2026 Fantasy Baseball second Base Preview: Rankings, Sleepers, Busts

Second base is neither the deepest position in Fantasy – that would be shortstop – nor is it the shallowest – that would be third base. You won’t find many legitimate superstars at second base at the top of the draft – Jazz Chisholm and Ketel Marte might be the only players picked in the first four rounds in most drafts – but you shouldn’t have trouble finding useful options throughout the draft. 

Of course, to a certain extent, that depends on what you’re looking for. If you’re looking for power, well, second base doesn’t really have much of that at any point in the draft – there were only six second basemen with more than 19 homers in 2025. The days of Mike Moustakas spending enough time at second to qualify ended with the shift ban, and that, along with the de-juicing of the baseball around the same time, shifted slugging away from second base, and I don’t expect it to come back.

But as long as you know to get your power elsewhere, you can find something to be happy about at second base. That usually comes in the form of production in HR and SB in the high-teens to low-20s, hence the lack of superstar appeal, but you can really find at least useful contributors all over the draft here. 

Because of that, I do think second base can be less of a priority than third base if you’re playing the positional scarcity game. According to FanGraphs.com’s Player Rater tool, second base had just one more $10 player than third base last season (seven vs. six), but was much deeper with useful starter types; Ernie Clement, the No. 7 3B by this measure, was about $1 less valuable than Luis Garcia, the No. 15 2B.

Now, it’s worth noting that this dynamic is different in H2H points leagues than it is in Roto; those broad-based skill sets can allow for the likes of Luis Garcia or Matt McLain to remain pretty useful in Roto even if they disappoint, as both did in 2025, while neither was worth much in a points league. So, the strength and depth of 2B kind of depends on what your league looks like – in a 10-team H2H points league, prioritizing one of those difference makers early on might need to be more of a priority than in a 15-team categories league, where you should be able to find more useful options deeper in leagues.

It’s kind of an Island of Misfit Toys position nowadays, in other words. Few players at 2B truly stand out, but there are enough interesting, potentially useful options that you don’t necessarily need to make it a priority on Draft Day. You should be able to find something later on at second base, in a way that I don’t think is true at 3B. Getting difference makers elsewhere is a bigger priority for me than it is at 2B, at least.

Here’s what you need to know about second base for 2026:  

Age (on opening day): 23
Where he played in 2025: Rookie, Double-A, Triple-A
Minor league stats: .245 BA (302 AB), 9 HR, 12 SB, .813 OPS, 66 BB, 91 K
The first pick in the 2024 has lost some exit velocity with the transition to wooden bats and now relies on angling the ball over the fence, which hasn’t been as effective. He remains enough of an on-base and base-stealing threat to matter, though, even if his power is modest.
Scott’s 2026 Fantasy impact: midseason hopeful

Age (on opening day): 21
Where he played in 2025: High-A, Double-A
Minor league stats: .262 BA (450 AB), 17 HR, 12 SB, .834 OPS, 69 BB, 104 K
Arroyo homered just twice in his 250 plate appearances at Double-A, but the venue had a lot to do with it. He consistently punches above his 5-foot-8 frame and has a clear idea what he’s doing at the plate, which should lead to high contact and on-base rates.
Scott’s 2026 Fantasy impact: midseason hopeful

3. Tommy Troy, 2B, Diamondbacks