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The second base position is on the rise for fantasy purposes and not just because Mookie Betts has eligibility there. The prospect pool is solid, meaning more good players are on the way, and the middle-tier MLB second basemen group has also improved. It is a fun group of players who can impact your fantasy team in different ways.
There are a lot ways to build out the second back position on your team, depending on what skill set you are looking for. The fact that oftentimes shortstop prospects will shift over helps the depth at this position, too.
The good news is that we are here to help you sort through the challenges of dynasty here at RotoBaller. Let's take a closer look at each of these second basemen and see which tier they fall into in 2024.
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Dynasty Fantasy Baseball Second Base Rankings
| Ranking | Tier | Player Name | Pos |
| 1 | 1 | Mookie Betts | 2B |
| 2 | 2 | Ozzie Albies | 2B |
| 3 | 2 | Marcus Semien | 2B |
| 4 | 2 | Jose Altuve | 2B |
| 5 | 2 | Matt McLain | 2B |
| 6 | 3 | Gleyber Torres | 2B |
| 7 | 3 | Nico Hoerner | 2B |
| 8 | 3 | Andres Gimenez | 2B |
| 9 | 3 | Bryson Stott | 2B |
| 10 | 3 | Colt Keith | 2B |
| 11 | 4 | Ketel Marte | 2B |
| 12 | 4 | Ha-Seong Kim | 2B |
| 13 | 4 | Spencer Steer | 2B |
| 14 | 4 | Zack Gelof | 2B |
| 15 | 4 | Matt Shaw | 2B |
| 16 | 4 | Thairo Estrada | 2B |
| 17 | 5 | Tommy Edman | 2B |
| 18 | 5 | Nolan Gorman | 2B |
| 19 | 5 | Jonathan India | 2B |
| 20 | 5 | Ronny Mauricio | 2B |
| 21 | 6 | Isaac Paredes | 2B |
| 22 | 6 | Luis Arraez | 2B |
| 23 | 6 | Colt Emerson | 2B |
| 24 | 6 | Termarr Johnson | 2B |
| 25 | 6 | Edouard Julien | 2B |
For Chris's full dynasty catcher and overall rankings, check out The Dynasty Dugout.
Tier 1 - Dynasty Second Base Rankings
Betts is coming off a career-best season in which he mashed 39 home runs and stole 14 bases, all while slashing .307/.408/.579. The underlying data were all tops of his career as he hit a 92.4 mph average exit velocity and a 12.4 percent barrel rate.
The plate discipline skills are elite, and Mookie walks nearly as much as he strikes out. He hits at the top of one of the best lineups in baseball. Betts is a safe play and the fact you can play him at second or outfield is huge. He is the lone Tier 1 second baseman.
MOOKIE BETTS WITH HIS SECOND HOME RUN OF THE NIGHT.
What a game.
(via @Dodgers) pic.twitter.com/k6XQ4oIv4L
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) September 1, 2023
Tier 2 - Dynasty Second Base Rankings
A healthy Ozzie Albies is a high-end asset for fantasy purposes and we saw that in 2023. After a banged-up 2022, Albies managed just 269 plate appearances and struggled when he was on the field. A large part of this had to do with playing hurt.
Coming back healthy in 2023, Albies hit 33 home runs and stole 13 bases while slashing .280/.336/.513. The zone contact rate was the best of his career at nearly 87 percent, according to Baseball Savant, and his overall contact rate was also a career-best around 80 percent.
Albies has proved he can post big home run numbers despite the exit velocities not being outstanding due to impressive launch angles. He hits in one of the best lineups in baseball, meaning he will have plenty of runs and RBI opportunities.
Marcus Semien has put together one of the more impressive three-year stretches of any hitter in baseball, having 100 home runs and 54 stolen bases over that span and his .276/.348/.478 slash line last year was quite impressive.
Semien will spend the entire season as a 33-year-old, but he has not shown any signs of slowing down. In dynasty formats, figuring out how to manage older players becomes tough. If you roster Semien, especially if contending, it feels like you should just ride out the high-end value you get out of him. If you are competing and need a second baseman, I think Semien is a great target.
Jose Altuve just received a five-year extension to secure him staying an Astro for his entire career. Even though he will turn 34 early in the 2024 season, Altuve has been as consistent as they come, hitting for both power and posting strong batting averages.
While he only played 90 games in 2023, Altuve still hit 17 home runs, stole 14 bases, and slashed .311/.393/.522. Like Semien, the decline will come at some point. But Altuve has yet to show signs of declining, so if you roster him in dynasty, enjoy the production you get while it lasts.
