With the 2025 MLB regular season behind us, its time to review what we learned from a fantasy perspective and how we can apply it to next year.
In the coming days throughout October, well be breaking down the standout seasons, the breakout candidates, the prospects to know, and our early 2026 rankings.
Here are the other positions we have covered so far:
Were moving on to second base where there were plenty of surprising seasons both good and bad from whats routinely one the most scarce positions in fantasy baseball.
Always one of the strangest positions to forecast, 2025 brought huge changes to the second base landscape. Longtime stalwarts like Marcus Semien and Ozzie Albies fell by the wayside while popular breakout picks like Luis Garcia Jr. and Matt McLain flopped.
Rather, the tandem of overlooked National League Central speedsters Brice Turang and Nico Hoerner emerged as the most consistent top-end performers at the position.
Turang increased his bat speed dramatically and found power for the first time in his career while Hoerner operated nearly the top of his speed and contact approach with 29 stolen bases and a .297 batting average.
Otherwise, this position was pure chaos. Ketel Marte was far and away the most consistent hitter in another incomplete season. Jose Altuve had a solid yet unspectacular campaign (while splitting time in the outfield) as the effects of aging began to take place. Brandon Lowe quietly socked 30 homers for the first time since 2021 despite dealing with a few trips to the injured list. Jorge Polanco came out of the gate blazing hot and turned back the clock with 26 homers and an .821 OPS.
Past them, Bryson Stott and Andrés Giménez still swung pool noodles, Xavier Edwards started slow but caught fire late, Gleyber Torres was just fine outside of Yankee Stadium, and Lenyn Sosa emerged as a power hitter. Jackson Holliday still hasnt taken a step forward and Luke Keaschall looked like a potential star. Theres a lot to unpack here
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.288 / .359 / .435, 18 HR, 97 R, 81 RBI, 24 SB
Absolutely nobody saw this coming. Heading into the season, there were questions as to whether Turangs bat was good enough to be a full-time player. He silenced all of those doubts with a near 20-20 season and top-five OPS among all second basemen. To get there, he brought up his bat speed more than four miles per hour and put a greater emphasis on going out to get the baseball out in front of the plate. Suddenly, he was doing serious damage and hitting the ball harder than he ever had while maintaining his always high contact rates. It was a true breakout season.
.242 / .332 / .481, 31 HR, 75 R, 80 RBI, 31 SB
Chisholm wouldve easily taken the top spot from Turang if not for an oblique injury that knocked him out the entire month of May. Nevertheless, he still managed his first 30-30 season along with the highest on-base percentage of his career. He took advantage of the short porch in right field at Yankee Stadium beautifully with nearly every single one of his homers coming on the pull side and had one of the highest pulled fly ball rates in the league, so the intent was obvious and the execution was successful. Another full season in the Bronx should position him to be the top second baseman in the league.
.297 / .345 / .394, 7 HR, 89 R, 61 RBI, 29 SB
If you play in a standard, points-based league, theres a great chance Hoerner was the highest scoring second baseman in your league. Thats because he had the sixth-most hits in the league and third-fewest strikeouts among all qualified hitters. That being said, it is a profile thats largely reliant on base hits and batting average in general. His stolen bases also decreased for the second straight season as the rest of the league ran wild. It worked out beautifully this season and Hoerners real-life value was on full display during the playoffs, but hes prone to volatility as a fantasy asset.
.283 / .376 / .517, 28 HR, 87 R, 72 RBI, 4 SB
Marte would compete for MVP awards if ever managed to play 162 games. Of all qualified hitters last season, he had the seventh-highest OPS nestled between Juan Soto and his teammate Corbin Carroll, but missed nearly a month with a hamstring strain. It was the sixth time in his career hes missed time with a hammy and sadly these nagging injuries have become part of the deal with him. Yet, Marte deserves to be thought of in the elite tier of hitters due to his production on a per-at-bat basis, elite underlying power metrics, and fantastic swing decisions. He is light on speed though, especially relative to his peers at this position.
.265 / .329 / .442, 26 HR, 80 R, 77 RBI, 10 SB
How many solid years does Altuve have left? His final stat line was totally fine, but it came with the worst plate discipline of his career where he chased more pitches out of the zone, swung at fewer in it, and made less contact overall. The result was an 11-year low in both his OBP and OPS. It feels like his athleticism is waning too as he was successful in just 10 of 16 stolen base attempts. His only saving grace is an uncanny ability to pull the bulk of his fly balls which maximize his power output despite underlying power metrics that look more like that of a slap-hitter. Its more risky than ever to believe in this profile as Altuve enters his age-36 season.
