Fantasy Baseball Second Basemen: Who to Start and Who to Stream
A look at the tiers among second basemen in fantasy football and who is worth investing in as a starter.
Most players in fantasy baseball have value in the right situation, whether that’s against certain pitchers or on days when many teams have off. Some guys are going to start every day for your fantasy team; those are valuable pieces, the set-it-and-forget-it players.
When you are left without one of those stalwarts, the most valuable fantasy strategy is often to stream players. Some teams have strings of sub-par pitchers and can often be targeted from series to series.
I am going through each baseball position to see who is perceived as must-start or stream-worthy heading into the season. This won’t be my own analysis of the players as much as analyzing their value in terms of average draft position.
To determine that status, I used FantasySP’s Average Draft Position tool. That’s important: Other sites will have different rankings and values, and this is exclusively based on FantasySP’s calculations.
I am thinking in terms of a 10-team league with Roto scoring and standard lineup structure, with a player at each infield position, three outfielders, and a DH/utility spot among position players.
Let’s look at second base, where players are separated clearly into a top tier, middle group, and streaming group.
Daily Starters
- Mookie Betts, LAD 1st Round
- Ozzie Albies, ATL 3rd Round
- Marcus Semien, TEX 3rd Round
- Jose Altuve, HOU 4th Round
- Nico Hoerner, CHC 8th Round
- Ketel Marte, ARI 8th Round
- Luis Arraez, MIA 9th Round
- Gleyber Torres, NYY, 9th Round
There is a clear line here between the elite and the rest of the starters: Betts, Semien, Albies and Altuve are the class of the second basemen, evidenced by their standing within the top five rounds. There is a sizeable drop to the next four, to the point that a few could be considered better as streamers.
Betts is my favorite pick in fantasy baseball this season because of his dual eligibility. Lineup flexibility allows you to use your bench spots more strategically, and the fourth-ranked overall player is a phenomenal option to slot in at either second or one of three outfield spots.
Albies is part of a phenomenal lineup in Atlanta and has inflated value because of more RBI and run-scoring opportunities than most players. He also averaged around 165 hits, 35 doubles and 32 home runs over his last two full seasons (while missing 98 games in 2022).
Altuve played just 90 games last season but was up to his usual standard when on the field: He’s usually around 170 hits, 30 doubles and 30 home runs. Semien might be the best power-hitting second baseman around, averaging around 37 doubles and 34 home runs over the past three years.
Hoerner doesn’t have the power numbers of some other guys here but has hit over .280 each of the past two seasons and was over .300 in 44 games in 2021. He had 310 hits and 49 doubles over 2022-23 but just 19 home runs in that span.
Marte has been inconsistent in his career: In four seasons with between 137-153 games played, he had home run totals of 14, 32, 12 and 25. His batting average fluctuated with the home runs. Last season was a good one, but it’s hard to know exactly what to expect. I feel better with Marte as a streamer.
I got a little annoyed last year by people on ESPN and other places saying Arraez was going to hit .400 because he did it for several months. He fell into a slump and finished the season at .354 with 203 hits. It’s not that he’s not a great contact hitter, but no one is going to hit .400. There just isn’t the gap in talent now that there was in Ted Williams’ day, and the best players can’t stand out to the same degree. Arraez doesn’t have much power, but 30 doubles and 10 home runs will play fine with that many hits.
A promised superstar as a prospect, Torres has settled in as more of a good everyday player. The last few seasons point toward something around 150 hits, 30 doubles and 25 home runs. He played 158 games last season after missing a little time with injury earlier in his career.
Stream-Worthy
- Andres Gimenez, CLE 12th Round
- Jonathan India, CIN 12th Round
- Bryson Stott, PHI 13th Round
- Jeff McNeil, NYM 13th Round
- Zack Gelof, OAK 15th Round
- Thairo Estrada, SF 16th Round
- Luis Rengifo, LAA 16th Round
A lot of names here, with a drop-off after McNeil. The last three guys are all under 30 with room for improvement, and Estrada has a few seasons as a proven contributor. They are all players who will be usable at times.
Gimenez had at least 140 hits, 26 doubles and 15 home runs in each of the last two seasons and stole 50 bases over that time. He is close to the next tier.
India may have that same upside but has dealt with injuries each of the last two seasons after winning 2021 NL Rookie of the Year. Stott had similar numbers last year. All three guys are really close, with Gimenez rightly ranked highest.
McNeil has only hit lower than .300 once in six seasons, including a 63-game rookie season and the COVID year of 2020 (52 games for McNeil). He led the NL in average at .326 in 2022. His stats last year of 158 hits, 25 doubles and 10 home runs sounds about right for 2024; McNeil looks to have a decent floor with a bit of a limited ceiling.
Streaming Advice
A few guys aren’t listed here who can slot in at multiple positions, including second base. Cincinnati’s Matt McLain is near the daily starter line, and Ha-Seong Kim of San Diego isn’t a daily starter, but he is able to play second, third and shortstop. That’s valuable for a guy on the fringe.
Betts, Albies, Semien and Altuve are the class of the position and worth their draft statuses. Betts might be my favorite first-round pick because of his positional versatility.
I’m OK passing on the top of this position if I miss on Betts and waiting for someone like Gimenez late or a multi-position guy who can spend a lot of days in your second base slot until you find a consistent option.
If you don’t grab one of the few power guys, there aren’t going to be a lot of home runs on the free agent market. That makes me less inclined to grab a low-power starter like Hoerner or Arraez, knowing I can find similar production streaming that isn’t there compared to a guy like Torres.
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