While the list of second basemen has been largely vets, it is nice to get a 2023 rookie in here, and that is Matt McLain. Between Triple-A and the majors last season, McLain hit 28 home runs and stole 24 bases. In his 403 plate appearance MLB sample, he slashed .290/.357/.507, leaving lofty expectations moving forward.
The 2023 performance should be far from the expectation, but the performance from the 23-year-old showed that consistently being a 20/20 type hitter is more than attainable. When you factor in strong contact and plate discipline numbers, McLain should consistently post solid batting averages and OBPs.
Matt McLain hits for the cycle!! 8 HR/8 SB on the season with a .327/.453/.678 slash. Could be up in Cincy soon.#ATOBTTR
— Chris Clegg (@RotoClegg) May 5, 2023
Tier 3 - Dynasty Second Base Rankings
Gleyber Torres is one of the more underrated hitters in the game and does not get the love he deserves after sky-high expectations from his 2019 season in which he mashed 38 home runs. He hit 24 and 25 home runs, respectively, in 2022 and 2023 while stealing 10 or more bases each year. In 2023, Torres posted a .273/.347/.453 slash line.
In 5x5 leagues, Torres finished as the 67th ranked player, and that number jumped to 51 in OBP, showing the kind of impact the boring type of production can bring. The underlying data looks good, with most categories ranking 70th percentile or better among all hitters. Torres may never be a sexy player on the roster, but he is one who consistently performs, and he just turned 27, meaning his best days could still be ahead.
Nico Hoerner doubled his career-best stolen base mark in 2023, swiping 43 bases while slashing .283/.346/.383 with nine home runs. Power is far from the expectation as his average exit velocity and barrel rate ranked 10th and 2nd percentile, respectively, among all MLB hitters.
What you will get from Hoerner is strong three-category production in batting average, stolen bases, and runs scored. Hoerner is a great hitter to draft or roster if you have a solid power base as he is going to provide everywhere else.
Andres Gimenez seems to be completely undervalued in dynasty leagues, and I was even guilty of that until reevaluating when I was doing my overall rankings. Coming off a “down year,” Gimenez still managed 15 home runs and 30 stolen bases while showing improved contact rates.
The Statcast data is not sexy, but Gimenez can make enough impact with his bat that we should see at least 15 home runs and 20 stolen bases again in 2024, while the batting average and OBP should see increases. The .289 BABIP last year was well below his career mark, and with a speed profile like Gimenez, you should expect a number north of .310. Entering his age-25 season, there are plenty of things to like in Gimenez's profile.
Bryson Stott has a strong contact-oriented profile with sneaky speed and power. Last year, during his first full MLB season, he hit 15 home runs and stole 31 bases while posting a slash line of .280/.329/.419.
His contact rates were extremely impressive as he made contact on 88 percent of pitches in the zone and 85 percent overall. The exit velocities are not great, but Stott puts so many balls in play at ideal launch angles that he does find his way into home run power on occasion. He should be another player who has consistent performance year over year, having a higher floor.
Colt Keith locked in a six-year extension with Detroit with three more option years, all but securing his spot as the Tigers’ everyday second baseman in 2024.
Splitting time between Double-A and Triple-A in 2023, Keith mashed 27 home runs while slashing .306/.380/.552. With a strong lower half, Keith generates easy power backed by strong exit velocities, with a 90th percentile checking in near 106 mph and an average near 90 mph. Lifting the ball easily, Keith generated a very high barrel rate, which led to 68 extra-base hits.
The contact skills are respectable as well, and Keith posted a 75 percent overall contact rate with a zone contact near 84 percent. He knows the strike zone well and chooses his spots, not chasing often out of the zone.
The platoon risk feels minimal for the lefty as he mashed both-handed pitching with a .939 OPS against righties and a .909 versus lefties with a lower strikeout rate against lefties than righties.
Colt Keith just hit this to the 🌕. 473 feet and 108.9 mph off the bat 🔥 with the underlying data as good as it is I think Keith has an argument to be a top 10 dynasty prospect.
pic.twitter.com/4oNO1mWnt4— Chris Clegg (@RotoClegg) June 30, 2023
Tier 4 - Dynasty Second Base Rankings
Ketel Marte has had an up-and-down career, but for the most part, his contact skills and batting averages have remained steady. The 25 home runs he hit in 2023 were the most since the happy-fun ball in 2019, and he also added eight stolen bases.
Marte has consistently put up good exit velocities; it was just a matter of turning it into barrels, and that number jumped two percentage points in 2023. Having a higher floor, Marte is one of the safer second basemen you can invest in for a dynasty despite turning 30.
Ha-Seong Kim enjoyed a major breakout in 2023, hitting 17 home runs and stealing 38 bases across 152 games with the Padres. Kim posted a career high .351 OBP to pair with a .260 batting average.
