Top Five at Every Position Right Now: First Base

Photo Courtesy of Talking Chop

By: Chris Larson 

The first installment of the "Top Five at Every Position Right Now" series focused on easily the most pivotal position for all thirty teams across baseball, catcher. Now, the series will shift to focus on first base - a position that has become more about defense over the last few seasons compared to solely being about offense. More and more teams are starting to fall into that trend and while there are definitely some star-power first baseman across the league, more likely than not those stars also have quite a glove to go along with their bat.

Furthermore, the first baseman is one of the most vital position players because of all of the action that takes place at that position. First baseman have to be able to hold back a runner that reaches the base, assist with a cutoff play, and be able to snag balls that might travel up the first base line. It's definitely a position that requires athleticism, skill, and having the ability to react to something in a moments notice.

When you look over the past decade around baseball, there were certainly some notable first baseman. Some of them are still playing today such as Joey Votto of the Cincinnati Reds, Albert Pujols of the Los Angeles Angels, and Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers. Furthermore, you can't forget about Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins or Adrian Gonzalez of the Los Angeles Dodgers either. Every one of those names have been or continue to be a legend at the position.

With that being said, here are the top five first baseman in the game right now based on the different metrics and valuations that all thirty front offices use in their decision-making process.

* Statistics present under each player's name are for the 2019 regular season. *

Photo Courtesy of USA Today

1. Freddie Freeman (Atlanta Braves) 

• Defensive Runs Saved: 5 (4th Among First Baseman with 700 Innings Played) 
• Ultimate Zone Rating: -4.5 (22nd) 
• Defensive Rating: -16.2 (22nd) 
• Offensive Rating: 34.9 (2nd Among First Baseman with 400 PA) 
• Wins Above Replacement: 4.0 (T-4th) 

Freddie Freeman is the face of the Atlanta Braves right now with second baseman Ozzie Albies and star outfielder, Ronald Acuna Jr. a close second. Freeman is a very good first baseman overall, but does struggle with his glove as the metrics illustrate above. However, it's hard to beat the athlete that he is, the work ethic that he brings to SunTrust Park everyday, and the amount of veteran leadership that he has injected into the Braves roster both on and off the field. At the end of last season, Freeman underwent elbow surgery and now he is cleared to return to normal status. Therefore, it's going to be interesting to see if the elbow was nagging him so much that it had the profound impact that it did on his defense and to see what type of defense he can put up as a fully healthy player this coming season. 

When it comes to offense, that's exactly where Freeman shines and a big reason why he is the best first baseman in baseball right now. Last season with the Braves, Freeman slugged: .295/.389/.549 over the span of 692 plate appearances with a Isolated Power value of .255 and a 138 Weighted Runs Created Plus (wRC+) value. One thing that really stood out for Freeman last season was his ability to square the baseball and hit it with a lot of power. That's something that a metric like Hard Hit Rate takes into consideration. Last season for Freeman, that value sat at 46.8% compared to 41.9% the year before. Granted, the baseball might have had something to do with it, but if Freeman can do that with an elbow that is less than 100% healthy, just imagine what he might be able to do this coming season fully healthy. 

Photo Courtesy of Getty Images

2. Matt Olson (Oakland Athletics) 

• Defensive Runs Saved: 13 (1st Among First Baseman with 700 Innings Played) 
• Ultimate Zone Rating: 6.6 (1st) 
• Defensive Rating: -3.0 (1st) 
• Offensive Rating: 23.5 (8th Among First Baseman with 400 PA) 
• Wins Above Replacement: 3.9 (5th) 

Of all the names on this list, this ranking will probably cause the most controversy, but Matt Olson is a true star in the making with the Oakland Athletics. Olson is part of "The Matt Show" alongside Oakland Athletics third baseman, Matt Chapman and will be part of that duo for quite some time there on the east side of The Bay. When you look at the Oakland Athletics roster, it features some star-studded position players such as the aforementioned Matt Chapman, outfielder Khris Davis, shortstop Marcus Semien, and some young, up-and-coming prospects with a strong farm system in place. Last season, Olson was one ranking spot outside of the Top 20 in American League Most Valuable Player voting and notched his second Gold Glove of his big league career as well. Nationally, Olson doesn't get the attention he deserves, but he is talented enough that he will find his way into the spotlight sooner than later. 

One of the selling points about Matt Olson is his ability to play defense as indicated by the metrics outlined above. That is a significant reason why Olson already has two Gold Gloves at the young age of 25. When you look at the highlight reels of plays made at first base this last season, Olson would likely be included in the reel multiple times and the fascinating thing is that the defense could get even better with more experience and playing time at the big league level. Besides the defense, the amount of raw power that Olson features is intriguing as well. Last season, Olson ended the year with an Isolated Power value of .277 and is becoming much more of a pull hitter overall. Last year, Olson pulled the baseball 51.7% of the time compared to 42.0% of the time in 2018. 

