With draft season firmly underway, your friends at Fantrax thought it would be most helpful to provide you not just positional ranks but positional tiers as well. Tiers come in handy at those moments in the draft when targeting a specific roster slot while also weighing your roster context. Are you heavy on RBIs but need some speed? Or it’s possible that you feel the need to go starting pitching heavy and are looking for full-category coverage as you work through the mid-section of a draft. Here are our 2024 Second Base Tiers, along with their our rankings as well as current (as of 1/26) NFBC ADP (12 team leagues) included as context.
Second Base Tiers for 2024 Fantasy Baseball Drafts
TIER 1
1. Mookie Betts, LAD (4.54)
The only first-rounder in the group deserves his own tier, amiright?! There is not much more one can say about Betts’s superlative season in 2023 and there is no reason to doubt that he can’t replicate those types of numbers again in 2024.
TIER 2
2. Ozzie Albies, ATL (23.08)
3. Marcus Semien, TEX (28.03)
4. Jose Altuve, HOU (36.72)
Three excellent options here, quite deserving of their second- and third-round draft positions. Albies sits squarely in the middle of the best lineup and offers the best blend of skills here, though his lack of SB might make drafters look elsewhere this early. Semien is the Ironman, the Ultimate Accumulator, having been top 5 in plate appearances for the last five seasons. He’s a five-category contributor but is this the season where that machine starts to show its age? Drafters don’t think so, not yet at least. Speaking of age cliffs, our last entrant in T2 is Jose Altuve. After returning from the injury suffered during last year’s WBC, Altuve was very good, finishing with a line of .313/.393/.522. And so far drafters seem to think that he’ll be the same this season.
TIER 3
5. Matt McLain, CIN (59.2)
6. Gleyber Torres, NYY (87.67)
7. Nico Hoerner, CHI (57.94)
8. Ha-Seong Kim, SDP (79.52)
9. Ketel Marte, ARI (115.47)
10. Bryson Stott, PHL (111.15)
Tier 3 is a fun group; all high-quality options but all with questions. McLain was a revelation in 2023 and his current draft position reflects that. Torres has the feel of a post-hype sleeper though he doesn’t totally fit the definition. But remember, the Yankees second baseman is only 27 (despite feeling like he’s been in the league for a decade) and had a quietly strong 2023, hitting 25 homers, swiping 13 bags to go along with .800 OPS, which was his highest in three years. That he is going a full two rounds after Nico Hoerner feels WILD. Hoerner is not an awful option here, he has a solid floor that will set your average and stolen bases. But in the fourth round, you can still get players who are five-category contributors and that certainly feels like a better option. The next three guys take leaps of faith to select at this point in a draft. Do you feel good betting on Stott’s and Kim’s leveling up last year? Do you think Marte’s bounceback proves to be true?
TIER 4
11. Zack Gelof, OAK (132.79)
12. Thairo Estrada, SFG (140.51)
13. Andres Gimenez, CLE (122.74)
14. Luiz Arraez, MIA (164.71)
15. Tommy Edman, STL (164.28)
16. Nolan Gorman, STL (194.83)
17. Edouard Julien, MIN (205.17)
18. Jorge Polanco, MIN (264.94)
This might be the place where a lot of managers find themselves shopping for 2B in drafts and it’s not the worst place to be. Warts on all, but SBs. HR, OBP and AVG are available. Gelof is the early draft SZN darling, and rightfully so: abundant playing time and some excellent batted-ball metrics. Granted he’s on the worst team in the league but many managers seem content pushing it all the way until the tenth round before taking their starting second basemen. Don’t sleep on Estrada, though! He’s going to give you 20+ steals, close to 15 home runs and a steady average. Edman makes us nervous though, will the abundance of options in St. Louis cut into the plate appearances? Gimenez finished strong but feels a bit like Hoerner Lite, hollow average with some steals. Arraez and Gorman are 80-grade one-trick ponies, and the price is right so far. We can foresee some entering Julien’s ADP over the next couple of months, especially in OBP leagues. If you’ve set yourself up in the stolen base department, hard to pass on a guy going in the 15th who finished 2023 with a .380 OBP and 16 home runs.
TIER 5
19. Jonathan India, CIN (214.11)
20. Brandon Drury, LAA (221.71)
21. Ryan McMahon, COL (223.78)
22. Brandon Lowe, TBR (261.72)
23.Luis Rengifo, LAA (242.64)
24. Gavin Lux, LAD (261.61)
25. Brendan Donovan, STL (274.81)
Will not be surprised if India’s stock takes a tumble soon, or maybe he gets that trade that everyone is waiting on. Hopefully, it’s to a place where he can DH because that’s where he needs to be. The rest of these players seem to be depth pieces at best, not much to get excited about. Though we can all dream on what Lux could put together in that Dodger’s lineup if his health stays on the up and up. Keep an eye on him in Spring Training, if his knee looks strong, he’s a nice post-injury late-round asset to target. Donovan’s number will also improve as more drafts come in and his positional eligibility becomes important to fantasy players.
TIER 6
26. Jeff McNeil, NYM (291.36)
27.Whit Merrifield, – – – (246.92)
28. Jordan Westburg, BAL (298.38)
29. Brice Turang, MIL (358.87)
30. Brendan Rodgers, COL (389.52)
31. Jake Cronenworth, SDP (378.21)
Really in the weeds now…..woof. McNeil could be better than expected, we’ll admit that. Westburg is exciting but what, are the Orioles going to start 5 infielders?! It’s crowded at Orioles Park, who knows if he even starts in MLB? Turang is a guy that I want on my favorite ball team in real life, but he’s not worth much in fantasy. Cronenworth could help out but he’s waiver wire fodder at this point.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read! If you have any feedback, whether it’s questions, comments, concerns or you telling me that Ketel Marte DOES NOT deserve to be in Tier 3, hit me up @LDeePee!
For more of the great fantasy baseball rankings and analysis you’ve come to expect from FantraxHQ, check out our full 2024 Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit! We’re here for you all the way up until Opening Day and then on into your championship run.