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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Whitewater park with 'wave shaper' to open in Bend ... Colorado governor supports LNG project ... Fire danger rises to 'extreme' on Tuesday ... Whitewater park with 'wave shaper' to open in Bend ... Colorado governor supports LNG project ... Fire danger rises to 'extreme' on Tuesday ... Fantasy Sports: As usual, Cabrera should be the first option Comment By Josh Bousquet The Worcester Telegram & Gazette MailTribune.com By Josh Bousquet The Worcester Telegram & Gazette Posted Feb. 16, 2015 at 9:46 AM Updated Feb 16, 2015 at 10:26 AM By Josh Bousquet The Worcester Telegram & Gazette Posted Feb. 16, 2015 at 9:46 AM Updated Feb 16, 2015 at 10:26 AM » Social News Oh, the glory of turning from catchers to first basemen as part of a fantasy baseball season preview. Last week, I trudged my way through backstops in a fruitless treasure hunt, hoping to find someone who can do anything, and I now move 90 feet down the line and meet a collection of many players who can do many things. The glut starts right at the top, where everyone has known for years that you can’t go wrong with the Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera. You know he’s really good when his homer total could drop by 19 from 2013 to last season (when he finished with a full-season career low of 25) and he still can legitimately claim the top first baseman spot. Cabrera did still hit .312, after all, with 109 RBIs, 101 runs, and it’s not like he showed no extra-base power, for he had a career-high 52 doubles. It would be tough to call someone wrong, however, if they went with Arizona’s Paul Goldschmidt as their top first baseman. A broken hand held him to 406 at-bats last year, but he still batted .300 with 19 homers, 69 RBIs and 75 runs and nine steals. He also enters that magical maturation age of 27 this season. Then there is the White Sox’ reigning American League Rookie of the Year Jose Abreu, who topped both of them with a .317 average and 36 homers. I only put him on the lower end of the trio because his team said he fell off a bit at the end of the year, and Chicago addressed that by signing Adam LaRoche with the idea that he could get Abreu more rest than he received last season. It wouldn’t be so awful, though, if Abreu took more breaks and still ended up with 30 homers and 95 RBIs. I also wouldn’t be surprised if we end up with a group of five at the top of the position with the rise of a couple youngsters. There is lots of promising power potential in the Cubs’ Anthony Rizzo, and he only turns 26 in August. A .254 lifetime hitter in the majors, Rizzo batted .286 last season and increased his homer output to 32. And now it’s 2015, when “Back to the Future II” says that the Cubs win the World Series. Michael J. Fox has never led us wrong before; that Christopher Lloyd, though ... Coming into his maturation a little quieter than Rizzo is Atlanta’s Freddie Freeman, who has been a starter for the Braves for four seasons but is only 25. His power numbers took a slight dip last season, as he hit 18 homers after getting 23 the previous two seasons. His 93 runs were the most of his career, though, and his .288 average is right in line with his .286 career mark. When a player has already put up those numbers at this point in his career, you know his best years are still coming, and they could arrive at a bargain after the top first basemen are gone. Also at that point, you may find Cincinnati’s Joey Votto available. He used to live toward the top of the rankings, but a quadriceps injury kept him out of 100 games last season. So yes, he struggled through that campaign, but still isn’t that far removed from his 2013 season when he batted .305 with 24 homers, 73 RBIs and 101 runs. Prince Fielder barely got a chance to get going in his first season in Texas, but he has received a clean bill of health, and there’s no way a man of that girth couldn’t hit 25 homers in a season, right? Another positive about deep positions like this is the chance to ignore the position for a while in your draft and use the earlier rounds to address the positions that could present more problems. If you do wait on a first baseman, there are good consolation prizes who really aren’t that far removed from the upper tiers. Like, you wouldn’t be surprised to hear that the Mets’ Lucas Duda only hit .253 last season, but did you know he also blasted 30 homers and drove in 92 runs? I mentioned LaRoche earlier, and joining a team with Abreu is going to hurt his draft stock, but between his occasional bouts playing first and more time spent at DH, he will play enough to be valuable. And his numbers of .259-26-92 from last season look pretty good. It’s not difficult to rack up power numbers in Colorado, so Justin Morneau’s middling numbers of 17 homers and 82 RBIs from last season show a decline from his MVP heyday. His batting average of .319 is undeniable, though. And he’s still set to play half his games in Coors Field this year. You know, that place where things go deep, just like the first base position. Josh Bousquet writes for The Worcester Telegram & Gazette in Massachusetts. Contact him at [email protected]. By Josh Bousquet The Worcester Telegram & Gazette MailTribune.com By Josh Bousquet The Worcester Telegram & Gazette Posted Feb. 16, 2015 at 9:46 AM Updated Feb 16, 2015 at 10:26 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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