Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Top 5 Second Basemen
Power left the building for the second base position last season. Only four players had more than 20 home runs. Marcus Semien ranked first in runs (101), followed by Jose Altuve (94) and Ketel Marte (93). Eight second basemen had at least 30 steals (five others between 20 and 29 stolen bases). Finding RBIs was an issue for most fantasy teams due to only four players reaching the 70 RBI mark – Marte (95), Jake Cronenworth (83), Semien (74), and Luis Garcia (70). Here are Fantasy on SI's top five second basemen heading into the 2025 fantasy baseball season:
1 – Ketel Marte, ARI (ADP – 28.9)
Marte came into the majors with a light-hitting power profile and some speed on his minor league resume. After a breakout season in 2019 (.329/97/32/92/10 over 569 at-bats), he struggled to find his identity at the plate, leading to three poor seasons while missing 102 games. Marte regained his power stroke (25 home runs over 569 at-bats).
Despite missing 26 games last season due to an August ankle injury, he set career-highs in home runs (36) and RBIs (95) while hitting first or second in the batting order for the Diamondbacks. His RBI rate (19) was elite for the second time in his career, but he ranked poorly in his RBI chances (327) due to his slot in the batting order. Arizona led the majors in runs scored (886).
His contact batting average (.369) was much better than in 2022 (.302) and 2023 (.344). Marte has an improving walk rate (11.2) while trading some of his plate coverage (strikeout rate – 18.2) for home runs. He set a new top in his average hit rate (1.918), highlighted by a jump in his exit velocity (94.0 mph – his previous high was 91.1) and hard-hit rate (53.8 – 42.8 in 2023). Even with his spike in power, Marte posted a six-year high in his groundball rate (48.1 – 44.8 in 2023) and a weaker launch angle (9.4). His HR/FB rate (25.7) was well above his previous career path (13.0 – h 14.9 in 2023).
Ketel Marte Saw a 11.0% increase in Hard-Hit% (42.8%📈53.8)
— Running From The OPS (@OPS_BASEBALL) January 11, 2025
xwOBA: .392 (97th percentile)
xBA: .294 (96th percentile)
xSLG: .538 (96th percentile)
AVG EV: 94.0 MPH (98th percentile)
Marte is still criminally underrated while being the best 2B in baseball. pic.twitter.com/b0bELaoAW0
Marte was a beast vs. lefties (.342/35/18/45/1 over 193 at-bats) while offering more power on the road (22 home runs) and batting average (.323) at home. His best success in 2024 came in June and July (.349/37/14/43/5 over 175 at-bats). He stayed hot for 10 days in August (8-for-31 with seven runs, six home runs, and nine RBIs), but his ankle issue derailed the finish to his season.
Fantasy Outlook: There’s a lot to like about Marte coming into 2025, but buying a player after a career season tends to lead to losing investment in fantasy baseball. His improvement in hard contact and power ranks with the top 10 players in baseball, suggesting added JUICE to his swing. His four-category edge stands out at second base, and there is always a chance that Marte adds a few more steals. Possible .300/100/30/100/10 season if he can stay on the field for 150 games. Downside: 80-game suspension or a long stint on the injured list.
2 – Jose Altuve, HOU (ADP – 63.3)
After 14 years with the Astros, Altuve needs 768 hits to reach 3,000 for his career.
He finished last season with his highest at-bat total (628) since 2016, leading to a productive five-category season. After not running from 2019 to 2021 (13 steals), Altuve has 54 stolen bases over the past three years, two of which were helped by the MLB rule changes for steals. His best output came against lefties (.370/31/4/16/6 over 154 at-bats). After the All-Star break, he only had six home runs and 21 RBIs over 242 at-bats).
His strikeout rate (17.5) is trending higher while continuing to beat the league average. Altuve lost momentum in his walk rate (6.9 – 10.8 over the previous two seasons). He hit more line drives (24.6% - 19.0 in 2023 and 21.6% in his career) last season, resulting in fewer infield flies (7.8%) and a weaker HR/FB rate (12.0 – 18.3%). Based on his sliding average hit rate (1.492) plus poor ranking (185th) in exit velocity (86.5 mph) and hard-hit rate (31.2), Altuve may struggle to hit 15 home runs this season.
Fantasy Outlook: On the surface, Altuve’s 20/20 season with an edge in batting average will look attractive to some drafters in 2025. He doesn’t hit the ball hard often, and he needs to take advantage of mistakes in the strike zone to pad his home run total. I could also see regression in his stolen base opportunity. Let’s go with a 15/15 skill set this year with some help in runs and batting average. Altuve is in my fade column.
3 – Ozzie Albies, ATL (ADP – 64.0)
Injuries have been an issue for Albies in three of the past five seasons.
Other than batting average (.259), Albies was a fantasy stud in 2021 for his position. He finished 15th in FPGscore (6.01) for hitters while setting career-highs in home runs (30), RBI (106), and stolen bases (20). In addition, Albies excelled with runners on base (RBI rate – 20) while pushing his average hit rate (1.883) to a new high.
In 2022, he landed on the injured list in mid-June, costing him all but two games for the remainder of the season due to a broken left foot and fractured finger on his right hand. Over his 64 games, Albies underperformed his 2021 season in average hit rate (1.656 – 1.883) and contact batting average (.305 – .325). He continued to succeed with runners on base (RBI rate – 19).
