Today we discuss the #11 – #30 second basemen, as ranked by the Illustrious Band of Baseball Gurus.

#11 – #20

This group is…interesting. Interesting good? You ask, or interesting bad? It’s the latter, sadly. I just finished writing up the #31-40 second baseman, and I’d rather have that group at the present value. Every guy in this grouping has warts, and not the good luck kind (is there a good luck kind?). Let’s start with Tigers’ Colt Keith. Interestingly he may lose 2B eligibility as the Tigers are talking of moving him to first (poor Spencer Torkelson), where his 25+ home run power potential and little speed would fit the 1B profile. He doesn’t have to worry about being platooned, and should provide a solid slash line as well.

The Phillies’ Bryson Stott has been about average since his debut three seasons ago; 10-15 homers, 30ish steals plays in almost all leagues. Something interesting about Stott is how much better his strikeout rates have been at the big league level (16.8%) compared to his minor league rate of 22%. He also is in danger of a platoon and hits at the bottom of the lineup, bad for Runs + RBI. The Cubs Nico Hoerner brings speed and a solid OBP (career .338 over his career thus far) but little power; right arm flexor tendon surgery has him on the shelf this off-season, but they say it’s a throwing injury, so hopefully doesn’t affect him too much. Its not interesting that Luis Arráez only brings Avg/OBP to the table; it’s interesting that he continues to be ranked this high, though for astute managers, especially in deep roto leagues, Arráez can have a greater impact.

The Brewers’ Brice Turang shot out of a cannon in 2024, stealing 30 bases before the all-star break. Alas, it was an unsuccessful post all-star break. Much of his value will come from steals, and it would be even better if he can move up to the leadoff or 2-spot in the lineup to accumulate some more runs. Zach Gelof tantalizes us with his 20/20 potential; interestingly enough, although he had a “bad” 2025, Gelof still hit 17 homers and stole 25 bases. A strikeout rate of 34.4% (ouch!) and OBP of .270 (Double ouch!) in 2024 really dampened his outlook; if Gelof can get back to his 2023 debut and minor league averages, he’ll be quite the value at our ranking.

Newest Blue Jay Andrés Giménez brings great defense north of the border, but that doesn’t help our offensive game. Two straight 30 steal seasons, but Giménez doesn’t walk, so he drops in our rankings, which are based on OBP. Also, a lot of guys are stealing 30+ bases and Giménez may see an uptick in Runs+RBI in a better in an (arguable) better lineup in 2025. Giménez is only 25, and his defense, long contract (he’s signed through 2029) should give him plenty of opportunity, but its looking like his 2022 season was an outlier.

Xander Bogaerts has a very clear, outlier season, and that would be 2019. At age 26, his hitting line was: 110/33/117/4 with a .384 OBP and a .939 OPS! His stats had climbed and climbed, and we had a new peak, which, based on his age, was his new floor (or so we incorrectly assumed). He never got close to those #s again (except steals, where he’s been 13+ the last two seasons). Last season truly was Bogaerts’ floor; his first season in almost a decade with a wRC+ below 119; it was 95 last year. He’s moving back to shortstop this year, so may not keep his 2B eligibility next season.

It took the Angels’ Luis Rengifo a long time to join the fantasy relevancy ranks after making his debut in 2019, but he did, and now is an interesting player to consider. More than likely his current managers value him more than they should, as he was a great add last year in many formats (and the smartest of managers added him at the end of 2023). Even though he only had a 5.3% walk rate in 2024, his OBP was .347. Entering his prime at age 27, there may be a 20/20 season yet, let’s just hope for good health (his 2023 season ended with a ruptured biceps tendon and his was on the IL multiple times in 2024 with a right wrist injury).

When taking a high-level view of prospects, and when you’re looking at so much data, one stat that helps to parse is wRC, or Weighted Runs Created (wRC) “is an improved version of Bill James’ Runs Created (RC) statistic, which attempted to quantify a player’s total offensive value and measure it by runs. (credit fangraphs.com)” 100 is average, and when I see a minors player with a wRC+ way over 100 every stop, that makes me take notice, and dive deeper. The Tigers’ Kevin McGonigle is one of those guys. Also, his career minor league OBP is over .400. A hamate bone fracture in his right hand ended his 2024 season, but continued success as he climbs the system should put him on all Dynasty manager’s radars.

(Phil Barrington)

#21 – #30

Connor Norby is a favorite topic of the staff at TDG.  He’s been picked as a 2025 Breakout Hitter, and had a favorable blurb in our Top Dynasty Third Base rankings. Please read those articles. He’ll get plenty of runway with the Marlins to make adjustments and work through any struggles. The Marlins played Norby at second base in only three of his 33 games in 2025. Third base seems like his future. The articles go into further detail, but I believe he can be a very solid third baseman.

Brandon Lowe is always a favorite of mine to grab cheaply as my extra second-baseman. He has a massive injury history and has only played two full seasons since his debut in 2018. I don’t think Lowe is sad that Tropicana Field blew away in the hurricane this fall. He goes from one of the worst parks for left-handed batters to a humid, warm-weather Yankee Stadium clone in 2025. When you acquire him, you go into it knowing he will probably have a stretch on the injured list. I also know that when he is in the lineup, Lowe will produce some great power numbers during that stretch.

