Top 25 Dynasty 1B Prospects - 2024
Let's take a look at the next wave of 1B Prospects who can have a fantasy impact for your teams
Nobody who has debuted in the big leagues will appear on this list. This will purely be a ranking of 1B prospects who I think will be both effective players and contribute to your fantasy teams.
There will be some speculative names in the lower minors ranked based on upside who may switch positions or have already switched positions. If they’ve played First Base in the minor leagues, I’m going to assume they’ll at least have the opportunity to do so in the major leagues.
I value OBP and OPS more than I do AVG as the trend is for fantasy leagues to tread towards OBP or OPS scoring if they haven’t already.
Proximity may factor in but doesn’t play a huge role here as these rankings will be predicated on each players perceived value/upside/and floor.
Let’s get started on the top 25:
1) SAMUEL BASALLO (BAL):
Wrote up Basallo in my Top 25 Catcher Prospect rankings. The same applies to his standing at the top of the heap at 1B. Here’s what I wrote:
“Basallo is without a doubt my top catching prospect. He’s likely to move to first-base but as of this writing you can go ahead and try buying as he may have C eligibility upon arriving to the majors. For how long? I don’t know. What I do know is Basallo is a 19 year old who has shown an advanced approach, burgeoning hit tool and excellent power development while improving at each level in the minors. He was 18 years old playing at 3 different levels during the 2023 season.
In 83 games at A ball to start the 2023 campaign, Basallo slashed .299/.384/.503 while posting a BB% of 11.6% and a K% of 20.7%. He hit 12 Home Runs and had an ISO of .205. Good Stuff. Here’s where it gets better:
In his final 31 games between A+ and AA, Basallo slashed .351/.450/.685 while increasing his BB% to 15.3% and lowering his K% to 16.0%. He hit 8 Home Runs in his final 31 games and had an absurd ISO of .333 to go with a 198 wRC+. This put him atop the HitTilt+ leaderboard for 2023 which is incredibly impressive stuff given his age and level:
He posts excellent EV’s given his age and had a truly breakout 2023 which puts him atop my Catcher Prospect rankings for 2024. Go get him if you still can.”
2) COBY MAYO (BAL):
Mayo played 19 games at 1B in AAA. I’m comfortable labeling him as a Corner Infielder as of now as they’ll play him anywhere once he’s up with the Orioles (or barring a trade, whomever he plays for) so long as they can get his bat in the lineup.
As a 21 year old, Mayo played 78 games at AA slashing: .307/.424/.603 hitting 17 Home Runs while posting a .296 ISO and a 178 wRC+. He demolished the level. His results backed up his profile which includes a plus hit tool and plus plus power. Seriously, the power is prodigious with this kid and it doesn’t matter where he’ll play on the diamond as long as he gets AB’s for the Orioles (or for whatever team he winds up on).
He was promoted to AAA and played 62 games slashing: .267/.393/.512 adding another 12 Home Runs while posting a .244 ISO and a .398 wOBA. High OBP numbers can be counted on as he posted BB rates of 14.7% at AA and 15.7% at AAA. I think last year, I was too low on Mayo and after what he showed in 2023, he’s right up atop these rankings to start 2024.
He finished 6th overall in the HitTilt+ rankings for 2023:
He’s going to be costly, but I think he’ll produce right away at the big league level while we’re looking at a peak case of him being a consistent 25-35 HR threat who posts high OBP’s and other good rates. If you own him, hold and reap the rewards when he’s putting up big numbers in the show.