Top 40 Second Base Prospect Rankings for 2023

Welcome to my top 40 positional prospect breakdown series. In this series, I break down each position’s top prospects giving you a deep dive into the top 5 and providing five additional names to target in deep leagues. My goal is to help you get your minor league systems into shape with upside prospects that can help you now as well as set you up for long-term success. Let’s dive into my top-5 second base prospects and 5 deep league names to keep your eyes on. My top 40 second base prospect rankings are further down the page. For deeper dives and live looks into the second base prospect rankings check out prospects 41-90 on the Weekly Streamer Patreon page.

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Top 5 Second Base Prospects To Stash

Termarr Johnson, PIT

Drafted fourth overall in the 2022 draft, Termarr Johnson was praised as the best fundamental hitter in the high school ranks in a class where four of the top five picks were high school bats. The bat-to-ball skills are good but so is the projected plus power that he is able to generate out of his 5’8” frame. In 2022 Johnson reported to A- Bradenton where he slashed .275/.396/.450 with 4 doubles 6 RBI and 4 stolen bases. With the Pirates future second basemen starting the season in A- Bradenton in 2023 it is plausible he makes his way up to A+ Greensboro by the season’s end.

Connor Norby, BAL

Baltimore selected Connor Norby in the second round of the 2021 draft out of East Carolina University. At ECU Norby was considered a high-contact infielder. In his final season with the Pirates he slashed .415/.484/.659 with  15 home runs and 18 stolen bases in 61 games played. At the time these were big gains from the year prior in home runs and stolen base output.

In 2022 Norby’s first full season of professional ball we saw him take flight, rising three levels to finish the season at AAA Norfolk. Norby slashed .279/.360/.526 with 23 doubles, 4 triples, 29 home runs, 73 RBIs, and 16 stolen bases in 121 combined games.

With every level Norby climbed, his average and OBP climbed and he made improvements to his walk and strikeout rates as well. There is no doubt Norby’s stock has skyrocketed over the off-season and for good reason,  he figures to be one of the best second base prospects in the game today and should make his major league debut in 2023.

BAL 2B Connor Norby solo HR on the first pitch! @IronBirds @Orioles @ECUBaseball @WeeklyStreamer pic.twitter.com/BBJNbYfFfQ

— Richard Haake (@Mustbethehawk) April 20, 2022

Oswald Peraza, NYY

Over the last two seasons, Oswald Peraza has steadily ascended dynasty rankings with solid contact skills and a refined power swing that has jettisoned him into one of the top second base prospects in the game. Peraza has quick hands from the right side of the plate that help him generate massive raw power to the pull side. The 22-year-old saw his stock rise the most in 2021 as he ascended three levels, slashing .297/.356/.477 with 26 doubles, 18 home runs, and 38 stolen bases in 115 combined games.

This is where we saw the new swing and approach for Peraza take hold and the results were fantastic for dynasty managers. In 2022 Peraza played the entire season at AAA Scranton where he slashed .259/.329/.448 with 16 doubles, 19 home runs, and 33 stolen bases in 99 games, warranting a call-up to the majors. Spring training saw Peraza dueling it out with fellow shortstop prospect Anthony Volpe for the starting shortstop job for the Yankees and despite the strong showing Peraza headed back to AAA Scranton to start the 2023 season. In the 9 games played in Scranton Peraza slashed .289/.357/.316 with 4 RBI and 5 stolen bases, showing the Yankees enough to call him up to split time at second and shortstop with Anthony Volpe.

Curtis Mead, TBR

This might be a prospect the Phillies regret trading away. Mead had a breakout season with the Rays in 2021, slashing .321/.378/.533 with 38 doubles, 15 home runs, and 11 stolen bases in 104 combined games. Curtis Mead is known for his plate discipline and eye at the plate, in 2022 we saw Mead take a step forward with his walk rate never dropping below 10.2% and the strikeout rate staying below 20% over 76 combined games at AA and AAA. Mead slashed .298/.390/.532 with 27 doubles, 13 home runs, and 7 stolen bases for the 2022 season, solidifying him in the top 100 lists industry-wide. He has started the season in AAA Durham but should be getting his call to the majors by the All-Star break.

