2008 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers - First Base

Here are your 2008 MLB sleepers at first base (in order of sleeperishness):

Sleepers
1. James Loney - Generally regarded as a Mark Grace type (good batting average, little power), Loney changed some minds about that last year. In only 375 plate appearances last year, he slugged 15 homers and posted a .538 slugging average. Assuming the Dodgers realize now that giving young guys playing time is OK, Loney should get the bulk of the games at first base. Expect 20-25 HR, 80-95 RBI (depending on lineup spot) and a .300+ batting average.

2. Ryan Garko - With a .289/.359/.483 line last year, this guy is already a very good player. He got a late start in the majors and will be entering his age-27 season this year. He's a big slugger with a legitimate shot at 30 HR and 100 RBI. One problem here is that Victor Martinez steals some playing time from him at first base. If he can get enough plate appearances I could see him reaching the top ten or twelve among first basemen.

3. Conor Jackson - I was trying to decide between Jackson, Casey Kotchman, and Mike Jacobs for this final spot. I decided on Jackson because he's shown more power than Kotchman and he's younger than Jacobs. He hit 15 HR in 477 plate appearances last season and could easily reach the mid-20's this season. His batting average on balls in play (BABIP) suggests that his .284 batting average last season was on the low side. I would expect to see him push .300 this season.

Semi-Sleeper
Joey Votto is being drafted a little too high to qualify as a sleeper, but he deserves a mention. The great thing here is that he is one of the few first basemen who will probably steal some bases. He had 23 steals in the minors in 2006 and 18 between AAA and the majors last season. Combine that with good power, and you've got yourself a valuable fantasy player.

Deep Sleeper
Steve Pearce went all the way from High A to a 23-game stint with the Pirates last season, hitting 31 HR along the way. Of course, Adam LaRoche is blocking him from getting consistent playing time, but if LaRoche gets hurt (not that we ever cheer for that) be ready to snag Pearce off the waiver wire.