Michael Toglia (Age: 26)
This might be my hottest take of the day. Toglia is a career Mendoza Line hitter. So why do I like him so much? Power and speed! He is only 26 years old and coming off a 25-10 HR/SB season. Colorado is a great hitters’ park and Toglia just had his best season yet, hitting .218 across 116 games where he put up a 2.2 WAR season. Following the All-Star break, he put up a 16.4% barrel percentage. The only players better → Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, Kyle Schwarber, Juan Soto, and Jorge Soler. That is not bad company to be a part of, even if it was only for a third of a season.
2024: 25 HR | 55 RBI | 14 2B | 54 BB | .218 AVG | .311 OBP | .456 SLG | .767 OPS | 2.2 WAR | 98 wRC+
Career: 31 HR | 76 RBI | 27 2B | 73 BB | .206 AVG | .287 OBP | .406 SLG | .692 OPS | .7 WAR
Josh Naylor (Age: 27)
So I think I may be a bit more sour on Naylor than the industry, but he is still a legit bat for 2025. Naylor was moved this offseason from Cleveland to Arizona. The Arizona lineup is a solid lineup with stars like Ketel Marte and Corbin Carroll but I get the feeling that Cleveland might have moved Naylor at the right time. Batting average-wise, he is coming off his worst season yet! I do not like that, especially at age 27, when one should be entering their prime. I could eat crud on this later this year but for now, Naylor is one to watch for dropping out of my top-10 first basemen to draft for fantasy in 2025.
2024: 31 HR | 108 RBI | 27 2B | 58 BB | .243 AVG | .320 OBP | .456 SLG | .776 OPS | 1.5 WAR | 118 wRC+
Career:84 HR | 343 RBI | 117 2B | 173 BB | .262 AVG | .323 OBP | .444 SLG | .767 OPS | 6 WAR
Yandy Diaz (Age: 33)
Yandy Diaz might be the most boring name on this list, but he is a staple in the Tampa Bay offense. I love what the Rays roster looks like on paper this year and expect them to be a very fun team to watch as they can go in so many directions. Diaz hasn’t stolen a base in two seasons but his bat is what brings the value. He is a career .288 hitter and owns a .806 career OPS. The guy can hit!
2024: 14 HR | 65 RBI | 31 2B | 50 BB | .281 AVG | .341 OBP | .414 SLG | .755 OPS | 1.6 WAR | 120 wRC+
Career: 75 HR | 341 RBI | 155 2B | 352 BB | .288 AVG | .341 OBP | .433 SLG | .806 OPS | 14.6 WAR
Vinnie Pasquantino (Age: 27)
I might be the biggest Vinnie P. fan out there who isn’t a Royals fan and/or his family. Yes, I have his autograph! Coming off a year where he hit 19 home runs and 97 RBIs, he will be only 26 years old and poised for a massive year. The Royals have added a couple of pieces to the lineup that should put Pasquantino in line for more RBIs this season. If Pasquantino puts it all together paired with Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City will have a fantastic 1-2 punch in the heart of their lineup.
2024: 19 HR | 97 RBI | 30 2B | 40 BB | .262 AVG | .315 OBP | .446 SLG | .760 OPS | 1.1 WAR | 108 wRC+
Career: 38 HR | 149 RBI | 57 2B | 100 BB | .267 AVG | .335 OBP | .445 SLG | .780 OPS | 2.7 WAR
Pete Alonso (Age: 30)
The Polar Bear has yet to make his plunge with a team in free agency thus far. The baseball community is super excited to see where he lands as he is considered the best “power bat” to be available this offseason. Every day the Mets and Alonso are brought up and there seems to be no end. Will Toronto be able to land Alonso? Who knows? The facts are Alonso has never finished a season outside of the top 15 when it comes to home run leaders in Major League Baseball in his career. Six straight years of crushing baseballs has looked easy for this man. I do want him to sign outside of New York just for the fun of it but he will be a net positive for any team willing to pay a little over the top.
