Ryan Garko is no longer manning 1B for the Indians. That will fall to 25-year old righty swinging Matt LaPorta and he will be under the microscope because he was the key player in the C.C. Sabathia trade a year and a half ago. LaPorta played in 52 games for the Indians last season and he was 46 for 181 (.254 avg, .750 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 7 homers, 21 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He also played in 93 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 101 for 338 (.299 avg, .918 OPS) with 63 runs scored, 17 homers and 60 RBIs. LaPorta only played 10 games at 1B for the Indians and he made 2 errors so the Indians’ staff will have to coach him up this spring on D.

26-year old righty swinging Andy Marte is still a Indian for some reason. He played in 47 games for the Tribe last season and he was 36 for 155 (.232 avg, .693 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 6 homers and 25 RBIs. His numbers last season were a actual improvement on his career numbers as he has a .216 career batting average with a .624 OPS in 221 career games in the show. I don’t think he has much of a upside if he has one at all. Marte made 5 errors in only 45 games at 1B and that is way too many especially for a player who can’t hit.

28-year old lefty swinging Brian Buscher will battle Andy Marte for the back-up first base job on the Indians in 2010. He played in 61 games for the Twins last season and he was 32 for 136 (.235 avg, .676 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 2 homers and 12 RBIs. Buscher has a career batting average of .266 with a .699 OPS in 164 games in the majors. Buscher didn’t make any errors in 13 games at 1B for the Twins last season.

30-year old righty swinging Shelley Duncan will also likely be taking grounders at 1B this spring even though he is more of a outfielder. Duncan played in 11 games for the Yankees last season and he was 3 for 15 (.200 avg, .400 OPS) with 1 run scored and 1 RBI. He also played in 123 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 125 for 452 (.277 avg, .916 OPS) with 85 runs scored, 30 homers and 99 RBIs.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR 1B IN 2010: D