Late-Round First Base (1B) Fantasy Baseball Draft Values And Targets In 2024

Welcome officially to the 2024 fantasy baseball season! Late-round picks in fantasy baseball can often be the difference between a mediocre team and a championship contender. While it's easy to get caught up in the excitement of selecting big-name players early in the draft, finding those hidden gems in the later rounds is equally essential. As a fantasy manager, it's crucial to do your due diligence and research these overlooked players' statistics, injury history, and current team situation. While taking a chance on a player based on a hunch or a cool name may seem appealing, making informed decisions that increase your chances of success is the wiser strategy. With careful consideration and some luck, these late-round picks could be the key to unlocking your team's full potential.

Today, we're looking at some late-round first base options for you to consider drafting in your season-long leagues this season. Are their ADPs undervalued? Will they make significant fantasy contributions and become a priority late-round draft target? Read on to see our take.

Our editors have hand-picked these specific MLB players for your draft prep enjoyment. Usually only available to Premium subscribers, the five outlooks below are meant to give you a taste of the in-depth analysis you receive with our industry-leading 2024 Draft Kit. Be sure to subscribe today to start reading all of our in-depth 2024 player outlooks and many other premium articles and tools, including Team Sync, the Live Draft Sync assistant, Custom Rankings Service, and so much more – available exclusively in our 2024 Draft Kit.

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Rhys Hoskins, Milwaukee Brewers

Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Rhys Hoskins enters the 2024 season in unfamiliar territory as the veteran slugger will play his first game for a franchise other than the Phillies. Hoskins missed all of 2023 with a torn ACL and will look to get back on track with the Brewers, who signed Hoskins to a two-year contract this offseason. For Milwaukee, it's a solid bet, as Hoskins was one of the most productive power hitters in baseball between 2018 and 2022. Excluding the pandemic-shortened season, Hoskins swatted between 27 and 34 homers every year since 2018 and posted a slugging percentage over .450 in every season in that span.

Hoskins provided steady power while displaying excellent on-base skills with a 13.5% career walk rate and a career strikeout rate that is also better than the league average. Toss in a sky-high 48.4% fly-ball rate and Hoskins is primed for a bounce-back season in the hitter's paradise that is Milwaukee. There is, of course, some risk of a decline in production after not playing baseball for over a year, but at just 30 years old, there's a good chance Hoskins can come back as strong as ever. With an average draft position outside the top 180 overall picks, Hoskins is a solid gamble for inexpensive power late in fantasy drafts

-- Mike Schwarzenbach - RotoBaller

Vinnie Pasquantino, Kansas City Royals

Kansas City Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino's 2023 season was cut short after suffering a torn labrum 61 games in. The former eleventh-round pick was attempting to build on 2022 when he posted a 136 wRC+ in 298 PA at the MLB level (72 games) and had a .285-28-96-77-4 line between 522 Triple-A and MLB ABs. His 2023 line was .247-9-26-24-0 with a .327 WOBA and 103 wRC+ in 260 PA before he went down. Through 558 PA in the majors, "Pas-quatch" has maintained the low K% (11.6%) and above-average BB% (10.8%) he exhibited in the minors.

Both his Contact% (84.0%) and SwStr% (7.4%) are well above-average too. With those types of bat-to-ball skills and a bit more luck (.250 BABIP in 2023), there should be a rebound in batting average in 2024, while generating sneaky power production. ATC projections for 2024 see the lefty with a .273-21-74-68-1 line with a .354 WOBA and 125 wRC+ in 562 PA (133 games). He's fully healthy going into the season, so if Pasquantino can manage to get a bit closer to 600 PA while batting cleanup, those numbers could end up a bit more stout. RotoBaller appropriately prices him at 165 overall, slightly ahead of his NFBC ADP of 170.

-- Jarod Rupp - RotoBaller

Brandon Drury, Los Angeles Angels

After a so-so career throughout his twenties, Brandon Drury had a breakout in 2022. He backed it up in 2023 and has turned himself into a viable fantasy option. Despite playing for three different organizations over the last two seasons, Drury put up near identical numbers. Over the last two years, he's averaged 27 homers, 85 RBI, 74 runs, and one stolen base while hitting .262/.313/.495. He's only played 263 games over the last two seasons, having missed a month with a shoulder injury in 2023. Otherwise, we'd be looking at a 30+ homer player in 2023 and would need to use a middle-round draft pick rather than a later one, as you do now.

Shohei Ohtani's departure has left a huge hole in the Angels lineup. But it does still contain Mike Trout and some interesting younger hitters so Drury should be able to help in all categories except steals. He's eligible at first and second base in most formats making him the perfect late-round bat that can fill in as your middle or corner infielder. His numbers over the last two years aren't anything fancy, but Drury's been consistently productive and should be again in 2024.

-- Jamie Steed - RotoBaller

Jose Abreu, Houston Astros

Houston Astros first baseman Jose Abreu had an abysmal start to the 2023 season. He had a .212 batting average with one home run, 23 RBI, and eight doubles across the first 60 games. Then, something flipped for Abreu. Over the final 81 games, he hit .255 with 17 HRs, 67 RBI, and 15 doubles. The end of the season was much better for the veteran, and that could help him provide solid fantasy numbers in 2024.

The first baseman will also likely be hitting behind players like Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker, which should lead to more RBI chances. He could put up over 20 HRs and 85 RBI this season. ATC projections are on board with this assessment and project Abreu to mash 18 home runs and log 79 RBI over 582 plate appearances. Abreu has an NFBC ADP of 287 and could easily hit value at that price tag, making him a solid pick in the later rounds of upcoming fantasy drafts.

-- Joey Pollizze - RotoBaller

Anthony Rizzo, New York Yankees

New York Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo was having an outstanding 2023 season before suffering a concussion in late May. Rather than hitting the injured list, he played 46 games with post-concussion symptoms and struggled immensely. Overall, his numbers for the year were underwhelming. He posted a .244/.328/.378 slash line and hit just 12 home runs in 99 total games. However, before the injury, he slashed 304/.376/.505 with 62 hits, 11 HRs, 30 runs scored, and 32 RBI. Despite that, his current NFBC ADP is 275.

According to reports, he is feeling healthy going into the 2024 season. With that in mind, Rizzo could be one of the most valuable first-base options in fantasy baseball for 2024 fantasy baseball drafts. ATC projections are on board with this assessment and project the veteran with another 20-plus home run season out of Rizzo in 2024. 

-- Wade Smith - RotoBaller

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