Fantasy Baseball Second Basemen Assessment: Can Brendan Donovan and Nico Hoerner Remain Near the Top?

Last week, I started a fantasy baseball series where I assess individual positions.

We looked at first basemen and third basemen, and will now be shifting our focus to second basemen today. Check back in the coming days for more position breakdowns.

Use the FantasySP Trade Value Chart and Trade Analyzer all season when assessing fantasy baseball trades. Also be sure to check out the new “Ask Fantasy Expert” tool inside the analyzer.

Top Performers

Using fantasy settings and position eligibility from ESPN, here are the top-10 fantasy second basemen so far in 2025.

Brendan Donovan and Nico Hoerner lead the position in total fantasy points so far. Maikel Garcia sits in third.

Gleyber Torres is in fourth, followed closely by Luis Arraez. Jose Altuve and Brice Turang are also pretty close to each other. Bryson Stott, Jorge Polanco and Ozzie Albies round out the top 10 so far.

Turang is the leader in runs scored with 36, and Hoerner is the only other guy over 30 runs, sitting at 34. Donovan leads the way with 93 total bases, while Garcia is second at 92 total bases - nobody else has over 90.

Polanco is the league leader amongst second basemen in RBIs, sitting at 30. Brandon Lowe has 29 RBIs. Xander Bogaerts is the leader in walks with 25. Torres, Jonathan India and Gavin Lux have 24 walks each. 

Jose Caballero leads the way in stolen bases with 17. Turang has 13, while Jorge Mateo has 12. 

Matt McLain has the most strikeouts (62). Kyren Paris has 59 punchouts, while Kristian Campbell is at 55 strikeouts. 

ADP Check In

Ketel Marte was the top-drafted fantasy second baseman, going at pick 22.51 on average. He spent a good chunk of the season on the injured list, so to see him sitting 13th at the position right now, fantasy owners will take that.

Marcus Semien was taken second at the position. He's barely a top-50 fantasy 2B right now, so he's not only been a bust, but one of the game's biggest busts so far. Semien is rostered in just 69% of leagues right now.

Altuve was taken third, so to have him ranking sixth right now is a disappointment for sure. However, now that he's added left field eligibility to his name, his bit lower production so far isn't quite as bad as it might originally seem.

Albies checks in fourth right now. He's been a disappointment this season, but at least he's still in the top 10.

Donovan was listed among outfielders on our ADP preseason data, but he would have been fifth amongst second basemen. To see him leading the way is great for the fantasy owners who grabbed him around pick 100. I'd be more inclined to keep rostering the multi-position hitter than look to sell high.

Torres was taken fifth on average at the position. He missed some time this season, so to have him as a top-five option right now is really impressive. He's still available to 13% of FantasySP users who have their leagues synced here, so you can pick up one of the position's top-end performers so far for free - stop reading and pick him up if he's available.

Hoerner was taken sixth, so him being tied atop the position is super impressive. He's not a huge power guy (still not homering this season), but he makes up for it with a good average, OBP, run production and stolen bases. He's still a buy-low target probably because of his lack of power.

Bogaerts was the next second baseman taken on average. He's just a couple spots outside the top 10, so while he's underperformed, he hasn't been a total bust at least. Him being rostered in 87% of leagues is notable after he was taken at pick 129.2 on average.

Stott was next off draft boards. He's performing about to expectations, but is also available to 13% of you. My opinion on Stott goes back and forth, so assess him with your own opinions regarding whether or not to keep rostering him, or trading him.

Turang would have been the 10th second baseman off draft boards if Donovan had been listed as a 2B, so we'll end with him. He's exceeded his preseason expectations so far, so he's a sell-high candidate. I like Turang moving forward and would want to keep rostering him, or look into trading for him.

Trending Up

Over the past 15 days, Lowe has the highest average (.372) and on-base percentage (.413) of any qualified second baseman.

Hoerner is hitting .327 and getting on base at a .389 clip. Adam Frazier is at a .308 average and .386 OBP. 

Jackson Holliday is hitting .269 and getting on base at a .279 clip. Turang (.212 average, .281 OBP) and Semien (.167 average, 265 OBP) are the only other qualified second basemen over the past 15 days.

Hyeseong Kim (.571 average, .625 OBP) over six games and 14 at-bats and Kody Clemens (.435 average, .458 OBP) over eight games and 23 at-bats are some other second basemen trending up right now.

Donovan and Albies are both hitting over .300 and have at least 40 at-bats over the past 15 days. Marte joins the mix if we drop things down to at least 35 at-bats. 

How to Proceed

I still like Marte being the best fantasy second baseman the rest of the season. As long as he stays relatively healthy the rest of the season, he should work his way back into the top 10 in short order, then contend for the top few spots overall.

I think Donovan and Hoerner have what it takes to stick in the top five for the remainder of the season. Donovan is my preferred guy between the two with his eligibility in the outfield as well.

Garcia is a sell-high trade candidate for me, but at the same time, his dual-position eligibility (third base too) makes him really valuable and worth rostering. It comes down to your personal opinion on him.

Torres has a pretty good chance at sticking in the top five I think, but at worst, I see him in the top 10, as long as he remains healthy. Pick him up if you can, otherwise see if you can land him relatively cheap in a trade.

Arraez is another fantasy asset I really like because of him also being eligible at first base. He's not a power hitter, but he delivers good fantasy totals every season anyway. He should stick in the top 10.

Altuve has a good chance of moving up the fantasy leaderboard at second base. History says he will, so trading for him now might cost a bit, but pay off by the end of the season.

Turang, Stott and Polanco all have the potential to stick in the top 10, but there's talented hitters behind them that could pass them up too. All could be trade candidates now, with Turang having the most value of the trio.

I like Albies moving up the leaderboard by the end of the season, as long as he stays healthy. Like Altuve, I think this is a time to buy into him, because it should pay off by the end of the season.

Lowe, Bogaerts, Marte, Tommy Edman, Luis Garcia Jr., Holliday and India are all outside the top 10 right now, but could make strong pushes to finish inside it by the end of the year. 

Frazier is a guy who deserves more fantasy love right now. Clemens is a similar fantasy option in being widely available and pretty valuable right now.