Top 10 First Basemen for 2014

Miguel Cabrera will be moving back to first base for the 2014 season after the trade of Prince Fielder. Joe Mauer will also be taking first as his primary position. Following each player's name is their corresponding team and their OPS+ for the 2014 season. Previous seasons and defense are considered on the placement on the list. Two of the greatest first basemen of the last 10 years failed to make the list due to injuries, position changes of other players, and overall decline. See who made it.


1. Miguel Cabrera - Detroit Tigers                     187 OPS+
2. Joey Votto - Cincinnati Reds                         154 OPS+
3. Paul Goldschmidt - Arizona Diamondbacks     160 OPS+
4. Chris Davis - Baltimore Orioles                      165 OPS+
5. Prince Fielder - Texas Rangers                      120 OPS+
6. Adrian Gonzalez - Los Angeles Dodgers          126 OPS+
7. Freddie Freeman - Atlanta Braves                   144 OPS+
8. Eric Hosmer - Kansas City Royals                  118 OPS+
9. Joe Mauer - Minnesota Twins                        144 OPS+
10. Mike Napoli - Boston Red Sox                      129 OPS+

Midyear Reports

So the season is more than half way completed and some players are just raking. This post will focus on the players raking. Another will follow with the players who are disappointing, and another will follow with which teams may be buyers and which teams may be sellers.

In the American League, baseballs are flying out of stadiums from every which direction. The home run leader Chris Davis has an astounding 33 home runs as of July 10th. Miguel Cabrera follows him with 29 in the Motor City, and Adam Dunn represents the South Side with 24.

In the National League, Carlos Gonzalez leads with 24 big flys with Philadelphia's pleasant surprise Dominic Brown and Pittsburgh's slugger Pedro Alvarez both trailing with 23. Alvarez's amazing season has been a major part in Pittsburgh's contention in the NL Central and why they are fighting with the Cardinals for the best record in baseball.

Throw Back Miggy with the Marlins

I'm not a big fan of batting average, I like on base percentage more, but some guys are just blowing the category away this year. In the NL Yadier Molina leads with a .344 avg followed by Rockies surprise Michael Cuddyer with a .336 avg. Finishing third in the NL avg contest is Allen Craig with a .329 avg of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Miguel Cabrera has made a joke of American League pitching by posting a .366 batting average a half season after winning the triple crown. David Ortiz comes in second with a .327 avg for the Red Stockings and teammate Dustin Pedroia finished third with a .321 avg; a fair explanation for the success of the Boston Red Sox.

In the MLB leaders for ERA the first seven names are of the National League. Pitching has been dominate in the NL this season. Clayton Kershaw leads the pack with a 1.89 ERA, followed by Jeff Locke of the Pirates with a 2.15 ERA, and rounding out the top three is Adam Wainwright with a 2.30 for the Cardinals.

Felix Hernandez is the king of Seattle. He has a 2.69 ERA for the Mariners, leading the American League. Second in the AL is Bartolo Colon with a ... 2.69 ERA (rounded but slightly higher than Hernandez's). Finally Yankees pitcher Hiroki Kuroda has a 2.77 ERA in 2013 and has been a bright spot for the bombers this year.

I've also mentioned how strikeouts aren't a necessity for pitchers, but they are still awesome to watch and in the American League Yu Darvish has collected 157 k's to lead the MLB. Second in the AL and third in the MLB is Max Scherzer with 146 punch outs. Finally rou
nding out the trio is surprise guest Justin Masterson with 137 strikeouts for the Cleveland Indians.


In the National League pheno
m Matt Harvey leads the league with 147 for the Mets. Following Harvey is my favorite starter Clayton Kershaw with 129 k's in LA. From the North side of Chi Town comes the man who's name I can't spell Jeff Samardzija with 128 strikeouts in 2013.

Jim Johnson. Was that a balk or a bark?

The American League features all three save leaders in the MLB. They are of course Jim Johnson of the Orioles with 31, Joe Nathan of the Rangers with 30, and the great Mariano Rivera of the Yankees with 29. That is as of July 12th.

In the National League the save leaders are the usual suspect and two surprising pitchers. Jason Grilli of the Pirates leads the NL with 28 saves, followed by Craig Kimbrel of the Braves with 25, and Edward Mujica of the Cardinals
also with 25.

Those are your lead leaders for the midyear report. These guys have been ripping their leagues a new one. They may just continue to do so for the second half. Will Davis hit 60 homers? Will Cabrera win back to back triple crowns? Can Kershaw finish with a sub 2.00 ERA? We have about 70 more games to find out.

MVP Race

Before I preach about MVP candidates I'll let you know about the Silver Slugger Awards and the Gold Glove Awards.

