2026 Second Base Preview! Rankings, Strategy, Draft Prep Guide (2/10 Fantasy Baseball Podcast)

Welcome to the fantasy baseball today podcast from CBS Sports Got a fantasy question email fantasy baseball at CBSi.com Get ready to win your league Now here's Frank Scott and Chris second base kind of a weird one Welcome into fantasy baseball today on Tuesday February 10th. I am Frank sample joint by Scott White and Chris Hauer today on the show Hour 2026 second base preview we will do an overview of the position. We'll talk strategy deep dives on specific players sleepers breakouts busts favorite to draft ADP analysis all that good stuff Let's start with a macro look at second base and Bryce Tarrang had his big breakout jazz chiseled when 30 30 in just 130 games Just one second baseman provided more than 20 dollars worth of value in 12 team roto or category leagues last season For provided 15 dollars for reference. We just spoke about first base the other day There were four first baseman who gave 20 plus dollars and 13 with 15 plus so again for second base only one with 20 plus only four with 15 plus so not a Plentyful position up at the top in CBS head to the points leagues. We had zero second base men with 500 plus fantasy points There were four at first base only seven with 400 plus fantasy points and 14 of those at first base So again, there's not a lot of high and talent here at second base, but Scott I think for deeper leagues There's a lot of like serviceable solid depth like high floor options later on in drafts, but it is just seriously lacking high and talent Yeah, I don't know that I would say there are high floor options. I think there are some interesting ceiling options later in drafts but it it feels pretty Risky pretty risky not not particularly high at the high end and Well, I think I think you have an interesting number of fallback options an interesting number of genuinely interesting fallback options It's not like I feel confident drafting Jorge Palanco as my starting second baseman I'm intrigued, but I don't feel confident. I feel like there's a good chance. I'm gonna have to pivot to somebody else by the middle of May so It's not a position that gives me a lot of confidence and and like that goes for Everybody drafting though You know somebody's gonna get katal marty somebody's gonna get jazz chism. They're gonna pay a premium to do it Not that those guys are particularly safe either. I mean they both have an injury history Somebody's gonna pay a premium for those two and they'll they'll be in better shape at least going into the season because of that but everyone else is going to be taking on some degree of risk and they're going to be playing favorites in terms of who their most confident will will meet the full extent of their potential who's gonna stay healthy when they don't normally who's going to bounce back from a down year There a lot of guesswork's gonna go into that a lot of hunches are gonna be played And some people are gonna guess right others are gonna guess wrong And you just hope if you're in the on the side that guess is wrong that you have somebody to pivot to when that happens Chris I call this a weird position up at the top. I do think that it's Maybe the position that changes most at least for me Depending on the format. I feel like head to head points. You could find a lot of guys later on that will give you high-two fantasy point per game like 2.8 2.9 And if you just miss out on everyone else and wait like you could just snag one of those guys later on in the drafts And then in a categories league it just kind of you know, what do you need? Do you need seals? You could find someone for that You need batting average you could find someone for that. So I think it kind of changes depending on the format and there's kind of like a Greater late feel to second base for me. Yeah to highlight that last year according to the player-rater on fan graphs There were I think third base is the position second base you can combine you can compare them most comparably I think and Last year third base there were six players who were worth at least $17 which is More than a second base second base. There were only three But the number seven third baseman last year was worth 5.3 dollars The number 16 second baseman was worth 5.3 dollars So I think you're right to say that the high-end impact is a little lacking here and I think that's as Scott pointed out Especially true for the two highest end guys who Jazz Chisholm Kato Marta are awesome players. They do a lot well. They're priced Especially jazz. I mean that's jazz is just the second rounder in every league. Yeah format right now mid mid to late second rounder Yeah, um that dude's missed a lot of time in his career famously now last couple of years 147 130 games You'll take that like if he just does what he did last year 130 games 31 homers 31 steals you're thrilled Even with the second round pick it could be better. I suppose but I think you're fine with it I think second base has As you said Frank a lot of useful options throughout the draft depending on what you like it's sort of a Sort of the island of misfit toys when it comes to fantasy right like you've got Cheap sources of batting it you've got cheap sources of batting average. You've got cheap like 15 15 guys all the way through the draft um You know, I'm not a huge mat McLean fan, but like an outside the top 200 For a guy who's got a decent chance at 2020. I know he went 15 and 18 last year takes a little projecting but I think there's that upside you can get Predator v. For super cheap batting average or Luis arias will be second base eligible fairly early on and will be a great source of batting average There are guys at every pat at every part of the draft to the point where I don't think you really have to be too conscious about your approach to second base um You don't want to just ignore entirely But um, I don't necessarily think this is a position where you have to get one of those impact I think it's more important to get an impact bad at third base if you're gonna play the position scarcity game Just because once those impact bats are gone at third base It's just not very much at all uh, you know there's Bad sluggers basically at third base where a second base just has a a little more um Breath of skill sets throughout the draft that I think makes it a little easier to Find whatever you need at any point in the draft. Yeah, once you get past the top five at second base. I would say Uh, and then maybe there are two or three others that are borderline in that group of Being safe. It kind of depends. It's kind of a matter of perspective But I would say there are five who everyone would agree are pretty Safely going to be starters for you all season long. But once you get past those five it kind of feels like Just play your best hunch just play your best hunch and so it's whatever you need right like you get to a point where you need A specific skill set then you can narrow your list down. Yeah, certainly from like a roto context. Yeah, because there are those category specialists the second base But I don't know that it makes sense to really pay Invest much of anything that second base You know great or late like you were saying Frank like there's the five who you feel confident in and then you know There are some I feel better about than others some I'd be willing to pay a little more for than others, but for the most part it's like Okay, Matt McLean could be great Or he could be awful as the all these could be great or he could be pretty disappointing I think there are different Probabilities of the good outcome for each of those players and maybe that Determ helps factor in the price, but you know those are kind of at the two extremes of You don't really know what you're getting All these being on the high end and proclaim being on the low end those five second baseman that Scott is referring to by the way that we feel Pretty good about just being our starters all season jazz chism could tell marty Bryce Tarrang Niko Horner and Jose Al Tueve will get to all those in Just a little bit Chris it sounds like you don't really have an intentional strategy here at second base But you know we're right in the thick of draft prep season mock draft season every week Get an email from Scott about a new mock draft that's going down So is there a second basement or a group of second basement that you've Found yourself targeting or whining up with a lot in some of these early drafts I don't think I've taken one inside the top 100 yet. I mean I've only done like five or six drafts so far but I don't I think I Like