Second Base Check-In: Fantasy Baseball’s Biggest Risers and Fallers So Far

It's time for another fantasy baseball position breakdown. Today, we'll discuss second basemen.

We have looked at third basemen, first basemen and catchers so far. Check back for more position breakdowns in the days/weeks/months to come.

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Top Second Basemen

The No. 1 fantasy second baseman (using ESPN settings) right now is Milwaukee's Brice Turang. He keeps improving every season and has been stellar to kick off the 2026 season. Turang could keep this up all season.

Chicago Cubs' Nico Hoerner is second among fantasy 2B, and just a single fantasy point behind Turang. Hoerner has put up similar numbers to Turang, but strikes out a lot less, which means there's not a lot of negative points for Hoerner.

Miami's Xavier Edwards is third at the position, and just two points behind Turang. Edwards keeps improving with each passing season as well, and he has established himself as one of the top fantasy 2B in the game.

Atlanta's Ozzie Albies is right there with the top-end fantasy 2B as well - he's just four points behind Turang. Albies has been up and down over his career, but has been stellar to start 2026. He's been a sell-high trade candidate in my eyes so far.

The fifth fantasy second baseman right now is Arizona's Ildemaro Vargas. He's also eligible at first base, and he could be eligible at more positions in other leagues, so his fantasy value increases with each spot he's eligible at. Vargas is another sell-high trade candidate with not a ton of success over his big league career.

Underperforming Second Basemen

Arizona's Ketel Marte was the top fantasy second baseman taken on average in drafts this year. Right now, he's sitting outside the top 20 at the position, but a couple strong weeks could get him right back in the mix. He's still been very underwhelming to this point of the season.

New York Yankees' Jazz Chisholm Jr. was the next fantasy second baseman taken this spring. He's barely inside the top-40 fantasy second basemen so far, so he's been a big fantasy disappointment to this point.

Houston's Jose Altuve was the fifth second baseman taken in fantasy drafts this year, yet he sits barely inside the top 15 right now. That's not terrible, but after a great start, Altuve has regressed hard. Now he has work to do to get back to the level of player he was drafted to be.

Minnesota's Luke Keaschall was the seventh fantasy second baseman taken in drafts, but is barely inside the top 20 right now. He has a lot of work to do to not be considered a draft bust for 2026, and has been pretty underwhelming so far.

Detroit's Gleyber Torres was the eighth fantasy second baseman taken, and right now, he's outside the top 25 at the position. He's underwhelmed, and currently is injured, so he's going to have lots of work to do to overcome his slow start to the season.

Position Fantasy Outlook

Second base was considered a pretty tricky fantasy spot to navigate coming into the 2026 season. That's proved true through this point of the season.

I like some of the players at the top of the position, especially Turang, Hoerner and Edwards. Albies is a bigger name, but like I said, I prefer to sell him high as he has inconsistent results over his career. Vargas is definitely a sell-high candidate, with not much success in his past.

Brandon Lowe, JJ Wetherholt, Otto Lopez, Luis Arraez and Brayan Rocchio are other fantasy 2B in the top 10 right now. There's some positives with all those guys, but I wouldn't be surprised if they stuck in the top 10 or completely fell out of it.

Some guys outside the top 10 that I see climbing as the season progresses are Altuve, Keaschall, Marte, Chisholm and others. 

The position has been battered by injuries as well, which has complicated matters. Most fantasy teams are likely looking for a little help at the position, even if they have a top-end option for now.

It's a position to constantly be monitoring, as things are very bunched up right now, and could change quickly. Don't be afraid to target fantasy 2B in trades, as their fantasy values aren't super high right now.

Be watching our waiver wire and drop stories to see which second basemen are trending up and down all season. Hopefully not too many more injuries occur, and some of these 2B can deliver consistently enough for you.