First base is typically a power position that features some of the top hitters in fantasy baseball. There’s a huge dropoff at the position this season, though, once the top seven or eight players are off the board. Nick Kurtz emerged last year as a fantasy baseball beast while veterans Vladimir Guerrero Jr, Pete Alonso, Bryce Harper, Freddie Freeman, and Rafael Devers remain top options. If you miss out on those options, though, there are still some fantasy baseball sleepers to check out later in your drafts that can provide depth at the position and provide plenty of upside if you opt to fill other spots with your early-round picks.
Whether you prefer season-long leagues, DFS contests or DraftKings Best Ball, DK Network will have you covered throughout the upcoming season. Based on their current ADP, these are the fantasy baseball sleepers at first base that I’m watching to outperform expectations this season.
Jonathan Aranda, Tampa Bay Rays
Aranda was a prototypical post-hype sleeper last year. For a couple of years, he had risen through the ranks of the Rays’ minor leagues as a much-hyped prospect, but he hadn’t been able to translate that to success at the majors until last season.
He made the team out of camp and played 106 games in the majors. He missed two months with a fractured wrist but still finished with 14 homers, 56 runs scored, 59 RBIs, and a .381 wOBA. Aranda slides a little bit since he doesn’t have the flashy, huge power numbers, but his metrics continue to be stellar. According to ADP, he is the No. 15 1B at this point, but he should be able to outproduce that draft spot if he builds on his success from last year.
The 27-year-old lefty had a 54.5% hard-hit rate that ranked him in the 96th percentile of qualified hitters last year. He ranked in the 98th percentile in LA Sweet-Spot%, and in the top five percent in both xwOBA and xBA.
He returned from his fractured wrist for the last three games of the year and smashed a pair of home runs against the Blue Jays. If he’s fully healthy this season, he could actually be due for some positive regression this season based on his underlying metrics. He’s also set up to be in a great lineup spot in the heart of the order, right in front of rising star power hitter Junior Caminero.
The Rays won’t get the added boost from playing at George M. Steinbrenner Field this year, but they’ll be back at Tropicana Field. While that’s a slight park downgrade, he should still be able to continue his emergence as a starting first baseman in most formats.
Especially if you stack some extra power in other spots, Aranda is one of the best fantasy baseball sleepers to consider at 1B once the big names have left the draft board.
Sal Stewart, Cincinnati Reds
Stewart made it to the majors last year and instantly became a fan favorite in Cincinnati. The 22-year-old is back in camp and ready to claim his role as the team’s regular 1B for many years to come. He split his time last season between 1B and 3B, but with slick-fielding Ke’Bryan Hayes back to man the hot corner, Stewart is focusing on 1B.
MLB Pipeline ranked Stewart the No. 22 prospect in baseball, and the righty climbed through the system last year, starting at Double-A, moving to Triple-A and getting to the majors on September 1. In his 118 games in Double-A and Triple-A, he hit .309 with 20 homers, 17 stolen bases, and a .413 wOBA. He tore up Triple-A with a .438 wOBA and 51.3% hard-hit rate, and he had a 52.5% hard-hit rate with an average exit velocity of 95.4 mph.
With an excellent approach at the plate and some excellent power potential, Stewart looks ready to break through as an everyday fantasy force at 1B. He also won the “best shape of his life” contest for the team in December, and at that point, he had already dropped 26 pounds, according to MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon.
He brings a strong, balanced profile and should be poised for an excellent rookie season. On DraftKings Sportsbook, Stewart is +950 to win National League Rookie of the Year, which is the fourth-shortest odds of any player coming into spring training.
Charlie Condon, Colorado Rockies
Since they play at Coors Field, any time the Rockies have a power prospect, they deserve extra attention. Condon was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft after he starred in two seasons at Georgia, crushing 62 homers in two years for the Bulldogs. He hit .433 with an OPS of 1.565 in 2024 and won the Golden Spikes Award before the Rockies drafted him.
Condon hasn’t had a straight line to the majors, though. He suffered a hand injury in 2024 after signing and then broke his wrist in last year’s spring training. He played 99 games in Single-A and Double-A once he returned with 14 homers, a .268 batting average and a .380 wOBA. To get added work, he played in the Arizona Fall League as well, and he looked strong by hitting .325 with a home run and an .851 OPS over his 98 plate appearances. While he didn’t show much power, he did have a five-hit game and made consistent contact throughout the fall.
If you’re looking for a prospect that could make a Kurtz-like impact after a midseason call-up or are searching for late-round fantasy football sleepers in a deep league, Condon is a suitable option to stash. He is going off the board as the No. 44 1B at this point, making him a deep sleeper to watch more than an option to target just yet. If he’s healthy and has a big spring or a strong start in the minors, he could quickly move to the majors and start smashing at Coors Field before the end of the season.