the relative price of the guys outside of the top 100 a lot more Lucchial Aussie all these Brandon Lyle kind of just Those three especially just sort of depends on what I'm looking for right Lucchial I think he's gonna be a stolen based specialist All these a little more well rounded Brandon Lyle the best power bad at the position So just kind of depends what you need but I like that kind of middle class at the position a lot more Scott same question for you second base. I mean I I wouldn't say I have an intentional strategy I'm not reaching for the top five I do find though that I've just Generally a little higher than the consensus on Bryce Tarrang I tend to be an optimist in terms of how his power is gonna play and we'll get it more into that. I'm sure Because he's an interesting case So I tend to be a little higher on him But it's not like my whole draft strategy depends on getting Bryce Tarrang if somebody else Get some it's usually like round four I think where I'm getting him when I do have somebody else grabs him before I can That's fine. I'm happy to roll the dice on an Aussie all these or even later like a Marcus Simeon Yeah, I think in again for me it kind of changes depending on the format and head to head points league I would be totally fine taking someone like Katal Marta and Round two or three. He's just so good in that format 3.5 fantasy points per game If I miss out on him, it's just a value game if one of those top seven or eight slips a little bit I could see myself getting in on those if not I'll probably just wait in a point's league labor Torres Jorge Polanco Marcus Simeon Brendan Dottavan all profile is pretty good options in that format and then in a categories league I do like Nico Horner quite a bit around pick 100. He's not The sexiest pick of all time But there's something about knowing what you're going to get and you pretty much know what you're going to get with Nico Horner So I do like that if I miss on him, you know take a shot on like Luke Keishel Aussie Albeez in that you know 125 to 150 range of 80 p 80 p if you play in a league with a middle infield spot roto again There's lots of options there. Well, we'll talk about all those like Simeon goes late. Jorge Polanco. They're outside the top 200 Bryson's dot could give you like 25 to 30 steals did just want to make this this distinction early on that if you play on Yahoo players like Michael Garcia and Jordan Westberg have second base eligibility They do not on CBS or NFEC so just keep that in mind. We're not going to talk about those guys on today's episode because again CBS they don't have that But we will talk about them on their respective. I think both of them are just third base eligible on CBS I also want to point out there are a few players who will be gaining second base eligibility fairly early on Luis arise Luis rise. I think Caleb Durbin does not have second base eligibility but seems very likely. Oh, he does. Okay JJ Weatherholt Seems like a pretty good bet to play second base for the Cardinals There's one other one that I can't well. I lied about Caleb Durbin. He does not. Okay. I didn't think all right. Yeah, I was literally just running about it Maybe Kevin McGonagall though that would probably require labor torus injury for him to play second base Yeah, that's probably yeah, I'll rise in Weatherholt kind of stand out as the oh um the manor's guy Colt Emerson. I think there's a possibility he could play some second base. Although I think it's more likely he's third baseman if he breaks camp But yeah, there's a handful of interesting guys who especially among those prospects, you know, they're all short stops right now A decent amount of them will end up second baseman or third baseman as soon as this year, I think On the day this podcast is released We are there kind of pictures and catchers have reported let's go 10 games and 10 days until spring games We have 22 days until the world baseball classic 43 days until opening day and if you are pumped You are ready for the baseball season hit that like button And if you want to win your fantasy baseball league subscribe to our youtube channel and enjoy all the free content We have so much stuff coming out over the next two months for draft prep season and then boom in season It's you know, we've got a podcast out every week day and so it's going to be very very busy time Subscribe if you haven't already let's take our first break and For that's right. That's right. Thank you. People are saying it. Thank you for reminding me Chris. Let's take that risk bring it We'll be back right after this Welcome back in fantasy baseball today It is our second base preview for 2026 and let's get into the ADP average draft position We're using fantasy pros ADP which is an aggregate of now six different sources cbs Yahoo NFBC fan tracks RT sports and the ESPN so as always subject to change nobody in the first round of second base ADP but there are two names in that round two to three range We have jazz chism junior at 22.8 and catelle marty at 27.4 Let's start with jazz 30 30 last year in just 130 games as full season pace 38 homers 38 steals He has really leaned into this flyball approach as a lefty in Yankee stadium He missed a month last year with a trained right oblique and has an extensive injury history as we mentioned He's only exceeded 130 games once in his career, but Entering a contract year and Sometimes guys just find a way to stay healthy in a contract year. So Scott it sounds like you don't Kind of force it. Can you see yourself taking a jazz chism in the second round of drafts this season? Oh, yeah Yeah, I can see it toward the end of round two There comes a point where He's just the obvious guy to take. I mean that's that's for the most part what I'm doing And round two especially maybe even more than round one is just Okay, it's the right time to take this guy. I'm not gonna force it. I mean, I'm not gonna fight against it So I have jazz chism 20 Wait, that's for points leagues In roto I have jazz chism Oh, yeah 23rd overall. So yeah toward the one two turn if he happens to be there I'm willing to take him. I think we have a pretty good idea Who he is at Yankee stadium? He stayed relatively healthy the last two years You never feel great about his Health he's never played 150 games in a season even but with 130 he got to 30 30 last year It's gonna be a little bit of a hindrance and batting average, but I think the fact that he's eligible at the two hardest positions to fill I mean we're talking about him being one of just five standouts at second base um and the number one at second base But as we were just saying third base might be even harder to fill as the draft goes on So there you may go in thinking okay. I'm drafting jazz chism elite second baseman checking that position off and then come to find out Yeah, you know, I'd actually rather start him at third base and that Primo eligibility, I think is a big point in jazz chism's favor Yeah, I do like that and I've talked about that in years past with players that have that dual position eligibility especially high in players It just affords you more flexibly throughout the draft where man if the best hitter here is a third baseman All right, slide him over to second and vice versa Where you can play him at third if you really like a second base value So I do like that flexibility that it awards you throughout the course of the draft for a format for jazz I he's better in a roto and categorically right absolutely Definitely definitely but I don't rank him that much lower in points because With the smaller lineup sizes and points. There's even there's even a higher priority to fill weak positions with strong players And again jazz chism is one of the strongest at two of the weakest Yeah, one of the other strongest players that second base is catelle marty the best pure hitter at the position He has reached a consistent elite level the past two years posting an 893 ops or better in both Strong batting average four category contributor Not many steals at this point in his career awesome plate discipline just makes him the best second baseman and head to Point's leagues 3.5 fantasy points per game last year on CBS But like jazz has consistently missed time with injury Probably looking at 25 to 30 miss games throughout the course of the year There were trade talks this off season. He's not on the move. He's remaining in Arizona. Uh, he's hit well there He's it's obviously a good lineup so I don't really worry about any of that stuff for could tell marty Chris can you see yourself actually drafting catelle marty in that round two to three range? It