Fantasy Baseball: Albert Pujols Or Joey Votto?

Coming into the 2010 season, I was very high on Joey Votto after the season he had in 2009. Votto hit .322-.414-.567 with 25 HRs, 84 RBIs and 82 runs scored in 2009, and his OPS was the 5th highest in the National League. He has followed that up with an excellent 2010 season. So good, that he will more than likely be a Top 5 pick in NL-only leagues, and should be a late first round/early second round pick in mixed leagues.

I knew he was having an MVP-like season this year, but I didn't realize how good. Here is how his stats compare to Albert Pujols this season:

So Pujols has a slight edge in HRs, RBIs and runs scored, while Votto has more SBs and a better BA. Pujols will more than likely be the #1 pick in many fantasy drafts in 2011, but a case can be made that his 2010 production, while very good, is not head and shoulders better than Votto, or Miguel Cabrera for that matter.

So, fantasy owners who are looking to maximize position scarcity could look to draft Hanley Ramirez or Troy Tulowitzki, who are head and shoulders better than the next tier of shortstops, or Josh Hamilton or Carlos Gonzalez who are in the first tier of outfielders, then draft a first baseman like Adrian Gonzalez or Ryan Howard.