We’re almost there, everybody: After a long, cold, frustratingly slow offseason, MLB’s regular season begins on Wednesday, March 20, with the Dodgers and Padres squaring off in Seoul (the 28 other teams will get things started on Thursday, March 28). With precious little time to go until Opening Day, now is the time to start cranking up your fantasy baseball drafts — and we’re here to be your one-stop shop for all things draft prep. We just recently unveiled our top 300 overall for redraft leagues in 2024, as well as top prospects to know; now it’s time to start breaking things down position by position, giving you the lay of the land along with positional rankings, tiers, sleepers, busts and breakouts.
Next up: first base, a position that offers several legitimate first rounders but also enough depth that fading early might be the smart play. For the first time in a while, there are several genuine sleepers here, in addition to the generic-brand guys like Rhys Hoskins and Ryan Mountcastle who will deliver 80 percent of the production at a fraction of the cost. That’s life with a position at which there aren’t too many stolen base threats, and comparing the first baseman available in the mid-to-late rounds to, say, their equivalent outfielders, you can see why it might be worth the wait.
2024 fantasy baseball first base rankings
| Rank | Name | Team | ESPN Eligibility | Yahoo! Eligibility |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Name | Team | ESPN Eligibility | Yahoo! Eligibility |
| 1 | Bryce Harper | Phillies | 1B | 1B |
| 2 | Freddie Freeman | Dodgers | 1B | 1B |
| 3 | Matt Olson | Braves | 1B | 1B |
| 4 | Pete Alonso | Mets | 1B | 1B |
| 5 | Vladimir Guerrero Jr. | Blue Jays | 1B | 1B |
| 6 | Cody Bellinger | Free agent | 1B/OF | 1B/OF |
| 7 | Nolan Jones | Rockies | OF | 1B/OF |
| 8 | Paul Goldschmidt | Cardinals | 1B | 1B |
| 9 | Christian Walker | Diamondbacks | 1B | 1B |
| 10 | Spencer Steer | Reds | 1B/3B/OF | 1B/2B/3B/OF |
| 11 | Triston Casas | Red Sox | 1B | 1B |
| 12 | Josh Naylor | Guardians | 1B | 1B |
| 13 | Christian Encarnacion-Strand | Reds | 1B | 1B |
| 14 | Yainer Diaz | Astros | C | C/1B |
| 15 | Anthony Santander | Orioles | OF | 1B/OF |
| 16 | Isaac Paredes | Rays | 1B/2B/3B | 1B/2B/3B |
| 17 | Luis Arraez | Marlins | 2B | 1B/2B |
| 18 | Salvador Perez | Royals | C/1B | C/1B |
| 19 | Yandy Diaz | Rays | 1B | 1B |
| 20 | Spencer Torkelson | Tigers | 1B | 1B |
| 21 | Alec Bohm | Phillies | 1B/3B | 1B/3B |
| 22 | Nathaniel Lowe | Rangers | 1B | 1B |
| 23 | Vinnie Pasquantino | Royals | 1B | 1B |
| 24 | Rhys Hoskins | Brewers | 1B | 1B |
| 25 | Jeimer Candelario | Reds | 1B/3B | 1B/3B |
| 26 | Ryan Mountcastle | Orioles | 1B | 1B |
| 27 | Josh Bell | Marlins | 1B | 1B |
| 28 | Brandon Drury | Angels | 1B/2B | 1B/2B |
| 29 | Andrew Vaughn | White Sox | 1B | 1B |
| 30 | Kris Bryant | Rockies | OF | 1B/OF |
| 31 | Anthony Rizzo | Yankees | 1B | 1B |
First base tiers
Tier 1: Bryce Harper, Freddie Freeman, Matt Olson
Tier 2: Pete Alonso, Nolan Jones, Cody Bellinger, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Tier 3: Paul Goldschmidt, Christian Walker
Tier 4: Spencer Steer, Tristan Casas, Josh Naylor, Anthony Santander, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Isaac Paredes, Luis Arraez, Spencer Torkelson, Alec Bohm, Yandy Diaz
Tier 5: Nathaniel Lowe, Vinnie Pasquantino, Rhys Hoskins, Jeimer Candelario
Tier 6: Ryan Mountcastle, Salvador Perez, Yainer Diaz, Josh Bell, Brandon Drury, Andrew Vaughn, Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Ty France
Tier 7: Nolan Schanuel, Justin Turner, Wilmer Flores, Jake Cronenworth, Luke Raley, Joey Meneses, Jonathan Aranda, Jose Abreu, Brendan Donovan, Alex Kirilloff
First base sleeper
Kyle Manzardo, Cleveland Guardians
Cleveland has already more or less committed to starting Manzardo at Triple-A, but fear not: There’s simply not enough offensive talent on this roster to keep the top prospect down for long. Manzardo’s top-line numbers slumped a bit last season, but that can be explained away by a shoulder issue and some terribly unlucky BABIP numbers. He began to turn it on after the trade from Tampa to the Guardians, hitting .256/.348/.590 with Columbus, and he combines a good approach at the plate with solid power. He’s not a candidate to hit 35 homers, but 25 over a full season doesn’t seem like a stretch, and a top-50 prospect with a pretty clear path to playing time and an impressive pedigree is well worth a late-round dart throw.
First base breakout
Josh Naylor, Cleveland Guardians
Yes, we’re sticking in Cleveland, where Naylor has the chance to be one of the best values in fantasy this year. He’s largely flown under the radar until now, due to both the Guardians’ yawnstipating offense and the fact that he’s never played more than 122 games in any season. An oblique injury cost him 33 games last summer, but he hit .308/.354/.489 with 17 homers, 10 steals and 97 RBI around that. He’ll once again hit in the middle of Cleveland’s order, his willingness to run and the lax new rules make him a viable source of at least a few steals, and there’s still more power to unlock here despite his line drive-heavy approach. A .290/25/10/100 season is well within range.
First base bust
Luis Arraez, Miami Marlins
If you’re drafting Arraez, it’s almost certainly not as your starting first baseman, but we’ll put him here as someone still going far higher than he should in most drafts. This is largely an argument against one-category contributors, especially ones whose category is as tough to pin down as batting average. For example: Arraez hit .314 after the All-Star break last year, and if he’s merely good there rather than the elite of the elite, he very quickly becomes a fringe starter.
