The MLB offseason has kicked into full gear with free agency and the Rule 5 draft, so I felt like it was time to take stock of what happened in 2024 and see what lessons we can learn for 2025. In order to do that, we’re going to go position by position to break down the overall landscape and help find the best pockets of value.
Similar to last year, when I wrote my State of the Union for each position, I’m going to look at the value produced in 2024 by regular starters at each position to see where the most value is coming from each position and identify areas of strength that we can target in our drafts and areas of weakness that we can try and avoid. Last year, much of my analysis was based on the impact of the new rule changes, so this year we’ll just look at the overall landscape and see how much carried over.
Table of Contents
We started with first base last week and will move on to second base today. To get a quick sense of the position, I looked at how many second basemen earned $10 in value according to the Fangraphs Player Rater.
Well, that’s certainly not a lot of players at the second base position who are bringing back double-digit fantasy value. Only two of those players even produced over $12 of value and there were 65 hitters overall who produced at least $12 of fantasy value this season. That means that not a lot of high-end talent is coming from the second base spot.
Now, some of that had to do with injuries to Ozzie Albies, Jordan Westburg, and Xander Bogaerts and production fall-off from Gleyber Torres, but this immediately feels like a really weak spot in our fantasy lineups. Only four players at the position have returned double-digit value on the FanGraphs Player Rater in back-to-back seasons: Ketel Marte, Marcus Semien, Nico Hoerner, and Luis Arraez. Now if you wanted to say that Albies in 2024 and Jose Altuve in 2023 likely would have gotten there without injuries, I’ll grant you that, but that means only six players produced at least $10 of fantasy value in back-to-back seasons. That’s not a lot of consistently strong production we can rely on at this position.
Right off the bat, I’d say we’ll need to jump on the high end of the talent pool at the second base position or simply wait until the much later rounds in our drafts, and I’d strongly favor jumping on the high end of the talent pool.
Category Breakdown
Now we’ll see what value the second base position provided in each standard category in a Roto 5×5 league. I sorted by players who accumulated 300 plate appearances and looked to see if there was any meaningful change in the standard 5×5 offensive categories (batting average, home runs, runs, RBI, and steals). I did this for 2022 and 2023 last year, so we’ll compare those numbers and then dive into WHAT changed, WHY it may have happened, and HOW it should impact our 2025 draft plan.
Batting Average
Well, it’s nice to see this number stay consistent because, as you’ll see, not much else looks great at the second base position. However, it remains a place where you can find a solid batting average floor for your offense. In 2024, six qualified second basemen hit .280 or better, and 11 of them put up a .270 average or better, so there is no reason to field a team that doesn’t have a second baseman who will at least help to prop up your batting average.
Now, out of those 11 second basemen who hit .270, only four had double-digit home runs, only six had double-digit steals, only four scored more than 65 runs, and only three had more than 65 RBI, so you’re not getting many players at the position who are contributing across many categories, but we can talk more about that in the later sections.
As you can imagine, the best batting average asset at second base is Luis Arraez, but Jose Altuve and Ketel Marte also continue to post high-end batting average value while Luis Garcia Jr. emerged on the scene as a .280 hitter this season and Luis Rengifo enjoyed a mini breakout when he was healthy which could add two more solid batting average assets in the years to come.
Home Runs
It’s not surprising that we’re not getting a lot of power production from the second base spot, but it is worth noting that the number of players at the position with at least 20 big flies was cut in half this season. Three of the hitters who did eclipse that mark (Ketel Marte, Brandon Lowe, and Marcus Semien) all hit 20 home runs last year and Jose Altuve likely would have had he not been hurt in 2023, which means the high-end power assets at second base tend to be the same guys over the last couple of years.
Luis Garcia Jr., Jordan Westburg, Gleyber Torres, and Zack Gelof all came close to 20 home runs in 2024 and would certainly be candidates to get over that plateau in 2025 if they can stay healthy and build off this year. However, if you’re trying to get consistent four or five category production out of this position, you’re going to need to strike early, and if you get to a spot in your draft where you’re hurting for power, you’re not going to find much help at second base.
RBI
Yet another category where second base lags behind the pack. Ketel Marte led the group in 2024 with 95 RBI, and Jake Cronenworth also topped 70 with ease, but all of Marcus Semien, Brendan Donovan, and Luis Garcia Jr. barely snuck in. The injury to Ozzie Albies and the loss of Mookie Betts from the second base pool took some of the top-end RBI production out of this group, but the plus side is that Albies will be fully healthy heading into 2025 and Betts is being moved back to the infield full-time, so he could pick up second base eligibility again.
