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Welcome officially to the 2023 fantasy baseball season! Spring training is in full force, and fantasy managers are gearing up for another exciting season in the MLB. Once you reach the middle rounds of drafts, everyone is looking to draft players that can provide a great return on value. You can start taking calculated risks on emerging prospects, overlooked veterans, players returning from injury, or even players with some playing time concerns out of the gate. The early rounds are critical, and the late rounds are where you can take your chances on dart-throw sleepers, but the middle rounds can make or break your roster.
Today, we're looking at some middle-round second basemen for you to consider drafting in your season-long leagues this season. Are their ADPs undervalued? Will they make significant fantasy contributions and become a priority mid-round draft target? Read on to see our take.
Our editors have hand-picked these specific MLB players for your draft prep enjoyment. Usually only available to Premium subscribers, the five outlooks below are meant to give you a taste of the in-depth analysis you receive with our industry-leading 2023 Draft Kit. Be sure to subscribe today to start reading all of our in-depth 2023 player outlooks and many other premium articles and tools including Team Sync, the Live Draft Sync assistant, Custom Rankings Service, and so much more -- available exclusively in our 2023 Draft Kit.
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Tommy Edman, St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Tommy Edman has become one of the most prominent base stealers in the game over the last couple of seasons, swiping 62 bases the previous two years, including 32 in 2022. He did this with 86th-percentile sprint speed and was caught only three times. Edman's value wasn't just dependent on his baserunning, though, as he hit .265, scored 95 runs, and swatted 13 home runs while driving in 57. A decent .258 xBA and 17.6% strikeout rate that was just above his career 16.6% rate backed his numbers. Edman likes hitting the ball on the ground, posting a ground ball rate of 49.4% this season and 47.3% for his career, which is a good recipe for someone with his skill set.
Additionally, the 27-year-old saw career highs in multiple power metrics such as barrel rate (6.2%), exit velocity (88.6 MPH), and hard-hit rate (37.8%). If he can pull the ball more than 20.8% on flyballs and closer to his career mark of 24.6%, he might crack 15 HRs for the first time. Edman can easily maintain his numbers from a season ago, especially if he bats second, as projected. Considering stolen bases are so coveted nowadays, it'll be hard for fantasy managers to find a multi-category contributor who can run at his ADP of 79. They should take advantage of the lower price tag.
-- Spencer Seguin - RotoBaller
Andres Gimenez, Cleveland Guardians
Gimenez took a step forward in 2022, slashing .295/.369/.464 with 17 homers and 21 steals. That was a quite useful fantasy season from the young guy, who at the age of just 24 has a lot of years ahead of him. Gimenez significantly increased his barrel rate (3.6% to 6.2%), contact rate (70.6% to 73.6%), and xwOBA (.243 to .302) while cutting five points off of his strikeout rate (25.7% to 20.3%). None of that is easy to do in one year and is assuredly a sign of a talented young player coming into form.
As for 2023, the power upside is probably limited here. A 20-homer projection seems about right unless he pushes his barrel rate up even further, but the guy can definitely post a great batting average and contribute a good amount of steals. He is more than useful for what he is as a middle infielder, and there is still untapped upside here given the age and the improvements we've already seen. We could be looking at a top-30 player next year if he takes another step forward, so I see no problem buying him at his current ADP around pick 85. The floor is great, and the ceiling may be higher than we think!
-- Jon Anderson - RotoBaller
Gleyber Torres, New York Yankees
New York Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres had his first relevant fantasy season in three years in 2022. He slashed .257/.310/.451 with 24 HRs, 73 runs, 76 RBI, and 10 stolen bases over 140 games. Torres' strikeout rate increased a bit to 22.6%, but his whiff rate was the second lowest of his career, and fantasy managers should expect another season in the range of his career 21.9% strikeout percentage. In terms of contact quality, the 26-year-old had his best season. Torres' 10.7% barrel rate (75th percentile), 90.4 MPH average exit velocity (76th percentile), and 45.3% hard-hit rate (77th percentile) were all career-best marks that led to a .244 xBA and .441 xSLG. He's been fly ball happy in the big leagues (30.3% fly ball rate), but with a solid bat-to-ball approach, the former top prospect should have no trouble hitting above .250 while offering north of 20 home runs as he did in 2022.
Torres is going to bat in a powerful lineup again, while many predict he'll lead off as he did occasionally during the postseason, giving him plenty of opportunities to reach 150 RBI plus runs. And considering he's stolen 24 bases over the past two seasons, fantasy managers should view him as an all-around contributor who's revived his career heading into 2023. Torres offers reliable value at his ADP of 122, especially at a shallow second base position.
-- Spencer Seguin - RotoBaller
Jorge Polanco, Minnesota Twins
Minnesota Twins second baseman Jorge Polanco had a disappointing, injury-riddled 2022 season for fantasy managers after a standout 2021 season. The 29-year-old slashed .235/.346/.405 with 16 home runs and 56 RBI in 445 plate appearances while spending time on the injured list with low back tightness and left knee inflammation. Several things contributed to Polanco not repeating his stellar 2021 campaign. The first was injuries, which fantasy managers should not worry about as long as Polanco enters 2023 healthy, as he has not been injury-prone throughout his career. The second was over-expectations. Polanco's 2022 batted-ball profile was similar to 2021, but he hadn't hit more than 22 HR previously and typically hit more for average.
Polanco is currently being drafted at pick 161 overall, a big drop from 78 last season. This places him as the 10th 2B overall. Polanco hasn't been the most exciting fantasy option outside of 2021, but he has been a reliable source of average, runs, and RBI while not killing fantasy managers in HR. Given his historical performance, Polanco's current ADP is a steal, assuming he enters the season healthy
-- Connelly Doan - RotoBaller
Jeff McNeil, New York Mets
New York Mets second baseman and outfielder Jeff McNeil looks poised for yet another strong season at the plate for both the National League East club and fantasy managers. The veteran is coming off one of his most productive seasons in the Majors, hitting .326 with a .382 on-base percentage, nine home runs, and four stolen bases in a career-high 589 plate appearances. McNeil didn't register much in the way of barrels or hard-hit balls, but he was elite at putting the ball in play, finishing in the 91st percentile or better league-wide in whiff rate (15.9%, 91st), xBA (.280, 94th) and strikeout rate (10.4%, 99th). It marked the fourth time in the last five years that McNeil has finished with an xBA over the .273 mark, giving him a quality fantasy floor where batting average is concerned.
He'll once again play a key role in a strong lineup that will also feature the likes of Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor, Eduardo Escobar, Starling Marte, Brandon Nimmo, and Mark Canha, as well as promising prospects Brett Baty and Francisco Alvarez. McNeil saw most of his plate appearances hitting third, fifth, and sixth last year. If that trend continues, he'll also have quality RBI and run-scoring upside as well.
-- Ben Rosener - RotoBaller
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