is easier to see in the points league. I think in a rodo league not getting stolen bases is always tough and with one of your first two picks and You think about where he's going off the off the board and it's usually I guess more like the end of round three and a 12 team league at least based on fbc 80p I think we all rank him a little higher than that probably more to the two three turn And that's where you start to think like I don't really know show heo tani is a great bet for more than like 20 steals now that he's pitching again His pace last year after we return to the mound was like 14 steals. I'm not sure enough people recognize that about show heo tani Judges You know you'll get double digit steals but not much more than that um Sodo if he's the number three pick. I don't really know what to expect it could be 15 it could be 30 again But when you start doing that math. It's like well am I going to get out of the first two rounds with 15 steals projected from my top two players. That's not great Now if martes more like a late third that makes a little easier to justify um But yeah, that's an awkward fit especially for a guy who is a good source of batting average But last three seasons. It's 262 76 292 283 If that's the range and 283 is kind of the midpoint. Yeah, it's pretty good certainly You're not upset about that but yeah, it's not like carrying your team in batting average. So I think katham arti does present some team building quandaries But on the whole I'd still be happy with him as my third player certainly yeah Would be totally fine again with him in a in a point league. I would go as far as they like Mids the late second round or I think that would be totally fine to get that advantage at that. The gap there Marta 3.53 points per game last year 3.53 Chesam's 3.24 now Chesam was still that's the third best in points per game at the position at second base Second best was a less established player who we'll talk about shortly So you know Chesam still stands out in points leagues at this position But katal marty is kind of a little more in a tier of his own Yeah, I do think to your point Chris like you could pair marty with a j-ram or a bobby wit Obviously those guys projected for like 30 plus steals. It's easier to pull it off I do think in category leagues you're probably more likely to get marty in the third round of draft So you know if you can get obby wit or j-ram with like a trio or a trade turner and then you get katal marty. It's like all right That's a pretty good base all around Of the stats that you're looking for from your first three hitters After marty you drop down to Bryce Sarang who represents in island of second base ADP He is going at 46 on average. So that's about 20 picks after marty But 50 picks ahead of the next second baseman who is Niko Horner. So again, it's just this Bryce Sarang island that we're on here And he just finished as the top second baseman in roto and category leagues He was the second best second baseman in total head to head points He has finished the top 50 overall player two years in a row Of course, he did it in very different ways the past two years He improved dramatically as a hitter. He upped his bath speed and exit velocity His home run total nearly tripled, but his stolen bases were cut in half. So We are left trying to figure out who is the real Bryce Sarang So Scott what are your expectations for terrain this season and is he worth a pick in the Round four or five range of a 12 team league? I think he is I actually rank a more like a third rounder Now I think that's mostly because I have in my rankings a Drought up for starting pitchers. I just don't rank any between early round two And early round four Which I think slides some hitters up to rank included but I have him ranked more like a third round or even though you know Just the way the draft plays out. I'm more likely taking him around four, but I'm an optimist bottom line It's an interesting case for sure It's not often that you see a player as established as Bryce Terang See his exit velocities go up by four miles per hour that is both average and max that is a huge Transformational gain. I think the percentile rankings put it in perspective average exit velocity who went from 14th percentile Slapheader basically to 75th percentile a guy who could genuinely hit for power and good power the problem was He was still opposite field-minded There to an extreme more balls hit the opposite field and pulled and Tended to put the ball on the ground still so the pull air rate was very low It was a lot of wasted impact. It was helping him be a better hitter overall But he wasn't delivering the power you'd expect for somebody with those exit velocities until August When he hit 11 home runs So 11 of his how many was it 18? Yeah, 10 of his 18 came in his 18 excuse me 10 eight 10 home runs in August 10 of the 18 that one month Where you know you look at the bad of ball data. He was Elevating and pulling better. He was you know seemingly figuring it out And then capes up timber and he just hit just two home runs and wasn't elevating it So it was just that one month like he delivered The full extent of his power potential that Know what as long as he doesn't lose exit velocity which I wouldn't expect remains latent in there that power potential Existing for that one glorious month. We saw Bryce to rank make good on it. So There is Away he could pull this all together. We have some proof of concept from that one August and You combine 20 home or power, let's say I mean he got to 18 it the strange path he took there he got to 18 pretty close to 20 so 20 home or power With the 50 steals he had in 2024 And I think you're talking about a potential second round caliber player here Obviously not fully proven That's why I'm not drafting him around too But I'm happy to take him in round four and pursuit of that upside especially at a position This week Yeah, this week Yeah, look if I'm just conservatively I guess trying to figure out you know What do I expect this year? I you look at his I will hit 288 last year, you know the xba the past few years right around 260 So like I think 260 to 270 15-ish home runs 30 plus steals good counting stats like he's projected to bet second in the brewers line up Between choreo and couture as you have Christian yelchin there too. So I think the counting stats could be really good Is that worth it? You know again, that's just like a modest projection But there is an upside a bull case like scot just laid out where you know if everything comes together We could maybe maybe get that massive season here from Bryce to rank from a format perspective better in categories or Dead points right string Roto but probably pretty close After to rang you dropped out about 50 picks as I mentioned earlier and you get Nico Horner with an 80p of 94 and Jose Altube with an 80p of 98 so very close to each other just inside the top 100 rounds eight or nine and a 12 team league right now Nico Horner again like I said earlier, there's something About knowing what you're going to get from a player Horner has pretty much been the same player three years in a row his average season during that time 284 batting average 7.7 homers Not great, but 91 runs 69 rbi 34 steals so you're getting the batting average you're getting speed you're getting the run scored here The 43 steals that we got in 2023 that looks like an outlier. He's been right around 30 in the two years since He's incredibly durable 150 plus games each of the past three years I think it's more of a Floor play than anything entry a contract year if you're into that kind of thing Chris like I mentioned I kind of like him in a categories league because you know in that range of the draft to get a batting average in a speed boost feels kind of good But how about you what do you think about Horner? I think the thing I like most about Nico Horner is there are a lot of stolen base guys you can target outside of the top 100 Who are kind of only sick stolen base guys? Or who are actively detrimental in batting average let's say um And he's one who's a clear plus in three categories batting average stolen bases and runs he is Good too exceptional in all three He's a non-zero contributor in the other two categories and It kind of just depends on what your team build looks like if you need the speed and the batting average and in that range I think he's Arguing the best choice. I mean you could like Go a little cheaper with Chandler Simpson, but there's real playing time concerns there and there's like Dylan Cruz and even Jacob Marcy like you could see those guys having that kind of