Top 50 First Base Dynasty Fantasy Baseball Rankings For 2024

Image credit: Matt Olson (Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/Getty Images)

After releasing the Dynasty Top 50 list two weeks ago and our first positional ranking last week, we’re officially in the midst of rankings season. All 30 teams’ Top 10 prospect lists are now live on the site and the team Top 30 lists are to come. Today we continue on our fantasy rankings journey as we move to the first basemen.

First base has long been a position chock-full of productive fantasy bats. The top end of the position boasts some of the best hitters in baseball, with some young up-and-coming hitters rounding out the top 20. It’s a deep group guaranteed to provide more than a few values on draft day.

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Top 50 Dynasty First Base Rankings

*updated February 7th

1. Matt Olson, Braves (No. 13 overall player)

Olson led MLB in homers (54) while topping the 50-homer mark for the first time in his career in 2023. Beyond his 80-grade power, Olson’s strikeout rate has improved each of the last two seasons and he hit a career-best .283 at 29 years old. Olson is squarely in his peak and the type of elite power hitter that ages well.

2. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays (No. 16 overall)

Guerrero’s power numbers have trended down in consecutive seasons since his elite 2021 campaign, lending credence to the boost minor league parks provided that season. Despite those concerns, Guerrero is still just 25 years old in 2024 and has a high power and batting average floor with an MVP-caliber ceiling.

3. Bryce Harper, Phillies (No. 21 overall)

A long-time superstar in all formats, Harper always gets a slight bump in OBP style. After missing the beginning of 2023 recovering from elbow surgery, Harper returned and hit .293/.401/.499 with 21 home runs and 11 steals over 126 games. With the move to first base, Harper at 31 years old has plenty of runway to remain a top fantasy producer for years to come.

4. Freddie Freeman, Dodgers (No. 22 overall)

Freeman is an older but still an elite producer in fantasy baseball at age 34. He hit .331/.410/.567 with 29 home runs and over 100 runs and 100 RBIs for the second consecutive season. Freeman still has plenty of years left of upper-echelon production with elite plate skills and 25+ home run power.

5. Pete Alonso, Mets (No. 26 overall)

Despite hitting .217 in 2023, Alonso hit 46 home runs and drove in 118 RBIs finishing inside the top-25 of positional players. One of the premier power hitters in the game heading into his age-29 season in 2024, Alonso should have another five plus seasons of elite power production.

6. Triston Casas, Red Sox (No. 38 overall)

Despite dark days at Fenway in 2023, Casas was a true bright spot hitting .263/.367/.490 with 24 home runs as a rookie. Casas will be 24 for all of 2024 and has the skills to develop into one of the top batting average and power hitters in fantasy.

7. Spencer Torkelson, Tigers

In his first full season with the Tigers, the former Arizona State star hit 31 home runs with 16 of them coming in the final two months. Even with Riley Greene missing a large part of the season, Torkelson managed 94 RBIs. Heading into his age-24 season, you can count on 30 home run seasons for a while in a Detroit lineup that should be getting better.

8. Cody Bellinger, Free Agent

After two down seasons with the Dodgers saw Bellinger drop from one of the top picks in dynasty startups to a later round afterthought, he signed a one-year challenge deal with the Cubs prior to 2023. He responded by hitting .307/.356/.525 with 26 home runs and 20 stolen bases. Despite the loud rebound season for Bellinger, there’s healthy skepticism around him heading into 2024 and beyond. Under the hood, Bellinger’s 87.9 mph average exit velocity is nearly a 2 mph drop from his career average. Bellinger’s barrel and hard-hit rates in 2023 were the lowest of his career. There were skill improvements from a bat-to-ball perspective that give some hope for only slight regression.

9. Vinnie Pasquantino, Royals

After a 2022 season during which he had a scorching 138 wRC+ over just shy of 300 plate appearances, expectations were high for 2023. Unfortunately, a labrum injury—and later, season-ending surgery on the shoulder—felled the Royals’ first baseman. Expected to be ready for 2024, his plus hit tool, great approach and above-average game power should lead to a .270 to .290 batting average with double-digit walks and about 25 home run power. He will be 26 years old for the entire 2024 season and just entering his prime.

10. Josh Naylor, Guardians

The burly Canadian cemented himself as an everyday player in 2022 and took a step forward in 2023, hitting .308/.354/.489. Naylor has a balance of plus bat-to-ball skills and power. He is limited by his hyper-aggressive approach, limiting his value in OBP formats. Naylor saw a climb in both his line-drive and fly-ball rates in 2023, hinting toward potential for further power growth.

11. Paul Goldschmidt, Cardinals

For the first time since 2017 (not including the COVID year), Goldy hit fewer than 30 home runs. It was also his lowest wRC+ since 2019. Whether this is the beginning of his decline or not, he should still be an above-average hitter for at least four more years, but he is likely no longer a top-100 dynasty asset.

12. Yandy Diaz, Rays

Having a career wRC+ of 131 means his bat will be in the lineup as much as possible. Always a batting average and OBP asset, Diaz also hit 22 home runs in 2023. As long as he can stay healthy, he should be a top-10 first baseman for the next two years.

13. Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Reds

Although the future is a bit murkier with the signing of Jeimer Candelario, CES’s prodigious power—likely a perennial 30 home run bat provided he gets the plate appearances—won’t be held down for long. Although he chases at a high clip, his contact quality more than makes up for it. The crowded Reds infield is what’s keeping him out of the top 100, as the playing time uncertainty unfortunately needs to be factored in.

