X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

5 First Base Draft Sleepers for Fantasy Baseball

Spencer Torkelson - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, MLB Injury News

Jon Anderson gives you five first base fantasy baseball draft sleepers for 2023 - 1B hitter options to take a shot on late in your drafts or on the waiver wire.

Everybody loves some sleepers! If your fantasy baseball draft is not already done, it is fast approaching - so it's time to talk about fantasy baseball sleepers:

In this series, I will go through each position and give you five names at each slot to consider scooping late in the draft or to just put on your watch list for a possible early-season pickup.

We are focused on standard-sized leagues here, so I will not go past pick 500 or so in the ADP very often during the series. Most of my picks will be guys behind drafted between picks 250 and 400 or so, and we'll keep things primarily short and sweet. Let's get to it.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball lineup tools and resources:

 

Triston Casas, Boston Red Sox

ADP: 224

Casas is turning heads this spring with a .359/.419/.590 line and two homers in 43 PA (stats as of March 20). In the last two years in the minors, he has slashed .276/.388/.483 with a low 20% strikeout rate and a nice 15% walk rate. That has come without a ton of power (25 homers in 688 PA) or speed (just seven steals), which keeps his fantasy upside down a bit.

The reason to draft Casas is that he looked pretty good in his short time in the Majors last year (a .197 batting average but a nice .358 OBP and five homers in 95 PAs last year), and at the fresh age of 23 - there's lots of time for him to add power. He seems poised to make the Red Sox team out of camp, and there have even been reports that he could serve as the team's primary leadoff hitter (they really don't have much going for them at the top of that lineup right now).

Don't get your hopes up too high for Casas, he's probably not a 20-homer or 15-steal guy at this point, but he could get you a little bit of everything even if he doesn't take a huge step forward talent-wise.

 

Wil Myers, Cincinnati Reds

ADP: 237

Myers has not been fantasy-relevant for standard leagues since 2017 when he hit 30 homers and stole 20 bags. The last several years have been rough for him, but now he's back in the conversation after signing with the Reds this offseason. He should be an everyday player for them, and we know what Great American Ball Park can do for hitters. Fly balls went for a .292 batting average (the fourth-highest) and a .919 slugging percentage (the third-highest) in Cincinnati last year, so there are a lot of extra hits to be had by playing there.

Run Scoring Park Factors, 2022

Park Park Factor
COL +25%
CIN +23%
BOS +19%
LAA +8%
PHI +6%

There hasn't been a single year where Myers hasn't put up at least a decent barrel rate (he's been around 7% the last two seasons), and he still has the ability to steal some bags. If he's an everyday player for the Reds (which he should be), there are plenty of ways he can turn into a quite useful fantasy option at first base. He should probably be drafted in all leagues.

 

Spencer Torkelson, Detroit Tigers

ADP: 297

Torkelson was the first overall pick of the 2020 draft by the Tigers. It did not take him any time at all to have success in the pros, as he slashed a nice .267/.383/.552 in 2021 while working his way all the way up to AAA.

That set the expectations pretty high for Torkelson in 2022, but it wasn't a great year for him. He made the team out of camp and struggled mightily in the Majors with a .203/.385/.319 slash line with just eight homers in 404 PAs. He also struggled after the demotion, hitting just .229/.348/.389 in 155 PAs back at AAA.

It's tough to really punish a player in his early twenties for struggling on his first go at Major League pitching, so we should be willing to give Tork another shot this year. The silver lining is that his plate discipline was pretty good at the highest level last year with a solid 25% chase rate while 73% of his swings were at pitches in the zone (the league average is 69%). There's no questioning the talent here, so it will be fun to see how big of a step forward Torkelson can make in 2023.

 

Isaac Paredes, Tampa Bay Rays

ADP: 300

The most appealing thing about Paredes for fantasy is how many positions he's eligible at (1B/2B/3B). He's another young player (24) that has a good amount of job security this year and has shown some upside in the Majors.

Last year, the batting average was not there (.205) in the Majors, but he managed 20 homers in only 111 games. He hits a lot of fly balls (28%) and pulls the ball as well (49%) - which is a key to unlocking homers even if you're not hitting the ball all that hard (his 6.4% barrel rate last year was below average). He also showed a nice ability to make contact at a high rate (84%) last year, so there are plenty of ways he can be useful for fantasy this year.