2024: 34 HR | 88 RBI | 31 2B | 70 BB | .240 AVG | .329 OBP | .459 SLG | .788 OPS | 2.6 WAR | 122 wRC+
Career: 226 HR | 586 RBI | 142 2B | 358 BB | .249 AVG | .339 OBP | .514 SLG | .854 OPS | 19.8 WAR
Christian Walker (Age: 33)
Why did he have to go to the Houston Astros? Because life isn’t fair. I honestly don’t get the move for the Astros. Outside of staying competitive, the tide has been shifting in Houston as they have been moving players like Kyle Tucker and Ryan Pressly to shed payroll. Don’t get me wrong 3 years/$60M for a bat of Walker’s caliber is not a terrible deal, even if he is already 33 years old. Personally, I would have found a cheaper option and found a way to extend Tucker. That being said, I don’t have the money or expertise to run a major league team. Walker will put up some solid numbers for Houston, especially with the hitter-friendly shallow wall of the infamous Crawford Boxes in Left Field. Walker is super pull-heavy and I’d expect that to play very well for him in Houston.
2024: 26 HR | 84 RBI | 26 2B | 55 BB | .251 AVG | .335 OBP | .468 SLG | .803 OPS | 2.6 bWAR | 119 wRC+
Career: 147 HR | 443 RBI | 158 2B | 318 BB | .250 AVG | .330 OBP | .463 SLG | .793 OPS | 15.1 bWAR
Matt Olson (Age: 30)
I truly think the Braves are being heavily slept on for 2025. People are coming after the pitching depth and lack of free agency spending, but let’s look at their roster for one second (check notes). They do not need to add much! They already have so much talent on their roster and might have been the unluckiest team in baseball last year when it comes to injury luck. Strider & Acuna Jr. missed virtually the whole season. Olson still almost hit 100 RBIs in a year with no Acuna Jr. in the lineup. He did that while almost losing 10 points off his career batting average. At age 30 Olson is still in his prime and poised to have another fantastic season. I expect his bounceback will come with all the troops starting to feel healthy in Atlanta.
2024: 29 HR | 98 RBI | 37 2B | 71 BB | .247 AVG | .333 OBP | .457 SLG | .790 OPS | 3.8 bWAR | 117 wRC+
Career: 259 HR | 713 RBI | 209 2B | 522 BB | .254 AVG | .349 OBP | .512 SLG | .860 OPS | 32.8 bWAR
Freddie Freeman (Age: 35)
Age is just a number. Until Freddie Freeman proves me wrong, he is still among the elites at first base. Freeman is not only one of the best hitters in baseball, he is an incredible person outside of the game. I cannot do Freddie Freeman justice for trying to explain the positive impact he has had on the game. Freddie will be hitting in the middle of arguably the most stacked lineup we have seen in the last twenty or so years. The guy doesn’t miss games and is a staple of the reining World Series defending champions. I think Freddie will be right back to business as usual in his 16th MLB season.
2024: 22 HR | 89 RBI | 35 2B | 72 BB | .282 AVG | .378 OBP | .476 SLG | .854 OPS | 4.7 bWAR | 137 wRC+
Career: 343 HR | 1232 RBI | 508 2B | 1010 BB | .300 AVG | .387 OBP | .512 SLG | .899 OPS | 60.7 bWAR
Bryce Harper (Age: 32)
Bryce Harper is still swinging the bat at an elite level at age 32. Not only is Harper one of the best first basemen, he is one of the best players in all of baseball. Philadelphia’s lineup is still loaded so plenty of opportunities to score some runs, hit 80+ RBIs, and have lineup protection. Harper over Freeman was really tough for me but I just have to side with age on this one. Freddie will be 36 years old before the end of the season and I just feel better drafting Harper over Freeman for redraft fantasy purposes in 2025.
2024: 30 HR | 87 RBI | 42 2B | 76 BB | .285 AVG | .373 OBP | .525 SLG | .898 OPS | 4.8 bWAR | 145 wRC+
Career: 336 HR | 976 RBI | 1035 BB | 369 2B | .281 AVG | .389 OBP | .522 SLG | .911 OPS | 51.1 bWAR
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Age: 25)
The hype train on Vladdy Jr. right now is insane. Vlad Jr. led the position in 2024 with a 54.9 Hard Hit%. The guy just cranks nukes and is entering his prime. By this time next year, Guerrero Jr. will be a very rich man. Entering free agency after the season is all the incentive in the world that Vladdy needs to have a massive year. The question is will that contract be signed with the Toronto Blue Jays?
I say no!
2024: 30 HR | 103 RBI | 44 2B | 72 BB | .323 AVG | .396 OBP | .544 SLG | .940 OPS | 6.2 bWAR | 165 wRC+
Career: 160 HR | 507 RBI | 177 2B | 349 BB | .288 AVG | .363 OBP | .500 SLG | .863 OPS | 21.5 bWAR