The first base position used to be flush with talent, where you could wait a while and still get a lot of power from the position. However, that is no longer the case. The position drops off fast, and the tiers are not as flush with talent in the way they once were. The strategy in fantasy baseball for first basemen is very league-dependent.
The deeper the league, the more you want to prioritize the position. Once you get past the top 10 options, the pool becomes riskier, so it’s important to draft your top targets before the position dries up, even if you have to disregard average draft position (ADP).
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Fantasy Baseball First Basemen Primer: Rankings & Tiers
Here are my first basemen tiers for 2026.
Tier 1 & Notes
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is alone at the top of the mountain at first base. He has five straight seasons of at least 680 plate appearances. The power was down some last year, but there is no reason to think he can’t rebound there.
What makes Guerrero so valuable, though, is the average with the huge amount of plate appearances. Very few hitters can hit for power while racking up 700 plate appearances with good averages.
Tier 2 & Notes
- Nick Kurtz (1B – ATH)
- Pete Alonso (1B – BAL)
- Bryce Harper (1B – PHI)
- Matt Olson (1B – ATL)
- Ben Rice (C, 1B, DH – NYY)
- Vinnie Pasquantino (1B, DH – KC)
Nick Kurtz was a savior for fantasy teams last year, coming up and hitting .290/.383/.619 with 36 home runs in 489 plate appearances. There is reason to put him in the top tier because of it, but he doesn’t have the safe floor that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. does. His xBA was just .245, and that is backed up by a terrible 75% Z-contact rate. The average floor is closer to the Mendoza Line than his ADP suggests, but there should be plenty of power in a great home park.
Pete Alonso is taking his bat to Baltimore to be their new first baseman. He has 30+ home runs and 600+ plate appearances in every year of his career. The average is always a question mark, and it is dependent on his batting average on balls in play (BABIP). He will deliver power, but it’s unlikely the lineup around him is as good as it was with the Mets.
Despite missing time last season, Bryce Harper still hit 27 home runs and stole 12 bases with a .261/.357/.487 triple slash line in 580 plate appearances. The problem is that he has struggled with his health in recent years. He has just had one 600+ plate appearance season since 2019. If he can stay on the field, he is still an elite talent.
There is an argument to be made that Ben Rice should be higher on this list, considering he should be playing every day in the heart of the Yankees’ lineup, but the fact that the Yankees brought back Paul Goldschmidt takes a bit of the shine away. Rice has a unique blend of power and contact ability, along with the ability to play other positions, that give him the upside to be the top catcher in fantasy.
Vinnie Pasquantino is coming off a breakout season, and I am buying everything about it. He has a ton of power and a great hit tool. The Royals have moved in the fences at Kauffman Stadium, which could mean that 2026 can be even better.
Tier 3 & Notes
- Freddie Freeman (1B – LAD)
- Rafael Devers (1B, DH – SF))
- Tyler Soderstrom (1B, OF – ATH)
- Josh Naylor (1B, DH – SEA)
- Salvador Perez (C, 1B, DH – KC)
- Michael Busch (1B – CHC)
Freddie Freeman dealt with an ankle issue all last season, which hampered his production somewhat. He is healthy now, but he is also 36 years old, and we can’t expect him to be the superstar he was earlier in his career. That said, Freeman is still a five-category contributor on one of the best teams in baseball.
Rafael Devers has a ton of talent, and I think a lot of people would have had him in the above tier. However, after he was traded to the Giants, he struggled, hitting .236/.347/.460 with 20 home runs. Part of that can be blamed on the circumstances around his exit from Boston, but we need to expect he won’t be as productive in San Francisco as he was in Boston.
Tyler Soderstrom was fantastic in 2025, hitting .276/.346/.474 with 25 home runs and eight stolen bases. The most impressive part was that he dropped his strikeout rate each of the last two seasons, going from a well-below-average hit tool to an above-average one. Being in Sacramento helps a ton, as it’s one of the best hitting environments in baseball.