What led to the breakout? Well, it was not the exit velocities with the power as his exit velocity went down, and his barrel rate was 11th percentile among all hitters. The chase rate and the overall contact mark both improved for Kim, which helped his batting average and OBP. The positional flexibility is nice, but we will likely see the stolen bases and his batting average take small steps back in 2024.
Spencer Steer will likely lose second base eligibility after the 2024 season as he is slated to play left field, but enjoy the flexibility while you can. His 2023 season seems like it flew under the radar amid all the talent that was called up to Cincinnati last year. But Steer hit 23 home runs while stealing 15 bases and a .271/.356/.464 slash line.
Having strong plate discipline skills, Steer plays up in an OBP format, and while the underlying power metrics are underwhelming, his bat plays up well in Great American Ball Park.
Being slated to hit in the middle of what should be a solid lineup, Steer should have plenty of run and RBI opportunities while having the potential to hit 20 or more home runs and steal at least 10 bases. Given that he steals bases and has multi-position eligibility, Steer is a sneaky good dynasty asset.
Zack Gelof burst onto the scene in Oakland after a strong Triple-A showing and combined to hit 26 home runs and steal 34 bases between both levels. In the majors, the batting average took a dip due to contact skills, but he still managed a .267 batting average.
Hitting the ball hard and barrelling it up well, Gelof should be a consistent 20-home run bat, and he has great speed and instincts on the base paths. In a lot of ways, the power and speed outputs can play similarly to Matt McLain, but it is likely to come with a lower batting average. If you can take the hit there, Gelof is a great investment.
Matt Shaw had a successful career at Maryland, leading to him being selected by the Cubs in the first round of the 2023 draft, where he hit the ground running as a professional. After three games at the complex level, Shaw pushed to High-A and then Double-A to finish out the season, where he collectively hit .357/.400/.618 with eight home runs and 15 stolen bases across 38 games.
Despite not having the physical appearance of a top player on the field, Shaw plays much bigger than his listed 5-foot-11/185-pound frame and gets to a ton of power. He mashed 24 home runs at Maryland this year after posting a 22-homer season in 2022. His power is backed by a 90th percentile exit velocity of 107 mph and saw his numbers get as high as 113 mph. He is an efficient base stealer as well, and while there is not a true standout tool, Shaw flashes 55 grades across the board with arguably a plus hit tool.
In 2023 at Maryland, Shaw made contact on 83 percent of pitches and 88.5 percent of pitches in the zone while chasing just 20 percent of the time. As a professional, Shaw was more aggressive but also made more contact, swinging at 49 percent of pitches and making contact 85 percent of the time overall.
Thairo Estrada is one of the more underrated players at second base and one I am picking to have a strong season in 2024. His overall line of .271/.315/.416 with 14 home runs and 23 stolen bases in 2023 was fine, but was defined by pre-injury and post-injury.
Before being placed on the IL on May 27 with a wrist injury, Estrada was hitting .301 with six home runs and 13 stolen bases in 206 plate appearances. He missed just 10 days, but still seemed bothered by the injury and later missed a month after being hit on the hand and fracturing it.
After coming back from the fractured hand, Estrada hit just .269/.296/.396 with five home runs and five stolen bases in 206 plate appearances. Look for him to be a big breakout with a healthy 2024 season.
Tier 5 - Dynasty Second Base Rankings
Tommy Edman is one of those boring profiles, but you know exactly what you will get out of him every year. He provides nice positional versatility, and the consistency is impressive. In the last three seasons, Edman has totaled 11, 13, and 13 home runs and 30, 32, and 27 stolen bases.
The batting average is likely to sit near .260, as his .248 mark in 2023 feels like an outlier due to a very low .275 BABIP. You can roster Edman with confidence knowing what he is going to bring to the table.
2024 feels like it could be a major breakout season for Nolan Gorman, who is coming off a 27-home run season in 119 games in 2023. There has never been any denying his big-time power, and it showed in his 16.5 percent barrel rate, which was 97th percentile among all hitters.
The contact rates are far from ideal, as he made contact on just 72 percent of pitches in the zone and a 65 percent rate overall. Gorman is still only 23 years old and has plenty of time to improve, and with the elite power, he already provides in big ways in the home run department. If all clicks right, Gorman could wind up being one of the better power hitters in the game who plays extremely well in OBP formats.
Jonathan India is a boring profile, but one that still plays well for OBP leagues. As long as he remains in Cincinnati, the ballpark is a huge boost for his bat, and even in his down 2023 season, he managed 17 home runs and 14 stolen bases. The .244/.338/.407 slash was highly disappointing, but the low BABIP suggests that we could see the batting average rise closer to .260 in 2024.