2012 AL & NL Silver Slugger Awards :
C: Pierzynski , Posey
1B: Fielder , Laroche
2B: Cano , Hill
3B: Cabrera , Headley

SS: Jeter , Desmond
OF: Trout/Willingham/Hamilton , Braun/Mccutchen/Bruce
DH: Butler
P: Strasburg

2012 AL & NL Gold Glove Awards Awards

C: Wieters, Molina 

1B: Teixeira, LaRoche

2B: Cano, Barney 

3B: Beltre, Headly 

SS: Hardy, Rollins 

LF: Gordon, Gonzalez

CF: Jones, McCutchen 

RF: Reddick, Heyward

P: Hellickson/Peavy, Buehrle 

All players were deserving, but Mike Trout was absolutely robbed for the Gold Glove for center fielders.

Okay speaking of Trout, should he or Miguel Cabrera win the MVP award. Lets break this down into a few categories: at the plate, on the bases, in the field, value to team and overall value. 

Let the best man win. 

At the Plate

At the plate Miguel Cabrera wins hands down. He had a .330 batting average, .393 on base percentage, .606 slugging percentage, 44 home runs, 139 runs batted in, and 109 runs scored.  

Mike Trout at the plate wasn't far off from Cabrera, but he did not win the triple crown. He had a .326 batting average, .399 on base percentage, .564 slugging percentage, 30 home runs, 83 runs batted in, and 129 runs scored 

As you can see Miguel Cabrera was either better or really close to Trout in all the categories. Cabrera wins this category.

On the Bases

I don't even know why i'm writing this. Mike Trout is a fantastic base runner and Miguel Cabrera is not, never was, or never will be a good base runner. Trout had 49 stolen bases and 8 triples. Cabrera had 4 stolen bases and 0 triples.  

Guess who won this category, Trout. 

In the Field

Miguel Cabrera moved from first base to third base this season which isn't easy to do. In 2012 he was a below average third baseman. He ranked 17/30 among third basemen in defense. He made 13 errors and had a .966 fielding percentage. His defensive runs saved was -4. meaning he cost the Tigers 4 runs. 

Mike Trout made highlight reels every night. He had a .988 fielding percentage and made just 4 errors. In the runs saved department, Trout saved 21 runs. 21 runs can be the difference between a win and a loss in 21 games. Out of center fielders he ranked 1/30. 

Mike Trout wins in this category. 

Value to Team

Mike Trout's combination of speed, power, and defense puts him in his own category. He is a five tool player. Holding down center field with Hunter in right and covering ground for the unsteady left fielder Mark Trumbo, Trout's defense is a huge asset to the Angels. Trout also grounded into a  double play just 7 times the entire season. He doesn't kill rallies, he makes them. He turned a single or a double into a double or a triple 49 times by stealing bases. 

The Tigers obviously had to sacrifice some defense to have the best 3-4 combo in baseball with Cabrera-Fielder, but with another defensive nightmare at short stop Cabrera's poor defense is magnified. Cabrera also grounded into a double play 28 times and that led all of baseball in the category. He stole just 4 bases so he didn't create rallies on the bases, he killed them 28 times. He did make up for them by hitting 44 homers and driving in 139, but he could done even more damage, because he had the chance. 

People argue that the Tigers made it to the playoffs and the Angels did not. I'll inform you that Miguel Cabrera had nothing to do with the White Sox falling apart at the end of the season. In fact the Angels actually won 1 more game than the Tigers did! If the Angels were in the central division they would have won the division. 

This category goes to Trout. 

Overall Value

Miguel Cabrera is a veteran, a World Series champion, a leader and boy could he hit. He is the type of player you want on you team. Mike Trout is a rookie you don't have a large sample size of what he could do. 

Miguel Cabrera won the triple crown. A feat that is so rare in baseball it is the first time since 1967. The Overall value of the historical circumstance is huge. 

This category goes to Miguel Cabrera. 

Conclusion

Trout won 3 out of the 5 categories so that means he should win the MVP. With an additional fact that Trout faced better pitchers more often in the AL West it just adds onto his case. I used the word should, because this is a special case. The historical circumstances overwhelm the other circumstances. There have been times where the triple crown winner did not win the MVP, that should not happen this year. I think Miguel Cabrera should win the MVP award because he has accomplished something that few have ever accomplished.  

MVP Of The Weekend

This is a new edition of Hayes Craze Baseball. Every Monday I will write about the MVP of the weekend. This week the MVP of the weekend is Miguel Cabrera.

