Team Rankings:
1. Springfield Cardinals
Statistics: .304/.356/.586/.942 73 Extra Base Hits 128 RBI 100 Runs 47 BB-125 K
The Springfield Cardinals received 111 games from the Texas League Player of the Year at first base in 23 year old slugger Matt Adams. As a first baseman, Adams hit .301 with 22 doubles, 32 homeruns, 99 RBI, and posted a .931 OPS. Overall he finished with a .300 average, 32 homeruns, 101 RBI, and a .923 OPS. Adams started out the season very strong as he was hitting .357/.397/.685/1.082 at the Texas League All-Star break. Steven Hill added a .309 average with 9 homeruns in 89 plate appearances at first base for the Cardinals. He had a 1.027 OPS as a first baseman.
2. San Antonio Missions
Statistics: .270/.345/.476/.821 61 Extra Base Hits 101 RBI 88 Runs 61 BB-135 K
The San Antonio Missions had an outstanding season as a team and they were no different at first base. They finished 2nd in the league in RBI, 3rd in runs, 3rd in OPS, 2nd in extra base hits, 3rd in walks, and 2nd in slugging %. They were one of two teams in the Texas League to have 8 players appear in a game at first base with the Arkansas Travelers being the other team. Kyle Blanks and Sawyer Carroll were tied with the most games played at first base on San Antonio with 33 games a piece. Vincent Belnome produced the best among the Mission's first basemen as the 23 year old hit .382/.481/.691/1.173 there with 9 extra base hits in 81 plate appearances. Cody Decker batted .260/.321/.550/.871 with 14 extra base hits (7 homeruns) over 109 plate appearances.
3. Northwest Arkansas Naturals
Statistics: .284/.372/.435/.806 39 Extra Base Hits, 79 RBI, 92 Runs, 62 BB-102 K
Northwest Arkansas saw two different styles of players get about half the playing time at first base throughout the season. They received 70 games from Anthony Seratelli, a speedy player who showed very good plate discipline and also saw time at second base, shortstop, right field, and left field. Seratelli hit .299/.396/..390/.786 as a first baseman with 13 extra base hits, 34 RBI, stole 24 bases in 27 attempts, and scored 54 runs. He walked 36 times to 42 strikeouts. Then Jamie Romak had 68 games at first base and provided the power. Romak hit .273/.356/.482/.838 with 25 extra base hits (13 homeruns), 43 RBI, and scored 36 runs. He walked 26 times to 52 strikeouts. Mario Lisson chipped in 7 games at first base of his own.
4. Corpus Christi Hooks
Statistics: .295/.364/.467/.831 49 Extra Base Hits 78 RBI 66 Runs 58 BB-98 K
The Texas League's worst team in 2011, Corpus Christi got unusually good production out of first base for a team that ranked last in the league in runs scored per game. James Van Ostrand, a 4 year Texas League veteran, led the Hooks with 87 games played at first base. He batted .300/.372/.472/.844 with 31 extra base hits in 347 plate appearances. Van Ostrand walked 36 times to 48 strikeouts. Kody Hinze added 46 games at first base and batted .278/.351/.402/.753 with 11 extra base hits over 191 plate appearances. David Flores, former Frisco RoughRider Emerson Frostad, and Jake Goebbert added in 15 games as well. The Hooks had the 2nd best team OPS in the Texas League, but finished 5th in RBI, 6th in runs, and 5th in extra base hits. They were the only team in the league to have less than 100 strikeouts from their first basemen though.
5. Midland Rockhounds
Statistics: .287/.383/.426/.810 49 Extra Base Hits 80 RBI 73 Runs 73 BB-120 K
An affiliate of the organization that is known most around baseball for relying on On Base Percentage, the Midland Rockhounds lived up to that organization's name in 2011 as they had the 2nd best OBP in the Texas League overall with a .349 OBP. At first base, in particular, the Rockhounds excelled in plate discipline. They led the league in walks with 73 and their .383 OBP was the tops among first basemen in the league. Michael Spina had nearly all of the games played at first base for Midland as he appeared in 126 games at first base. Spina produced 45 extra base hits over 555 plate appearances and walked 68 times to 107 strikeouts. The 24 year old hit .288/.386/.432/.818 for Midland. Stephen Parker, Adam Heether, and Wes Timmons combined to appear in 17 games at first base as well.
6. Frisco RoughRiders
Statistics: .274/.345/.433/.778 50 Extra Base Hits 77 RBI 64 Runs 54 BB-104 K
Frisco had a good year by most measures, although their production at first base did not live up to that. Frisco had the 6th best OPS in the league, the 7th most RBI, and the least amount of runs in the league from first base. They had tied for the 3rd most extra base hits, however, and their slugging% was the 5th best in the league. Jose Ruiz led the Riders with 101 games played before being promoted to Round Rock. He had 41 extra base hits in 429 plate appearances, including 12 homeruns. Ruiz walked 40 times to 61 strikeouts and hit .281/.352/.457/.809 as a first baseman. Jared Bolden appeared in 21 games, while Jonathan Greene appeared in 16 games as well. Mitch Hilligoss and Matt Leeds each got 1 game there.
7. Tulsa Drillers
Statistics: .236/.295/.396/.692 50 Extra Base Hits 76 RBI 69 Runs 44 BB-137 K
Tulsa Drillers received poor production from first base as the team ranked 7th in RBI, 7th in OPS, 7th in walks, 5th in runs scored, tied for 3rd in extra base hits, and had the worst stolen base percentage among first basemen. Ben Paulsen appeared in 134 games at first base for the Drillers and batted .238/.293/.404/.697 with 18 homeruns, 76 RBI, and 68 runs in 592 plate appearances. James Cesario, Mike Zuanich, and top prospect Wilin Rosario combined for 7 games appeared at first base for the Tulsa Drillers.
8. Arkansas Travelers
Statistics: .239/.298/.358/.656 32 Extra Base Hits 62 RBI 66 Runs 38 BB-114 K
The worst team in the Texas League at first base, the Arkansas Travelers ranked worst in the league in nearly every stat. They had the lowest batting average, the 2nd worst OBP, the worst slugging%, worst OPS, least amount of extra base hits, lowest amount of RBI, tied for 2nd least runs scored, and lowest walk total. Their 186 total bases were the worst amount in the league as well. Like San Antonio, the Travelers had musical chairs going at first base all season. Eight players appeared in at least one game at first base for Arkansas, with Gabe Jacobo leading the pack with 67 games played. Jacobo batted .254/.295/.417/.711 over 209 plate appearances with 20 extra base hits (9 homeruns), 33 RBI, and 31 runs scored. He led the Traveler's first basemen with 12 walks. Dillon Baird, Chris Pettit, Jay Brossman, and Roberto Lopez each appeared in at least 10 games a piece. Orlando Mercado, Jon Townsend, and Adam Younger appeared in a combined 5 games. Of the five players that played in at least 10 games at first for Arkansas, Gabe Jacobo was the only player with an OPS above .700.
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