Second base has three of the best players in fantasy at the top of it – including the player I feel is the clear No. 1 overall pick.
But if you don’t grab one of them, fear not – the position is deep this year.
There is something for everyone at the position, and depending on your approach to your draft and your appetite for risk, you can find value up and down the draft board.
As always, when it comes to rankings, tiers are the best way to go, as it allows you to group a set of players together so that you know when you need to take a specific player at a position before that tier runs out.
We’ll take a look at second base ADP based on FantasyPros composite ADP and break them down into tiers for you so you know when to grab the guy you like.
We should note that these tiers are based on a 12-team standard roto league, so adjust accordingly for your league.
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Tier 1: Tier of His Own
For me, Turner is by far the 1.1 in drafts, and he shouldn’t, under any circumstances, fall below the third pick. He has the elite, league-winning speed that you need, and he’s a true five-category stud.
The lineup for the Dodgers will once again be loaded, with Turner hitting atop of it, and his second base eligibility gives you a perfect starting point to your draft that can allow you to pivot throughout.
Tier 2: Just the Two of Us
Having Betts with second base eligibility feels like a cheat code for fantasy managers. Even in a “down” year, Betts was near-elite.
I can’t remember who made the comparison, but someone advocated for taking Albies in the second round instead of Bichette in the first round since you’ll get similar production. It feels like Albies is underappreciated for fantasy, but he should be locked in for top numbers again.
Tier 3: Veteran Presence
There are a lot of intriguing players in this tier. We can start with Semien, who just had a career year in Toronto. He’s not only getting a park downgrade (even with the humidor), but also a massive lineup downgrade. He’ll still be good, but not MVP-level good.
Merrifield doesn’t get his due respect. He’s a great speed source who isn’t a zero across the board. Altuve used to fill that void, but now he’s a good average hitter who can give you 20 homers.
What’s not to like about Lowe and Baez? The end-of-year numbers are always there for them, though there are ups and downs en route to the production throughout the season. I prefer them a lot more in season-long roto leagues.
Marte is one of my favorite players to draft, and he’s at such a discount. Given the value, he’s my favorite player to target in this tier and at the position. He’s easily a Tier 2 player when healthy. Polanco was in that tier last year, too, and there’s nothing about his underlying numbers that suggest you shouldn’t buy into what he did.
Tier 4: Question Marks
- Jazz Chisholm
- Tommy Edman
- Max Muncy
- Jonathan India
- Jake Cronenworth
- DJ LeMahieu
- Chris Taylor
- Gleyber Torres
Chisholm is so exciting and talented. He should be the face of the franchise in Miami, but it’s hard to ignore the second-half numbers and the high variance that comes along with drafting him. He could be an early-round contributor or end up in Triple-A in a couple of months.
Muncy’s recovery from his UCL injury is taking longer than expected, so a delayed start to the season may actually benefit him more than most players.
I was higher than most on India prior to 2021, but I wasn’t expecting a Rookie of the Year season from him. I’m still a fan, but I’m slightly concerned that he could go Cavan Biggio on us with his power profile.
Cronenworth backed up his 2020 performance in 2021. He still feels oddly underrated. After a solid stretch in New York, LeMahieu had a terrible 2021 season, but are we overreacting just a tad? He feels like a good value here.
Taylor is another high-floor player who saw his power rebound in a big way. The Dodgers will play him all over the place daily.
Is it possible that Torres is at a spot where he could actually return value for the first time in his career? He’s living off his 2019 production still, but managers have finally soured on him enough where I’d take the shot at him in a deeper league.
Tier 5: Underrated
2021 is likely to be France’s best season of his career, but he’s a fantastic quality-of-contact option for a corner infielder.
I’m higher on Rodgers than most when it comes to projecting his power and stolen bases. He’ll replace some of Trevor Story‘s production, and the numbers finally started to click for him in 2021.
McMahon seems like a good value for a player who finally wasn’t blocked in 2021 and came through in a big way for a nice power return. Playing half of his games in Coors Field certainly helps.
We’ve been waiting for the Urías breakout, and after looking like it was going to be known as the Trent Grisham trade, Urías evened it up last year with a big breakout season. Can he finally repeat the underlying metrics for a full season?
I’m not an Escobar fan, really, but he provides nice late-round pop in an improved lineup.
We are vastly underrating Wong again for the second straight season. He didn’t run or hit as many home runs as I hoped he would last year, but there is room for improvement in both areas in his profile. He’s a perfect option if you decide to wait at the position.
Segura is boring, but boring is OK. He won’t run like he used to, but he’s an adequate replacement-level starting option.
Tier 6: Alonzo Mourning GIF Tier
- Gavin Lux
- Jonathan Schoop
- Enrique Hernandez
- Jeff McNeil
- Josh Rojas
- Andrés Giménez
- Vidal Bruján
- Joey Wendle
- Ha-Seong Kim
- Abraham Toro
- Nick Senzel
- Robinson Canó
Lux was a 70 FV prospect, and those grades aren’t given out lightly. He had a nice stretch last year and finally put together some of that potential at the big-league level. It’s not his final chance, but we are getting pretty close to it. I’m still in one last time on him.
Rojas, Giménez, and Bruján are all guys I like to take late as middle infield options. Rojas has a nice balanced game and can help across the board. The latter two provide good late-round speed upside and won’t cost you much at all on draft day. Both should return a positive investment.
Wendle and Kim are both players we aren’t really talking about much. Wendle should see regular playing time and is a good middle infield option who has eligibility all over. For Kim, there’s a path for playing time, and he should get a shot at regular plate appearances. He struggled in his first taste of the big leagues, but there’s post-hype appeal here.
Toro, Senzel, and Canó are all players I like to varying degrees, but playing time, health, and age are all red flags that they have. Senzel has the highest upside of the three.
Key Takeaways
- If you have the top pick, go with Turner and don’t overthink it. If you miss on him, Betts and Albies are fantastic fallback plans.
- I make my living in Tiers 3 and Tier 5. Marte and Lowe are two of my favorite targets, and I find myself ending up with them more times than not. If I don’t get them, I typically wait for Rodgers later.
- Tier 4 is a hard pass for me overall. There are too many question marks, and the ones I do like don’t provide enough ceiling to justify taking them there.
- There is a lot of late-round upside at the position, and I find myself filling my middle infield slot with a second-base-eligible player pretty regularly.
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Michael Waterloo is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Michael, check out his archive and follow him @MichaelWaterloo.