skill set but Horner like you said there's something to be said for knowing you're going to get that especially At that point in the draft where you're You're no longer really just looking for the best player You're often looking for the best fit for your specific team And the problem with even a luke quiche who's a little cheaper who I like a lot I think he's going to be a standout in stolen bases and runs at least and I think he should be good in batting average So guaranteed of it and luke quiche has Ranges of outcomes on the low end where he's in the minors by me That's not gonna happen for Nico Horner Yeah, he's a great defensive player they like him. He's proven like he's gonna stay in the lineup long enough to figure it out Even if he does get off to a slow start I can't say that about Jacob Marcy or Chandler Simpson or luke quiche. I hope that's true of all of them But it's definitely not a guarantee in the way it is with Horner. So I like the certainty that he gives you but He's also very much a known commodity and his limitations are very obvious as well so it just I think Nico Horner is Very much a do I need what he specifically provides at that point in the draft, you know eighth to tenth round Go ahead and take him if not I think it's very easy to move on from him as well Yeah as we spoke about on our first base preview We all it seems like we all like rice Harper and uh Rafael Devers and Matt Olsen and uh, you know I mean specifically with Olsen and Devers if you draft someone like that in the third or fourth round You know they're batting average isn't gonna hurt you But it's not gonna help you so I mean to pair one of those guys with a Nico Horner It feels like a pretty good combination of stats and then what they provide the expectation for the season something I just thought of now and Haven't really thought of it much before this but the cubs signed Alex Breggman And uh, Matt Shaw's just kind of floating around. I mean is there is there any chance that Nico Horner just like loses a little bit of playing time over the course of the season and he's just Not a compiler like he has been in years Pat like Even if it gets like one game one game off a week. I mean that adds up over the course of the season you know Yeah, but I get it. I mean Hornner Hornner Hornner brings so much defensive upside to He's got a four to four point eight war player four years and a row. He's quite really good. Matt Shaw's Matt Shaw has some potential I suppose but what we have Major League field does not suggest that Nico Horner should ever come off the field for him. Yeah, I mean Yeah, I don't I hope Craig counsels us We're talking about Nico Horner is pretty high-end in fan. I want to I want to call him truly high-end but Ball start by a Ulster bolstered by the position scarcity. He he's somewhat high-end in fantasy And I think he's even better in real life is what I was building up to yeah For sure now I actually don't love drafting him in Roto or especially head-to-head categories with fewer roster spots or fewer lineup spots to balance all the stats I just think home runs is the offensive category where one little misstep And you're treading water the rest of the draft So I don't like taking that big of a hit in home runs early I I like I actually like Nico Horner more in points leagues. I mean it was 2.95 points per game last year is pretty consistently on the three bubble Which at a position like this is You're not going to find too many hitters better than that So I know you're about to ask a better points league or Categories roto league player and You might Naturally being inclined to think oh roto because batting average standout and death specially stolen base standout But I actually think it's points as long as your league is 2 points per steal Like a standard CBS leaks are Yeah, 7% strikeout rate last year is really valuable in a point's league Yeah, I I think it's probably just really valuable in both I hear the argument skyd I like what Nico Horner allows you to do I know he brings down the power a lot when you draft him around pick 100 But you know he allows you to you know later on you could take maybe a power guy with the lower batting average and feel a little bit better about it Just because you have that batting average Buffer in there with Nico Horner. Let's talk about hose out to vee like Freddy Freeman out to vee is clearly in decline But it's mostly been graceful to this point. He's good for solid power and counting stats batting average doesn't kill you But is 265 last year his lowest since the shortened 2020 season Also the steals came down from 22 and 2024 down to 10 last year Not sure we're gonna see that go back up at this point in L2v's career He also had a minor procedure this offseason to remove fluid from his right foot He says he's 100% healthy heading into the spring But just something we should mention obviously Scott I still think hose out to vee is fine, but I'm not really excited to draft him an ADP. I think if he slips a little bit sure I could be in it's just I don't know I'll to vee like with him and Freeman. I don't know. It's just like these aging guys. I just feel really nervous that it could just all go away very quickly for them Well, I did call Freddy Freeman my favorite first baseman to draft this year at cost uh-oh Worth pointing out are we doing the same without to vee I haven't had an opportunity to draft out to vee yet. I think This tends to happen where the people I draft with which are people around the industry Um, they tend to I guess they just tend to be more in sync with me than with the NFBC crowd Because a lot of times these players that I see as obvious discounts. Oh out to vee going one-fifteenth Where do I have him ranked? I have him ranked That's position by position. I have him ranked 82nd so I'm way ahead of the consensus on Jose out to vee and theoretically even though it hasn't happened yet I should be drafting him a lot. I think Kind of like Freeman you can see the cracks starting to show but It's Very gradual this decline and I think it's being exaggerated especially in an NL2 vee's case To to such a degree that there isn't I mean if you really get him outside to pick one hundred I don't see a lot of ways that goes wrong for you, you know, given his I don't know. I guess it's possible any time of players in his mid-30s the bottom could just fall out but generally speaking that doesn't happen and You know he's coming off a good year still. I think I think it'd be fine at this week position There are a few like he's one of the five we talked about trusting and he's the most affordable of that by pretty big degree I one thing I want to point out In talking about how things could go wrong for out to vee is one we've just kind of seen this gradual decline and I think the The contact skills and pull heavy approach have have helped him avoid falling off too much but I could see some like Marcus Simeon here where it's just These relatively small declines and skill set could have a very large impact in the aggregate eventually just because Yeah, I mean I don't think he's hitting 350 foot homers and so I don't turn and get 340 foot homers and they're not quite angled in the right way as often this time They're a little more out to like I'm making the case right now. I want to play one other thing I'm saying if Marcus Simeon had been playing in Houston the last couple years I don't think we'd see him we'd think of him as being so much on the decline either Right, but I'll to this already playing and like that's already And but we're already seeing the decline from out to vee is one of seven like he he is continuing He has played in 26 homers last year right, but he had what a 900 OPS three years ago 2023 right yeah He's been like sub 800 OPS for the last two years and that's fine because like I said He's you know a pretty good source of batting average and he still pulls them all but there was a quote from Joe Aspada in the athletic Last week February 4th The way Chandler Rome says an injuries around the roster forced the manager to play out two ve 155 games far more than he would have envisioned for a player who will turn 36 and make quote if we didn't have the amount of injuries. I could have given Jose some extra days off his feet Basically just talking about needing to be a little more conscious about giving Jose Al-Tuvia playing time or time off I think they're unwillingness to move East like parades for his for the asking price in the market is probably a result of that They're in a weird spot where they need extras, you know, they need extra hands on deck to account for You want an