Position Analysis: First Base

Maybe I was drunk last night. After reading my most recent post on back-up catchers, I realized that I said absolutely nothing profound, and when I did, the grammar was wrong, so here's a quick recap. Vinny Rottino may or may not be the best option as the backup catcher. He needs more experience behind the plate and with the bat, however, time with Jason Kendall could be extremely beneficial and his offensive ceiling is clearly higher than the other two candidates. That being said, the role of the back up catcher in baseball is a valued commodity; more so than one might think. His job is to cater to the bullpen early in games and help guys learn new pitches or understand batters better. This is why guys like Mike Rivera and Eric Munson have jobs. They're essentially equals. So do you go for the higher ceiling or the necessary leadership? I'd go with the higher ceiling and OBP. We have a veteran bullpen right now with Bill Castro garnering some serious managing points.

Now on to First Base

King Fielder

He's no Prince. Let's be honest here. He is officially the King of this Brewers franchise and will be for quite some time. I'm adamant about this guy getting his big contract because he gets fans in the seats. He's intense, plays the game with passion and loves to crack jokes, but most of all he's a leader. Some would say he's a quiet leader, but I doubt that greatly. Just ask Matt Capps from the Pittsburgh Pirates. The most important part for Brewers fans though is Prince loves Milwaukee. He and Rickie praise and embrace this city, and it shows.

Eric Gagne recognized the Brewers were contenders last year when they came through with their first winning season in over a decade, but he heard from his agent something else. Scott Boras is Prince Fielder's agent, and while that makes us tremble a bit, we know Boras tells his clients about other situations. Fielder has raved about this franchise and the free agent market has heard it and heard it loud, with Gagne, Kendall and others like Kenny Lofton looking at the team more closely. Doug Melvin laid the groundwork and Fielder's ambition is slowly building it up floor after floor.

As the unchallenged leader on this team last year, Prince batted a whopping .288/.395/.618 up from .271/.347/.483 in 2006. That's without mentioning the 50 HRs and 119 RBIs compared to 28 and 81 the year before. Don't expect much improvement. Those are some ridiculous slugging numbers with an OPS of 1.013, and while I expect the OPS to stay the same, I expect lower slugging and a higher OBP, perhaps a higher batting average as well. Hitting in the three hole should benefit him greatly. He should attract more walks and additional fastballs to prevent Braun from hitting with runners on base.

An exceptional eye last year led to 90 walks, which is great, but with his quick wrists and newly acquired knowledge of NL pitchers, Prince should easily surpass this number and continue to impress analysts. However, Fielder must lower his SO total, which was 125/121 his last two years. The 121 is actually a relatively reasonable improvement considering he received 35 more plate appearances last year. Nevertheless, improvement here will be an achievement fully recognized by the team.

The key for Prince, however, is keeping his weight down, which he's been doing extremely well. It helps his range greatly on the defensive end and allows for a much a smoother and balanced swing. He lost something like 20 pounds before Spring Training last year, and I expect him to be at that same weight again this year, which still makes him perfectly capable of bowling over catchers, who seem to fear him as he runs down the line (can't understand why). The weight is in his genes and he's going to fight it over the years, but he WILL surpass his father in every category, the most prideful will be his ability to play in the NL for most of his career as a quality first baseman.

Predictions: .298/.409/.599 with 47 HRs and 136 RBIs

How about a round on the King?