May 1B and DH Rankings

Up this week are the May rest-of-season position rankings and overall top 300. Remember that players are listed where they’re most valuable, so if you don’t see someone you’re looking for, check another position. Designated hitters are listed with the first basemen.

Click to see other May rankings:

Top 300 | SP | RP | OF | 1B | 2B | SS | 3B | C | DH

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First Baseman and Designated Hitter Rankings

May	First Base	Team	2018
1	Freddie Freeman	Braves	1
2	Paul Goldschmidt	Diamondbacks	2
3	Cody Bellinger	Dodgers	3
4	Anthony Rizzo	Cubs	4
5	Joey Votto	Reds	5
6	Jose Abreu	White Sox	6
1 DH	Nelson Cruz	Mariners	1 DH
7	Edwin Encarnacion	Indians	7
8	Miguel Cabrera	Tigers	10
9	Eric Hosmer	Padres	9
10	Hanley Ramirez	Red Sox	2 DH
11	Justin Smoak	Blue Jays	15
12	Ryan Zimmerman	Nationals	12
13	Justin Bour	Marlins	11
14	Matt Olson	Athletics	16
15	Wil Myers	Padres	8
16	Logan Morrison	Twins	14
17	Josh Bell	Pirates	17
18	Yulieski Gurriel	Astros	19
19	Greg Bird	Yankees	21
20	Brandon Belt	Giants	25
21	C.J. Cron	Rays	22
22	Yonder Alonso	Indians	26
23	Albert Pujols	Angels	3 DH
24	Chris Davis	Orioles	18
25	Matt Carpenter	Cardinals	20
26	Carlos Santana	Phillies	23
2 DH	Kendrys Morales	Blue Jays	4 DH
3 DH	Shohei Ohtani	Angels	9 DH
27	Ryan McMahon	Rockies	13
28	Lucas Duda	Royals	28
29	Eric Thames	Brewers	24
4 DH	Francisco Mejia	Indians	7 DH
30	Adrian Gonzalez	Mets	32
5 DH	Pedro Alvarez	Orioles	8 DH
31	Joe Mauer	Twins	30
32	Dominic Smith	Mets	31
33	Matt Adams	Nationals	33
6 DH	Victor Martinez	Tigers	6 DH
34	Jesus Aguilar	Brewers	38
35	Mitch Moreland	Red Sox	35
36	Tyler Austin	Yankees	49
37	Danny Valencia	Orioles	34
38	Ronald Guzman	Rangers	56
7 DH	Matt Holliday		5 DH
39	Adam Lind	Yankees	29
40	Jefry Marte	Angels	47
41	Chris Carter	Angels	36
42	Tyler White	Astros	48
43	Tommy Joseph	Rangers	41
44	Mark Reynolds	Nationals	40
45	Garrett Cooper	Marlins	46

Dropping off: Kennys Vargas (37th), Mike Napoli (39th)

• One fleeting moment of excitement: I had Ryan McMahon ranked 20th among first basemen all spring until the surprise announcement that he’d make the team. Foolishly thinking the Rockies actually meant to play him, I pushed him all of the way up to 13th. Silly me. McMahon started just one of the team’s first 12 games, and he was rusty by the time he finally did get to fill in for the suspended Nolan Arenado at third for a few games. He was sent down to the minors on Tuesday after going 9-for-50 in the Rockies’ 30 games. As poorly as he produced, he was still scarcely worse than Ian Desmond and Gerardo Parra, both of whom benefited from regular playing time. Unless they can find someone outside the organization, the Rockies may yet have to give McMahon a real opportunity later. I don’t really have a problem with the idea of demoting him, as long as it means David Dahl is going to remain a lineup fixture. I don’t trust the Rockies to handle that situation much better, though.

• I’m not moving Brandon Belt up overly much. I’m thrilled to see him off to a great start, especially in light of his past concussion problems, but we’re talking about a career .269 hitter who has never topped 18 homers or 82 RBI. Even if he has the best year of his career -- and he very well might -- he’s still not likely to wind up with all that much mixed-league value due to modest run and RBI numbers.