Having one of the lowest chase rates in baseball and an above-average contact rate, India gets the most of his batted balls while also being selective. His exit velocities are close to average, but 15-18 home runs should be the expectation in 2024 with a solid OBP.
After an impressive showing across 116 Triple-A games this year and much clamoring from Mets fans, Ronny Mauricio finally received the call. After spending 26 games with the Mets, the results were mixed, but Mauricio did manage to hit two home runs and steal seven bases.
Mauricio is an enigma of a profile as he hyper-aggressively swings at over 50 percent of pitches he sees and chases nearly 40 percent of pitches out of the zone. He counteracts it with high in-zone contact, running a rate above 86 percent in Triple-A.
There has never been any denying his power, as Mauricio’s 109 mph 90th percentile ranks toward the top of all MiLB hitters and firmly puts him in the plus or better range. The higher ground ball rate limits the output on barrels, but if Mauricio lifts the ball more consistently, there is a 30-home run pop in the bat. While he may not be the fastest runner, Mauricio has a knack for stealing bases at a high clip, posting 20 and 31 over each of the last two seasons. He will miss the entire 2024 season due to a torn ACL.
Tier 6 - Dynasty Second Base Rankings
Isaac Paredes played just 14 games at second base in 2023, so it is possible he may not be eligible there in your dynasty leagues, but if he is, he could be a good power investment. Hitting 31 home runs in 2023 was a career-high, and while it is easy to point to the pulled fly balls to the corner, Paredes perfected his craft.
Sure, there is likely to be some regression, but Paredes hit 20 home runs in 2022 in just 111 games, meaning 25 is a solid expectation in 2024. He plays better in an OBP format, but won’t hurt you on average, either.
Luis Arraez arguably has the best hit tool in all of baseball. Posting a .354 batting average in 2023 and having his career mark north of .325 is nothing short of impressive. Making contact at an overall rate north of 92 percent and striking out just 5.5 percent of the time is wild to even think about.
He was also not a zero in power as Arraez managed 10 home runs in 2023 to pair with three stolen bases. Yes, he is more of a one-trick pony, but the batting average boost you get from Arraez is huge for fantasy purposes.
Colt Emerson was only 17 years old on draft day, but over the last year, he really added to his 6-foot-1/200-pound frame. As a prep player, he showed a strong feel to hit and his data was incredible as he chased at just a 15 percent rate on the showcase circuit and has an 84 percent contact rate. All of this carried over to professional ball and what Emerson did was nothing short of impressive.
In the small pro sample, Emerson made contact at a rate north of 80 percent with a zone contact of 86 percent. He showed a strong eye at the plate as well, chasing just 20 percent of pitches out of the zone.
While he did hit just two home runs, the exit velocities were impressive in Emerson’s pro debut. The average exit velocity checked in right around 89 mph and he paired it with a 90th percentile exit velocity of 105 mph, which is already north of MLB average.
Emerson has actually seen his run times tick up and he was eight of eight on stolen base attempts in 2023. His 6.7-second 60-yard dash suggests plus speed.
Termarr Johnson is small and compact, but that does not limit his damage at the plate. After being regarded as one of the best pure prep hitters in recent memory, Johnson has seen his profile evolve a bit into having more power while taking a ton of walks and posting a lower-than-expected contact rate.
He showed a passive approach in 2023, swinging at just 37 percent of pitches, which is nearly 10 percent lower than average. His zone swing percentage was also relatively low, which leaves some concern.
However, Johnson’s contact rates might be more concerning, as he made contact on just 68 percent of pitches and 77 percent in the zone. Those numbers are far from what was expected when Johnson was drafted as many labeled him as a 70-grade hitter.
The positive news is that Johnson still showed a strong feel for the strike zone, chasing less than 21 percent of pitches out of the zone while also hitting the ball hard. Johnson checked in with an average exit velocity north of 90 mph and a 90th percentile exit velocity above 105 mph, which are quite impressive marks, especially given his size.
Edouard Julien is a unique profile but one that works well, especially in an OBP format. In his MLB debut in 2023, Julien walked at a 15.7 percent clip and hit 16 home runs while posting a slash of .263/.381/.459.
Hitting the ball hard and posting ideal launch angles, Julien posted a 13.1 percent barrel rate, good for the 86th percentile among all hitters. He also had the lowest chase rate in the majors at 14.3 percent. The biggest problem is Julien struggles to take the bat off his shoulders because he is so selective. His 37 percent swing rate was 10 percentage points lower than the MLB average.
His 136 wRC+ as a rookie was quite stellar and Julien is projected to hit at the top of the Twins lineup. He could be a strong breakout candidate in 2024.
If you enjoyed these writeups and rankings, you can see Chris's Top 75 dynasty second base rankings plus a full top 1,000 dynasty and prospect list at The Dynasty Dugout.
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