avarismist needing time off and Brian or Christian Walker and and Jose Al-Tuvia and Carlos Correa like they They've got a very injury prone or old team but they also you know East like parades is probably over qualified to be a Strecked utility guy so they're in a weird spot in terms of their roster, but I think And just reading that I would think out to a In an ideal world probably plays more like 140 games and 160 games and it makes it harder for him to be a compiler that way But he's going 98th instead of 47th like last year sure and 30 second the year before right like So much of this is beyond accounted for and his his draft cost Yeah, I mostly agree I have him a little lower than that, but I have him not far from his price So I think he's fine. I just can't say he's like a big target for me. I do think At some point the bottom's gonna fall out um, and I don't think we've seen it yet thankfully, but yeah, I think he's fine So better in a categories league or head to head points I like two point eight fantasy pretty close two point eight fantasy points per game I mean, this is part like he's just not really a standout and Glebert Torres average two point eight fantasy points per game and he's going outside the top two hundred So that's why it's like I don't know why am I Yeah, but it's fine. I kind of glabers a weird case because he's so mediocre in roto And last year at least was really Quite good in points. So that that's yeah You know his his plate discipline was exceptional last year in a way. I don't think you can count on again I think just because out to ve is not really a category. It doesn't really stand out in any category anymore I think of his better in points leagues, but you know, I don't mind the cost in roto All right, let's take our final break when we return back into second base ADP right after this Welcome back in fantasy baseball today our second base preview here for 2026 and let's continue on with second base ADP after out to ve you drop down about 25 picks where you find three names Going pretty close to each other. We have Luke Keishel with an ADP of 123 Jackson holiday at 125 and Ozzie albies at 127 round 11 or 12 of a 12 team league in this range And let's talk about Luke Keishel 23 years old a top prospect for the twins entering last season in just 49 games He hit 302 with four homers 14 steals and 827 ops He averaged 3.4 fantasy points per game last season Which Scott reference earlier that was second behind only could tell marty and it's good plate discipline You love the willingness to run Very poor quality of contact and the low pulled air rate doesn't look good for his power potential I did look this up. It actually was a better pull rate in the miners So maybe that gives you a little bit of hope for some power potential here not great power But you know, maybe 15 home run potential for Luke Keishel. He's also dealt with a lot of injuries So Chris, I know you like him a lot. What are your expectations for Keishel? I think it's worth pointing out All the quality of contact metrics were significantly better in the miners They weren't like elite, but his average ex of velocity at triple a last season 87.7 miles per hour his barrel rate 6.3% his hard hit rate 34% none of those are outrageously good numbers But they were better than what he managed 87.7 is bad right sure, but it's a low league average But it's close enough to average that I don't think we would say there is zero pop here Especially for a guy who did a pretty good job of pulling the ball in the air, but what I want to point out is Six games into his major league career. He suffered a fractured forearm And so all of the data we're talking about He played what 49 games something like that 85% of the data that we have at the major league level came as a 22-year-old rookie Who suffered a fractured forearm four days into a week into his major league career I'm not saying that means we can't take the data that we have from last year into account, but I also don't think we should just look at what he did in 49 games in terms of his quality of contact and say great That's really kut Lucie Schill is forever. I think the circumstances here are worth noting now I don't think Lucie Schill needs to Significantly improve the quality of contact to be a viable fantasy option. That's just a question of Can he if he's just what he was last year? I think you're probably looking at Nico Horner with a little bit of batting average lost And I think that's a perfectly fine pick at 140 because I think he's legitimately going to be a 30 plus steel guy And I don't think that's the floor. I think he could be a 40 steel guy fairly easily. That's what he was His pace at both triple A and the majors last year was 40 plus deals But if he gets back to being more like a high teens to low 20s pull their rate like he was a triple A and he gets to more like a 40th percentile average Of loss to rather than you know 15th or whatever he was last year I'm just saying there is a lot more room I think for Improvement based on the quality of contact we saw last season that I don't think we need to be Talking about Lucchialize if what we saw last year is just who he will be forever He might be worse. That's entirely possible That's what they had a super high babbip and maybe then that is probably unsustainable, but This is a top prospect who had a really good minor league career showed some real impactful skills at the major league level And should have a lot of playing time in in Minneapolis. So He's a player at his price. I like targeting. I understand the arguments against him But you give me Luke Keishel or Sinan Raffaella I'm taking this the upside of Luke Keishel every single time My initial inclination was to put Keishel and my bust 1.0 Partly because in the drafts I'm doing there's enough enthusiasm for him that he goes like pick 80 85 And so that's what I'm thinking man people are over the moon for Luke Keishel And then you see the 80p and it's like yeah, that's yeah, I can't quibble about that too much I like him a lot, but I have him around 100 so yeah My biggest objection to him is I just don't have a clue what's going on with him because like pull air rate was how he got to his power in the miners And that was the selling point for me And then he comes up to the majors and it's in the blue You know, so he either needs to drastically improve his pull air rate or drastically improve his contact quality Which seems less likely, but you know, we did just see Bryce Tarrang do it. So it's not impossible um otherwise There isn't much power here and so you know, he could do that Nico Horner thing That's basically what he looked like for the 200 play to parents as we saw him last year not a very big sample But that's basically what he looked like was Nico Horner um But that obviously less margin for air you got it you got a nail the batting average you got a nail the stolen bases and there's not enough Reps here for me to feel confident Keisha's gonna do that But you know 80p it's it's fine to gamble on it At that point because I certainly see the upside to Mm-hmm and again that 80p right around 125 across all the different websites there with Lucke Shill I think um If he comes anywhere close to uh what we're expecting or what he showed last year he's probably just good in both formats, right? category is in head ten points probably even Better points I would say I mean in a way because he walks more than his very patient So if I like corner more and points than I definitely like Keisha more and points Let's talk about Jackson holiday formerly one of the top prospects in all of baseball He is still only entering his age 22 season this year Just last year he went 17 17 while hitting 242 over 149 games He took a big step forward from 20 20 40 improved the plate discipline Decent quality of contact for a middle infielder uh, but he has struggled to mightily against lefty so far in his career And he finished very poorly over the final two months of last season This 80p is expecting holiday to take another step forward Which is entirely possible at his age But Scott are you expecting it for Jackson holiday? Oh, it's some wishful thinking and it's year three of wishful thinking with Jackson holiday like I Okay, former number one overall pick got the bloodlines, you know his dad was a Seven-time all-star or something like that That is a talent you want to bet on in a long-term sense. I I don't Think there's much justification to lose faith in dynasty league for instance I don't think the Orioles should be shopping Jackson holiday at this point But we're talking about redraft here where all