Gonzalez is his switch to third base.

2. Albert Pujols, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: The move to the American League does not concern me. He can get a day off at DH from time to time. There is an adjustment when switching leagues, but I think the American League pitchers are going to be the ones that need adjusting in this case.

3. Adrian Gonzalez, Boston Red Sox: The Red Sox were disappointing last year, but that wasn’t on A-Gone. He was right in line with Cabrera and Pujols in most categories. He finished first in the AL in RBI and that was with Carl Crawford having a down year. I expect him to bounce back, which could help Gonzalez win the RBI title.

4. Prince Fielder, Detroit Tigers:  Pairs with Cabrera to form one of the best 1-2 punches in the league. Not an ideal ballpark, but Prince has big power.

5. Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees: Tex has turned into a Ryan Howard of sorts (minus the strikeouts). You know he’s going to give you ample HRs (37.0 average since joining the Yankees) and RBI (113.7 average since joining the Yankees), but you have to deal with his falling batting average (.292 to .256 to .248). I still think he’s more likely to bounce back in that department than not.

6. Mike Napoli, Texas Rangers: Napoli caught fire in July last year and remained hot through the World Series. He hit .320 with 30 HRs. With first base and catcher eligibility, he’s a valuable option.

7. Eric Hosmer, Kansas City Royals: He came in with huge expectations and delivered posting a .293-66-19-78-11 line. Playing in KC could limit his run and RBI totals, but the future is bright for this guy.

8. Carlos Santana, Cleveland Indians: He’s young and has plenty to improve on (.239 average), but he has  big-time power (27 HRs last year) and with 1B-C eligibility, he gets a boost in value.

9. Paul Konerko, Chicago White Sox: I’m not sure if this guy ages. He’ll turn 36 this year and you would think his decline would have begun, but he is coming off back-to-back .300-plus, 30-plus HR, 100-plus RBI seasons.

10. Michael Young, Texas Rangers:  The dude doesn’t age or slow down. You’re not going to get home runs from him, but expect a .300-plus average and a solid number of runs and RBI.

11.  Mark Trumbo, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: Trumbo will take a look at third base and DH duties to get him at-bats as he’s a man without a position right now. He answered the call last year with 29 HRs. As long as his foot doesn’t keep him out, he should be productive.

12.  Adam Lind, Toronto Blue Jays:  He didn’t return to his ridiculous .305-93-35-114-1 line that he posted in 2009, but his 2011 line of .251-56-26-87-1 was a solid enough improvement over 2010 (.237-57-23-72-0). He’s basically a two-category player (HR, RBI), which is fine if you can address the other categories elsewhere.

 

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