Top 10 First Basemen in Major League Baseball in 2025

Some of the biggest power hitters in baseball reside at the first base position, where hitting home runs almost comes as a prerequisite and defense is generally optional.

Obviously, some first basemen break that mold, but the best in baseball are typically your big sluggers who flirt with 40 home runs and 100 runs driven in a season.

Pete Alonso, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and Matt Olson are among the more prominent first basemen who have dominated at this position for years now. This year, a new top slugger entered the fold, with rookie Nick Kurtz enjoying a breakout rookie campaign.

Today, we took a look back at the season that was and rank the top 10 first basemen in baseball for the 2025 season.

Our team of editors each voted on their own personal top 10, and their rankings were averaged to determine this list. You will also find next to each player’s name where they were ranked prior to the season, or if they were even ranked at all.

Who Fell Off the Top 10 From Our Pre-Season Rankings?

If you look back at our pre-season ranking of the top 10 first basemen in baseball, nearly half of the players ranked failed to make our end-of-season list.

Here are the players we thought would be a top 10 first baseman in baseball in 2025, who failed to meet expectations this year.

• No. 6: Christian Walker, Houston Astros
• No. 7: Willson Contreras, St. Louis Cardinals
• No. 9: Yandy Diaz, Tampa Bay Rays*
• No. 10: Triston Casas, Boston Red Sox

*Player is listed at a different position in Just Baseball’s current rankings

When the Astros signed Christian Walker, we collectively thought it was one of the best moves of the offseason. The now 34-year-old is coming off the season with an OPS of .718, well below the .803 OPS he had last year with Arizona before becoming a free agent.

Now, as he enters year two of the three-year, $60 million deal signed last December, it seems as if there are still question marks surrounding the position for the Astros going forward.

This just was not a season to remember for the Cardinals as a whole, but Willson Contreras failed to live up to the preseason expectations that we had. Contreras moving off the catcher position, which was long overdue, looked to be what would finally allow him to solely focus on his calling card, which was his bat.

While the 124 wRC+ does not seem like a negative, it was the lowest output over the last three years. Willson Contreras now looks to be one of the hottest names going to be available on the trade market this winter.

The beginning of this season did not bode well for Yandy Diaz’s chances to crack the top-10 – especially if you were to look at his numbers at season’s end.

A final slashline of .300/.366/.482 with 25 home runs and a 2.9 fWAR is 1) a great final line for a hitter and 2) a true testament to how strong the first base position was in the 2025 season. Due to his playing more games at DH than at first base, we considered him for those rankings instead.

Last one to fall short, well short at that, would be Triston Casas. The injury sustained early on did him no favors, but even before that, he was struggling mightily. A 24.1% strikeout rate, and a .580 OPS, strongly attributed to his -0.6 fWAR in his 29 games this past season.

**NOTE: These positional rankings are created by ordering the average score from each of our four voters.**

The Top 10 First Basemen in MLB in 2025

10. Josh Naylor (Preseason: 8)

2025 Stats: 147 G, .295/.353/.462, 20 HR, 30 SB, 92 RBI, 128 wRC+, 3.1 fWAR

What a season it was for the noted speedster Josh Naylor.

You read that and immediately question yourself, as much as I, as to how much ball you may actually know. Prior to the 2025 season, Naylor stole a combined 25 bases in five seasons. Josh Naylor stole 30 (!) bases this year between his time in Arizona and Seattle, where he was traded to this deadline.

Not only was he a threat on the base path, but he also tied his career-low in strikeout rate with a 13.7% clip and a career-high 128 wRC+.

While he may not have ended up at eight on the final rankings of the year, we cannot dismiss how great an overall season that Josh Naylor had in 2025.

9. Jonathan Aranda, Tampa Bay Rays (Preseason: Unranked)

2025 Stats: 106 G, .316/.393/.489, 14 HR, 59 RBI, 146 wRC+, 2.5 fWAR

The highly anticipated breakout for Jonathan Aranda came out in full force in 2025. What bothers us so much is that it was cut short due to an injury that limited him to only 106 games played.

