Second Base 2025 Fantasy Rankings

As D’Angelo Barksdale famously said in Season One of The Wire; “The King stay the King”. Despite missing some time in 2024, Mookie Betts’s reign atop the 2B position (on sites where he still qualifies) is secure for another season.

After a healthy season where Jose Altuve once again eclipsed the 20/20 plateau and flirted with .300, Altuve remains among the safest options at the keystone.

Ketel Marte is coming off a career year where he exceeded all expectations, and is now on the wrong side of 30. Considering his relative inconsistency year-to-year, we should probably expect a touch of regression coming in 2024.

Ozzie Albies is fresh off of an injury riddled season, and because of that he is available for a slight discount that early drafters should be pouncing on.

For the first time in a long time, Marcus Semien was a fantasy disappointment in 2024. However, the market has over corrected on his value, and he’s now available close to pick 100 in a given room. Seems like great value for someone who is almost a lock to play 155+ games.

After a semi-breakout in 2024, Jordan Westburg is primed to take another step forward as a key part of a budding Orioles’ lineup.

Luis García Jr. was quietly pretty great, putting together 18 HR/22 SB/.282. Expect him to repeat those numbers with a boost in counting stats, as the Nats prepare to take another step forward in 2025

Brice Turang stole 50 bases in 2024, but struggled down the stretch and didn’t have a ton of value in the other categories. He’s fine, considering the positional scarcity, but more a SB specialist than a well rounded fantasy asset

Spencer Steer has set a production baseline over the last two seasons, with his batting average being the main wild card. He’s a solid mid-round option, especially considering the triple eligibility on a lot of sites.

Jonathan India’s power will take a hit in KC, but the overall park factors are about equal between GABP and Kauffman. Look for India to lead off and potentially have a career year without PT restrictions.

Xander Bogaerts had his season derailed to some degree by a shoulder injury, but he hit .292 with 7 HR and 9 SB in the second half of the season. A bounceback looks likely to be on the horizon.

After missing all of 2024, it’s hard to say exactly what Matt McLain will look like, but he showed us in 2023 that he is capable of a Top 5 finish at the position of things break right.

An offseason surgery may delay the start of his season, but Nico Hoerner is still a safe pick from the standpoint of batting average and stolen bases. He’s falling in drafts, and it makes sense to buy any extreme dips you are seeing.

Brandon Lowe is a great per-game fantasy asset, but injury problems and trouble against LHP have been problems for several season. He’s a nice punt option at the position, but not a massive target in most cases

Ceddanne Rafaela was great from a fantasy POV as a rookie. He won’t have 2B eligibility on a lot of sites, but he should definitely be used there on the platforms where he does (*cough, cough, Yahoo).

Bryson Stott came back to earth after a monster 2023 campaign. However, he still should be good for ~ 12 HR and 30 SB in a great lineup and shouldn’t be ignored either.

After a brief initial struggle, Colt Keith proved to be one of the better 2B pickups/late draft picks of the 2025 season. As the Tigers continue to improve around him, this could be an exciting year to roster the 23 year old.

There’s no two ways about it, Jackson Holliday was hot trash in 2024 during both of his major league stings. That doesn’t mean we give up on a 20 year old generational prospect, though. He’ll likely start the year with an everyday role in Baltimore, and need to prove that he belongs

While Zack Gelof didn’t live up to the lofty expectations he had coming into the year, Gelof was still solid with his 17 HR/25 SB contributions. He could benefit greatly from playing in a PCL park in 2025.

Gleyber Torres may have been awful in 2024, but he did hit .292 with seven second half home runs. The right landing spot could lead to a nice bounceback opportunity )

Known as the Swiss Army knife of fantasy baseball, Luis Rengifo should be able to repeat mostly repeat his 2024 performance. A great mid-late round option to fill your MI/CI/bench spots.

A surprising 2024 breakout, Nick Gonzales had the potential to be a five-category contributor this coming season, but he’s being drafted as an afterthought.