Paredes should hit 20+ homers this year if he stays in the lineup all year, and that's perfectly useful in and of itself, especially when he can do that for your team at three different positions.

 

Carlos Santana, Pittsburgh Pirates

ADP: 543

There is almost no upside with the Santana pick, so please do not get excited about drafting him. In fact, you won't have to draft him in a standard league situation since you can see it takes 500 picks before the average league drafts him.

That said, Santana is better than he's given credit for in OBP leagues. He has a walk rate above 12% every year of his career and a career .359 OBP.

The changes to the rules about shifting should raise his batting average a bit as well, and the Pirates will be playing him nearly every day.

You could see a season where Santana hits 20 homers, drives in 75 runs, and maintains a .350+ OBP. That's a pretty good season for a first baseman that you can have for free.



Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App

Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy baseball app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, sleepers, prospects & more. All free!



More Fantasy Baseball Advice




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Logan O'Hoppe10 hours ago

Homers In Fourth Straight Game
Teoscar Hernández10 hours ago

Teoscar Hernandez Blasts Two Homers, Collects Five RBI
Jackson Chourio10 hours ago

Tallies Two Homers, Five RBI
Zac Veen11 hours ago

Expected To Be Promoted
Iván Herrera11 hours ago

Ivan Herrera Will Require Injured-List Stint
Victor Robles11 hours ago

Exits Early With Wrist Injury
Carlos Estévez13 hours ago

Carlos Estevez Picks Up Second Save
Bobby Witt Jr.13 hours ago

Has Three-Hit Day
Ryan Mountcastle13 hours ago

Registers Three Hits
Kris Bubic14 hours ago

Looks Stellar On Sunday
Spencer Torkelson14 hours ago

Smacks Game-Winning Hit
Jackson Jobe14 hours ago

Looks Improved On Sunday
Edwin Díaz14 hours ago

Edwin Diaz Secures Another Save
Royce Lewis15 hours ago

Continues Making Progress
Martín Pérez15 hours ago

Martin Perez Has Strong Outing On Sunday
Framber Valdez16 hours ago

Uncertain For Tuesday's Start
Andrew Benintendi16 hours ago

Makes Early Exit On Sunday
David Peterson16 hours ago

Exits Early On Sunday
Jorge Polanco17 hours ago

Dealing With Knee Soreness
Iván Herrera18 hours ago

Ivan Herrera Exits Early On Sunday With Knee Inflammation
Bo Naylor18 hours ago

Sitting On Sunday
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP
10
10
11
11
12
19
13
22
14
24
15
25
16
29
17
39
18
40
19
41

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
1
1
2
3
3
7
4
11
6
14
7
15
8
18
9
19
10
20

MORE RECENT ARTICLES

 
Corbin Carroll - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, MLB News, Draft Kit

MLB DFS: DraftKings, FanDuel Expert Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks For Today (4/7/25)

Welcome back, RotoBallers! My name is Brandon, and this is my debut with the MLB team! You can find me and my work with the NHL and Soccer teams, respectively! Tonight, we have a seven-game slate, and the currently live top-three highest implied team totals are: San Diego with 4.7, Arizona with 4.5, and New […]


Riley Greene - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, MLB News

Fantasy Baseball Players To Watch For The Week Ahead (April 7 - April 13)

With the first week in the books, welcome back to my weekly Players to Watch for the Week Ahead series for 2025 as we look ahead to the week of April 7 - April 13. In this article, I'll look at players like Logan O'Hoppe, Riley Greene, Spencer Schwellenbach, and others. For those who are not […]


Felix Bautista - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, MLB Draft Sleepers, Waiver Wire Pickups

Well-Known Fantasy Baseball Players - Drop, Hold, or Sell Low for Week 2? (2025)

Welcome, RotoBallers, to our weekly article about well-known fantasy baseball players. During each week of the fantasy season, we will identify which big-time players are in a slump and determine what we should do with them in fantasy (drop, hold, or sell low). These difficult decisions could be the difference in winning your matchups every […]


Quinn Mathews - Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Draft Sleepers, MLB Rookie Rankings

Top-5 MLB Pitching Prospects To Stash For Fantasy Baseball Redraft Leagues - Week 2 (2025)

