The prospect mavens have been working hard over the past few months here at the TDG offices to bring you some of the best consensuses at least in our opinion rankings of the top and not-so-top prospects in the game that will hopefully give you a leg up on your competition that just looks at the MLB.com rankings (with all due respect of course.) If you`ve been with us for a while you will generally see the same rollout as past years, one week will focus on outfielders, next on shortstops, and so forth.

This year however we decided to break down our rankings into tiers and provide commentary for each tier as a whole with multiple Guru`s chiming in where they see fit. This will provide more than just a single voice to the readers while letting the authors offer their opinions on players they deem worthy enough to write about. Hopefully, it will be a fun, informative read and you will come away with an idea of how a certain player is looked at by the industry.

As always, our rankings are geared towards a 15-team OBP roto league with a three to five-year view on our team.

This week we`ll be looking at the second base base position.

Tier 4

It’s difficult to get excited about this tier, but let’s try anyway. Aranda is at a now-or-never fork in the road. To the left is a major league player and to the right is a Quad-A player. His Triple-A stats from 2023 suggest he is a major league player stuck in an organization that won’t give him ample time to adjust in the big leagues. His triple slash line was an eye-popping .339/.449/.613. He also added 25 home runs and walked almost as many times as he struck out, 64 to 87. If he was on any other team, a long look would be coming in his age 26 season, unfortunately for him, he is on the Rays and it’s anyone’s guess as to what they will do (Brian Labude).

This might be my tier to avoid in general. Many players here are seeing a drop in their value or are having a rough time carving out at-bats in the major leagues. One player that might have gotten a boost is Joey Ortiz. He should see more playing time in Milwaukee than in Baltimore, so it is his time to show what he can do for fantasy teams (Daniel Labude).

Mac Horvath is a great name to choose if you find yourself needing to grab from this tier. While considered raw even as a college bat, the O’s are a great organization to unlock his full potential. If he can improve his bat-to-ball skills, we have the makings of a 5 category fantasy player with likely multi-positional eligibility. Additionally, Cristofer Torin could be a name that climbs quickly this year. He’s a hit-first bat with a wiry frame with space for some muscle as he progresses. He’s not as toolsy as I typically look for, but having this much barrel control early will allow him to unlock more game power as he fills out. (Chris Knock)

Tier 5

If I told you that you could be shopping in Tier 5 and come across a second baseman who, between High-A and Double-A last year had a .265/.352/.424 slash line with 16 home runs and 12 stolen bases, would you stop and take a second look?  I thought so, feel free to pick up Tanner Schobel at a discount and thank me later. (Drew Klein)

If we are dumpster diving this deep and find Masyn Winn, count your lucky stars and hold on to him tight. He might not stuff the stat sheet, but he should be good enough as a 15 home run and 15 stolen base type (Brian Labude).

Tommy Troy is the name to watch in this tier. He might move a little slower than some FYPD players, but he has talent and might be a steal in this range (Daniel Labude).

Did you know the ‘22 LIDOM MVP was our number 4 second base prospect this year (Ronny Mauricio)? Did you know the reigning ‘23 LIDOM MVP is our 48th second base prospect this year!?  This is a great price for someone who just might be unlocking some unidentified raw power (but still only league average at best). Simon will likely open in Triple-A but will get his shot at some point later in the season. He’s a contact hitter with some speed as well, so it’s not out of the world to expect a 15/15 prime season from him in the near future. The Rays infield rotation may limit that opportunity, so I wouldn’t be aggressive in getting him if you have 300 or fewer prospects rostered. In those leagues, he’s just a watchlist name, but make sure your eyes are on him! (Chris Knock)