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Jeremy's second base (2B) fantasy baseball draft sleepers, discounted value picks to outperform their ADPs. Target these upside second basemen in later rounds.
Second base is one of the shallowest positions for elite talent, with Ketel Marte as the only player going within the first 30 picks. Jose Altuve, Ozzie Albies, Marcus Semien, Jordan Westburg, and Matt McLain round out the other higher-end options who are being drafted in the first eight rounds.
However, the position makes up for its superstar scarcity by providing a large range of useful options later in the draft. Any of the top 20 second basemen could realistically finish in the top 12 at the position, and all of them have at least some sleeper appeal.
If you do end up waiting to fill your second base spot, here are three players that could outperform their ADP in 2025.
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Brandon Lowe, Tampa Bay Rays
ADP: 222
Brandon Lowe was productive when healthy in 2024, batting .244 with 21 home runs, 58 RBI, and 56 runs in 107 games. Despite missing over 50 games of the year, he still managed to slug the third-most homers at the position.
This shouldn't come as a surprise, as Lowe has consistently been one of the best power-hitting middle infielders in the game throughout his career. He hit 21 home runs in 109 games in 2023 and hit 39 when he was able to play a full season in 2021.
While 109 games have been the most he's played in a season since his 39-homer breakout, he still looks like that exact same player. That type of power wouldn't just make him an elite second baseman in fantasy but an elite player in general. He's gotten right back to it this spring, hitting three homers in 30 plate appearances so far.
Brandon Lowe has homered in 3 straight games❗️
— Jake (@TBRaysCentral) March 13, 2025
If that's not enough of a reason to draft him, he is also getting a park upgrade. Yes, he's still on the Rays, but Tropicana Field is no longer their home due to the damage it sustained from Hurricane Milton. Instead, they'll be playing at George M. Steinbrenner Field, a spring training ballpark for the New York Yankees. Like many teams do with their spring ballparks, it's a replica of its major league counterpart, Yankee Stadium. As a left-handed hitter, Lowe will be able to take full advantage of the short porch in right field that measures just 314 feet away from home plate.
The slugger's 12.4 percent barrel rate (84th percentile) and 39.6 percent sweet spot rate (94th percentile) should be sending plenty of balls flying out of his new park. Even if he gets injured again, the per-game production he will provide while healthy will easily pay off his 222 ADP. He is a clear top-10 option at the position when he's on the field, but is being drafted as the 19th second baseman off the board.
Kristian Campbell, 2B, Boston Red Sox
ADP: 293
Kristian Campbell broke out in a big way in 2024, slashing .330/.439/.558 with 20 home runs, 77 RBI, 94 runs, and 24 stolen bases in 115 games in the minor leagues. He is coming into 2025 ranked as the 7th best prospect according to MLB.com.
It looked for a time that he would be blocked from playing time after the Red Sox signed Alex Bregman. However, Rafael Devers hasn't played third base for all of Spring Training, and all signs point to him being the everyday DH, with Bregman at third. This leaves an opening for Campbell at second base, who is the favorite to land the starting job over David Hamilton.
Kristian Campbell is showing out today!
What a swim move to avoid the tag at second base 🏊 pic.twitter.com/o4mXxV2GvM
— MLB (@MLB) March 17, 2025
He has shown flashes of his talent this spring, combining plus power and speed. Not only did he showcase his dual power and speed threats last season, but he also put up an excellent 14.3 percent walk rate. He has all the tools to be a top-end fantasy player, especially at one of the weakest positions.
With an ADP of 293, he is extremely affordable in drafts. His unclear playing time has avoided the inflated ADP that affected players like Wyatt Langford and Jackson Holliday last season. He is one of the best late-round fliers in drafts at the moment, with true top-5 upside at the position if everything breaks right for him.
Nico Hoerner, Chicago Cubs
ADP: 190
Nico Hoerner had a solid 2024, slashing .273/.335/.373 with seven home runs, 48 RBI, 86 runs, and 31 stolen bases. This was good enough to finish as the sixth most valuable second baseman in standard 5x5 leagues.
His power was non-existent, but that was never expected to be a part of his game. He is essentially a three-category player, offering elite speed and batting average while providing a solid number of runs. This profile is a hard one to find in fantasy drafts, as most players that will give you a boost in steals come with a liability in batting average.
30+ SB and .270+ BA in 2024 with ADP>20:
Edwards 31/.328
Robles 34/.307
Hoerner 31/.27390+ SB and .270+ BA since 2022 not named Ohtani, Witt, or Acuna:
Hoerner 94/.279Horner as reliable of SB/BA source as they come, with 202 NFBC ADP since Mar 1 (73 spots later than Turang)
— Jeremy Heist (@heistjm) March 14, 2025
Hoerner has been as consistent as they come over the past three seasons, and you know exactly what you're getting when you draft him. So why is he being drafted as the 14th second baseman off the board after delivering a top-6 season?
He underwent flexor tendon surgery on October 11, which could be scaring away potential drafters. Seeing an injury designation next to a player with the word "surgery" isn't usually a good sign, after all. However, there has been no indication that this would make him miss a significant chunk of the season. While he wasn't able to play in the Japan Series on March 18-19, the goal is for him to still be ready for the domestic Opening Day on March 27.
Batting average is the toughest category to find late in drafts, and ATC is once again projecting him to deliver an excellent average of .273 while stealing 26 bases. Compare this to someone like Brice Turang, who is projected for 37 steals but with a .246 batting average. It just doesn't add up for Hoerner to be going six rounds later. Draft him and enjoy the discount, whether it's as your starting second baseman or middle infielder.
Jackson Holliday, Baltimore Orioles
ADP: 209
Heading into 2024, Jackson Holliday was the most highly regarded prospect in baseball. He ranked as the number one prospect in the sport on MLB.com, ahead of players such as Jackson Chourio, Paul Skenes, Junior Caminero, and Wyatt Langford. All four of those are being drafted as top 80 overall players for 2025, with Skenes and Chourio going in the top 20.
Then you have Holliday, who is sitting with an ADP of 209 after a disappointing rookie year. This is a classic case of judging a young player too harshly for their first taste of the majors. Most players aren't even close to the big leagues at 20 years old, so should we blame him for not quite being ready? The irony is that if Holliday had stayed in Triple-A all of last season, his ADP would probably be earlier than it is now.
It's not like anything changed about his skillset in the last year, and he still dominated the minors during the time he spent there in 2024. He slashed .271/.431/.477 with 10 home runs and 8 steals in 73 games in Triple-A.
He just wasn't quite ready for major league-caliber pitching, as evidenced by his 33.2% strikeout rate that virtually gave him no chance to succeed at the highest level. That doesn't mean that he never will figure it out, especially for a prospect of his pedigree.
He's not going to suddenly launch 40 homers in 2025 if he does figure things out, but a 15-home run and 15-steal season is very attainable. The potential for even more than 15 steals is on the table too, thanks to his 29.4 feet per second sprint speed that ranked in the 95th percentile.
Just in case you forgot Jackson Holliday is fast
🎥 @OriolesDude pic.twitter.com/y2I5HYH400
— 𝙆am Brice (@kambrice1tv) March 16, 2025
The upside is just too much to pass up on outside of the top 200 in ADP. It may not be wise to solely trust him as your starting second baseman, but he makes for a great middle infield or bench option at his draft cost. He will also be especially valuable in leagues that reward OBP, as he walked 21.7% of the time in the minors last season.
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