Yes, the NFL regular season is in the books with only a champion yet to be crowned. All that means to us here at FantraxHQ is that it’s time to officially kick off the 2020 fantasy baseball season. You should definitely check out our full slate of fantasy baseball rankings but this post is dedicated to our 2020 First Base Rankings. As you’ll see ahead, things are not as clear at this position as they have been in the past.
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Top 5 First Basemen for 2020
The full rankings are further down the page, but our analysts were in almost perfect agreement on the top 5 first basemen.
- Cody Bellinger, LAD
- Freddie Freeman, ATL
- Peter Alonso, NYM
- Matt Olson, OAK
- Anthony Rizzo, CHC
The top 5 is all that’s clear at this position heading into 2020. Only two other first basemen (Paul Goldschmidt and Josh Bell) were ranked in the top 5 by any of our analysts. A position that used to be filled with some of the top hitters in the game still contains plenty of power, but there seems to be a lot of uncertainty very early in our first base rankings. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let’s see what our analysts have to say about the position.
Nathan Dokken – @NathanDokken – Author Archive
Have you ever run out of both ketchup and mustard and you’re digging through the various condiments in your fridge in the search for something – ANYTHING – to put on your hot dog? The best thing your search turns up is brown mustard, so you dump it on your dog and sort of shrug because at least you aren’t just eating a plain dog but it still doesn’t taste quite right? That’s the feeling I got ranking First Base this year.
Whereas Catcher is better than usual this year, First Base is quite lacking in depth. There is plenty of impact talent at the top, as well as solid depth through about the top ten. Shortly thereafter, however, you have bashers with a lot of question marks. Can the likes of Yuli Gurriel, Trey Mancini, and DJ LeMahieu repeat their 2018 numbers? How much playing time will we get from Ryan McMahon and Nate Lowe? With a deep Third Base position in 2020, I would prefer to fill First Base somewhat early in drafts and most likely turn to a Third Baseman for my Corner Infield slot.
Eric Cross – @EricCross04 – Author Archive
The first base position is not as deep as it once was, but there is still a ton of power here as usual. Joining Freddie Freeman in the elite tier are Cody Bellinger and Pete Alonso who just set the rookie home run record with 53 dingers. All three players are great Targets in the first 25 to 30 pics.
The next tier of Paul Goldschmidt, Jose Abreu, Matt Olson, and Anthony Rizzo is the last tier I would really feel confident drafting my starting first baseman out of. After the top-7 there are questions about production for each player moving forward as the next options are all either entering the twilights of their careers or had breakout seasons that I question if they can continue moving forward like Josh Bell.
Don’t forget about youngsters like Michael Chavis and Nate Lowe in the later rounds as each could break out and become borderline top-10 options at the position by season’s end.
Mike Kurland – @Mike_Kurland – Author Archive
First base is not as deep as I recall it being in previous years. I took a look at roster resource and some players like Ryan Braun are projected to play first and he’d make the top 30 if he was currently eligible. However, as of now, he is not and the first base position is pretty weak as a whole. You have some solid options but once you get past the top 20 it feels as though it’s all a crapshoot.
There are a strong top 12 to 13 however that I really would not mind having as my starting first baseman entering the 2020 season. The position lacks depth but definitely has quality options at the top. I would prefer to get one of the top 10 in every draft and maybe fill my corner infield slot with a third baseman. With all that said, just plan accordingly for the fall-off at the position if you don’t feel comfortable with the later options. This may add some value to a few names and will definitely be the ie breaker if I’m torn between a few names at a certain spot in my draft.
Jorge Montanez – @JMontanez90 – Author Archive
Things get fun now with first base. It seems like everyone is hitting 30 home runs these days. So who is going to separate themselves in what looks like a deep position going into 2020? Cody Bellinger will be a high first-round pick with Freddie Freeman not too far behind. That much is a lock.
Things get interesting after that. How high will Pete Alonso go? Can he avoid a sophomore slump? Josh Bell, Anthony Rizzo, Matt Olson, and Paul Goldschmidt round out the tier of elite first basemen for me. But that doesn’t mean you won’t feel good about your options if you’re left waiting with guys like Jose Abreu, Carlos Santana, Rhys Hoskins, Max Muncy, and DJ LeMahieu rounding out my top 12.
Paul Mammino – @PaulMammino – Author Archive
At first glance, the first base position seems weaker this season than in recent seasons. Some of the old stalwarts of the position have really begun to fade ushering in a new era of mashers. Waiting in the wings are several interesting players who have the ability and potential to break into this top tier but are currently blocked. Players like Kevin Cron and Nate Lowe could have massive breakouts and be fantastic late round buys if they ever get a full chance at consistent at-bats. It’s seemed for years that first base has been considered a down position but this year more than any other the pickings seem to be slim.
