All Positions: C / 1B / 2B / SS / 3B / CF / OF / P
It's a good year to be an up-and-coming first baseman. Four of our top
eight first base prospects were 2008 first rounders -- including three
of the top four. Lars Anderson tops this list, thanks to the way he
took care of both the California and Eastern Leagues, with Justin Smoak
burning not too far behind.
We'll continue the first basemen barrage next week with our Top 10 Under 25 and then Top 10 Under 30.
| Top 15 First Base Prospects | ||||||||||||
| No. | Player | Pos. | Comments | Age | Org | Lvl | ||||||
| 1 | Lars Anderson | 1B | All he did was follow .398 wOBA showing in Cal League with .415 wOBA in Eastern League | 21.1 | BOS | AA | ||||||
| 2 | Justin Smoak | 1B | No. 11 overall pick had .372 wOBA (62 PA) in Low-A; .450 wOBA, 40% XBH in 48 AFL PA | 21.9 | TEX | A | ||||||
| 3 | Eric Hosmer | 1B | No. 3 overall pick brings advanced approach to the plate for a high schooler; some power, too | 19.0 | KC | R | ||||||
| 4 | Yonder Alonso | 1B | No. 7 overall pick sporting a .327/.436/.541 line (117 PA) in HWB; both power, patience | 21.5 | CIN | A+ | ||||||
| 5 | Kila Ka'aihue | 1B/DH | After posting .347 wOBA last year, Hawaiian sat above .450 this season; walks a ton | 24.5 | KC | MLB | ||||||
| 6 | Logan Morrison | 1B | As if his .386 wOBA in the Florida State League hasn’t impressive, he's at .484 in the AFL | 21.1 | FLA | A+ | ||||||
| 7 | Freddie Freeman | 1B | From .294 wOBA, 9% LD in '07 to .386, 19% in '08; 2007 2nd rounder could break out in '09 | 18.8 | ATL | A | ||||||
| 8 | David Cooper | 1B | No. 17 overall pick had .333/399/.502 vital (303 PA) across three levels in professional debut | 20.6 | TOR | A+ | ||||||
| 9 | Chris Marrero | 1B | Missed most of the '08 season with broken right fibula; .337 wOBA, .205 IsoP in 287 PA | 20.3 | WAS | A+ | ||||||
| 10 | Nick Evans | 1B/LF | Improved .321 wOBA in '06 to .364 in '07, .390 in '08; MLB struggles: .295 wOBA (119 PA) | 22.7 | NYM | MLB | ||||||
| 11 | Chris Carter | 1B/3B/DH | Had his way in the Cal League: .389 wOBA, 39 HR, 57% XBH; lots of strikeouts, too (26%) | 21.8 | OAK | A+ | ||||||
| 12 | Beau Mills | 1B | Had 58 XBH (544 PA), .507 SLG in A+; SLG has dropped to .386 (.313 wOBA) in 72 AFL PA | 22.2 | CLE | A+ | ||||||
| 13 | Kyle Blanks | 1B | 6-foot-6, 270-pounder's .396 wOBA last season up slightly from .393 in Cal League in '07 | 22.1 | SD | AA | ||||||
| 14 | Angel Villalona | 1B | Potential, yes; results, not so much: .264/.313/.436 in Low-A; no BB (3.6%), high K's (23.5%) | 18.2 | SF | A | ||||||
| 15 | Chris Parmelee | 1B/RF | Little contact (.239 AVG, 28.7% K), lot of walks (18%) and power .257 IsoP; .378 wOBA | 20.6 | MIN | A | ||||||
| Honorables: Brandon Allen (CHW), Allan Dykstra (SD), Sean Doolittle (OAK), Travis Ishikawa (SF), and Gaby Sanchez (FLA). | ||||||||||||
| * Our rankings combine a player's ceiling with the odds that he'll reach it and favor recent production | ||||||||||||
| ** Ages are as of November 1st, 2008 | ||||||||||||
| *** Level is the highest level the player has reached | ||||||||||||
| <<< Discuss these rankings | ||||||||||||
Questions about this list can be directed toward Adam Foster at adamf@projectprospect.com.