our chips in on 2025 and It's a big bet still it's a big bet that this is gonna be the year it clicks for him And you know, I get back to what I was saying at the top. Okay Jackson holiday he has all those marks in his favor young pedigree History of you know son of an all-star all of that But I I find qualities I'd rather bet on from other second baseman who are going much later Just looking at NFBC ADP in from January 1st on you know Aussie all bees is going 25 picks later um Matt McLean is going 80 picks later Marcus Simeon is going 110 picks later. I see more reason concrete reasons for optimism not just wishing and hoping from them. So it's really It's really just why Make this gamble at this price for this player. I see the upside you there's a there's an upside case for Jackson holiday But I don't like it for that price and and there are enough upside alternatives that I just rather not pay Mm-hmm. I wish there was a better case for him beyond He's held his own or come close to holding his own as a 20 and 21 year old at the major league level and especially as a 21 year old right like he was pretty awful as a 20 year old, but he was About an average player in as a 21 year old That's usually like Scott said that's usually a pretty good thing to bet on. I just wish I had something more tangible to grab on to besides Historically, this is the kind of profile that works out in the long run. I wish there was A really good approach at the plate or really good contact skills or a really good base runner um You know when when you compare him to Keishel. I'm very confident. Lucie Shul is gonna steal a lot of bases I think Jackson Hall is gonna get 15 15 Yeah, did I have it? Yeah, if 1717. Do I have any reason to think Jackson holiday is gonna go 25 25? He's been a pretty bad base runner and his major league career doesn't hit the ball particularly hard yet I mean like I think the 15's like Caleb Durbin right? I mean that's I mean it's not that like Xander Bogart It's not a bar. It's was 12 and 20. It's literally auto Lopez. It's literally auto-lips. Yeah, he went 1515 last year and so I wish there was an affirmative case for Jackson holiday to justify his price and I would feel a little better if it was like 170 or so that that's not to say I definitely won't draft him Or that I even think he's not worth drafting at his price because I think You can certainly make the case. It's just That is not a player you can write into your lineup and say I know I'm going to get A hundred and twenty fifth picks worth of production from it I think I know I'm gonna get like the 200th picks worth of production out of him But if him and Luis Garcia have the exact same season which they kind of did last year Not going to be surprised there either Luis Garcia Jr. by the way his ADP is 230 so just for yeah, he was like what 1517 something like that last year Very very very close. Obviously I think playing time was a big edge for Jackson holiday I totally hear you Chris. I just wish the ADP was a little bit lower on holiday because I want to be excited I want to like would not surprise me one bit if he's If he goes you know 20 homers 30 steals and hits like 260 plus and you know He's like a top 50 pick in drafts next year. It's just given his age his pedigree the bloodlines all that Just would not surprise me. He takes another step forward this year But you know you do have to pay a price where you are drafting him around other You know Keishel's not proven but like Aussie Albeys is a proven player Kind of a wall card. We'll talk about him in second But uh, yeah, there's just like I don't really see why you have to do it. It's two rounds earlier than Albeys Well, based on fantasy pros. They're going like right next to each other. Yeah, NFPC I think uh, yeah Albeys is going a little bit further behind and uh the format for holiday He is better in roto and categories You know great OBPs great. I have to play in the minors. We just we haven't seen enough of that yet To just fully expect it uh this upcoming season. So I would say better categories player um so far at this point in Jackson holidays career Aussie Albeys. Let's talk about it one of the wild cards at the position Probably one of the tougher ones to pinpoint here. Uh terrible first half last season Turns out he was still dealing with lingering effects of that fractured wrist from 2024 Then he picks things up in the second half. He looks like himself 272 Nine homers seven steals seven sixty nine OPS over 62 games in the second half And then his season ended with a fractured ham a bone in his left hand Which is the same hand wrist he was dealing with uh the year prior so See how we're not exactly sure what to expect from uh Aussie Albeys and whether or not this injury will linger for him But uh he's still theoretically in his prime and Could be in a great lineup. So uh, yeah kind of itself want to figure out here Yeah, I was prepared to be all in on Aussie Albeys before the broken ham a bone at the end of the season and That has a reputation for sapping players of their power for a while after they return It eventually comes back in it and it hasn't always sapped players sometimes players come back from the broken ham a bone like nothing ever went wrong It's obviously been a full off season to recover So I think that's a mark in all of these favor But it does add a very big element of uncertainty to a player who already had An uphill battle back to to uh fantasy prominence, let's say um, but I I feel this way I um about Both Albeys and and I'll talk about it for Austin Riley when we get to third base You know obviously they had very steady track records up until two years ago When there were injuries and just the timing of the injuries if you look at how they were performing Right before the injury hit It's like okay that that same guy is still in there and it's just injuries have prevented his numbers from normalizing to the the track record We grew accustomed to what what we were used to seeing from these players and so they're both discounted I think asi albeys more heavily obviously But I think they're very good gambles for the price Given that I don't really seem much true talent drop off from them statistical drop off sure But I think you can attribute that to the injuries especially when you look at You get into the game logs and look at the timing of when everything happened and And how they were performing at that point so uh all these is the second baseman I don't know if he's the single second bit like the one second baseman I'm going to be most invested in I talked about to rang might be that But he's up there he is one of that Uh that very large collection of questionable second baseman that have good upside he's one That I'm going to be heavier and more heavily invested in than some of the others I certainly like a more than Jackson holiday Even at cost and you know a lot of times in certain formats he does go later than holiday Yeah, and again just in the fantasy pros ADP all the websites combined Holiday and albeys right next to each other But if you're drafting on the NFBC Ozzy albeys going 30 picks after Jackson holiday so you are getting Quite a bit of a discount there on albeys I would say he's a name to watch in spring like let's see what he looks like Let's see not that you know He probably won't be taking it all that seriously is Is he playing that much? Yeah, I don't know like I don't know if he's in a wbc or not but um I think he is yeah I think he is for for the Netherlands I know he's coming back from an injury so that caught yeah but All right well actually that that kind of helps it then because obviously he's going to be you know playing and You know high profile games and things just like I want to see you know where's the bad at do we see do we see any power or anything Um because again, it's like Tale of two halves last year, but if he's healthy and we start to see like that second half I'll see albeys then this could be a big discount on albeys here at this ADP After him we dropped out about 25 picks when we get to say down off a yellow with an 80p of 151 And just after him we have Brandon lab with an 80p of 161 so rounds 13 to 14 in a 12 team league Sayonarafela has second base and outfield eligibility is 25 years old He improved on the margins last year 16 homers 20 steals Very aggressive at the plate. He barely walks but he did drop the strikeout rate year over year Which was huge for his profile and and what he did Given that aggressiveness he he kind of is this like pcral Armstrong light where he is an extremely streaky player He was bad through May Then he looked like a