First base is still one of the best positions in Fantasy Baseball. You certainly don't run out of viable starting options here nearly as quickly as you do at, say, second or third base. 

You can find a strong source of batting average here. You'll find 40-homer potential in the early rounds, and you can even find pretty good bets for 30 or so homers well after the 200th pick in most drafts. It's not quite as deep with impact players at shortstop, but there are probably more good players at this position than at any other infield position. You don't have to draft an early-rounder at first base to guarantee good numbers from the spot.

But it's not as good as it used to be, that's for sure. As a whole, first basemen put up a 109 wRC+ in 2025, which was a mild improvement from 2024. But it's still the fourth-lowest mark managed by first basemen since 2002, when FanGraphs.com started splitting that number out by position played. And the number of legitimate four-category contributors at first base continues to shrink as the position continues to age. 

Among the top 10 at first base in 2025, only Nick Kurtz, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and Vinnie Pasquantino were younger than 28, and Pasquantino passed that milestone back in October. Paul Goldschmidt aged out of being an elite first baseman a few years ago, and we probably aren't far from the Pete Alonso/Bryce Harper/Matt Olson/Freddie Freeman group becoming also-rans at the position. In fact, there's a pretty good chance at least one of those guys takes a big enough step back in 2026 that we're talking about them outside of the top 100 this time next year. Father Time is undefeated, after all.

And the next generation isn't quite ready to take the baton just yet. Kurtz is, as the top player at the position in 2026 drafts, but we're still waiting for him to be joined by other early-20s sluggers. The past five years haven't been kind to young first basemen, and if that previous generation falls off sooner than expected, we could be in a state of panic at what has historically been the easiest position to fill in Fantasy. 

But we aren't there yet. And there are enough interesting young names like Bryce Eldridge, Kyle Manzardo, Munetaka Murakami, and Jonathan Aranda (among others) that we might just avoid that fate entirely. For now, first base is in okay shape, with enough big bats that it's hard to end up feeling too bad about your options here, at least in a 12-team league.

But it's a fragile position, and it wouldn't take much going wrong with some of these guys in their 30s to leave you in a tough spot. Here's what you need to know about first base for 2026:  

Age (on opening day): 21
Where he played in 2025: Rookie, Double-A, Triple-A, majors
Minor league stats: .260 BA (384 AB), 25 HR, .843 OPS, 42 BB, 127 K
Major league stats: 3 for 28 (.107), 2 2B, 7 BB, 13 K
The 6-foot-7 Eldridge dents the ball whenever he makes contact with it, having delivered a Judgian 95.7 mph average exit velocity at Triple-A this past year, but he could stand to make more contact and may have been rushed to the majors during a lost 2025 season for the Giants. The scouting reports are bullish overall, but we'll need to have patience for him as he learns to cover such a large strike zone.
Scott's 2026 Fantasy impact: pencil him in

Age (on opening day): 22
Where he played in 2025: Double-A, Triple-A, majors
Minor league stats: .309 BA (437 AB), 20 HR, 17 SB, .907 OPS, 46 BB, 77 K
Major league stats: .255 BA (55 AB), 5 HR, .839 OPS, 3 BB, 15 K
Lingering beneath the bat-to-ball skills and line-drive approach that defined Stewart's time in the lower minors was a hopeful slugger who broke through in a big way last year, delivering exit velocities on par with Corey Seager and Manny Machado at Triple-A before making his presence known in September. The Gavin Lux trade this offseason seemed to clear the path for him, too.
Scott's 2026 Fantasy impact: pencil him in  

Age (on opening day): 26
Where he played in 2025: Japan
NPB stats: .286 BA (220 AB), 24 HR, 1.051 OPS, 38 BB, 71 K
The most decorated of this year's Japanese imports, with his back-to-back MVP awards, Murakami has prodigious power that would play in any league, but contact issues severe enough that they could sink him against major league pitchers. The modest deal he signed with the White Sox should give everyone pause.
Scott's 2026 Fantasy impact: pencil him in

4. Ralphy Velazquez, 1B, Guardians

Age (on opening day): 20
Where he played in 2025: High-A, Double-A
Minor league stats: .265 BA (483 AB), 22 HR, .839 OPS, 52 BB, 104 K
Velazquez won't appear on every top 100, but the scouting reports have little negative to say about him, at least on the hitting side of things. He delivers top-of-the-scales exit velocities and manages to keep his strikeouts in check, even with an aggressive move up to Double-A midseason, where he slashed .330/.405/.589 in 28 games as a 20-year-old.
Scott's 2026 Fantasy impact: late-season look

Age (on opening day): 22
Where he played in 2025: Rookie, High-A, Double-A
Minor league stats: .268 BA (365 AB), 14 HR, .820 OPS, 52 BB, 112 K
While he was more productive than in the little bit we saw of him in 2024, Condon moved down the defensive spectrum again in 2025, hitting rock bottom at first base, and still wasn't impacting the ball like you'd expect of a record-setting college slugger. He has a .376 on-base percentage to work with, though, and may fare better with the Rockies' new analytically inclined front office, which plans to give him a long look this spring.
Scott's 2026 Fantasy impact: fighting this spring