Photo Courtesy of The Chicago Tribune

3. Anthony Rizzo (Chicago Cubs) 

• Defensive Runs Saved: 3 (7th Among First Baseman with 700 Innings Played) 
• Ultimate Zone Rating: 3.7 (2nd) 
• Defensive Rating: -6.9 (2nd) 
• Offensive Rating: 28.2 (5th Among First Baseman with 400 PA) 
• Wins Above Replacement: 4.0 (T-4th) 

Although the Chicago Cubs have had a frustrating past couple of seasons, Anthony Rizzo has been part of the glue that has held the team together. Rizzo is a beloved player among the Cubs fanbase, someone that is an energetic personality in the clubhouse, and is a very charitable player throughout Chicago as well. Every season, Rizzo is continually giving back both time and money to various charities and finding a way to really make an impact in the community. Beyond that, when it comes to the team, Rizzo is viewed as a natural leader and someone that can help the Cubs as they get ready to transition to a new period under skipper, David Ross. Both Ross and Rizzo had a phenomenal relationship especially in 2016 during the Cubs quest to win the World Series so it will be fascinating to see how that relationship evolves this coming season. 

Overall, Anthony Rizzo is a very skilled first baseman and one that can play both sides of the baseball extremely well. With the Cubs last season, Rizzo slugged: .293/.405/.520 over the span of 613 plate appearances with 27 home runs, 94 RBI, a 141 wRC+ value, and a .390 Weighted On-Base Average (wOBA). When you look at the various pitches that Rizzo saw last season, his second hardest hit pitch was the Sinkerball. Rizzo had an average exit velocity on that pitch of 91.9 miles per hour in 2019. Overall, when you look at pitch values in the bigger picture, Rizzo rated positively on the fastball (18.6) and the slider (8.5). However, don't throw Rizzo a changeup as he received a value of (0.0) on that pitch, according to data compiled by FanGraphs. 

Photo Courtesy of USA Today

4. Pete Alonso (New York Mets) 

• Defensive Runs Saved: -6 (14th Among First Baseman with 700 Innings Played) 
• Ultimate Zone Rating: 1.8 (6th) 
• Defensive Rating: -9.6 (T-9th) 
• Offensive Rating: 37.0 (1st Among First Baseman with 400 PA) 
• Wins Above Replacement: 4.8 (1st) 

Last season, Pete Alonso aka The Polar Bear grabbed New York City and all of baseball by storm. Alonso seemingly came out of nowhere and had a very impressive rookie season. That was what contributed to him being named the National League Rookie of the Year, gave him a seventh place finish overall in National League Most Valuable Player voting, and earned him his first big league All-Star nod. If Alonso's career is anything based off of what he did last year, then he's going to need one heck of a trophy stand to hold all of the awards and accolades that he receives before retirement. While there could be some hesitation about naming him as one of the top five first baseman right now given the dynamics of the baseball last year and the unproven talent that he still is, Alonso will more likely than not be an integral part of the New York Mets 26-man roster for the foreseeable future. 

If there was one area where Alonso could improve his game, it would definitely be with the glove. As the metrics outlined above show, Alonso finished with the least amount of Defensive Runs Saved last year among those first baseman with at least 700 innings of work. Not ideal, but he more than makes up for those shortcomings in the offensive department. Alonso had the highest Isolated Power value of first baseman last season at .323 and a wRC+ value of 143. However, along with all of those home runs and power came a lot of strikeouts. Alonso had the eighth highest strikeout percentage, among first baseman with 400 plate appearances, last season. Despite that though, Alonso is entering his age-25 season so there is a ton more potential that he could potentially reach as soon as this coming season. 

Photo Courtesy of The Athletic

5. Joey Votto (Cincinnati Reds) 

• Defensive Runs Saved: 7 (3rd Among First Baseman with 700 Innings Played) 
• Ultimate Zone Rating: 0.7 (10th) 
• Defensive Rating: -9.0 (12th) 
• Offensive Rating: -3.3 (22nd) 
• Wins Above Replacement: 0.7 (21st) 

As you look through the names on this list, the aforementioned Joey Votto of the Cincinnati Reds is vintage first base. Votto is heading into his fourteenth big league season this year and is still viewed as a staple of the Cincinnati Reds team. If the Reds want to have the type of success they are expected to and want to make it to the postseason, then Votto is going to have to return to the offensive production that he used to put up just a few years ago. Last year, that production took a decline as indicated by the metrics outlined above as did his overall defense, but there might still be something left in the tank. Votto has four more guaranteed seasons left on his current contract with the Reds and it would be great if he was able to finish that off on a high note. After all, he was Cincinnati Reds baseball for many seasons over the last decade and a big reason why some of those rebuilding Reds teams were able to stay in the fight and never give up. 

The 36-year old Votto really struggled in the power department this last season, as indicated by his .150 Isolated Power value, and saw a four percent increase in his overall strikeout percentage as well (20.2% compared to 16.2% in 2018). If there was one positive to takeaway from last season about Votto, it was his ability to hit the ball straight away to centerfield which is a pretty easy task to do in the small confines of Great American Ballpark. According to FanGraphs, Votto had a Centerfield Hit Percentage of 38.0% last season compared to 33.8% the year before.