Fantasy baseball 2020 tiered first basemen rankings

You can find a productive first baseman throughout the draft. Which one would you be drafting for your fantasy baseball team?

The first base position is top-heavy for fantasy baseball. There are about five or six I would love to have as my starter. There are a couple of others that, if I decided to wait a few more rounds, could still put up solid numbers. Then, there’s the rest that feel like backups or AL/NL-only starters.

This is a big change from just a couple of years ago when the first base position was one of the few that was deep from No. 1 to 20. But, with trades, free-agent signings and teams using platoons at multiple positions, there just aren’t that many reliable options.

As a result, unlike my rankings in year’s past, this list is going to include players that qualify at first base, based on ESPN’s fantasy baseball requirements. That means each player as played at least 20 games at the position. This will be the same for every other position going forward.

So, don’t be surprised when you see multiple players from the same team listed. But, with that being said, let’s get into my top-30 first basemen for the 2020 fantasy baseball season.

Justin Smoak, MIL

Smoak had a down season last year with the Blue Jays, hitting .208 with 22 home runs and 61 RBIs. Now that he’s going to play in the hitter-friendly park Miller Park, he should see an uptick in his batting average.

The downside is that the Brewers plan to play Ryan Braun at first base with Lorenzo Cain, Christian Yelich and Avisail Garcia in the outfield. Smoak will be a bench bat and/or Braun substitute for certain pitchers.

Jesus Aguilar, MIA

After having an amazing season in 2018, many fantasy owners targeted Aguilar as their first baseman. Unfortunately, he was a letdown. He hit .236 with 12 home runs and 50 RBIs between the Brewers and Rays.

Now that he’s with Miami, Aguilar will be slotted as the everyday first baseman. As long as he stays healthy, we could see a return to the 35-home run season. But, based on team context, he may not have that many RBIs.

Daniel Vogelbach, SEA

Vogelbach played in his first full season last year. He crushed 30 home runs with 76 RBIs and .208 in 144 games. Unless you have a solid group of high-contact hitters, stay away from Vogelbach. There are plenty of other hitters that can give you 30 home runs.

The Mariners lineup is suspect. They have a few good pieces but not enough to be a formidable offense. If things go sour, Vogelbach could be traded. And there are a few teams that could use his power bat.

Yandy Diaz, TB

Diaz played in more than 70 games for the first time in his three-year career. Even in a shortened season, he hit 14 home runs with a .267 average. Over a full season, he could hit 20 home runs with a .280 average.

The Rays true first baseman is coming up on the next slide. Diaz will spend most of the season at third base. We may even Nate Lowe play some games at one of the corner spots. But, Diaz is going to see a big increase in playing time and could be a nice sleeper pick late in drafts.

CJ Cron, DET

Despite playing in 15 fewer games from 2018 to 2019, he hit for .253 again with 25 home runs and 78 RBIs. He had the benefit of playing with a good Twins team. Now, he’ll be playing with the lesser Detroit Tigers.

The Tigers add Cron along with Jonathan Schoop and Austin Romine to the offense. They still have Miguel Cabrera and Niko Goodrum, but like the Mariners, it’s not a complete offense. Cron can still hit another 30-plus home runs but the average is going to be middle-of-the-road.