Tampa Bay Rays 2B Curtis Mead with a single in +A Greensboro. Mead is slashing .321/.378/.533 over 3 levels in 2021. #MustBeTheHawk @WeeklyStreamer @RaysBaseball @BGHotRods @DurhamBulls @ChasRiverDogs @MiLB @TWSBiscuit @TWS_Irish @EricCross04 pic.twitter.com/KhZqGfbkn6

— Richard Haake (@Mustbethehawk) September 23, 2021

Edouard Julien, MIN

Another high riser in the Twins organization was Edouard Julien in 2022. Most dynasty managers got a glimpse into who Edouard Julien was from the World Baseball Classic this spring but this pales in comparison to his work at AA Wichita in 2022. Julien slashed .300/.441/.490 with 19 doubles, three triples, 17 home runs, and 19 stolen bases over 113 games. One major constant in Julien’s minor league career was his eye at the plate, he has a 20.4% career walk rate in the minor leagues with 18.4% (AAA in 2023) being the lowest of his career. With a strong showing in AAA St Paul Julien slashed .290/.421/.548 and got the call to the majors. Julien can play all over the infield for the Twins and can be a valuable dynasty asset for dynasty managers going forward.

Deep League Prospects To Watch

Carlos Jorge, CIN

Jorge comes in at 14 in my top 40 second base prospect rankings and  this might be one of your last opportunities to get in on Carlos Jorge before the price goes through the roof. Of the top 15, there is a realistic chance that six graduate, and Jorge could find himself as a top-five second-base dynasty prospect. Jorge put together strong numbers in the Dominican summer league in 2021, slashing .346/.436/.579 with 8 doubles, 10 triples, 3 home runs, 33 RBIs, and 27 stolen bases in 47 games played. The raw power and speed were on full display but the 17% strikeout rate and 12.8% walk rate stood above the rest as some of the most eye-popping statistics from the young 17-year-old.

The Reds sent Jorge to the complex league for the 2022 season where he picked up where he left off, slashing .261/.405/.529 with 7 doubles, 2 triples, 7 home runs, 21 RBIs, and 27 stolen bases in 42 games. Carlos Jorge improved his walk rate to 16.2% while his strikeout rate climbed to 26.6% showing room for improvement. Cincinnati assigned Jorge to A- Daytona to start the 2023 season and in 9 games played he is currently slashing .308/.438/.615 with one double, two triples, one home run, and one stolen base. Currently ranked 130 overall on the Fantrax HQ prospect rankings, he could jump into the top 50 with a strong season making him a strong target for dynasty leagues.

Zack Gelof, OAK

Taken in the second round of the 2021 draft out of the University of Virginia, Zack Gelof showed a good eye at the plate during his time at Virginia. Gelof slashed .312/.393/.485 with 9 home runs, 41 RBIs, and 12 stolen bases in 63 games played during his final season. After the draft Gelof was aggressively pushed by the Athletics rising from complex ball to A- Stockton before finally being aggressively placed in AAA Las Vegas to finish the season. In 2021 the bulk of the at-bats came at A- where he slashed .298/.393/.548 with eight doubles, seven home runs, 22 RBIs, and 11 stolen bases in 32 games. Gelof showed the plate discipline he was known for at Virginia, walking 13.1% and striking out at a 24.8% clip. The Athletics were pleased with his pro debut and started him off in 2022 at AA Midland.

During his time at Midland Gelof continued to pick up where he left off the previous season at A- Stockton. He slashed .271/.356/.438 with 16 doubles, two triples, 13 home runs, 61 RBIs, and 9 stolen bases in 87 games played. The walk rate in his time at AA Midland stayed strong at 11.7% but the strikeout rate jumped up to 27.4% and didn’t get better in the short sample at AAA Las Vegas to finish the season (28.9%).

So what is Zack Gelof at the major league level? Zack should bat for a good average, probably in the .265-.280 range with an OBP in the .350 range consistently. The question for me is where will the above-average power sit for Gelof? To this point he has not hit over 18 home runs in a single season, which is nothing to scoff at but if he reaches his above-average to plus power production you should be expecting 30+ per season.