Welcome back to our top starting pitcher fantasy baseball prospects to stash for Week 2 of the 2025 MLB season. Even though the regular season has just started, there is no better time to look ahead and identify high-upside stashes. Last season, we saw several prospect pitchers become league-winners as soon as they reached the […]


Ben Rice - Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Waiver Wire Pickups, Draft Sleepers

Fantasy Baseball Frauds? Buy/Sell On Standout Performers Including Chris Bassitt, Ben Rice, Kris Bubic, Carson Kelly, more

Welcome, RotoBallers, to our weekly fantasy baseball frauds and buys/sells article. Each Monday, we go through several players coming off a solid week in fantasy. Then, we'll determine if we should be buying or selling these players heading into the following week. The first edition of this article saw several players get off to fast starts, including Wilyer Abreu, Spencer […]


Tommy Edman - MLB DFS, Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Waiver Wire

8 Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers - Tommy Edman, Triston Casas, Luke Jackson, Justin Steele, more

Welcome, everyone, to another edition of RotoBaller’s Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers article series for Week 2 of the 2025 season! Today, I'll be taking a look at names like Tommy Edman, Triston Casas, Luke Jackson, Justin Steele, and more. Keeping up with the latest hitter and pitcher trends is a key component for a […]


Jhoan Duran fantasy baseball rankings closers saves draft sleepers

Fantasy Baseball Closer Depth Charts - MLB Bullpens and Saves

Saves are an important component for many fantasy baseball leagues. Closers are one of the most volatile positions in fantasy baseball, and one of the highest turnover positions in MLB. Each year, closers drop like flies and many MLB teams make in-season changes due to injuries or poor performance. Relief pitchers are becoming increasingly important for […]


Kodai Senga - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, MLB Injury News

Starts and Sits - All Starting Pitcher Matchups for Fantasy Baseball (April 7 - April 13)

The MLB season is off and running, and so are we with our starting pitcher starts/sits for fantasy baseball Week 2- Monday, April 7 through Sunday, April 13. We've gotten a couple of looks at most pitchers by now, but the sample size remains small, which means we remain diligent! Bookmark us for every start/sit option […]


Luis Garcia - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, MLB Injury News

The Cut List - Time to Let Go? Who To Consider Dropping for Fantasy Baseball (Week 2)

Welcome back to a new season of The Cut List as we head into Week 2 of the 2025 season. For every add, there is usually also a drop. For those who are not familiar, this is our weekly article looking at players whom fantasy managers might be considering cutting from their teams and struggling […]


Kris Bubic - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, Waiver Wire Pickups

FAAB Waiver Wire Bidding - Fantasy Baseball Pickups to Target for Week 2 (April 7 - April 13)

The baseball season is officially underway, and there is no better time to look to the waiver wire to improve your team. Our series about FAAB fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups continues as we head into Week 2 of the 2025 MLB season -- April 7th through April 13th. This waiver wire article will recommend free […]


Tylor Megill fantasy baseball rankings waiver wire pickups draft sleepers

Week 2 Waiver Wire Rankings - Fantasy Baseball Pickups Include Zac Veen, Jordan Walker, Sean Murphy, Jonathan Aranda, Michael Conforto, more

Fantasy baseball is off to a fast start, and we are already on to Week 2 of the MLB season -- April 7th - April 13th. At RotoBaller HQ, we are back with more waiver wire advice to help your fantasy teams. Today, we review the updated waiver wire rankings for Week 2 of the […]


Geraldo Perdomo - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, Waiver Wire Pickups - icon rotoballer

Nick Mariano's Week 2 Waiver Wire Picks - Get 'Em While They're Hot (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. It's the weekend and that means we're grinding waivers for our next wave of reinforcements as we work toward the championship trophy. Your league settings will always take precedence and require you to apply the appropriate context, but this will provide a good jumping-off […]


Ben Rice - Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Waiver Wire Pickups, Draft Sleepers

Eric Cross' Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups - Hitters and Pitchers (April 7 - April 13)

We're barely a week into the 2025 season, but it's never too early to improve your fantasy rosters. I'm sure many of you reading this already have an injured player or two you're looking to replace or a late-round pick off to a slow start who could easily be replaced on your roster. The players […]