Andrés Giménez has been on a three year decline and without a sure-thing lineup behind him, he’s a scary investment considering the price is still a bit high. 12/16 Update: The trade to Toronto isnt a great one for his fantasy value. Gimenez has stolen 30 bases in two consecutive seasons, but Toronto doesnt utuilze speed on the basepaths much as an organization. (Cleveland stole 148 bases in 2024, Toronto stole just 72. They ranked 5th and 27th, respectively)

Batting average. That’s what you get from Luis Arraez. Nothing more, and nothing less. If you have a power-heavy build that ignores batting average in the early rounds, you can compensate for that fairly well by selecting Arraez. But don’t expect literally anything else from him.

Jeff McNeil’s going to play everyday, and at this stage of the rankings that’s all it takes. Look for a rebound in batting average (his main asset) following a career worst .256 BABIP in 2024.

One of the biggest breakouts of the 2024 stretch run, Tyler Fitzgerald is one of the latest players available by ADP that is projected for a 20/20 season in 2024. He could be a big riser up this list over the next few months.

Willi Castro was a great utility asset for the Twins and fantasy managers alike in 2024, and I expect him to fulfill essentially the same role this season.

José Caballero is another player that specifically should be drafted if your speed in the early rounds is lacking. He is also a non-zero power asset that could end up playing more than early projections suggest.

After an eternity in the Blue Jays’ system, Spencer Horwitz bust onto the major league scene with a 127 wRC+. He should play most days in Toronto, and will likely be a riser on this list throughout the winter months. 12/16 Update: he was dealt to the Pirates, where he is expected to play most days as the strong side of the 1B platoon. PNC park is quietly a very friendly park for LHH as well, ranking 4th in overall park factor over the past three seasons.

Jake Cronenworth is a boring, placeholder type of name that likely won’t find his way into your lineup unless it’s a deep league, or you get killed by the injury bug.

Christopher Morel is a troubling player to evaluate, but it’s a good bet to think that the Rays’ player development will be able to get the most out of his unique profile. He could easily end up as a 25/20 bat, but the batting average will likely still be a flaw.

Maikel Garcia was downright bad from a real life perspective, but he did have some fantasy juice with his 84 runs and 34 stolen bases. However, it seems unlikely that he’s at the top of the lineup again and he’s more suited as a depth piece in 2025.

Brendan Donovan is a solid utility option that likely won’t be a massive asset in any category expect for batting average, but he won’t hurt you anywhere either (especially with triple-eligibile on some sites).

Excellent defence and fairly solid plate skills could have Joey Ortiz moving up a tier or two, but his lack of power and inefficiency on the basepaths is a bit of a concern. 12/16 Update: He gets a slight bump with Willy Adames leaving town, which should secure him more PT and potentially move him up the lineup as well.

The bottom fell out from under Thairo Estrada, and he enters free agency with no guarantee or a starting role in 2025. He could easily bounce back, but there isn’t a lot in the data right now to suggest that it’s likely. 12/16 Update: He signed in Colorado, which is obviously a fantastic destination. He gets a bump as he should have an everyday role, something that was more up in the air when these initial rankings were released

Connor Norby looked excellent after his trade to Miami, but still struggled mightily in the strikeout department. More of an option in very deep/NL Only leagues

The overall prowess of Otto Lopez as a hitter leaves something to be desired, but he should play a lot in Miami and could end up stealing 25+ bases with a decent average

It all comes down to the playing time for David Hamilton. He was great when he played, but Boston had no trouble sitting him either, and those PT questions keep him farther down this list than he probably should be

Gavin Lux looked as good as he ever had down the stretch of the 2024 season, but it looks like he won’t have a spot to play regularly considering Tommy Edman was brought back and Mookie Betts is likely to play in the infield

Brendan Rodgers was better than you probably think (13 HR, .721 OPS) considering he was non-tendered, but it’s a huge question whether or not he’ll be able to repeat that outside of Coors Field.