Across baseball, there seems to be a drought of offensive production from what is arguably the deepest position out there, first base. Ryan Howard is batting under .200, and Mark Teixeira and Travis Hafner aren’t faring much better in that department. Prince Fielder has only one homerun, and perhaps his new vegan lifestyle is exacerbating things. The most disappointing thus far, however, might be David Ortiz. Entering Friday, he had the lowest batting average in the majors among regular players, with a miserable .111. He also hadn’t hit a homerun since April 2nd, before connecting for a grand slam against the Rangers. Don’t be fooled by the early struggles; it’s important to stick to your convictions and stand by your early round draft picks. You paid a lot to draft some of these power hitters in March, and it would be detrimental to your long-term plans to trade them away on the cheap.

In the case of Ortiz, April has traditionally been a rough month for him throughout his career, as he has batted 20 points lower than his career average during that month. However, he heats up as the summer progresses, and that spells danger for opposing pitchers. He has driven in at least 100 runs every year since arriving in Boston, and has scored at least 115 runs the past three years. He benefits from tremendous protection in the heart of the Red Sox lineup, and even J.D. Drew is hitting these days. Even while missing a bunch of games last year, he still hit 35 homeruns and batted a sensational .332. There is a reason why he is one of the most feared hitters in the league.

It’s easy to see someone like a Casey Kotchman tearing it up in the early weeks, or getting excited over a trendy youngster like Joey Votto, but they are not at the level the premier first basemen are yet. When it comes to trade discussions or waiver wire acquisitions, you need to be careful with how you value the outgoing and incoming players. You don’t want to regret letting go of an underperforming all-star caliber player thinking that you can marginally improve another position on your roster. Treat your 40-homer threats like the commodities they are, because they’re hard to find and don’t come often. Of course, if you’re blown away by an offer you can’t refuse, like getting a Brandon Webb to save your ace-less pitching staff, then you’re filling a serious need on your team and improving your chances of being on top in September. Aside from that, healthy 40/100/100 players who get the job done each year have too much to offer to be dangled as trade bait. Remember, players like Lyle Overbay and Kevin Millar are a dime a dozen, so trading away a struggling top-10 first basemen thinking you can fill the slot with one of them may hurt you in the end. Don’t resort to desperate measures; stick with early disappointments like Ortiz through the bad times, so you can reap the benefits of their successes later when they get back on track. You won’t want to miss that.