stud in june july We think this all right this big breakout is happening And then he just struggled mightily over the final two months of the season so Still young enough where he could improve again Chris your thoughts here on say don rofela oh Don't go to me Uh Scott your thoughts here on say don rofela I just know I will answer the question I think say don rofela is just not very good um well That is not true. I think he's a pretty good baseball player because he's and he's better than you He's better than me Well and just like among major league center fielders There may not be more than one or two better center fielders defensively than say rofela and that helps that's going to keep him in the lineup but Uh, I think he's a bad hitter among major league baseball players again much better than me But I don't really see much to be Optimistic about here with center rofela like He's got Fringe I would say solidly below average quality of contact He also does not make a ton of contact. I guess the strikeout rate was 20% but That means he's making contact with a lot of pitches. He really should not be swinging it because he's got a Crazy high chase rate. It was 42% last season Uh, death among qualifying batters according to fan graphs the chase rate. Yeah, I just He does not have the physical tools that p-car arm strong does to make this work He certainly doesn't have the physical tools that Michael Harris does Michael Harris hits the ball really hard a lot um I I think it's great. We got two good months out of him last last season. I don't expect That to be the case moving forward. He will have a couple of good months every year, but He was basically useless for fantasy outside of those two months. I guess He had six deals in April he had five in august but he hit 208 and 241 with two homers and one homer I just really I don't get said on rfl is price at all I I think he is I guess he's better than Luis Garcia because Luis Garcia is gonna sit against more lefties, but I think they're very similar players offensively So I I wrote about say don rfl and busts and so my take was similar to yours um at that point anyway 80 p showed him going 80 spots ahead of auto Lopez and Elliott Ramos just to give the two positions where said on rfl is eligible and I can't Really see the case for him going that far ahead of those two because I think he's about as valuables those two and fantasy Mm-hmm again that was say down rfl who we were talking about who is much better in a road or categorically if you do want to draft him He's pretty much unusable and ahead to head point sleep because he does not walk at all and it's worth noting his 80 p in NFBC drafts 126.9 since the start of January. It's much lower about 40 to 50 picks lower At other sites, so I guess his 80 p at other sites is more viable, but even then I just can't really imagine Reaching a point where center rfl is the player. I'm most excited to draft. I am not going to draft him I see the bull case for him a little bit more just because he is still young and he's Really really fast. I mean, he's you know sprints mean is you know over 90th percentile in the league And he made huge improvements last year in strike out raid and hitting the ball harder So I I'm not saying he's definitely going to make more improvements, but I think there's a chance that can happen So I'm not I see a little bit more of a bull case on him, but he's he's not really the player that I'm looking to draft at at 150 This upcreen season Let's talk about brand to allow who is 31 years old traded over to the pirates this offseason as he enters a Contract year. He managed to stay healthy for 134 games, which was the second most of his career You always do have to worry about injuries with brand to allow. He's had a bunch of back things pop up throughout his career But he put up 31 homers 83 RBI, which is great at the position He still hits them all hard. He barrels it up The fit and Pittsburgh is an interesting one because It hasn't been a great park for left-handed power over the past three years, but I think it's much more likely that he's an everyday player with the pirates. So Look, not that he's grading his lefties, but it could help with counting stats and things like that For those watching on YouTube. I'll pull up his spray chart over P and C so you can see what that looks like But Scott, what are your thoughts here on brand to allow with the pirates this season? Well, I mean, I'd much rather be a left-handed hitter at P and C park the right-handed hitter Of course, yes Because it's like the worst for right-handed power. Marcelo Zuna. No, I mean, I I feel like I've been pretty Pretty dour for the most parts certainly about the last few second baseman we talked about but like I can get excited about this one I don't know why branded Lao is going behind Most of the players the handful of players we just talked about to me um He's right up there with Keishel in terms of how valuable he is in fantasy He His 31 home runs were tied for the most of the position and it was hardly Out of character for him. I mean, he's he's spent missed some time with injuries that prevented him from getting quite to 30 home runs But he always performs at that pace. He is clearly one of the best power hitters at the position and now that he's out of Tampa The biggest concern about him just these playing time games happening with him Um a lot of times having to do with platoon splits but You know sometimes not even that and I'm looking back through the years some years He actually hit left these pretty well. Let me see what the career numbers are Um career 219 695 opus. That's not bad. I mean a near 700 opus against for a left-handed batter against lefties That's not bad. That's not bad. So he's got to stay healthy Obviously, it's a worst lineup, but a better lineup than we're used to seeing from the pirates Uh, I think he's a I think he's a good value here and um I'd be a little afraid of letting him fall this far because I feel like Brandon Lau is that much more bankable than they say Don Raffaiella's and Jackson holidays of the world I I don't know that I'd be will like I'm not I'm not saying reach for him. What what ADP are we talking about here like 160 Yeah, I got it. It's a wide range. It's 128 on CBS. It's 236 on Yahoo 171 at NFBC. So it's kind of all over the place Yeah, so there seems to not be a lot of consensus here surrounding Lau. I have him 120 So I am higher than all the ADPs but closest to CBS maybe not surprisingly Uh And you know to me if I don't have a second basement by the point Ozzy all bees goes off the board I'm zeroing in on Lau to me those two are in a tier together of I think this guy is probably high in still but there are some risk factors that keep me from saying definitively that he is Is there a format that he's better at his walk rate has been down two years in a row and he strikes out quite a bit so that hurts him in a point's league but At the same time in a categories league I feel like maybe the ADP is lower just because he hasn't people usually one stolen bases from their middle infielders So it's it kind of Presents about the same it presents kind of a weird I guess roster build in a category. Yeah, I think it presents some complications but I think Stolen bases are easy enough to find that you can find them drop the entire draft So yeah downgrading a guy who's this clearly impactful with the bat because he doesn't steal bases. I think it's Kind of cutting off your nose despite your face, you know, and if you're Going to get somebody who dominates the category this late in the draft home runs is a good one To get because that is pretty hard to fill at the point where allows going and he's doing it at the weakest position arguably Certainly for power. I think without question. Yeah. Let's talk sleepers break out the bus favorite to draft at second base again Let's keep this moving here sleepers at second base Chris you're up first I was on the fantasy pros mlb podcast earlier today talking second baseman So you think I'd have a good answer for this because they asked me the same thing I guess Jorge Palanco is my answer If he counts as ADP is outside of the top 200. I think that's way too low I think Jorge Palanco is a very good hitter in a very good lineup and certainly the top half of that met's lineup is going to be very good injury concerns are what they are but I think Basically he had a bad 2024 because his knee was messed up the whole year and then he got surgery on it and was awesome last year um So I think Jorge Palanco is probably my sleeper pick at second base Yeah, I like that quite a bit his ADP is 