He will break out at some point, right? Another disappointing season where he wound up with a lowly .689 OPS over 649 plate appearance while grading poorly on defense has many questioning if he can ever live up to his former top prospect billing. He did manage both 17 home runs and 17 stolen bases in his age-21 season though, so the huge power, speed ceiling remains. There will and should continue to be hope in Hollidays star potential.
Keaschall broke on the scene like a mad-man with five stolen bases, three doubles, and more than twice as many walks than strikeouts during his first week as a big leaguer. Then, a fractured forearm knocked him out of action for over three months. He returned in early August and was still impressive, closing the season with a .795 OPS, four home runs, nine steals, and more excellent plate discipline over his final 42 games. He figures to hit near the top of the Twins lineup next season and could ride his contact-oriented approach with tremendous plate discipline to a high batting average, high on-base percentage, and sit near the league lead in stolen bases.
This is a sneaky pick since Baty figures to be the Mets starting third baseman next season, but he played in over 50 games at second this year. Off the bat, that split eligibility could make him a very valuable fantasy asset. Past that, he was very productive at the plate in this quiet breakout season. After being sent back to Triple-A for two weeks following a disastrous start in the big leagues, Baty hit 17 HR with seven steals and a .772 OPS over 111 games while becoming a bona fide everyday player. There are still plate discipline concerns and the Mets hide him from left-handed pitchers, but 25 HR and 10 SB are well within reach.
Dont forget about Campbell. Baseball is a difficult game and player development is not a linear process. Campbell was Baseball Americas Minor League Player of the Year in 2024 and seemed like a shoe-in to play a big role on the Sox this past year. His batted ball data and elite swing decisions hinted at true star potential as well. However he struggled at the plate, couldnt find a defensive home, and spent most of the season back in Triple-A. He didnt perform well there either, but that high-end prospect is still in there and he could certainly pop this year.
Bazzana was the number one overall pick in whats become a loaded 2024 draft. Nick Kurtz, Chase Burns, Trey Yesavage, and Jac Caglianone have already reached the big leagues and Bazzana figures to not be far behind after an impressive final month of the season at Triple-A. Its an OBP and speed driven profile though that wont come with much power or a high average.
Weatherholt is a shortstop by trade, but is unlikely to play there in the big leagues with Masyn Winn holding that spot down for the Cardinals. He figures to be the starter at either 2B or 3B after what figures to be an active offseason in St. Louis and he has the tools to be a five-category contributor right away.
Similarly to Weatherholt, Williams is a shortstop by trade, but wont be playing there any time soon with Francisco Lindor in the way. Yet, Williams could factor in at second if the Mets want to move on from Jeff McNeil before the final year of his contract. If Williams winds up getting the call, he could play at a 40-steal pace, albeit without much of a batting average floor. Dont be surprised by what could also be league-average power despite Williams size at 5 7 too.
1. Jazz Chisholm Jr.: No one else at this position has the same level of both power and speed. Being part of the powerful Yankees lineup again will help too.
2. Ketel Marte: Unmatched consistency at the plate will make him tops here in points leagues, but not stealing any bases will push him down the board a bit in roto.
3. Jordan Westburg: Still technically eligible at second base in some leagues after 17 starts there this season, Westburg offers a higher offensive floor and ceiling than most of his counterparts.
4. Jose Altuve: Its still fair to expect something like 25 HR, 10 SB, and a reasonably high batting average in his age-36 season.
5. Ozzie Albies: A horrid first half gave way to a .272 batting average in the second half with nine homers and seven steals. That made him the third-most valuable second baseman after the break.
6. Brice Turang: Part of me needs to see the home run power again to believe its real without pulling the bulk of his fly balls. If it is real, he could slot back into the top-five.
7. Brandon Lowe: Hes coming off one of the quietest 30-homer seasons in the league and has a great chance to do so again.
8. Nico Hoerner: Perhaps Im too low on Hoerner, but am always worried about batting average driven profiles. Him carrying a red-hot second half and postseason into next year would prove me wrong.
9. Luke Keaschall: Theres an it-factor with Keaschall that makes me think he could wind up as one of the best performers at this position next season.
10. Gleyber Torres: The hope is for 20 homers, 10 stolen bases, and an acceptable batting average.