With the new fantasy baseball season quickly approaching, it’s time to get some graded rankings from my Shuffle Up series. Use them for auction drafts, straight drafts, goaltending decisions or just to see how a position ebbs and flows. On Tuesday, we opened at the catcher position. Today’s assignment is second base.
These numbers are inherently unscientific and are intended to reflect where talent is concentrated and lost. As usual, assume a 5×5 scoring system.
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We will be launching additional positions regularly over the next two weeks. I have removed all catcher-eligible players from the first base shuffle because these players will be used as catchers by 99% of fantasy teams.
More rankings
big ticket
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$32 Jazz Chisholm Jr., Yankees
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$30 Kettle Marte, Diamondbacks
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$22 Michael Garcia, Royals
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$22 Brice Turang, Brewery
Cody Bellinger’s re-signing means the Yankees will once again have a left-handed lineup, and MLB managers tend to split lefties to avoid being at a disadvantage. As a result, Chisholm could bat as low as sixth on Opening Day. But 30-30 commodities don’t fall from the tree, and Chisholm’s career may still be around as he enters his age-28 season. He deserves second-round consideration and a quick pick in the third round.
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Turang will probably be one of my preseason targets, he’s a versatile player but doesn’t have one eye-popping skill set. Bill James told us months ago that versatile players tend to be underrated and specialists tend to be overrated. These rules are also relevant to fantasy baseball. The Brewers have become the Rays they once were, a team in a smaller market but worth the money invested. Turang is a vegetable-eating option.
Altuve’s 26 homers last year masked some holes elsewhere — his batting average dropped 30 points and his steals dropped from 22 to 10. His bat speed has been well below league average since Baseball Savant started tracking it. Altuve is a guess-hitter at this point in his career and is gearing up for his age-36 season. I would rather be with a player a year earlier than a year later with a career trajectory like that.
legal building blocks
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$16 Luke Keeshar, Twins
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$15 Jordan Westburg, Orioles
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$15 Xavier Edwards, Marlins
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$13 Ceddanne Rafaela, Red Sox
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$13 Brandon Lowe, “Pirates”
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$12 Brendan Donovan, Mariners
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Curiously, Polanco reached the peak of his career at the age of 31, and it was in Seattle. His slider is supportive for most of his baseball pro, has good plate discipline and good contact count. He’ll likely start the new year as the Mets’ janitor. I’m interested.
Westburg has proven he belongs in the majors; he’s averaging 88 runs, 24 homers and 79 RBIs per season in 162 games. It’s unrealistic to expect anyone to play every game, and Westburg missed half the game last year due to injury, but give him the benefit of the doubt to become a quality offensive player over the past two years and be excited for a speculative second spot in Baltimore’s good batting order. Westburg is currently a 10th round pick in Yahoo’s draft, and I’d love to sign that ticket.
I can’t rank Albies any lower because he still brings category energy, but he throws so many pitches outside of the strike zone that he’ll probably end up in the bottom third of Atlanta’s lineup. He’s a far cry from the players who make All-Stars and receive MVP votes. In short, entering his age-29 season, his name is bigger than his game.
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talk about them talk about them
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$11 Graeber Torres, Tigers
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$11 Bryson Stout, Phillies
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$11 JJ Weatherholt, Cardinals
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$10 Luis García Jr., Nationals
Encouragingly, Garcia hit 16 homers and had 14 steals in what could be described as an “off-season” year — and that’s probably where he’s at. He’s still just 26 years and one away from averaging a .282 slugging percentage and a .444 slugging percentage. Garcia may move to first base this year, and he may also drop into a platoon — at least on the heavier side of the platoon. There’s no reason to skip García’s ADP. But for a player who has shown the ability to be a top-100 fantasy asset, his price is affordable.
Weatherholt may already have a starting job now that the Cardinals have moved Nolan Arenado and Brendan Donovan. Weatherholt, the No. 7 pick in the 2024 draft, had a strong .306/.421/.510 line between two minor league stops last year, with 17 home runs and 23 steals in just 109 games. He is one of the leading contenders for Rookie of the Year.
Some seemingly reasonable benefits
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$7 Jackson Holliday, Orioles
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$7 Jose Caballero, Yankees
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$7 Jack Cronenworth, Padres
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$6 Ernie Clement, Blue Jays
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$4 Marcelo Mayer, Red Sox
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When the hamate injury became public, Holliday fell significantly down this list. I will never be the injury optimist in this league. If there aren’t big discounts on draft day, count me out.
Mayer will do what the Red Sox ask of him, but perhaps his offensive growth will be cleaner if the team lets him settle into a defensive position.
Batey’s upside is limited as spring training begins, with him sharing the heavy lifting in the DH platoon with Mark Vientos. His performance so far has called for a caddy. His career hit against lefties is an unbeatable .200/.247/.300.
Special offer box
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$3 Andres Jimenez, Blue Jays
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$3 Jeff McNeil, Track and Field
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$2 Chase Medeiros, White Sox