by The MLB offseason has kicked off in full swing with free agency and the Rule 5 draft, so I thought it was time to take stock of what happened in 2024 and see what lessons we can learn for 2025. To do this, we will go position by position to break down the overall landscape and help find the best pockets of value.
Like last year, when I wrote my State of the Union for each positionI will look at the value produced in 2024 by regular starters at each position to see where the most value from each position comes from and identify areas of strength we can target in our plans and areas of weakness we can try . and avoid. Last year, much of my analysis was based on the impact of new rule changes. So this year we’ll just look at the overall landscape and see what’s been postponed.
Table of contents
We started with first base last week and will move to second base today. To get a quick idea of the position, I looked at how many second basemen made $10 according to the Fangraphs Player Rater.
Well, it’s certainly not a lot of second basemen bringing back double-digit fantasy value. Only two of those players have even produced more than $12 in value and there have been 65 total hitters who have produced at least $12 in fantasy value this season. That means little high-end talent comes from second base.
Now, some of this was due to injuries to Ozzie Albies, Jordan Westburg, and Only four players at the position have returned double-digit value on the FanGraphs Player Rater in consecutive 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 probably would have gotten there without injuries, I’ll grant you that, but that means only six players have produced at least $10 of fantasy value in consecutive seasons . . That’s not solid, consistent production we can count on at this position.
Right off the bat, I’d say we’ll have to jump into the top of the talent pool at the second base position or just wait until the much later rounds of our drafts, and I would strongly prefer to jump into the top. end of the talent pool.
Breakdown of categories
We will now see what value the second base position brings in each standard category of a Roto 5×5 league. I sorted through players who accumulated 300 plate appearances and looked to see if there was a significant change in the standard 5×5 offensive categories (batting average, home runs, runs, RBIs, and steals). I did this for 2022 and 2023 last year, so we’ll compare those numbers and then look at WHAT changed, WHY it might have happened, and HOW it should impact our draft plan for 2025.
Batting average
Well, it’s nice to see that number staying consistent because, as you’ll see, not much else looks great at the second base position. However, this is still a place where you can find a solid batting average for your offense. In 2024, six qualifying second basemen hit .280 or better, and 11 of them averaged .270 or better, so there’s no reason to field a team that doesn’t have a player second baseman that will at least help support increasing your batting average.
Now, 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 points produced, so you’re not many players at this position who contribute in many categories, but we can talk more about that in the following sections.
As you might 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. has emerged on the scene as a .280 hitter this season and Luis Rengifo enjoyed a mini breakout when healthy, which could add two more batting average assets in years to come.
Home runs
It’s no surprise that we don’t get much power from second base, but it’s worth noting that the number of players at the position with at least 20 big flies has been cut in half this season. Three of the hitters who eclipsed that mark (Ketel Marte, Brandon Lowe and Marcus Semien) all hit 20 homers last year and Jose Altuve probably would have done it if he hadn’t been injured in 2023, which means that high-end power assets at second base tend to be the same over the past 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 cross that plateau in 2025 if they can stay healthy and build this year. However, if you’re trying to get consistent production in four or five categories from this position, you’ll need to hit early, and if you get to a point in your draft where you’re hurting for power, you’re not going to find lots of help at second base.
RBI
Yet another category where second base lags behind the pack. Ketel Marte led the group in 2024 with 95 RBIs, and Jake Cronenworth also topped 70 with ease, but all of Marcus Semien, Brendan Donovan and Luis Garcia Jr. barely snuck by. The injury to Ozzie Albies and the loss of Mookie Betts from the second base pool has taken some of the high-end RBI production out of this group, but the silver lining is that Albies will be fully healthy by 2025 and Betts is brought back to the field full time, so he can once again regain eligibility at second base.
The lack of RBI production at second base shouldn’t be a major shock to anyone since very few second basemen hit in the middle of the batting order. However, it is important to see how few players will actually help you in this category. If you’re looking for an advantage, you’ll want to jump on one of the first second basemen.
Works
This is a major disappointment for me. We know the second basemen won’t provide much power or RBI production, but that means we have to at least rely on them for batting average and runs. Losing so many high-end performers in runs scored further illustrates the weakness of the second base position.
Even in a down year, Marcus Semien scored over 100 points in 2024 and remains the most consistent scorer at the position. Jose Altuve and Ketel Marte also regularly push 90 runs scored while 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 toying with his spot in the lineup. batting order. . Gleyber Torres and Jonathan India were the only other players to reach the 70 mark in consecutive seasons, so we see the same few names popping up in almost all of these category discussions.
Stolen Bases
We haven’t seen a decline here in 2024, so that’s at least good news. We also asked five second basemen to swipe at least 30 sacks in 2024, after four did so in 2023, and many of those names are repeaters. Nico Hoerner led the post in 2023 and had 31 goals in 2024. Andres Gimenez has had back-to-back seasons with at least 30 interceptions despite some decline in his power production, while Bryson Stott has scored 30 over the consecutive years and Brice. Turang has 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 you can get strong stolen base production here. Additionally, five guys have stolen at least 20 bases while hitting .270 or better, meaning there are options for a solid batting average and speed at second base if you land 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 in this group that should simply be considered a MIF target.
Key takeaways
My biggest takeaway is that second base looks incredibly weak heading into 2025. There isn’t really a true five-category contributor at second base, and most of the top guys are just guys from three categories while a rare few can push four categories. if we get their best season. While this may give you the impression that the game is all about waiting for the second basemen, I recommend against this.
We see the same names at the top of these category lists (Altuve, Marte, Hoerner, Semien, etc.), and even though there is no name, I think you NEED to go look for it, which After them there 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 group 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 best producing players in multiple categories (full rankings below), I have I feel like I’m going to struggle. simply choose a player who meets one or two needs on my roster.
Off-season scenarios
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How healthy will Jose Altuve, Ozzie Albies and Xander Bogaerts be by spring?
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Will the Dodgers bring 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 replaced with a full-time position?
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What’s happening 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 make major strides?
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Does Kristian Campbell have a chance to start in Boston?
Top 15 Fantasy Second Basemen for 2025
JUST NOTE THAT MOOKIE BETTS DOES NOT HAVE 2B ELIGIBILITY IN ALL TYPES OF LEAGUE, 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 favorite 2B targets knowing that Turang is excellent 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 Giménez – Clevaland Goalkeepers
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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