The lack of RBI production at second base shouldn’t be a major shock to anybody since very few second basemen are hitting in the middle of the batting order. However, it’s important to see just how few players will really help you in that category. If you’re looking for an edge, you’re going to need to jump on one of the early second basemen.
Runs
This is a major letdown for me. We know second basemen aren’t going to provide much power or RBI production, but that means we need to at least count on them for batting average and runs. Losing so many high-end performers in runs scored just further exemplifies the weakness at the second base position.
Even in a down year, Marcus Semien scored over 100 runs in 2024 and remains the most consistent run-scorer at the position. Jose Altuve and Ketel Marte also regularly push 90 runs scored by hitting near the top of strong lineups, and this is the second year in a run that Nico Hoerner has scored at least 85 runs despite the Cubs messing around with his spot in the batting order. Gleyber Torres and Jonathan India were the only other players to hit the 70 mark in back-to-back seasons, so we’re seeing the same few names pop up in almost all of these category discussions.
Stolen Bases
We didn’t have a decline here in 2024 so at least that’s good news. We also had five second basemen swipe at least 30 bags in 2024 after four did it in 2023, and many of the names are repeaters. Nico Hoerner led the position in 2023 and swiped 31 bases in 2024. Andres Gimenez has back-to-back seasons with at least 30 steals despite some dip in his power production, while Bryson Stott swiped 30 in back-to-back years and Brice Turang put up 50 this season after stealing 26 bases in limited playing time in 2023.
With 10 total second basemen stealing at least 20 bases, it’s clear that you can get some strong stolen base production here. Also, five guys stole at least 20 bases while hitting .270 or better which means there are some options for a solid batting average and speed at second base if you land on the right player. Those five guys were: Jose Altuve, Luis Garcia Jr., Luis Rengifo, Nico Hoerner, and Otto Lopez, who is probably the only name out of that group who should just be considered a MIF target.
Key Takeaways
The biggest takeaway for me is that second base feels incredibly weak heading into 2025. There isn’t really a true five-category contributor at second base, and most of the top guys are only three category guys while a rare few may push four categories if we get their best season. While that might make you feel like the play is to wait on second basemen, I would advise against that.
We see the same names at the top of these category lists (Altuve, Marte, Hoerner, Semien, etc.), and even if there isn’t a name I feel you MUST go out and get, what’s after them is a huge “glob” of players who contribute in maybe two categories. In my opinion, you don’t want your starting second baseman to come from that second glob of players. I don’t think you need to be the first player to draft a second baseman, but if I don’t get one of the top-tier players producing across multiple categories (full rankings below) then I feel like I’ll be scrambling to simply choose a player who fills one or two needs that my roster has.
Offseason Storylines
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How healthy will Jose Altuve, Ozzie Albies, and Xander Bogaerts be by spring?
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Will the Dodgers move Mookie Betts back to 2B?
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Where will Gleyber Torres and Brendan Rodgers sign?
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Will the Cubs trade Nico Hoerner?
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Will Willi Castro be traded into a full-time role?
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What happens to Jonathan India’s value in Kansas City?
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Is Matt McLain the full-time 2B in Cincinnati?
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Can Colt Keith and Jackson Holliday take major steps forward?
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Does Kristian Campbell have a shot to start in Boston?
Top 15 Fantasy Second Basemen for 2025
JUST A NOTE THAT MOOKIE BETTS DOES NOT HAVE 2B ELIGIBILITY IN ALL LEAGUE TYPES, BUT HE WOULD BE NUMBER ONE IF HE DOES IN YOUR LEAGUE.
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Ketel Marte – Arizona Diamondbacks
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Ozzie Albies – Atlanta Braves
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Jose Altuve – Houston Astros
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Marcus Semien – Texas Rangers
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Nico Hoerner – Chicago Cubs
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Jordan Westburg – Baltimore Orioles (This ends my preferred 2B targets with the knowledge that Turang is great for speed and Arraez for average)
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Brice Turang – Milwaukee Brewers
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Luis Arraez – San Diego Padres
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Luis Garcia Jr. – Washington Nationals
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Andres Gimenez – Clevaland Guardians
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Jonathan India – Kansas City Royals
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Gleyber Torres – Free Agent
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Bryson Stott – Philadelphia Phillies
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Matt McLain – Cincinnati Reds
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Xander Bogaerts – San Diego Padres
