Fantasy Baseball Draftable Second Basemen: One Star and Some Surprising Depth
A look at the second basemen who should be drafted according to ESPN's points ADP.
With less than two weeks until the MLB season starts, fantasy drafts are about to really pick up steam, and owners are feverishly doing last-minute homework to prepare. Having a gauge on the depth and top-end talent at each position is imperative.
Let's look at the draftable second basemen according to preseason ADP numbers. This is similar to ranking players in tiers, but instead of my own rankings, we are using expected draft slots as our guide.
The number listed in front of each player is his ESPN ranking in points leagues among all players, and those rankings are accurate as of March 14. Most stats are from MLB.com.
Check out the draftables at other positions at the respective links:
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The First-Round Pick
- 10. Ketel Marte, Arizona Diamondbacks
Marte stood out at this position last season, finishing with 28 doubles and 28 home runs in 126 games (480 at-bats). Over the past three seasons, he averaged 25.7 doubles and 29.7 homers while batting over .275 each year.
At a position where it can be hard to find high-level production, Marte will be drafted early in nearly every league.
The Second Tier
- 46. Nico Hoerner, Chicago Cubs
- 49. Jose Altuve, Houston Astros
I often point toward the power stats when looking at high-value fantasy guys; that's the game in 2026. Hoerner is different, though, as he has never hit more than 10 home runs in a season. Instead, he plays often (at least 150 games and 582 at-bats each of the past three seasons), gets hits (.297 average last year), and doesn't strike out. He has also averaged over 30 doubles over the past three years.
Altuve had 26 homers and 24 doubles in 2025, but his numbers otherwise mostly fell off, including losing 20-plus points off his batting average, on-base percentage, and OPS. He gets a bump because he can slot in both in the outfield and at second, but there's a risk that he keeps declining. If you miss out on Marte, I prefer skipping this second tier.
Solid Starters
- 68. Jazz Chisholm Jr., New York Yankees
- 69. Ozzie Albies, Atlanta Braves
- 74. Brice Turang, Milwaukee Brewers
Chisholm is another multi-position guy, available at both 2B and 3B in most leagues. His left-handed swing fits perfectly at Yankee Stadium (one homer every 15.2 at-bats with New York versus 19.5 in his career), and the great lineup will give him run and RBI chances, but he has drawbacks, including striking out a lot.
Albies has been very up and down since the COVID season of 2021, most recently looking fine but not special. In over 600 at-bats last season, he had 16 homers and 23 doubles while batting .240; this is too high to draft Albies.
Turang was far superior to Albies in essentially every box stat last year. His 18 home runs were a major jump from 13 combined the previous two years (in close to 1,000 at-bats), so there's risk he could fall there, but this is a young player who should be ascending, taking away some of that risk.
Other Starters
- 94. Gleyber Torres, Detroit Tigers
- 115. Marcus Semien, New York Mets
- 123. Luke Keaschall, Minnesota Twins
- 133. Bryson Stott, Philadelphia Phillies
Torres lost around 10 home runs per season over the last two years from the previous two. His batting average has settled in a little under .260, and he doesn't steal bases anymore, but he did gain 20 walks last season to a career-high 85 while cutting 35 strikeouts in 55 fewer at-bats.
Semien was my favorite second base draft pick last year, but he had a down season due to injuries and worse performance essentially across the board when on the field. Moving from the Rangers to the Mets will give him a little bump due to a better hitter's park, but New York is still below average in that facet. Semien is intriguing as a bounce-back candidate but could also be declining at 35 years old.
Keaschall made his debut last year, only reaching 182 at-bats but racking up 14 doubles and 14 stolen bases while batting over .300. Theres always risk with younger, unproven players, but the former second-round pick put up good numbers in the minors and should keep improving. This is a chance to grab him later with hopes that he makes a jump.
Stott isn't great at anything, staying moderate (or worse) with his power (23 doubles and 12 homers per year in his career) and batting average (.256, only reaching .250 in two of four years). I prefer waiting until the next group that is available three-plus rounds later.
Fantasy Depth Players
- 159. Brandon Lowe, Pittsburgh Pirates
- 163. Luis Garcia Jr., Washington Nationals
- 164. Brendan Donovan, Seattle Mariners
- 165. Jackson Holliday, Baltimore Orioles
- 170. Ceddanne Rafaela, Boston Red Sox
- 181. Xavier Edwards, Miami Marlins
- 208. Ernie Clement, Toronto Blue Jays
- 214. Otto Lopez, Miami Marlins
- 217. Jorge Polanco, New York Mets
With catcher and first base, I essentially used the top 250 as the cutoff. There are more players ranked within that limit at second base, so I'm making the cut with Polanco, who earned his way through his power at the position. Savvy fantasy owners will look for value in this range rather than reaching (or if they happen to miss every good player before this point).
Lowe has shown power, hitting over 30 home runs in both seasons in which he reached 130 games, but staying on the field has been a problem, as he averaged just 108 games not counting his debut season and the COVID year. Lowe is a decent late-round pickup if you have another guy who can help fill the absence (like one of the multi-position guys).
Garcia played around 140 games each of the past two years and had a similar number of doubles (around 27), home runs (17), and RBI (68). His slash numbers all dropped by 29 points or more, though, to go along with 18 fewer hits and eight fewer stolen bases. He's fine, but Garcia put up a career-best slash line in 2024, so expecting numbers closer to 2025 is reasonable.
Donovan is slated to play third base after a trade to Seattle, giving him multi-position availability soon into the season. He had over 30 doubles each of the past two years but has never reached 15 home runs; Donovan is a bit of a poor man's Hoerner as a fantasy player, giving him intrigue more than 10 rounds later than Chicago's 2B.
Holliday will miss the beginning of the season after suffering a broken hamate bone, and his return is uncertain. The former top overall pick has a chance to outplay his draft spot if you have an IL spot to put him in or are comfortable using a bench spot until he returns.
Rafaela is likely to spend most of his time in the outfield and is available at both 2B and OF in fantasy. In about the same number of games and at-bats in 2024 and 2025, Rafaela saw essentially every number improve in the latter season, pointing toward more growth possibly coming. If he again puts up 30 doubles, 15 homers, and 20 stolen bases, Rafaela will be a valuable fantasy player.
Clement is eligible at 2B, 3B, and SS in many leagues, a major boost for a late-round pick and fantasy bench guy. He played a career-high 157 games last year and set new bests in most box stats, and even if he regresses, Clement can help fill holes early in the season while your fantasy team comes together (and can easily be dropped as one of your last picks).
Edwards and Lopez will handle the middle infield for Miami, and they are each available at both second base and shortstop. Lopez is the better power hitter, finishing with 21 doubles and 15 home runs last year, while Edwards has the better hit tool, holding a .298 career batting average and stealing 58 bases over the past two years. The guy you prefer depends on how the rest of your team shakes out.
Polanco had 26 homers and 30 doubles playing in a pitcher's park in Seattle last season, and he is slated to play first base for the Mets, giving him multi-positional eligibility soon into the season.
