Albert Pujols has every quality you want in a number 1 overall fantasy selection.  He’s the most feared hitter in the game who is an annual lock to sniff .300 AVE. / 40 HRs /120 RBIs while even tossing in a few stolen bases.  He did have off season surgery on a troublesome elbow and he plays at the deepest position in fantasy, but that’s not enough to dethrone one of the best in the game.

Teixeira is about as consistent as you can get.  He’s been through a lot of changes over the past few years, but he’s always managed to hit around .300 with 30 HRs and 100 RBI.  He plays in a cozy home stadium and he is surrounded by a solid lineup, so select him with confidence as the #2 overall first baseman.

Last season, we touted Fielder as “not your typical slugger” since his average and strikeout totals were completely respectable.  He put it all together last year, hitting .299-46-141-103 with a 1.014 OPS.  Don’t be concerned about his conditioning; focus on results – something you can count on Fielder to produce for your team.

Unfortunately, a lot of the negative news surrounding Miggy has been off the field.  During a critical playoff-push, he was involved in a domestic dispute and he eventually found himself in rehab during the off season.  Amazingly, his numbers never really suffered (.324-34-103-96).  Expect a less-distracted Cabrera to turn in another healthy season of production.

If you’re looking for pure power to fill your first base slot, Howard is the answer.  Like many sluggers, he won’t dazzle you with his average and he’ll likely be near the lead in strikeouts, but that’s not why you draft him.  You select him for the 40 HR-120 RBI potential and try to pick up you team’s average in other areas.

Reynolds will certainly raise a lot of debate this year.  Can he maintain his average despite the strikeouts?  Will he steal as many bases this year?  Does he really have 40 HR power?  Logically, you can expect some regression off of the .260 average, but he can still hit .250.  Stealing 24 bases may be a little hard to repeat, and, yes, the power is legit – be happy with 30-35 over a full season.

Morneau’s final line of .274-30-100-85 was respectable, but it was an up-and-down year for the Twins first baseman.  After a solid first part of the season in 2009, Morneau only hit .201 during the second half and eventually had a season-ending back injury in September.  A full return to health should give him a chance to challenge a line of .300-30-120-90.

If only.  If he only didn’t play for the Padres.  If he only didn’t hit in Petco Park.  If only.  Unfortunately, Gonzalez is one of the cheapest players in the league for his talent level, so he’s not going anywhere unless San Diego is completely and utterly blown away by a monster offer.  That said, he still gets to play 81 road games and he’s still awfully good.  A .275-30-100-90 line sounds pretty reasonable.

V-Mart will be behind the dish most often, but he’ll get his fair share of time at first base (and maybe even DH) throughout the year.  What’s the point? – his bat is too valuable to have out of the lineup, but Boston has to be careful not to burn him out.  A full season in Fenway Park with a tremendously better lineup around him should produce some awfully lofty numbers for the pending free agent.

10           Kendry Morales - LAA

It looks like the Angels knew what they were doing when they made room for Morales to crack the lineup. The former Cuban superstar made the most out of his chance to play everyday hitting .306-34-108-86 with a .924 OPS.  He maintained a similar average versus LHP (.296) and RHP (.309), but hit 30 of his 34 homers against righties.  Owners usually like to have a proven commodity, but he just may be a stud in the making.