First base is tough to pick specific breakout players - 99% who finished in the upper echelon have been producing for years. People are yawning when they see, in no particular order, Joey Votto, Jose Abreu, Paul Goldschmidt, Anthony Rizzo, Miguel Cabrera, and Freddie Freeman all among the league leaders. It's a distinct "Been There, Done That" feeling. Albert Pujols is still hitting over 30 homers a season but he's not going to return to those ridiculous .350/45/130 days.

One might argue that Carlos Santana crossed the line into superstardom with his 34 homers, but he's 30 and drove in only 87 RBI. However, only six first basemen cracked the 100-RBI mark in 2016. Eric Hosmer started off like a house on fire, but while he did finish with career highs of 25 homers and 104 RBI, his real world production actually declined.

Here are the ones that I did see as breakout players. Hopefully, they will prove me right next year.

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Breakout First Basemen in 2016

Wil Myers, San Diego Padres

After a rookie season which seemingly presaged a successful career, Myers struggled for the next two years, not even cracking double digits in home runs. That changed in 2016, a year that saw him blast 28 round trippers - easily a career high. He's still young, turning 26 on Dec. 10 of this year. Should he stay healthy, he looks to push the ceiling even higher. While he won't be in the class of the Goldschmidts or Rizzos, he'll make a good middle-to-slightly-later round pick. Another leap forward in 2017 and he could rank even higher next offseason. The big thing to watch are those stolen bases. Were they real or a flash in the pan?

Tommy Joseph, Philadephia Phillies

It's a tough situation to come in and try to fill the shoes of the rapidly declining Ryan Howard, but Joseph did a great job with what he was given. In fact, it's surprising that he's not talked about in the same breath as Gary Sanchez. Especially since he hit nearly the same amount of homers, and he needed only 100 more at-bats than the Kraken to achieve that mark.

Yes, Joseph does play at hitter friendly Citizens Bank Park, but he hit 11 of his homers on the road as opposed to 10 at home. Two of those were at Coors Field, but he did whack three in Washington. It's hard to predict what a sophomore season will bring, but he's set a good benchmark. If you were to pick him in the later rounds, he could be a pleasant surprise for you in '17.

C.J. Cron, Los Angeles Angels

While Cron didn't have gaudy numbers, he remained consistent with 16 homers, and his RBI went up by 18. The soon-to-be 2-year-old is taking over at first base while Albert Pujols moves to DH. Were Cron to have a full season, he could crack nearly 25 homers or more with 80 RBI. That would be worth a mid- to late-round flyer.

One of the real reasons I picked him is because I'm a big fan of Conan the Barbarian (not that I have anything against Conan O'Brien either), and Cron just reminds me of the Cimmerian god Crom. So if I were to pick Cron for my team in '17 in the later rounds and he failed to break out like I predicted, I could just paraphrase Conan's speech in "Conan the Barbarian": "Cron... I have never prayed to you. If you do not listen... then the HELL with you." and drop him.