First basemen have one goal and one goal only: MASH. What you do with the glove doesn’t matter. What you do on the bases doesn’t matter. All that matters is the stick and what you can do with it. As a result, being a first baseman is a cutthroat business. If you can’t hit enough, you’re quickly discarded. League-average production isn’t enough; you have to be better than that to justify being a first baseman. You’re getting squeezed on all sides, with poor defenders at other positions moving to first base, and those featured in this article: first base prospects who are mashing in the minors, and are circling like sharks in the water, waiting for a moment to attack and steal your job when you slip up.

The position is quite deep prospect-wise, but there’s a similar squeeze on hitters from other positions moving to first base, which is dialed up to 11 as teams are much more open to moving around prospects in the minors. Whether it be from catcher (Samuel Basallo, Josue Briceno), third base (Sal Stewart, Cam Collier), or the outfield (Edward Florentino, Charlie Condon), there are many players moving over from other positions and deepening first base. In fact, the only first base prospect in the top ten that exclusively played 1B/DH in 2025 was Bryce Eldridge; everybody else has played some combination of the above positions, though a few have only played a few games outside of first base, for nothing else but the extremely low chance that they’re able to stick somewhere else defensively. On the bright side, since defense isn’t much of a factor for these guys, it becomes a lot easier to compare them to each other and rank them in a list like this. Why is Player A ranked higher than Player B? Because Player A is more likely to mash more than Player B.

Because of the need to hit and hit right away, you have to be a true top-end talent to be turned to and trusted. Even Jonathon Long, who’s in our top 10 at 1B after spending all of 2025 at Triple-A and deserves a big league role, likely won’t get one to start the year (unless he gets traded) as the Cubs already have Michael Busch at first. Not everybody can be the next Nick Kurtz and hit like an MVP candidate straight out of the gate, after all. Some of these guys could be in that tier, though it’s such a high bar to clear that it feels almost impossible. I’m sure at least one of these guys will get close, though.

Dynasty Buys and Sells at the end of the article.

2026 Prospect Previews – Prospects Live

Top Prospect First Basemen

Players are in order of their fantasy prospect ranking from our November update.

1. Samuel Basallo BAL (#3), C, 1B (MLB)

179 PLIVE+, Peak Projection: 31 HR, 3 SB, 10.1% BB, 20.3% K, .284/.358/.528, 146 wRC+

Photo Credit: milb.com

Samuel Basallo was seen as one of the best prospects in baseball entering 2025, after finishing the 2024 season as a teenager in Triple-A. In 2025, he made the level look like Little League, putting up a .270/.377/.589 slash line (151 wRC+) and 23 HR in just 76 games. He was called up in mid-August to preserve his rookie eligibility for 2026 and signed an 8-year, $67 million extension soon after. Though he struggled in his MLB cup of coffee, he did show some power with 4 HR in 31 games. With Adley Rutschman on the roster, Basallo won’t be the primary catcher, but his elite bat will have him in the lineup every day, whether it be at C, 1B, or DH. PLIVE+ projects him to have the highest wRC+ (147) and HR total (31) of any Orioles hitter, which may be somewhat surprising, but with the way Basallo has hit at every level while being so much younger than everybody else, the numbers might just be attainable. – Raj Mehta

2. Bryce Eldridge SFG (#17), 1B (MLB)

160 PLIVE+, Peak Projection: 32 HR, 1 SB, 9.2% BB, 27.8% K, .261/.329/.492, 127 wRC+

Photo Credit: milb.com

Eldridge entered the 2025 season as one of the most highly anticipated prospects yet to make the majors, and spent most of the campaign in Triple-A despite being just 20 years old. The 6’7 first baseman possesses immense raw power potential, and while he struggled to do damage (.476 OPS) in his ten-game cup of coffee with the Giants in late September, his minor league performance seems more representative of what to expect from him long term. In 66 games with Triple-A Sacramento, Eldridge posted a slash line of .249/.322/.514 with 18 home runs, good for an eye-popping .265 ISO. His strong power numbers come with equally impressive batted-ball data, including an elite hard-hit rate (64.5%) and 90th-percentile exit velocity (108.6 mph). Strikeouts tend to come with the territory for sluggers such as Eldridge, so his 30.8% K-rate in that same span is unsurprising, if a bit concerning. Recent news came out that Eldridge had wrist surgery and should be ready to go in Spring Training. He should challenge for the Giants’ first base job out of spring training in 2026, but expect some growing pains (and perhaps even a temporary demotion) if his strikeout woes continue. – Lucas Morel

3. Edward Florentino PIT (#19), 1B, OF (A)

169 PLIVE+, Peak Projection: 26 HR, 35 SB, 9.9% BB, 24.3% K, .253/.333/.461, 121 wRC+

Photo Credit: Bucks On Deck

Few prospects saw their stock rise as much or as sharply as Florentino in 2025. The lanky outfielder dominated at the Complex, posting an OPS over 1.000, before continuing to impress with his power, speed, and swing decisions at Single-A. He ran a zone contact rate of nearly 90% over 54 games at the level, while posting above-average exit velocities and stealing 29 of his 35 total bases on the season. While he does strike out at a slightly elevated clip, and that tendency may get exposed a bit more as he moves up through the system, he has more upside than all other hitting prospects in the Pittsburgh system but one (Konnor Griffin, the top prospect in baseball). Expect him to start the year in High-A at 19, where a strong start would propel him up even further from top-25 status into the stratosphere as one of minor league baseball’s best talents. – Lucas Morel

4. Josue Briceño DET (#25), C, 1B (AA)

164 PLIVE+, Peak Projection: 26 HR, 1 SB, 11.1% BB, 20.4% K, .268/.353/.480, 133 wRC+

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