Albies almost repeated his 2021 stats in 2023, except for fewer steals (13). He saved his batting average by hitting .326 over his final 218 at-bats with 37 runs, 10 home runs, 40 RBIs, and six stolen bases while about two weeks with a hamstring issue. Albies had 22 home runs by the All-Star break over 343 at-bats (11 long balls after over 253 at-bats). His swing had the most value against lefties (.391 with 21 runs, five home runs, and 19 RBIs over 128 at-bats).
Ozzie Albies two-run HR to get Atlanta on the board‼️
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 30, 2024
📺 ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/10OM9OXpx4
Last season, Albies missed 10 games in April with a broken toe. His bat underperformed expectations over his next 298 at-bats (.245/33/6/32/6) before landing on the injured list again with a left wrist fracture.
Fantasy Outlook: The decision with Albies this year is between potential and injury risk. On most nights, he plays in a high-scoring offense with a favorable slot in the batting order. His stolen base output could be much higher while grading well in runs, home runs, and RBIs with 550+ at-bats. On the positive side, Albies has been a top-30 fantasy hitter four times over the past seven seasons, creating value based on his current ADP (64.0).
4 – Marcus Semien, TEX (ADP – 95.2)
Semien filled his plate appearance (718) and at-bats (650) boxes again last year, giving him an elite playing time opportunity over the past six 162-game seasons. He reached the 100-run mark for the fourth consecutive year, but his outcomes in home runs (23), RBIs (74), and steals (8) fell short of his past success. Semien had a sharp decline in his contact batting average (.283 – .330 in 2023), along with a pullback in his average hit rate (1.649).
After a reasonable start in runs (40), home runs (9), and RBIs (34) over his first 237 at-bats last season, he failed to drive in more than 10 runs in any of the final four months while delivering 14 more home runs. Texas scored 98 fewer runs than in 2023 (881 – 3rd).
His exit velocity (87.4 mph) has had an up-and-down swing over the past six years, with 2024 failing in the down range. Semien’s hard-hit rate (35.2) has been in a weak area in every season except in 2021 (41.3%). He had a spike in his groundball rate (39.6 – 33.8 in 2023) at the expense of his fly-ball rate (42.5 – 46.5 in 2023) and HR/FB rate (9.9 – 11.0 in 2023). Semien finished with about the same approach (strikeout rate – 14.6 and walk rate – 8.9).
Fantasy Outlook: He ranked 58th in FPGscore (0.81) for hitters. At age 34, a drafter will look past his body of work for a young, developing option. Semien gets extra credit for the health card, and the Rangers should be much better offensively in 2025. Volume is his friend. Even with some regression, he would still be a value selection with a 90/20/70/15 season.
5 – Andres Gimenez, TOR (ADP – 173.9)
In 2023, Gimenez was an edge in stolen bases (30) and runs (76), with the latter helped by an increase of 66 at-bats. An empty April (.230/2/1/6/1 over 87 at-bats) put him in a trailing mode in his counting stats. He had the most production over the final three months of the season (.261 with 43 runs, 10 home runs, 34 RBIs, and 22 steals over 284 at-bats).
After trending higher in average hit rate (1.586) in 2023, Gimenez lost his power last season, highlighted by a sharp decline in his average hit rate (1.347). In addition, his contact batting average (.302) continued to fade. This combination led to a rising groundball rate (50.3) and a career-low in his fly-ball rate (29.2) and HR/FB rate (6.3). On the positive side, Gimenez lowered his strikeout rate (15.3) for the third consecutive season, with some regression in his walk rate (4.1).
He only had one home run in 2024 against left-handed pitching over 163 at-bats. He had the same batting average (.252) and stolen base output (15) before and after the All-Star break, but the weaker half of his equation came over the latter half of the year (21 runs, four home runs, and 18 RBIs over 238 at-bats).
Fantasy Outlook: Swimming through Gimenez’s equation over the past three seasons, there is enough to support a 15/35 outcome in home runs and stolen bases with a reasonable chance of gaining some momentum in his batting average. His swing was out of sorts last year, creating a buying opportunity in 2025. The move to Toronto should be a positive. I’ll rank him much higher than his current price point, and his playing time will be an asset in the counting categories.
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With 20+ years of experience in the high-stakes fantasy market, I aim to research and compete at the highest level in baseball and football each season. I've contributed as a writer/analyst for Sports Draft Daily, ScoutPro, Scout Fantasy, Fulltime Fantasy, FFToolbox, and Sports Illustrated Fantasy. I'm honored to be in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship Hall of Fame. My drafting philosophy is risk-averse yet open to betting on potential game-changers. I approach player selection with a neutral perspective, acknowledging that fantasy sports are inherently unpredictable due to injuries, performance dips, and managerial decisions. My work focuses on these main areas: - Season-long fantasy baseball and football - BestBall Baseball and Football Events - Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS): DraftKings, FanDuel, and Underdog - Long Shot Player Prop Parlays for NFL I participate in various leagues and contests, including NFBC, NFFC, RTSports, FFPC, DraftKings, Underdog Fantasy, FanDuel, and FFWC, with the goal of leveraging my extensive experience and research for success in each game format. A fantasy follower can expect in-depth profiles of NFL and MLB players, along with season-long and weekly projections for each fantasy football season. In addition, I have many strategy articles to help develop fantasy players' learning curves.