Second Base Dynasty Rankings, Prospect Rankings, Buys, and Sells for Fantasy Baseball

July 1, 2024

Eric Cross provides his prospect and dynasty rankings for the second base position and discusses players to buy or sell at the position entering the second half of 2024.

After covering catcher and first base already, we're sliding over to the keystone second base position today as I continue my mid-season look at the state of each position through a dynasty and prospects lens.

The second base position has been on the rise over the last half-decade or so, but it's been rough this season, to say the least. We've seen the emergence of Jordan Westburg, but Matt McLain hasn't played a game yet and Mookie Betts is on the IL and likely losing eligibility after this season. We've also had numerous other top players underperform, which hasn't helped the matter.

Below, you'll find my top-25 dynasty second base rankings, top-20 second base prospect rankings, and tiers for each of those rankings, along with four second basemen to either buy or sell in dynasty leagues right now. All other positions can be found here.

Second Base Dynasty Rankings

Tier 1: Mookie Betts (Probably loses 2B eligibility after this season)

Tier 2: Ozzie Albies, Jackson Holliday, Jose Altuve, Jordan Westburg, Ketel Marte, Matt McLain

Tier 3: Marcus Semien, Brice Turang, Bryson Stott, Gleyber Torres, Matt Shaw, Nico Hoerner, Ha-Seong Kim

Tier 4: Nolan Gorman, Colt Keith, Xander Bogaerts, Luis Arraez, Zack Gelof

Tier 5: Luis Garcia, Andres Gimenez, Ryan McMahon, Luis Rengifo, Jake Cronenworth, David Hamilton, and others.

Second Base Prospect Rankings

Tier 1: Jackson Holliday

Tier 2: Matt Shaw, Jace Jung, Adael Amador, Cole Young, Yoeilin Cespedes

Tier 3: Luke Keaschall, Michael Arroyo, Connor Norby

Tier 4: Ronny Mauricio, James Triantos, Kevin McGonigle, Shay Whitcomb, Kristian Campbell, Mac Horvath, Luisangel Acuña

Tier 5: Orelvis Martinez, Thomas Saggese, Termarr Johnson, E.J. Exposito, and others

Names to Buy/Sell

MLB Buy: Matt McLain, Cincinnati Reds

As someone who has a ton of shares across various formats, not having Matt McLain so far this season has been a major bummer. Sure, we might get him for a month or so at the end of the season, but this is basically a lost season for him after a highly encouraging rookie season. In 403 plate appearances last season, McLain slashed .290/.357/.507 with 65 runs, 16 home runs, 50 RBI, and 14 steals. That's a full-season pace of 114 runs, 28 home runs, 88 RBI, and 25 steals. If he were on the same pace this season instead of being on the IL, he might be No. 2 in these rankings.

The first MLB hit for Matt McLain!

The @Reds' No. 5 prospect hustles his way to a double: pic.twitter.com/NfcwXeg7nF

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 16, 2023

McLain isn't a player whose savant page will wow you, but he posted above-average quality of contact metrics last season and has a 90th-percentile sprint speed. He's a bit aggressive with slightly below-average contact metrics, but the Great American Ballpark BABIP boost has a way of offsetting those. Even as more of a .270 hitter, I'm 100% buying into what we saw from McLain in 2023, and he has a shot at challenging for the No. 1 spot in these dynasty second base rankings next season as long as Mookie Betts loses eligibility.

MLB Sell: Nolan Gorman, St. Louis Cardinals

After being high on Nolan Gorman during his days as a prospect, I've slowly soured on the profile during his time in the Majors. We're now 285 games into his Major League career, and Gorman is hitting .220 with a .303 OBP, including a career-worst .187 AVG and .268 OBP this season.

Yes, the power impact is notable and Gorman has posted a stellar 15.6% barrel rate this season with 16 home runs in 299 plate appearances. However, that comes with a 36.5% strikeout rate, 70.9% zone contact rate, and 61.3% overall contact rate.

Those metrics simply aren't going to get the job done and I fully believe Gorman would've fully lost his spot already if Thomas Saggese wasn't struggling in Triple-A. Over a full season, Gorman could be a 35-40 homer bat, but it's looking like a Joey Gallo career is the best-case scenario for him right now. The only reason why he doesn't rank even lower is due to the poor state of this position right now.

Prospect Buy: Shay Whitcomb, Houston Astros

Shay Whitcomb is becoming one of the more underrated prospects in baseball. Since the start of 2021, Whitcomb has racked up 95 home runs and 90 steals, including 18 home runs and 20 steals this season in 74 games for Triple-A Sugar Land to pair with a .315/.395/.572 slash line. he's the only player since the start of 2021 to have more than 80 home runs and 80 steals.

SHAY WHITCOMB GO-AHEAD MONSTER SHOT ARE YOU KIDDING pic.twitter.com/sZ7MFjLrZd

— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) June 28, 2024

But despite the solid power/speed profile, Whitcomb didn't rank overly high anywhere, as he hit .219 with a .283 OBP in 2022 and .240 with a .301 OBP in 2023. However, Whitcomb has made notable strides in the contact and approach departments this season. After recording a 7.1% walk rate and 30.2% strikeout rate in 2023, Whitcomb has improved those to 11.3% and 21.4%, respectively. Those improvements have me highly encouraged, especially since he didn't sacrifice any power in the process.

With Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, and Jeremy Pena occupying second base, third base, and shortstop, there's no opening for Whitcomb at the moment in Houston. But Whitcomb playing all three of those positions should help get his bat into the Major League lineup when a spot does open up. Even as a .250ish hitter, Whitcomb's power/speed upside and possible multi-positional eligibility make him highly intriguing for fantasy purposes, and the price tag and perceived value are still very reasonable. My ranking of him here might not be high enough.

Prospect Sell: Connor Norby, Baltimore Orioles

Let me begin by saying that Connor Norby's inclusion here does not mean I don't like him as a player or don't think highly of him long-term. I've had Norby in my Top-100 for a while now, but team context matters a bit with prospects and I don't have a clue where he fits into the long-term picture for Baltimore.

After going 21/10 season with a .290/.359/.483 slash line in 138 Triple-A games last season, Norby has compiled 20 doubles, 11 home runs, and nine steals this season with a similar .286/.380/.498 slash line in 65 games. However, Norby's strikeout rate has risen from 21.6% to 29.7% this season, which is a tad concerning.

Long-term, Norby projects as a solid 20/10 type of player, but between Jackson Holliday and Jordan Westburg, he's blocked at second base, and the outfield is full as well, with youngsters Colton Cowser and Heston Kjerstad joining the mix this season. Norby being traded this month before the deadline could change things, so if you want to hold for a bit in hopes of that happening, I wouldn't blame you. But if he's still in Baltimore after the deadline, I'm still going to have many questions on where he plays moving forward.

Bonus: Gleyber Torres, New York Yankees

What the heck has gone wrong with Gleyber Torres this season? After back-to-back seasons with at least 24 home runs and 10 steals, Torres only has eight and four, respectively, this season in 341 plate appearances with a .226/.300/.352 slash line. And outside of a 90th percentile chase rate and above-average walk rate, his savant page doesn't inspire much optimism.

With that said, there hasn't been one thing that has caused this downswing in production this season, but rather several minor issues that all add up. Torres' quality of contact metrics have dropped across the board and he has the highest strikeout rate of his career since his 2018 rookie season. On top of that, Torres' zone contact and overall contact rates have dropped 5.4% and 4.8%, respectively.

If the price tag has dropped enough, I'm not opposed to buying low in dynasty leagues, but I'm not running out to send an offer to the Torres managers in my leagues, either.

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