Fantasy Baseball Draftable Second Basemen: Marcus Semien, Jose Altuve, Ozzie Albies, Ketel Marte and More
A look at the second basemen who are seen as draftable fantasy starters in ESPN points leagues.
I've been going through the fantasy baseball positions to see how many players are seen as “draftable” according to certain preseason rankings. There will be plenty of undrafted guys who will be good streamers throughout the year, and some will even find permanent spots on fantasy teams; this is far from a final list of usable players.
Let's go through the draftable second basemen based on ESPN's points rankings. I will give my thoughts on each player, but this is about their preseason rankings more than my own valuations of each guy. Most stats are from MLB.com.
Check out the rundowns on catchers, first basemen, third basemen, shortstops, outfielders, and starting pitchers at the respective links.
Top Tier
- Ketel Marte, Arizona Diamondbacks, 20th overall
- Marcus Semien, Texas Rangers, 32nd
- Luis Arraez (1B), San Diego Padres, 34th
- Jose Altuve, Houston Astros, 49th
Marte put up his best season last year, batting .292 (his second-best number when playing at least 100 games) with 36 home runs (career high), 95 RBI (career high), and 92 runs scored (third most). He's due for regression, and he's reached 140 games only three times in 10 seasons. Marte has risk but also some nice reward.
Semien's approximate averages over the past four seasons: 161 games played, 110 runs scored, 34 doubles, 31 home runs, and 90 RBI. This is peak second base performance; I prefer Semien to Marte at the top of the 2B market.
Arraez is great with average but doesn't have much power. He'll get 30 doubles, but he averages less than 10 home runs. His availability at both 1B and 2B helps his value, but again, I'd rather have Semien.
Altuve will turn 35 early in May, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see his skills erode a bit. He still put up nice numbers last year, racking up 185 hits, 30 doubles, 20 home runs, and a .295 batting average. There's a little more risk here than with Semien and Arraez, but I still trust Altuve enough to add him to my fantasy team (though I'm not desperate to draft him).
Middle Tier
- Ozzie Albies, Atlanta Braves, 72nd
- Nico Hoerner, Chicago Cubs, 75th
- Brendan Donovan (OF), St. Louis Cardinals, 78th
Albies at his best belongs in the top tier at this position. Two of his past three seasons have been stunted because of injury, though, causing realistic concerns about his value in 2025. I like Albies in the seventh or eighth round better than Arraez in the fourth or Altuve in the fifth, even with the risk.
Hoerner has developed a decent hit tool, becoming a .270-.280 guy. He has 62 doubles over the last two seasons, but he doesn't hit the ball out of the ballpark, combining for just 16 homers in that time. He's a low-ceiling player and a guy I see a level below Albies.
Copy and paste the Hoerner paragraph here for Donovan. The latter has a little more power, a little more upside, and the versatility to slot into the outfield as well. All that makes him the better option than the Cubs' second baseman, though I still like Albies most in this tier.
Still Draftable
- Gleyber Torres, Detroit Tigers, 119th
- Xander Bogaerts (SS), San Diego Padres, 125th
- Bryson Stott, Philadelphia Phillies, 131st
- Andres Gimenez, Toronto Blue Jays, 135th
These players are all usable but might end up as streamers rather than regular fantasy starters. This makes for 11 guys in the “draftable” category, enough to fill most leagues with a starter. The possible outcomes vary more at this level than with the previous guys we've talked about.
Torres was supposed to be a superstar. While he never reached that level, he has been a very serviceable player who will upgrade the Detroit offense. He's going to lose opportunities at runs and RBI by moving from the Yankees to the Tigers, but Torres can be your fantasy 2B at least to start the year.
I like Bogaerts most from this group because of his availability at both shortstop and second. He took a dip last season, but he only played 111 games, missing time with injury. That's a concern to keep in mind, but Bogaerts is likely to regress back toward his previous level, where he was topping 30 doubles, getting close to 20 home runs, and batting over .290.
Stott and Gimenez are both likely to end up as streamers more than season-long options. They have modest power and don't hit for a lot of average, though both have better hit numbers in previous seasons before 2024. These two are OK if you miss out on everyone else and need someone to start the season, though I'd probably rather turn to one of the streamers listed below.
Early Streamers
- Spencer Horwitz (1B), Pittsburgh Pirates, 170th (begins season @ Miami Marlins)
- Luis Rengifo (3B), Los Angeles Angels, 231st (@ Chicago White Sox)
I am hammering these two teams early for streamers because they are facing two of the worst teams (the Rays against Colorado is the other potential gold mine). This is more about poor pitching than great offensive potential.
Horwitz has positional flexibility, his greatest asset right now. He has just 367 at-bats and hasn't shown much greatness. There's plenty of time for improvement, but we haven't seen him play at a level that makes him more than a streamer.
Rengifo probably has the best matchup during the season's first series. He's also likely to be in the lineup often because of the injury to Anthony Rendon, one of the most injured players of the past few seasons. Rengifo can slot in at both 2B and 3B and is in position to succeed during the first weekend of games.
