First base, party of six

The Yankees will open training camp with an abundance of first basemen, six to be exact. None of them, however, are proven at the position. Here's who we've got:

Jason Giambi
Wilson Betemit
Shelley Duncan (pictured right)
Morgan Ensberg
Jason Lane
Juan Miranda

Come Opening Day, I'd venture to guess that three of those players are gone, while the other three make up the majority of the bench. Let's break them all down now then, shall we.

Giambi - He can be a valuable tool at first base, as long as he's healthy. Hideki Matsui seems primed to be the everyday DH with lingering knee problems, even after off-season surgery. Giambi has notoriously hit better when playing first base as opposed to being the DH, which is a plus. He can also scope the ball out of the dirt with the best of them, and isn't a poor fielder if the ball is hit within a step or two of him. His problems come when he has to move left or right farther than two steps, has to flip the ball to a pitcher covering and turning a 3-6-3 double play will have the ball landing in either left field or three feet short of the second base bag. Giambi is also extremely injury prone, and if he can't stay healthy as a DH, there's no way he can be relied on playing the field.

Betemit - Wilson hasn't played too much first base in his career. His real value comes when he is at second or short. He has some pop in his bat off the bench too. Some real work with Tino Martinez could help him at first, but don't look for him to take the job.

Duncan - Shelley might be the best choice at first. He also has value at the corner outfield positions. He has an explosive bat from the right side, which could make him a great platoon partner with Giambi. He's been working hard, getting his fielding down and learning the position as he was only a DH in the minors last year. He could be the favorite as long as his defense and health hold up.

Lane - A weird signing by the Yanks, as Lane is an outfielder. With a plethora of outfielders already on the team, there really isn't a spot for Lane unless he really impresses or someone gets hurt. Don't expect too much from him though.

Ensberg - Primarily a third baseman in his career, Ensberg fell out of favor with the Astros and Padres recently. He still has 30 homerun power, but he may only hit .225. He's right handed in a righty heavy lineup so several hurdles are in front of him. His defense was always just above average at third, so if he can bring that to the other side of the field, he will be in the running.

Miranda - The Cuban defect is either 23, 25 or 32 years old. No one knows for sure. What is known is that he has the second most experience at first base besides Giambi. He hits from the left side with a little pop, so if Giambi goes down, he would be a legitimate backup option.

Prediction time. Here is who I believe makes the big league roster:

Giambi (for 1b and DH)
Betemit (too valuable not to have him on the bench for all other INF positions)
Duncan (as long as he's healthy, he'll tear up lefties)

Giambi and Duncan could create a platoon. Giambi against righties and Duncan against lefties. If Ensberg looks good and one of them go down, then he'll be the man for the job for the short run. Joe Girardi will look at Miranda longer than Joe Torre would have, but he'll start in the minors along with Lane. If Ensberg isn't on the big league roster to start the season, he'll catch on with another team instead of accepting a minor league gig with the Yanks.

Next time: outfielders. Enjoy pitchers and catchers until then.