Ranking the National League Central's first basemen

We'll continue our exploration of the positions around the NL Central today ranking the first basemen within the division (if you missed the first installment, a breakdown of the catchers in the division is here). With the departure of Paul Goldschmidt, the old trio of him, Joey Votto and Anthony Rizzo have all migrated out of the division or retired. A fiery former Cub opens up our list in his first year at the position in St. Louis.

1. Willson Contreras, Cardinals

Contreras has been plagued by injuries the last few years, which limited his at-bats. A shift to only playing 1B and DH in 2025 should give him the opportunity to break 500 plate appearances for the first time in his career and give him a real shot at crossing the 30 homerun mark as well.

Contreras is an extremely valuable hitter- he has elite exit velocities and walks a ton, and his .814 career OPS (.848 in 2024) reflects the positive outcomes that those two things typically result in. The former Cub is by far the most proven hitter at first base in the Central, and I see him having a career year in 2025 when you combine the outstanding 2024 advanced metrics with significantly higher plate appearances. The glove is a little harder to project, as his fielding performance behind the plate has been suspect for many years. However, his athleticism has never been in question and he's shown the ability to play multiple corner positions in the past. I expect him to be, at minimum, just below average at the position. The rest of the players in the Central have not displayed the consistency or track record that Contreras has to rank above him.