We’re going position-by-position from now until the All Star Break looking at the surprises and busts and foreshadowing the rest of the season.

Joey Votto: More valuable than Prince Albert so far

Today, let’s tackle FIRST BASEMEN.

Performing up to draft-day value: Billy Butler, Adam LaRoche

Surpassing draft-day value a bit: Miguel Cabrera, Joey Votto, Justin Morneau, James Loney

Best production for draft investment: Paul Konerko, Aubrey Huff, Gaby Sanchez

Coming up just short of draft investment: Albert Pujols, Adrian Gonzalez

Coming up well short of draft investment: Ryan Howard, Prince Fielder, Mark Teixeira, Kendry Morales, Carlos Pena, Lance Berkman, Derrek Lee, Chris Davis

This has been a strange year at first base.

Overall, production has been very strong. Among all batters in MLB, four of the top 10 fantasy players at any position play the 1B position. This comprises Cabrera, Votto, Pujols, and Morneau.

No surprise that the top fantasy players are 1B, but what is surprising is the order of current value-to-date. Cabrera, Votto, and Morneau were drafted relatively high but not high enough according to their standing at the moment. Howard, Teixeira, and Fielder were also drafted high, but are disappointing immensely. Then again, the position has gotten a boost from surprising resurgent seasons from Konerko and Huff — both top 40 batters at any position this season.

In hindsight, it’s hard to draw many conclusions. Either you got more than what you were expecting by drafting a premium 1B high in drafts. Or you got less than what you were expecting while those who waited for latter-round options including Loney or Sanchez made a killing.

We should note that our analysis doesn’t include players like Martin Prado, Mark Reynolds, Kevin Youkilis, and others who can be played at another position. Because 1B is so deep, we assume that these players are being used elsewhere than 1B in most leagues.

The average line at the moment for a top 15 1B from Cabrera to Teixeira is 15 HR, 53 RBIs, 49 R, 2 SB, and a .301 BA. Compare that to our look at shortstops yesterday and you’ll see the difference.

Looking forward, despite the seeming upheaval, we probably wouldn’t make too many significant changes in our evaluation. Give us a choice between Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera, and we’re still going with Prince Albert. Yes, we’re still waiting for Teixeira to come on, and he’s still a good bet to do so. We’d probably prefer Votto to Teixeira right now, however.  Similarly, Pena and Berkman are good candidates for strong second halves. We probably don’t have quite as much confidence in Derrek Lee thanks to his inconsistency over the past few years. Consider Fielder and Howard to be in the middle of the confidence line, and there’s reason to believe the strong seasons of Konerko and Huff will continue. It’s hard for prospects to crack a dent in 1B rankings, but a couple of top ones stand an outside chance including Logan Morrison of the Florida Marlins and Brett Wallace of the Toronto Blue Jays.