14. Christian Walker, Diamondbacks

Walker has been underrated his entire career. His 69 more home runs over the last two years are more than Yordan Alvarez, Manny Machado, Paul Goldschmidt and Rafael Devers. Although he will be 33 years old heading into 2024, Walker should be good for about 30 home runs and 100 RBIs in a D-backs lineup looking to be World Series bound again.

15. Nathaniel Lowe, Rangers

Despite the overall success of the Rangers lineup in 2023, Lowe had a down year. His hard-hit rate, barrel rate and expected numbers all dropped. Lowe showed improved skills, but his calling card power regressed as he hit just 17 home runs. Lowe did see a bump in on-base percentage, and it’s not outrageous to anticipate some positive power regression back to his 2022 numbers. He’s an ideal fit in most 12-team leagues as a corner infielder or utility player.

16. Spencer Steer, Reds

Acquired alongside Christian Encarnacion-Strand in the Tyler Mahle trade, Steer had a standout rookie campaign in 2023. He hit .271/.356/.464 with 23 home runs and 15 steals, while striking out 20.9% of the time. Steer has an exciting mix of contact skills, approach, power and speed. There doesn’t seem to be any area of Steer’s profile that points toward coming regression in 2024.

17. Kyle Manzardo, Guardians

The nagging question with Manzardo is whether he will show enough power at first base. After being traded to the Guardians in the second half of 2023, Manzardo hit well and carried over the momentum to the Arizona Fall League. Expect him to debut in 2024 and be a first baseman in the mold of Vinnie Pasquantino and Nathaniel Lowe: hit over power, but with enough pop to be rostered confidently at the corner.

18. Andrew Vaughn, White Sox

The expectations for Vaughn coming out of college have never fully materialized. After a detour to the outfield, Vaughn played his first full season at his natural home of first base. Vaughn hit .258/.314/.429 with a career high of 21 home runs. Vaughn is the best fit in a corner infield or utility spot. He saw a climb in line-drive rate and fly-ball rate due to a positive improvement in launch angle. Further improvements could lead to a jump in production in 2024.

19. Rhys Hoskins, Brewers

Averaging 30 home runs per 600 plate appearances over his career, Hoskins missed all of 2023 after tearing his ACL in spring training. He should be fully ready to go in 2024—though it’s not yet clear which team he will sign with—but should also be expected to continue where he left off with 25 to 30 home runs and good OBPs for a few more years.

20. Ryan Mountcastle, Orioles

The chances of Mountcastle replicating his 33 home run campaign in 2021 were slim once the Orioles moved back their left field fence. Sure enough, Mountcastle failed to eclipse 20 home runs in 2023—though a lot of that has to do with his two IL stints, including a scary episode of vertigo, which led to him only accruing 470 plate appearances on the season. With his limited defensive value and the Orioles’ surplus of incoming infielders, there are some concerns about his future as a DH. Until then, though, he is a 27-year-old with 25 home run power with above-average production.

21. Heston Kjerstad, Orioles

Kjerstad’s career had a near tragic beginning, but in 2023 he had his first fully healthy season and reached the major leagues. Kjerstad has a strong combination of power and contact skills. His approach is fairly aggressive, limiting his upside in OBP-style scoring formats, but the power and contact is worth gambling on.

22. Alex Kirilloff, Twins

Injuries have robbed Kirilloff of most of the last three seasons as Kirilloff has been held to 192 games in total. In 88 games last year, Kirilloff hit .270/.348/.445. If we get a fully healthy season out of him, it’s reasonable to expect a season inside the top 15 at the position. A risk/reward pick, Kirilloff’s draft price mitigates the downside.

23. Nolan Schanuel, Angels

Schanuel has always shown great contact rates and pitch recognition, but there were concerns that the exit velocities he achieved in college would translate poorly to wooden bats as a professional, especially after his foray in the Cape Cod League. The Angels shocked the industry by calling up Schanuel to the big leagues within weeks of drafting him, and in his 130 plate appearances of his debut, he confirmed all of the above: a discerning eye, excellent contact rates and lower-than-average exit velocities (clustering near Luis Arraez). He is projected to have a better-than-average wRC+ in 2024, and because he is still only 21 years old, his expected growth curves imply he will have a 130 wRC+ at his peak, albeit perhaps without 20 home run power.

24. Michael Busch, Cubs

It’s only a matter of time before Busch finally gets an opportunity to shine in the major leagues. Busch has the ability to be an immediate star in OBP-style scoring formats with his combination of on-base skills and power.

25. Jeimer Candelario, Reds

The Reds signed Candelario after a strong season split between the Nationals and the Cubs, where he hit .251/.336/.471 with 22 home runs. Going into his age-30 season, Candelario is a prime fit for a competitive dynasty league team’s corner infield spot.

26. Xavier Isaac, Rays

27. Ryan Clifford, Mets

28. Hunter Goodman, Rockies

29. Jonathan Aranda, Rays

30. Tyler Locklear, Mariners

31. Zach Dezenzo, Astros

32. Tyler Soderstrom, Athletics

33. Mark Vientos, Mets

34. Ryan Noda, Athletics

35. Elehuris Montero, Rockies

36. Ty France, Mariners

37. Matt Mervis, Cubs