Breaking down the All-MLB 1B candidates

November 12th, 2020

For the second time, fans and an expert panel will elect players to the All-MLB Team, honoring the best of the regular season at each position. Voting for the 2020 All-MLB Team presented by CohnReznick is underway and runs through 2 p.m. ET on Friday, with 50% of the vote coming from fans and 50% coming from a panel of experts.

You can vote right here, and may continue to do so once every 24 hours between now and when voting ends on Friday. The 2020 All-MLB Team will be announced during the week of Dec. 7 on MLB Network.

If you're looking for award recognition, it's tough to be a first baseman these days. After all, two of the six first basemen nominated for the All-MLB Team are finalists for the Most Valuable Player Award in their respective leagues, and the depth of talent and production at the position is tough to match from elsewhere on the diamond.

Here's a breakdown of the All-MLB candidates at first base to help with your decision on whom to vote for:

José Abreu, White Sox
2020 stats: .317 AVG, 19 HR, 60 RBI, 0 SB, .987 OPS
Abreu had his finest (albeit shortened) season since his 2014 Rookie of the Year campaign, when he had a .964 OPS and 36 home runs in 145 games. In 2020, the American League MVP Award finalist smashed a second-best 19 home runs with an AL-best .617 slugging percentage.
The case for Abreu: No player drove in as many runs as Abreu's 60 in 2020, and his 148 total bases also led MLB.
Key number: 26 -- Only Freddie Freeman had as many barrels among first basemen.

Brandon Belt, Giants
2020 stats: .309 AVG, 9 HR, 30 RBI, 0 SB, 1.015 OPS
Belt enjoyed the best offensive season in his career, hitting .309/.425/.591 over 51 games. His quality of contact was stellar, as he nearly doubled his barrel rate over 2019 (8.7% to 16.8%).
The case for Belt: No first baseman in the All-MLB nominee group barreled the ball as often as Belt, who averaged a barrel every 9.4 plate appearances.
Key number: 16.8% -- the percentage of Belt's batted balls in play that were barrels in 2020.

Freddie Freeman, Braves
2020 stats: .341 AVG, 13 HR, 53 RBI, 2 SB, 1.102 OPS
Freeman finally had his huge season. He's had big seasons in the past, no doubt. But he thrust himself into the top echelon of position players in 2020, being named a finalist for the MVP Award. He tied the Indians' José Ramírez for highest wins above replacement (FanGraphs) in MLB, with 3.4, after posting a 1.102 OPS with 13 homers.
The case for Freeman: Freeman led the All-MLB first base nominees in several offensive categories, but also was strong defensively, leading MLB first basemen with 15.4 UZR/150.
Key number: .441 -- Freeman's expected weighted on-base average (xwOBA), which ranked second in the Majors behind Juan Soto's .451.

Paul Goldschmidt, Cardinals
2020 stats: .304 AVG, 6 HR, 21 RBI, 1 SB, .883 OPS
Goldschmidt's first season with the Cardinals wasn't all he'd hoped for -- the six-time All-Star had an .821 OPS in 2019, his lowest since his 2011 rookie campaign (.808). But he bounced back with a much more Goldy-esque season in 2020, hitting .304/.417/.466 in 58 games -- though his slugging was down, as evidenced by his six homers in 191 at-bats.
The case for Goldschmidt: His .417 on-base percentage was second among All-MLB first base candidates behind Freddie Freeman, and his 1.1 baserunning runs above average (FanGraphs) was in line with his usual pace over a full season and most among All-MLB first base candidates.
Key number: .513 -- Goldschmidt's expected slugging percentage in 2020, which is 47 points higher than his actual SLG of .466.

Dominic Smith, Mets
2020 stats: .316 AVG, 10 HR, 42 RBI, 0 SB, .993 OPS
Smith had a strong season in 2019, but it was overshadowed by a record-setting rookie campaign for teammate Pete Alonso. This season was a big step forward for Smith -- he was more productive at the plate than Alonso, hitting .316/.377/.616 with 10 homers in 50 games, while Alonso slashed .231/.326/.490 with 16 homers in 57 games.
The case for Smith: Smith had 109 total bases for the season, 39 fewer than MLB leader José Abreu, but in 63 fewer at-bats. At the pace he was on, if Smith had 63 more at-bats in 2020, he would've ended up with ... 39 more total bases.
Key number: 169 -- Smith's OPS+ in 2020, second only to Freddie Freeman among All-MLB first base candidates.

Luke Voit, Yankees
2020 stats: .277 AVG, 22 HR, 52 RBI, 0 SB, .948 OPS
Voit launched 22 homers in 56 games during the 2020 season, after hitting 21 in 118 games the prior year. And his OPS jumped more than 100 points year-over-year, from .842 to .948. That's quite a campaign.
The case for Voit: Nobody hit more home runs during the 2020 season than Voit. That speaks volumes in an era when home runs are king.
Key number: 9.7 -- The average number of at-bats between Voit home runs in 2020; that figure was 20.4 in 2019.