First Base Rankings for 2020
| Cons. | Player | Dokken | Cross | Kurland | Montanez | Mammino |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cody Bellinger | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Freddie Freeman | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Peter Alonso | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| 4 | Matt Olson | 3 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 |
| 5 | Anthony Rizzo | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 |
| 6 | Paul Goldschmidt | 6 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 9 |
| 7 | Josh Bell | 9 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 6 |
| 8 | Jose Abreu | 8 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 8 |
| 9 | Max Muncy | 7 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 7 |
| 10 | Rhys Hoskins | 10 | 10 | 12 | 9 | 10 |
| 11 | DJ LeMahieu | 13 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| 12 | Trey Mancini | 12 | 14 | 9 | 12 | 13 |
| 13 | Carlos Santana | 14 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 12 |
| 14 | Edwin Encarnacion | 15 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 14 |
| 15 | Yuli Gurriel | 11 | 15 | 18 | 18 | 18 |
| 16 | Luke Voit | 16 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 23 |
| 16 | Christian Walker | 17 | 19 | 17 | 16 | 16 |
| 18 | Danny Santana | 22 | 17 | 14 | 17 | 17 |
| 19 | Michael Chavis | 24 | 18 | 26 | 21 | 15 |
| 20 | Ryan Mcmahon | 18 | 20 | 24 | 22 | 22 |
| 21 | Joc Pederson | 21 | 26 | 20 | 23 | 21 |
| 22 | Evan White | 26 | 21 | 23 | 25 | 19 |
| 23 | C.J. Cron | 23 | 27 | 21 | 27 | 29 |
| 24 | Yandy Diaz | 25 | 31 | 19 | 20 | 34 |
| 24 | Nathaniel Lowe | 32 | 25 | 22 | 19 | 31 |
| 24 | Mark Canha | 29 | 24 | 25 | 24 | 27 |
| 27 | Renato Nunez | 20 | 33 | 27 | 30 | 20 |
| 28 | Eric Hosmer | 28 | 23 | 30 | 26 | 24 |
| 29 | Daniel Murphy | 31 | 28 | 31 | 28 | 28 |
| 29 | Daniel Vogelbach | 27 | 30 | 32 | 32 | 25 |
| 31 | Joey Votto | 34 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 26 |
| 32 | Yasmani Grandal | 19 | 22 | 28 | 31 | 50 |
| 33 | Garrett Cooper | 30 | 34 | 38 | 35 | 33 |
| 34 | Howie Kendrick | 33 | 32 | 36 | 34 | 36 |
| 35 | Jesus Aguilar | 50 | 39 | 33 | 36 | 40 |
| 36 | Eric Thames | 36 | 50 | 34 | 33 | 50 |
| 37 | Justin Smoak | 50 | 50 | 35 | 37 | 39 |
| 37 | Brandon Belt | 50 | 50 | 36 | 38 | 37 |
| 37 | Ji-Man Choi | 50 | 35 | 37 | 39 | 50 |
| 40 | Niko Goodrum | 37 | 50 | 39 | 40 | 50 |
| 41 | Albert Pujols | 35 | 38 | 50 | 50 | 50 |
| 42 | Miguel Cabrera | 50 | 37 | 40 | 50 | 50 |
| 43 | Jay Bruce | 38 | 40 | 50 | 50 | 50 |
| 44 | Jeimer Candelario | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 30 |
| 45 | Ryan O'Hearn | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 31 |
| 46 | Matt Thaiss | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 35 |
| 47 | Christian Vazquez | 50 | 36 | 50 | 50 | 50 |
| 48 | Mike Ford | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 38 |
| 49 | Mitch Moreland | 39 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 |
| 50 | Jake Bauers | 40 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 |
Got a beef with our 2020 First Base Rankings? Let us hear about it in the comments below.
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Even if Cody Bellinger does become the everyday first baseman for the Dodgers I think it’s a bit presumptuous to outright slot him at #1 ahead of Freddie Freeman. Their offense their numbers aren’t much different a very hampered Freeman still managed to nearly match Bellinger stat for stat and secondly Freeman has been doing it at a very high level for nearly a decade year in and year out. Bellinger on the other hand has been a roller coaster ride, good first year, down his second and then really good last year. I’m not saying he doesn’t deserve to be near the top I just think leapfrogging a consistent performer like Freeman at a new position is putting the cart before the horse.
Hi I need some advice I play in a pure points league consisting of 18 hitters 6 starting pitchers and 4 relief pitchers. Each player had a salary attached to him we have a 60 million dollar salvary cap. We get one point for single 2 for double 3 for triple 4 for homerun 1 for RBI 1 for run scored. Starting pitchers get 10 for a win 1 for inning pitch 1 for strikeout. Relief pitchers get 10 for save one for inning pitched one for strikeout.
what was the question??
I my opinion, throw both back and try to buy Lowe back st a lower price. Even if you have to pay $15, you’ll gain an extra year on his contract. With TB roster crowded to this spring, Lowe might be a bargain.
I’m in a 12 team 5×5 roto keeper league. We keep 15 players (Salaries based on draft position and then $5/year raises). Salary cap is only in place when we submit our 15 keepers and is $320. Hoskins will be $25 to keep and N. Lowe will be $15 to keep. They are not too far apart in the ranks, assume that is because the assumption is Lowe will get his AB’s and end up as the starter. So do I take a chance and save $10 and keep Lowe? Or stay safer and keep Hoskins?
Personally, I’d go Lowe. Higher AVG upside and should get the AB. TB was working him out at 3B late in the season so you know they want to get his bat in the lineup.
Thanks!
Any time!