Josh Naylor had a very weird season. He was great from start to finish despite being traded to the Mariners mid-season. However, after arriving in Seattle, he stole 19 bases in 210 plate appearances, which was out of nowhere. We have also seen players in Seattle struggle with the home park, which scares me a bit for him. There is a lot of upside, but I am nervous that Naylor won’t reach it with the Mariners in a full season.
Michael Busch quietly broke out last season, hitting .261/.353/.523 with 34 home runs. There is definitely some regression to be had with his 20% HR/FB rate, but he makes good contact and hits the ball very hard.
Tier 4 & Notes
- Yandy Diaz (1B, DH – TB)
- Willson Contreras (1B – BOS)
- Sal Stewart (1B – CIN)
- Spencer Torkelson (1B – DET)
- Christian Walker (1B – HOU)
- Andrew Vaughn (1B – MIL)
- Jonathan Aranda (1B – TB)
- Jake Burger (1B – TEX)
- Kyle Manzardo (1B, DH – CLE)
- Coby Mayo (1B – BAL)
Yandy Diaz has a ton of power, which is generated by his massive biceps, but he has never been able to continuously lift the ball enough to unlock it. Last season was probably the ceiling and something that we won’t see again as Tampa heads back to a tougher park at Tropicana Field. You will still get a great average and some power, just don’t expect 25 home runs.
Willson Contreras is moving to Boston to be the Red Sox’s regular first baseman. Fenway is a very nice park. While he isn’t a superstar, Contreras is now healthy and could put up the best plate appearance mark of his career in the middle of a great offense.
Sal Stewart is a top prospect who came up and mashed in a small sample for the Reds last year. He hit five home runs in just 18 games after hitting 20 in Triple-A in 118 games. He has had a massive spring, and the Reds clearly love him and are going to give him every chance to play.
I think we know what Spencer Torkelson is at this point: A 30-home run bat that won’t help you with very much with average. However, he is going to give you that power in the middle of a very good lineup in Detroit, and the Tigers are finally completely committed to the former top prospect.
Christian Walker is coming off a disappointing first season in Houston. But he still hit 27 bombs and was able to stay healthy, which is key. He was better in the second half, which is encouraging that maybe he was just going through an adjustment period. If he goes back to being the hitter he was in Arizona, he is very underrated.
Coby Mayo is a former top prospect who has struggled in very small samples at the Majors. However, with the injury to Jordan Westburg, he is likely to be the everyday third baseman in Baltimore to start the season and for at least the first few months. Mayo has a ton of power and is having a great spring. He provides 40 home run potential for cheap.
Tier 5 & Notes
- Luis Arraez (1B, 2B, DH – SF)
- Ryan O’Hearn (1B, OF, DH – PIT)
- Miguel Vargas (1B, 3B – CWS)
- Spencer Steer (1B, OF – CIN)
- Spencer Horwitz (1B – PIT)
- Kody Clemens (1B, 2B, OF – MIN)
Luis Arraez is what he is at this point. He can give you a good average and not much else. He may lead off for the Giants, so there is some run potential there, but he is a pretty empty average producer.
Ryan O’Hearn is heading to Pittsburgh, where he will get to be a full-time player. I don’t know if that is actually beneficial for him, though. The park will sap some power, and while he hit .278 versus lefties last season, he is a career .217 hitter against southpaws.
Miguel Vargas is a former top prospect who has never really panned out. He is now getting a full run in Chicago for the White Sox, but it is a pretty bland profile where he does not have enough power, nor is he an asset in stolen bases or average. The profile is pretty boring.
Spencer Steer has been a good fantasy option in the past, but he is likely starting the season on the bench. He is someone to watch in most formats because he will be the first beneficiary if there is an injury.
Kody Clemens is coming off a great season where he hit 19 home runs and stole five bases in just 386 plate appearances. However, he is once again in a reserve/utility role and will need an injury to carve out more playing time. Thankfully, he plays for the Twins, where injuries happen all the time.
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