Nonetheless, Aranda was a significant reason why the Rays were exceeding expectations despite all the other injuries and struggles on the ballclub. Even though he was sidelined for nearly two months, he was still nominated for All-MLB Honors at first base, being one of the 11 total who were nominated for the award.

Aranda was building off the success he was having at the end of the 2024 season, where he ended up with an OPS+ of 109, and will look to continue to build off the momentum that 2025 brought him as a staple for the Rays lineup headed into the 2026 MLB season

8. Ben Rice, New York Yankees (Preseason: Unranked)

2025 Stats: 138 G, .255/.337/.499, 26 HR, 65 RBI, 133 wRC+, 3.0 fWAR

At No. 8, we have yet another player who was unranked prior to the start of the season.

Yankees first-baseman/catcher/designated hitter Ben Rice is coming off an incredible first full season in the majors. With the injury to Giancarlo Stanton before the start of Spring Training, Señor Arroz was given every opportunity to win every day at-bats for the Yankees lineup in 2025, and he did not let that go to waste.

The start to the year could not have gone any better for the young Yankee. Through mid-May, he had a wRC+ of 154, and his Baseball Savant page was smothered in red.

With Paul Goldschmidt likely off the roster come the start of 2026, look for Ben Rice to be the Opening Day first baseman in the Yankees’ starting lineup, and for the foreseeable future.

7. Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies (Preseason: 1)

2025 Stats: 132 G, .261/.357/.487, 27 HR, 75 RBI, 131 wRC+, 3.5 fWAR

By the standards we have all held Bryce Harper to because of his career to this point, having him as the No. 1 first baseman headed into the year was considered almost a no-brainer across our panel of voters.

Yet, while “falling” to the seventh spot may seem like a detriment, it should not slight him.

Harper did sustain a wrist injury midway through the season, which could have hampered him in the second half. Even with the injuries, he still hit the mark highlighted in the pre-season rankings that referenced him not posting a wRC+ below 120 since 2017. He ranked seventh in all of baseball with that number.

Fitting, huh?

Nevertheless, a 131 wRC+ should not be ignored. Bryce continued to produce above-average numbers across the board, highlighted by his 47.5% HardHit% and a 12.3% barrell%, which was a full 5.1% above league average.

6. Freddie Freeman, Los Angeles Dodgers (Preseason: 3)

2025 Stats: 147 G, .295/.367/.502, 24 HR, 90 RBI, 139 wRC+, 3.8 fWAR

From day one, Freddie Freeman was off to what seemed to be another MVP-caliber season. Not only did it seem as if the 35-year-old continued to prove timeless, but he was a big reason why it seemed as if the Dodgers would not lose a game all year.

Freeman continued to showcase why he is still considered one of the top hitters in all of baseball. His combination of plate discipline, contact, and power to all fields continued to hold strong this season, and is a big reason why the future Hall of Famer still finds himself ranking highly on our end-of-season list, even in a “down” year per his standards.

If BetMGM put odds on where Freddie would rank among fellow first basemen headed into 2026, I would bet he would still rank near the top.

5. Michael Busch, Chicago Cubs (Preseason: Honorable Mention)

2025 Stats: 155 G, .261/.343/.523, 34 HR, 90 RBI, 140 wRC+, 3.5 fWAR

Welcome to the show, Mr. Busch.

Now, that is not in the sense that it was his first year, but Michael Busch was finally given the reins at the first base position for the Cubs and has solidified himself as the future of that position for them going forward.

The lefty mashed his way to 34 home runs for a Cubs team that desperately needed production throughout the struggles that the rest of the lineup seemed to have sprinkled out during the season. And no, the 140 wRC+ is not a mistake. That’s just how good Michael Busch was this season.

