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Tampa Bay Rays All-Star Yandy Diaz Debuts on MLB Network's List of Top 10 First Basemen

Fresh off winning the American League batting title, MLB Network pegged Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Yandy Diaz as the No. 5 player at his position entering 2024.
Sam Connon|
Tampa Bay Rays All-Star Yandy Diaz Debuts on MLB Network's List of Top 10 First Basemen
Tampa Bay Rays All-Star Yandy Diaz Debuts on MLB Network's List of Top 10 First Basemen

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Tampa Bay Rays

Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Yandy Diaz just won the American League batting title in 2023, and now he's being held up as one of the top players at his position heading into 2024.

Diaz came in at No. 5 on MLB Network's Top 10 First Baseman Right Now, the latest in a position-by-position series that has been running all month. This is Diaz's first appearance on the list.

Here is MLB Network's full list of its top first basemen:

1. Freddie Freeman, Los Angeles Dodgers
2. Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies
3. Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves
4. Paul Goldschmidt, St. Louis Cardinals
5. Yandy Diaz, Tampa Bay Rays
6. Pete Alonso, New York Mets
7. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays
8. Brandon Belt, Free Agent
9. Christian Walker, Arizona Diamondbacks
10. Triston Casas, Boston Red Sox

Diaz enjoyed a breakout season in 2023, batting .330 with 22 home runs, 78 RBI, a .932 OPS and a 5.2 WAR. It was his first year as a full-time first baseman, as he primarily played third base in 2022 and split time between the two positions in 2021.

The 32-year-old was not an everyday player until 2021, spending the first four years of his MLB career as a part-time bench player for the Rays and Cleveland Indians.

Diaz made his first All-Star Game last summer, and he capped off the year by winning his first Silver Slugger and placing sixth in AL MVP voting. He was a key part of a Rays team that won 99 games and clinched a postseason bid for the fifth year in a  row.

Besides Bryce Harper, who was previously a right fielder, Diaz was the next-highest-ranked newcomer on MLB Network's list of best first basemen. Brandon Belt came in at No. 8 after a bounce-back season with the Blue Jays, while Gold Glover Christian Walker and rookie slugger Triston Casas rounded out the top 10.

The Rays have had one other player recognized by MLB Network so far, with Josh Lowe earning the No. 10 spot on their list of top right fielders. Tampa Bay went unrepresented in the respective top 10s for starting pitchers, catchers, second basemen and shortstops.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a staff writer covering baseball for “Fastball on SI.’’ He previously covered UCLA Athletics for On SI’s All Bruins site, and is a UCLA graduate, with his work there as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for On SI’s New England Patriots site, Patriots Country, and he was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk. Sam lives in Boston.

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