The story of first base in recent years has been one of attrition. As we've dealt with a number of high-profile flameouts from much-hyped young players, the position has gotten increasingly old. A lot of those guys in their 30s have held their value remarkably well, but we started to see more than just cracks in the foundation in 2024 and 2025.
But that all changed in 2026. To put some numbers to it: 16 players put up an .800 OPS while playing at least five games at first base in 2026, compared to 14 in 2025 and just four in 2024. There were 10 30-homer first basemen in 2026; there were just 11 combined between 2025 and 2024.
First baseman had a .336 wOBA in 2026, the best league-wide mark since 2021. We're a long way from the days of the 2000s, such as 2006, when the average first baseman had an .851 OPS, of course, but this was still obviously a big improvement for a position that had been trending down for a while. And we've got a lot of younger guys to thank for that.
Ben Rice (27) was arguably the best first baseman in Fantasy, and he was joined in the top tier by breakouts from Miguel Vargas (26) and Sal Stewart (22); Munetaka Murakami and Luis Garcia (both 26) emerged as first-time 30-homer guys, too, and others like Jac Caglianone (23), Alec Burleson (27), and TJ Rumfield (26) all helped make first base look stronger than it has in years. Of course, anytime we are dealing with players with a limited track record of success at the MLB level, there's always heightened risk of regression to account for, and we shouldn't overlook that. Just because the winds shifted one way that allowed first base to look stronger as a whole than it has in years doesn't mean they won't blow back in the opposite direction in 2027.
But the position feels truly deep in basically every tier in a way that hasn't been true lately. We've got enough options to choose from that you should be able to avoid too many landmines. For the first time in at least a few years, the state of the first base position is strong.
For more on the strength of the first base position, check out Scott White's rankings and thoughts on the top 20 in his way-too-early rankings for 2027 here. It's worth noting that, without the benefit of catcher eligibility, Rice would slip a bit in the rankings. According to the FanGraphs Player Rater, he was the third-most valuable first baseman, behind Alonso and Vargas.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