The Toronto Blue Jays promoted Orelvis Martinez on June 26th last season to make his Major League debut. He had a successful game, starting at second base and registering a single in three plate appearances. His Major League drug testing debut was less successful, testing positive for steroids which resulted in an 80-game suspension. In Triple-A he registered excellent exit velocities, including a 90th percentile EV of 107.3 miles per hour. The Blue Jays acquired Andrés Giménez this offseason, effectively blocking Martinez’s clear path to a starting second base job. I expect that he will start 2025 in Triple-A to make up lost time.

If I had a dollar for every “safe” NCAA or high school hit-tool that couldn’t actually hit professional pitching over the years, I could buy a government. It is a large and mostly forgotten group of players. Termarr Johnson was labeled similarly when the Pittsburgh Pirates drafted him 4th overall in 2022. However, I do not actually believe he fits into this group of players who can’t hit. He has started both of his full professional seasons in leagues of players a full two years older than him on average. In both seasons he has also been promoted to finish a season against even older and more advanced competition. With that context, Johnson has held his own. He walks nearly as often as he strikes out, and his isolated power numbers are good as well. I don’t think that he is going to be the elite hitter that the Pirates were hoping to get. I do see a three-true-outcomes hitter who can run and can be a very good option in on-base percentage leagues.

Adael Amador had a rough 2024 season. He was excellent at High-A Spokane in 2023, posting a .302/.392/.514 slash line. He started 2024 at Double-A Hartford but struggled to a .230/.343/.376 slash. The Rockies seem to have cleared a path for Amador, having non-tendered Brendon Rodgers this offseason. There is no obvious replacement, and Amador is on the 40-man roster already after making his debut last season. He represents a good buy-low option given his numbers. I like that he still showed some punch, hitting almost a third of his hits for extra bases. Amador registered an excellent chase rate in the minors. Amador had an excellent 84% zone contact rate and struck out under 20% of the time. The worst thing I see in Amador’s professional numbers is a whopping 26% of his flyballs are infield flies for his entire minor league career. Even in his strong 2023 season it was over 25%. To put that number into context, this table is from FanGraphs:

Amador has a higher line-drive rate, a higher flyball rate, and a lower ground ball rate for his career. I have seen suggestions that Amador’s forgettable 2024 season was a result of poor batted ball luck. Given how many of his batted fly balls are popups over 1500 plate appearances, I can’t agree with that. It will be interesting to see if the Rockies’ Major League coaching staff can get this tendency reined in, because if they can Amador can be a top-tier offensive second baseman in Colorado.

As minor league players move up and down (usually down) the defensive spectrum, there is a lot of positional ranking overlap. Luke Keaschall and Ronny Mauricio are examples who showed up in other positional rankings. You can find a short Mauricio blurb with the third-basemen group linked above. I am concerned about what a lost season will do to him, and the emergence of Mark Vientos blocks one Major League defensive position. Mauricio mostly played second base during his brief call-up in 2023 with the Mets, and I expect him to compete for that role in 2025. I wrote a lengthy blurb about Keaschall in our Top 100 Dynasty Outfield Prospects list.

After an excellent rookie campaign in 2021, Jonathan India has been a roughly average offensive player. He was traded to the Royals this offseason, and figures to see time at several positions in 2025. India might be more interesting in fantasy as a secondary player if he can become eligible at several positions while accumulating 500+ plate appearances. Great American Ballpark is considered a great hitter’s park, but Kauffman Stadium actually plays better for players who don’t hit many homers, per Statcast. The move to Kansas City should aid India rather than hinder.

I’m pretty sure the Angels have promoted Christian Moore again since I started typing this sentence. They have a recent history of drafting college bats early and rocketing them through the minors. Moore was the 8th overall pick in 2024 out of the University of Tennessee. The Angels didn’t waste any time and got him to Double-A Rocket City after only two games in Low-A ball. In 23 games he slashed .322/.378/.533. It’s always better to produce than not produce, but the underlying numbers in this small 23-game sample give pause. He struck out 30% of the time and had a zone-contact rate of only 64%. He chased almost 40% of the time. Moore is trading high right now, and this analysis is drawn from a minute sampling of data. Even given the small sample, the conflict between production and the underlying numbers is still large enough that I recommend an extended look next season before making a big investment.

I’m really not sure what Gleyber Torres and his agent were thinking. Torres signed a 1-year deal this offseason to go from Yankee Stadium to Comerica Park in 2025. I understand it can make sense to take a “pillow contract” to prove he is worth a long-term commitment. Agreeing to take that contract to play in one of the worst possible home parks for your batted-ball profile is criminal. Torres hit 15 home runs in 2024. Had he hit every single batted ball in 2024 in Yankee Stadium, he could have expected to hit 17 per Statcast. Had he hit those balls in Comerica, he hits nine home runs. Maybe he can make an adjustment and be successful in Detroit. I’m a skeptic and plan to stay away this year.

(Brandon Ring)