![Jose Abreu has at least 100 RBIs in all four of his seasons. [Image Source: Flickr | Keith Allison]](https://staticr1.blastingcdn.com/media/photogallery/2018/3/13/660x290/b_502x220x82/jose-abreu-has-at-least-100-rbis-in-all-four-of-his-seasons-image-source-flickr-keith-allison_1885043.jpg "Jose Abreu has at least 100 RBIs in all four of his seasons. [Image Source: Flickr | Keith Allison]")
After looking at both the catchers in the American and National Leagues, it is now time to move on to the first basemen.
Here are the rankings for those American League first basemen who are projected to start. There is much less star power here than in the National League where first basemen such as Anthony Rizzo, Joey Votto, Paul Goldschmidt, and Freddie Freeman reside. Again, this list is subjective and many of the names, from the middle towards the end, can almost be considered interchangeable.
1. Jose Abreu - Chicago White Sox
- 2017 stats: 675 PA, .304 BA, .906 OPS, 33 HR, 43 2B, 6 3B, 102 RBI, 95 R, 3 SB
Abreu led the American League, last year, with 343 total bases.
He has reached the 100+ RBI mark in all four of his seasons, and he also hit at least 30 homers for the third time.
2. Miguel Cabrera - Detroit Tigers
- 2017 stats: 529 PA, .249 BA, .728 OPS, 16 HR, 22 2B, 0 3B, 60 RBI, 50 R, 0 SB
Second place may seem very high coming off what was easily his worst season, but odds are the 34-year-old future Hall of Famer will look to put it in the rearview mirror (plus most of the elite first basemen operate in the National League). It was just 2016 when Cabrera hit .316 with 38 home runs.
3. Matt Olson - Oakland Athletics
- 2017 stats: 216 PA, .259 BA, 1.003 OPS, 24 HR, 2 2B, 0 3B, 45 RBI, 33 R, 0 SB
Other than a one-game appearance on April 23, Olson didn’t play last year until June 4.
From August 27 until the end of the season, he hit .286 with 16 homers in 25 games. He hit 23 long balls in 79 games at AAA last year, so the power surge likely wasn’t a fluke.
4. Joey Gallo - Texas Rangers
- 2017 stats: 532 PA, .209 BA, .869 OPS, 41 HR, 18 2B, 3 3B, 80 RBI, 85 R, 7 SB
Look past the awful batting average and a large number of strikeouts, and there is a very productive player in Gallo.
Seventy-five walks last year gave him a respectable .333 on-base percentage and that along with his insane power still gave him an OPS+ of 121.
5. Justin Smoak - Toronto Blue Jays
- 2017 stats: 637 PA, .270 BA, .883 OPS, 38 HR, 29 2B, 1 3B, 90 RBI, 85 R, 0 SB
This year will help prove whether Smoak’s 2017 All-Star season was realistic or an outlier for an otherwise mediocre career.
In his first seven seasons from 2010-16, he batted just .223 with a .700 OPS.
6. Joe Mauer - Minnesota Twins
- 2017 stats: 597 PA, .305 BA, .801 OPS, 7 HR, 36 2B, 1 3B, 71 RBI, 69 R, 2 SB
The 2009 American League MVP had his best season, in some time, after a few down years. Mauer’s batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage were his best since 2013, and he has always graded out as an above-average defensive first baseman since making the transition from catcher.
7. Yuli Gurriel - Houston Astros
- 2017 stats: 564 PA, .299 BA, .817 OPS, 18 HR, 43 2B, 1 3B, 75 RBI, 69 R, 3 SB
Coming over from Cuba, Gurriel finished fourth in American League Rookie of the Year voting last year after a brief 36-game stint in 2016.
He will likely miss the beginning of the year due to surgery on his left hand, and then will serve a five-game suspension that resulted from his racist gesture in last year’s World Series.
8. Yonder Alonso - Cleveland Indians
- 2017 stats: 521 PA, .266 BA, .866 OPS, 28 HR, 22 2B, 0 3B, 67 RBI, 72 R, 2 SB
Through June 15 last year, Alonso was off to an excellent start on his way to be named to his first All-Star Game. He was batting .306 with 17 homers in 57 games. His production slipped the rest of the way as he hit for a .239 batting average with 11 home runs in his final 85 outings.
9. Greg Bird - New York Yankees
- 2017 stats: 170 PA, .190 BA, .710 OPS, 9 HR, 7 2B, 0 3B, 28 RBI, 20 R, 0 SB
After hitting 11 home runs in 147 at-bats in 2015, many thought Bird would rebound from being shelved all of 2016 to an everyday middle-of-the-lineup hitter for the Yankees in 2017.
Injuries played a factor again as he played in just 48 games and hit under the Mendoza line. With tons of protection this year, New York needs to see him produce.
10. Chris Davis - Baltimore Orioles
- 2017 stats: 524 PA, .215 BA, .732 OPS, 26 HR, 15 2B, 1 3B, 61 RBI, 65 R, 1 SB
Let's just say the first two seasons of a seven-year/$161 million deal for Davis haven't panned out for Baltimore. Not exactly the most fleet-footed first baseman, he has hit just .218 with 414 strikeouts the last two years. The Orioles need him to revert back to being close to the hitter who hit 100 combined homers in 2013 and 2015 with a .286 and .262 batting average respectively.
11. Mitch Moreland - Boston Red Sox
- 2017 stats: 576 PA, .246 BA, .769 OPS, 22 HR, 34 2B, 0 3B, 79 RBI, 73 R, 0 SB
Moreland will likely split time with Hanley Ramirez at first base.
The 32-year-old has been a consistent offensive performer who has hit 22 or 23 homers in four of his last five seasons (limited to 52 games in 2014). He is also one of the better defenders at the position winning a Gold Glove in 2016.
12. Lucas Duda - Kansas City Royals
- 2017 stats: 491 PA, .217 BA, .818 OPS, 30 HR, 28 2B, 0 3B, 64 RBI, 50 R, 0 SB
Duda hit 30 home runs for the second time in his career in 2017 but hit a career-low .217 (not including the .202 he hit in 29 games during his first year in 2010). Still, his 58 extra-base hits and 60 walks gave him a solid OPS for the year.
13. Ryon Healy - Seattle Mariners
- 2017 stats: 605 PA, .271 BA, .754 OPS, 25 HR, 29 2B, 0 3B, 78 RBI, 66 R, 0 SB
While Healy has proved to be a solid offensive player in his two seasons with the Athletics, he must improve on his 5.8-to-1 career strikeout to walk ratio.
After struggling at third base, he has changed positions to first where he started 38 games last year.
14. C.J. Cron - Tampa Bay Rays
- 2017 stats: 373 PA, .248 BA, .741 OPS, 16 HR, 14 2B, 1 3B, 56 RBI, 39 R, 3 SB
Cron has exactly hit 16 homers in each of the last three seasons with the Angels. He has hit .263 over that timeframe, but don’t expect him to work counts often as evidenced by just 63 walks in that span.
15. Luis Valbuena - Los Angeles Angels
- 2017 stats: 401 PA, .199 BA, .727 OPS, 22 HR, 15 2B, 0 3B, 65 RBI, 42 R, 0 SB
Just a career .228 hitter, Valbuena has drawn some offensive value with an ability to draw walks and has some power in his bat. The 22 homers in 2017 were the second-highest record of home runs for his career as he has averaged around 18 over the last five years.
