ZiPS: First Base

ESPN's Dan Szymborski is a computer and stat guru, and we love getting a look at his projections. Here are his numbers for the 2014 Texas Rangers.

Position: First base

Player: Prince Fielder

Last year: .279 batting average, .362 on-base percentage, .457 slugging percentage, 25 home runs, 106 RBIs, 712 plate appearances

2014 projections: .276/.378/.488, 30 home runs, 101 RBIs, 669 plate appearances

First off, these projections suggest (judging by plate appearances) Fielder's streak of playing 162 games will come to an end after having not missed a regular-season game since 2010, when he missed a grand total of one. But that is OK. Fielder could probably use a day off here and there, and you don't win anything for being baseball's iron man. Personally, it seems playing in Globe Life Park and not Comerica Park for 81 of those games will give his offensive production more of an uptick than the computers suggest.

Seems totally feasible to me, that with Adrian Beltre hitting behind him, Fielder could easily hit .300 because he's going to get pitches to hit. Forty home runs is certainly not out of the question, and if he reaches that number it would be just the third time in his career.

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