Fantasy Baseball Busts 2025: Top 5 first basemen who could fail to deliver this season ft. Pete Alonso and Luis Arraez
The fantasy baseball season is rapidly approaching and managers need to start deciding which players they plan on targeting and which players they plan on avoiding in their drafts. Fantasy managers are always seeking the next sleeper pick who will provide them value at the end of their drafts, but spotting potential busts might be just as important.
Players can be considered fantasy baseball busts for several reasons, including underperforming, missing time to injury and not living up to their draft price. A player can still be productive throughout the season, but if a fantasy manager pays a premium price for a star, if they fail to live up to their draft cost, they might fall into the bust category.
Here's a closer look at 5 potential fantasy baseball busts at the first base position
#1 - Pete Alonso
It might seem ridiculous to suggest that Pete Alonso could be a bust in 2025 fantasy baseball leagues given the strength of the New York Mets lineup. However, it's because of the hype surrounding the Mets this season that Alonso might not be able to live up to expectations.
According to Fantasy Pros, Alonso has an average draft position of 38, however, the veteran struggled last season and if that trend continues, he could fail to live up to that price tag. Alonso can certainly rack up home runs, but those homers come with plenty of strikeouts and a low batting average. His weaknesses might outweigh his upside at this stage.
#2 - Cody Bellinger
Another slugger in New York, Cody Bellinger could be a disappointment for fantasy baseball managers trying to re-live his glory days of his 2019 NL MVP season. Bellinger finished 2024 in the bottom half in terms of average exit velocity, hard hit percentage, and barrel rate according to Statcast. Don't let the Yankees uniform tempt you into paying up for the veteran.
#3 - Luis Arraez
Luis Arraez might be one of the best hitters in baseball, however, aside from a strong batting average, he is incredibly limited in fantasy. He is not particularly fast (20 career stolen bases) and he contributes next to nothing in terms of home run power (4 homers in 2024). Arraez may be nothing but a specialist that fantasy baseball managers can avoid unless in need of help in batting average categories.
#4 - Yandy Diaz
Yandy Diaz is certainly a fine first base option in fantasy but his ceiling might be capped. After an All-Star season in 2023, Diaz failed to repeat those heights for the Tampa Bay Rays. Diaz can contribute in most categories, but is not particularly special in any of them.
#5 - Michael Toglia
Michael Toglia is a popular name to target in fantasy drafts right now thanks to his impressive home run output last season for the Colorado Rockies. There is no denying his power, however, there is a chance that his struggles with strikeouts might be more of a headache than his homers are worth. Toglia could easily hit 30 home runs, but he could hurt in other categories.