Miguel Cabrera is putting on a show batting in front of Prince Fielder. In the first game of The Red Sox-Tigers series Cabrera drew 3 walks (1 intentional.) He had only 1 official at bat in that game.  In the second game of the series Cabrera had 5 at bats and hit 2 home runs, Prince Fielder did as well, so I guess the 3-4 punch is paying off. With the two home runs Cabrera hit he earned 3 RBI's. In the third game against the Red Sox Cabrera hit another home run along side with 2 singles. He scored 3 runs and drove in 5 RBI's. Cabrera finished the weekend with a .533 on base percentage, a .455 batting average, 3 home runs, 8 RBI's and 5 RBI's scored.

Miguel Cabrera goes yard against The Red Sox

The Detroit Tigers

The Tigers finished 2011 strong with a record of 95-67. The won the AL Central and the ALDS. The have three MVP caliber players and are a favorite for the AL Central again.

The Tigers have a good pitching rotation. If you put Justin Verlander in any rotation, it instantly become good. Verlander won the Cy Young award and the MVP, but there are four other starters to talk about. Doug Fister was a mid-season acquisition for the Tigers in 2011. He pitched 216 innings for the Mariners and The Tigers with a 2.83 ERA accumulating 11 wins: 8 for the Tigers and 3 for The Mariners.  Rick Porcello is still young. He is 23 years old and in 2011 he pitched 182 innings with a 4.75 ERA and picking up 14 wins. Porcello has a lot of talent and being young only magnifies it. Max Scherzer pitched 195 innings getting 15 wins with a 4.43 ERA. He can improve as well. Entering his age 27 season he may break through. The final starter could be Phil Coke or Daniel Schlereth. both are decent lefties that can rack up some innings.

The new and improved lineup for The Tigers will be fun to watch. Everyone has been talking about the signing of Prince Fielder. Fielder combined with Cabrera can pack a wallop. Here is a line of both their stats from 2011:

Fielder: 162 games, 38 home runs, 120 RBI's, .415 OBP, 164 OPS+
Cabrera: 161 games, 30 home runs, 105 RBI's, .448 OBP, 181 OPS+

I think the numbers explain themselves. The Tigers definitely have the best 3-4 combination in the American League and probably all of baseball. The Tigers also have Delmon young who can also do some damage to opposing pitchers. Austin Jackson is the speed threat and the great defensive center fielder for the Tigers. If he can get an on base percentage of .350 or higher, Cabrera and Fielder will drive him in and score a lot of runs. Brennan Boesch gets on base a lot(.341 OBP), and can also bring some runs to the team.

Finally the Tigers have one slight weakness. Their bullpen could use some help. They have the 9th inning locked up with Jose Valverde, but as for the other innings you might have to hold your breath. Valverde had a 2.24 ERA and 49 saves in 2011, but he cant pitch in every game, so I can see The Tigers trading for a reliever before the trading deadline.

The Tigers will definitely make the playoffs.  

King Cabrera and Prince Fielder

There is a monarchy taking over at first base in the Motor City. Last night Prince Fielder signed with the Detroit Tigers for 9 year $214 million. After the injury to Victor Martinez, putting him out for most of the 2012 season The Tigers quickly became the mystery team for Prince Fielder.

As a kid Prince Fielder would hit home runs out of old Tigers' Stadium with his dad Cecil Fielder. Fielder will be 28 in June of 2012 and he has already established himself as a power house. He hit 46, 32, and 38 home runs in 2009, 2010 and 2011 respectively. Over those 3 years he gathered 344 RBI's with a 154 OPS+ and a .409 on base percentage. He will provide a lot of offense for the Tigers.

We all know how dangerous Miguel Cabrera is, but lets take a look at his stats. In 2011 Cabrera hit 30 home runs, 108 RBI's, had a .448 on base percentage and a 181 OPS+, which is ridiculous.  The 3-4 Spots in the line up will be a RBI factory for the Tigers.

The road trips to the AL east will be very offensive, with Fielder and Cabrera playing in Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park, and Camden Yards the baseballs may be flying with the birds.

How a Lineup Should Be Made

Using Hayes Craze and modern statistics, I present how to make an ideal lineup.

1. Highest LOV
2. Highest SBE
3. Highest OPS+
4. Highest RPP
5. Highest SLG
6. Lowest Strike Outs
7. OBP of .350+
8. OBP of 350+
9. Second Highest LOV

The ideal lineup according to 2011 statistics.

1. LF Brett Gardner
2. 3B Michael Young
3. RF Jose Bautista  
4. CF Curtis Granderson
5. DH Miguel Cabrera
6. 1B Albert Pujols
7. C Alex Avila
8. SS Troy Tulowitzki
9. 2B Emilio Bonifacio