It’s easy to pick the top catcher in the Orioles' minor league system. Most of the people who commented on the entry about catchers agreed with my picks, but I think we might have some disagreement with today’s topic.

The first basemen in the organization are more difficult to rank because several players at different levels had solid seasons. None of them were worthy of being selected as Minor League Player of the Year, however, like catcher Matt Wieters.

Two players, in my opinion, should be mentioned at the top of the list in any conversation about the best player at the position in the Orioles' minor league system. Remember that my argument is based on this season’s statistics, as well as each player’s status as a potential contributor to the Orioles in the future.

With that said, the best two first basemen in the organization are Norfolk’s Oscar Salazar and Frederick’s Brandon Snyder. Both players had similar offensive seasons, so it’s hard to differentiate between them.

Salazar hit .316 with 13 home runs and 85 RBIs in 112 games for the Tides. He led the International League with 42 doubles. Snyder hit .315 with 13 home runs in 116 games this season and he led the Keys in several offensive categories, including runs scored (70), hits (137), doubles (33), RBIs (80) and total bases (213).

Salazar has had moderate success for the Orioles this season. In 22 games in the major leagues, he is hitting .244 with five home runs and 13 RBIs. Salazar was able to put up similar offensive numbers to Snyder at a higher level this season, but he’s also almost nine full years older than the Frederick first baseman.

I’m going to pull the prospect card here and give the edge to Snyder for this season because I think there is still hope that he’ll be a solid performer for the Orioles in the future. Salazar has played well in the minors during the past two seasons, but it’s unlikely that he’ll be a substantial part of the team’s future.

I’d put the first basemen in this order if I had to rank them based on this season’s numbers, as well as the future outlook in the major leagues:

1. Brandon Snyder
2. Oscar Salazar
3. T.J. Baxter
4. Elvin Polanco
5. Chris Vinyard

Like I said, it was tough to pick between Snyder and Salazar. I’d take Snyder if I were building a team from the minor leagues because he has more potential. I know that he hasn’t played above Single-A and a lot of people might think Salazar’s season was better because he played at Triple-A.

Salazar is a 30-year-old first baseman, however, so it’s not likely that he’ll improve much. Snyder needs to stay healthy, but his versatility could help him earn a ticket to the major leagues. He played six games at third base for the Keys in 2008, so the 21-year-old infielder might be able to play multiple positions for the Orioles in the future.

Baxter performed well in his first professional season for the Aberdeen IronBirds. The Orioles drafted the 22-year-old first baseman in the 24th round of this year’s draft. He hit .279 with 25 RBIs and 25 runs scored in 52 games. The biggest problem with Baxter is that he struck out 65 times in 183 at-bats. It will be interesting to see if he can reduce the number of strikeouts next season.

Polanco was the biggest offensive star for the Bluefield Orioles. The 21-year-old first baseman hit .311 with 10 home runs, 16 doubles and 42 RBIs in 62 games. He also led the team with 36 runs scored. Polanco batted .318 with five home runs, 18 doubles and 37 RBIs in 54 games for the Gulf Coast League Orioles in 2007.

Vinyard only hit .240 for the Keys in 2008, but he had 16 home runs and 65 RBIs in 123 games. He was the team’s primary designated hitter, but the 22-year-old infielder played 55 games at first base as Snyder’s backup. He has tremendous power, but he also needs to reduce his strikeouts. Vinyard had 102 strikeouts in 430 at-bats this season and he struck out 115 times in 480 at-bats for the Delmarva Shorebirds in 2007.