| Initial first basemen rankings for 2009 |
| RK | Player | TM | The thinking is as follows … |
| 1 | Albert Pujols | STL | We will have to drop him down past No. 5 if he misses the first month due to elbow surgery. |
| 2 | Miguel Cabrera | DET | He had a great second half and should be much more comfortable in his long-term home. |
| 3 | Mark Teixeira | LAA | Big free-agent contract will figure to make him highly sought after on Draft Day. |
| 4 | Ryan Howard | PHI | If not for Ks and a low average, he would be a candidate for No. 1 overall. Nobody's perfect. |
| 5 | Lance Berkman | HOU | He was arguably the best player in Fantasy for most of 2008, but power might be declining. |
| 6 | Justin Morneau | MIN | One of the best pure run producers in baseball and he should see an uptick in homers. |
| 7 | Prince Fielder | MIL | He was one of the most disappointing early rounders of '08 in the never-injured category. |
| 8 | Kevin Youkilis | BOS | Boy, that power sure came this year and position eligibility is an added bonus, too. |
| 9 | Aubrey Huff | BAL | This is what we thought he should be years ago, but you can't be sure he can repeat this. |
| 10 | Adrian Gonzalez | SD | If not for a punchless supporting cast and a pitcher's park, his numbers would be a lot better. |
| 11 | Derrek Lee | CHC | Disappointing years makes you ask if he was healthy or merely just declining with age? |
| 12 | Carlos Delgado | NYM | A renaissance saved his career -- and perhaps the Mets -- but he is still old and an injury risk. |
| 13 | Garrett Atkins | COL | He has regressed the past two years ... and watch out below if he is dealt away from Coors. |
| 14 | Carlos Pena | TB | Hopefully you weren't counting on him duplicating his '07 numbers; that is bad policy. |
| 15 | Chris Davis | TEX | Rookie masher can reach 30 homers and 100 RBI -- but also 160 strikeouts? |
| 16 | James Loney | LAD | Power remains a question, but it is hard to deny a pure hitter like this on breaking through. |
| 17 | Conor Jackson | ARI | For a stretch there, we saw him becoming the 25-homer man he can be. We'll still wait. |
| 18 | Joey Votto | CIN | A great hitter's park gives him a real good shot to reach 30 HR and 100 RBI in Year 2. |
| 19 | Nick Swisher | CHW | We thought the move to Chicago's park would make him a 40-homer threat. Maybe Year 2. |
| 20 | Mike Jacobs | FLA | He is your classic free-swinger. What results if he is dealt out of Florida's pitcher's park? |
| 21 | Jorge Cantu | FLA | It was a nice rebound year, but if you counted on him before you will be cautious yet again. |
| 22 | Jason Giambi | NYY | Won't be an MVP again, but he is a better run producer than this ranking suggests. |
| 23 | Carlos Guillen | DET | Another injury-plagued year and no more SS eligibility should make him a latter-rounder pick. |
| 24 | Paul Konerko | CHW | Streaky slugger just never maintained a tear this season, but next year could be payback time. |
| 25 | Todd Helton | COL | His power went years ago and now his back went out; is he the one shuffled out of town? |
| 26 | Pablo Sandoval | SF | We don't see him retaining catcher-eligibility, but if this young masher does, look out top 15. |
| 27 | Hank Blalock | TEX | Shoulder injuries can be devastating, but that park and lineup can still lead to a rebound. |
| 28 | Casey Kotchman | ATL | He is better than Youkilis at a similar age, so could he be the next Youkilis? Maybe at 27 in '10 |
| 29 | Casey Blake | LAD | Puts together huge months and then disappears for extend periods. Makes drafting him tough. |
| 30 | Adam A. LaRoche | PIT | If he could extend his hot streaks, shorten his cold streaks and stay healthy ... a lot of if's here. |
| 31 | Billy Butler | KC | We called him a potential Mark Teixeira-type, but the power really needs to get popping soon. |
| 32 | Kevin Millar | BAL | Veteran is going to be overlooked in many mixed leagues, but he can still hit on the low end. |
| 33 | Nick Johnson | WAS | You have to figure he will get long DL stays, but you have to like him if you are hot for OPS. |
| 34 | Lyle Overbay | TOR | He is finishing better than he started, but his days of being a breakthrough are likely done. |
| 35 | Ryan Garko | CLE | Former mashing catcher might have swung and missed his way to Fantasy obscurity. |
| 36 | Ryan Shealy | KC | He has always had pop, but what makes him any different than a Chris Shelton at this point? |
| 37 | Chris Duncan | STL | A monumental disappointment who has a career-threatening back injury. Just a late flier here. |
| 38 | Dmitri Young | WAS | Health woes claimed him again, so you can't expect much out of him going into 2009 now. |
| 39 | Daric Barton | OAK | It is hard to like anything you have seen to date, but the scouts once liked him, we suppose. |
| 40 | Kila Ka'aihue | KC | Quick-rising masher could be in the mix in Kansas City, but potential only goes so far at 1B. |