It always seemed as if Busch was up to hit in key moments, time after time, and he would ultimately end up coming up clutch for them when they needed it most. This is evident even now in the postseason as the Cubs are looking to upset the division-rival Milwaukee Brewers.

4. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays (Preseason: 2)

2025 Stats: 156 G, .292/.381/.467, 23 HR, 84 RBI, 137 wRC+, 3.9 fWAR

If we included postseason results towards our rankings, Vladdy Jr would be four spots too low. Even so, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s 2025 season was incredible – and it all started with the 14-year, $500 million contract extension that he signed back in April.

While the power numbers may not have been there this year, it was the overall consistency of Guerrero’s season that led us to rank him as the fourth-best first baseman across the board.

Don’t believe me? Well, here are all of the statistics where he ranked in the 90th percentile, or above: xwOBA, xBA, xSLG, HardHit%, Bat Speed, Chase%, and K%.

All of which also ranked well-above league average. Needless to say, when we release the preseason rankings for the 2026 season, there is a good chance he is going to be right at the top of the list.

3. Pete Alonso, New York Mets (Preseason: 5)

2025 Stats: 162 G, .272/.347/.524, 38 HR, 126 RBI, 141 wRC+, 3.6 fWAR

After much back and forth, it was fitting that Pete Alonso ended back up in Queens with the Mets, even if we all knew it would be for just one more year.

It was a no-brainer for Alonso to quickly decide to opt out of the final year of his deal, which was set to pay him $24 million for the 2026 season, after his performance in 2025. A season in which he broke the Mets’ all-time franchise record for home runs, surpassing Darryl Strawberry’s long-standing record.

Oh, and he also played in all 162 games

In what looks to be his final season with the Mets, he set career-high marks in average exit velocity, barrel percentage, and hard-hit rate. He also fell just five RBIs short of tying his career-high of 131 that he set back in 2022.

The contract year narrative may continue to loom large for some, but it would be hard to imagine someone like Pete Alonso not being able to replicate this success no matter where he ends up playing in 2026.

2. Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves (Preseason: 4)

2025 Stats: 162 G, .272/.366/.484, 29 HR, 95 RBI, 136 wRC+, 4.7 fWAR

In what was a season to absolutely forget for the Atlanta Braves, baseball’s modern-day Iron Man continued to produce at a high-level of consistency that he has throughout the entirety of his career.

Coming in second on our list is Braves first baseman, Matt Olson.

This was the 4th season in a row that Olson played in all 162 games, and the fifth time overall that he has hit that mark. Not just that, but Olson became the second Brave ever to have a season to record at least 25 home runs, 40 doubles, 90 RBIs, and 90 walks in a season. Only following Braves legend Chipper Jones’ 1999 MVP season.

Matt Olson also ended the year with the 11th-best OPS in the National League and was named to his third All-Star Game, which he was able to play in his home ballpark in Atlanta.

1. Nick Kurtz, Athletics (Preseason: Unranked)

2025 Stats: 117 G, .290/.383/.619, 36 HR, 86 RBI, 170 wRC+, 4.6 fWAR

A clean sweep at number one? A clean sweep at number one.

There was not a season more impressive in all of baseball than the one that ROOKIE first baseman Nick Kurtz put together in just 117 games played this year.

The A’s slugger hit the ground running, and that is selling him short, since he made his debut for the No City Designation Athletics. To piece together a season in which you can accumulate 4.6 fWAR in such a short time should not go understated.

Kurtz’s name should have been engraved on the American League Rookie of the Year Award as soon as the season concluded. Heck, well before that even. He has also been nominated for the prestigious Hank Aaron Award.

It should not stop there, though. Nick Kurtz is sure to get MVP votes for his performance this season, even if it looks to be a two-man race between Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh.

What Nick Kurtz was able to do this year should not be understated, and yet, there aren’t enough words to say to do it justice.All I can say is that Kurtz is going to be a lock to be at the top of first base rankings, across all media platforms, for years to come.