Realistically I place him as a 20-25 homer bat with 10-13 stolen bases annually once he gets to the majors. The Athletics have placed Gelof at AAA Las Vegas to start the season where in only 5 games played we have seen the strikeout rate remain high at 32% in 25 plate appearances. Though this is a small sample size, his strikeout rate will ultimately determine how productive he will be in the majors though we have seen former Athletics carve out solid careers with 28+ percent strikeout rates.

Joey Ortiz, BAL

Taken in the fourth round of the 2019 draft by the Baltimore Orioles, Joey Ortiz has steadily gotten better and better at each stop of the minor leagues. I watched Joey Ortiz several times in 2021 when he was with A+ Aberdeen and was impressed with the quick hands through the zone and the hard contact he was making. Oritz would pepper the ball to all fields and work counts and draw walks; four in the three games I saw him in.

After a solid 2021 Joey Ortiz found a new level in his game playing most of his season in AA Bowie. In 111 games, Ortiz slashed .269/.337/.455 with 28 doubles, four triples, 15 home runs, 71 RBIs, and 2 stolen bases.

With a solid 8.5% walk rate and a low 16.7% strikeout rate, Ortiz was efficient with his at-bats and earned his call-up to AAA Norfolk to finish out the last 26 games of the 2022 season. In those 26 games at AAA Norfolk Ortiz slashed .346/.400/567 with seven doubles, two triples, four home runs, 14 RBIs, and six stolen bases. Joey stayed the same with his approach, holding a 7.8% walk rate and a 14.8% strikeout rate after the bump to AAA. The Orioles have assigned Joey Ortiz to start the season in AAA Norfolk setting him up to potentially make his major league debut and battle for his play in the Baltimore infield for years to come.

Eddinson Paulino, BOS

One of the prospects that will be making big jumps in the future rankings update will be Eddinson Paulino of the Boston Red Sox. The 20-year-old Paulino can play all over the infield and outfield but has played a majority of his games at second base. The plate discipline has been a strong trait for Paulino as he has never had a walk rate below 11.3% or a strikeout rate above 19.5% over any stop in the minor leagues.

Paulino made major strides with the bat in 2022 as he played the entire season in A- Salem slashing .266/.359/.469 with 35 doubles, 10 triples, 13 home runs, 96 runs scored, and 27 stolen bases in 114 games played. With the big extra-base hit numbers from the 2022 season there seems to be more projectability to the 5’10” frame that he can get to more power as he continues to fill out. The Red Sox assigned Paulino to A+ Greenville to start the 2023 season making him one of the younger prospects for the level. Paulino could be pushing into my top 100 list with a strong year with the Drive.

BOS 2B Eddinson Paulino base hit in A+ Greensboro @Fantrax @WeeklyStreamer @GreenvilleDrive @RedSox pic.twitter.com/HZirMzsyxD

— Richard Haake (@Mustbethehawk) April 18, 2023

Thomas Saggese, TEX

Saggese came out of the fifth round of a wildly successful 2020 MLB draft for the Rangers. He has joined Evan Carter and Tekoah Roby as high school players making their mark in this up-and-coming system. Standing at 5’11”, Saggese has played all over the diamond with second base being his potential home long-term.

In 2021 Saggese put together solid numbers with the A- Down East Wood Ducks, slashing .256/.372/.463 with 14 doubles, three triples, 10 home runs, and 11 stolen bases in 73 games.

Saggese has quick hands and generates above-average raw power thanks to the bat speed and aggressive approach at the plate in 2021 resulting in a high 29.5% strikeout rate.

The Rangers sent Saggese to A+ Hickory to start the 2022 season where he played 98 games, slashing .308/.359/.487 with 22 doubles, two triples, 14 home runs, and 11 stolen bases. Thomas brought down his strikeout rate to 22.4% in his time in A+ showing a more refined approach at the plate. With his solid display at A+ Hickory, the Rangers called Saggese up to AA Frisco for five games where he looked comfortable hitting .381 in 22 plate appearances. At 21 years old the Texas Rangers are starting Saggese back at AA Frisco where he is likely to play the majority of the season with the possibility of getting a call to AAA Round Rock to finish the season.

Top 40 Second Base Prospect Rankings