216 last year he finished as the 11th overall player so Nobody seems to care about Jorge Palanco. He's another one where he doesn't give you speed. I totally get that and His season was a roller coaster ride you look at the the monthly numbers they are all really only one It was like May was horrible. I think he had another month where he was really really bad But it was man if you just plug him in in a roto league I mean, I think the numbers are going to be there by the end of the season if he's healthy and he's projected to back cleanup Hunter behind So no and boba chat that is pretty good. There are not many better situations Jorge Palanco could get yeah, he could miss 30 games is still driving 100 runs like that that is a Possibility here just because he's a pretty good contact hitter with pop It's a parkla upgrade for him moving from Seattle I think he's One of the more obviously undervalued players in fantasy this year and to put it in perspective for Hey, Palanco point per game average last year the same as Jose Al2. Yeah, that was that was last year before that prominent spot in the met's lineup There are health concerns there. Oh, he's he's going wait. He's my number nine second base man Consensus is Way out for me. Yeah, he's 16th right now in 80 p again. That's Jorge Palanco. Scott a sleeper second base So I like Aussie Albies is a sleeper, but when we haven't talked about yet is Marcus Simian I've referenced him a couple times my case for Marcus Simian Is twofold One is just people are exaggerating the decline here He is old the numbers have been bad, but there's a timing issue sort of like I was laying out for Albies um, you know Simian with his low contact quality swing Seems to be the type of hitter who suffers the most when the ball is carrying worst in April and into May when it's coldest If you look at his numbers last year from May 28th on two this was in um 71 games So little less than half a season 270 batting average 12 home runs eight steals 801 ops It's like prime Marcus Simian then he suffers a season ending injury in august so it prevents his numbers from getting Um from from correcting all the more so that's that fold one is just I think he's still good and You know just you don't like having them in the cold months The second point is he's with the meds now and I think I was referencing this without two ve I think where Simian was playing his home games the past two years Exacerbated the decline. It was just not a good venue for him again being somebody who never has impact to the ball very well comes about his power by Elevating to his pull side Statcast Suggest that city field Which is good for right handed hitters who elevate to their pull side If if Simian had played every game Simian Sorry if Simian had played every game at city field over the last three years He'd have 20 more home runs he'd have seven more home runs a year which is enormous So I think the venue's gonna help a lot And I think a full season of health if we get that from Simian's gonna help a lot too He's going more than a hundred picks after Jackson holiday and to me like they're back to back in my rankings Sure, it's not a guarantee Simian will do this so I still give holiday the edge But it's only an edge. It's not a hundred picks worth Yes, Marcus Simian's ADP by the way he is going a hundred picks after holiday and NFBC drafts But fantasy pros all the ADPs combined Simian is 174 Holiday is 125 so still a 50 pick discount between those two players I like both I wrote up both Polanco and Simian is like this kind of met double dip sleeper potential for this upcoming season So I do like both of those quite a bit I will mention Gleber Torres again in a head to head point league Even if the plate discipline does not remain as good as it was last year He up the quality of contact he hit the ball harder and he was playing in the second half with a sports hernia And his first half numbers were much better so I think there's Sneaky head to head points potential here for Gleber Torres who's going you know outside the top 280p And wanted to mention JJ Weatherhold as well. He's shortstop to start the season again on CBS But it looks like he's gonna play second base for the Cardinals here and they have made a bunch of trades this off season they trade away Brendan Dottavan recently And that opens things up for a bit of a youth movement here with JJ Weatherhold and some other names that they have come in their way But he was so good in the miners last year hit 306 421 on base percentage 17 homers 23 steals he got better at each level Extremely polished hitter nearly as many walks the strike out so Could be good in the points league could give you a little power and speed could be good in categories and The 80p is still outside of the top 200. I think that will continue to creep up Especially if he does anything in spring training But JJ Weatherhold definitely a prospect name that you need to know who's expected to play second base Chris over to you for a breakout At this position Yeah, I said sleepers hard to come up with for second base when I'm in his breakout is hard to come up with for second base I think it's Sleeper, you know, they're Matt McLean. I think as a sleeper. I'm not a huge fan But there are there are guys I can talk myself into it second base for sleeper Breakout is really hard. I think Aussie all bees if you want to include kind of bounce backs as breakouts Which I do re breakout Is yeah re breakout But I know people get you know upset about their definitions of these words I get Luke Keishel and Jackson holiday are both my picks. I think they were both in my breakouts column I'm more Inclined to make the case for Keishel I think there's a more obvious affirmative case for Keishel holiday, it's just you may never get a chance to draft this guy this cheap again even though he was cheaper this time last year So maybe that's not actually true I wish I had a better argument for Jackson holiday besides I think he's super talented and we'll figure out eventually and maybe it's in 2025 with Keishel I think There's a world where he's Nico Horner with twice as many home runs And I don't think that's like a huge stretch for him and that's a pretty valuable player Yeah, I mean could be like a 15 30 guy with a 280 batting average if everything comes together I wrote down Luke Keishel and Jackson holiday as well I mean my heart is just not really in it here on the breakouts if I'm being completely honest But those would probably be my my top two picks that I could see taking another big step forward here Scott you said yep So those might be your guys too Well, I think the way he said it was perfect. I mean there is an obvious breakout case for both Keishel and holiday Is my heart in either no I'm more inclined to call them bus doesn't matter In fact, especially holiday like I said I think the price for Keishel's okay at least the average one Uh, but I don't have great choices for breakouts here otherwise I I think If I'm since I'm kind of yeah since I'm kind of making the optimistic case for Terang I think you know it's hard to imagine a Bear breakout the last year, but I think there is still more he could break out as Um, and then if I'm allowed to cheat a little I'll say JJ weather hole Even though he's not second base eligible. He is yeah I think among the prospects who haven't debuted yet the one who needs to be drafted the earliest Because for knife I feel like he's gonna I feel like it's a layup that he's gonna be a worthwhile contributor Yeah, that for now Chris I assume is uh if conno-gryphan is making the opening day right? If it looks like conno-gryphan's on the team he's definitely gonna be the first rookie taken I think if Kevin McGonagall looks like he's gonna be on the team he'll go ahead of weather halt. I'm not sure he should Um, but You know, we'll see I mean McGonagall's He's the best guy as the hired prospect. Yeah for sure. Yeah, but weather halts game might be more immediately transferable What about a bus that second base Chris Um oh Sinai Raffela. I just don't uh there are like different levels of bus there's like I don't like their price, but I like the player and that's where like Ben Rice when he was going 45th in NFBC drafts. That's like the ideal. I like the player. I don't like the price And then there's just I don't like the player Uh, I think Sinai Raffela is both I think him and Oneokru's are both versions of that. I don't like the price And I just think the player might be bad All right, it's got a bus that second base. I'm looking at my bus Sleeper I for connect sorry Jeff McNeil sleeper. That's my sleeper super sleeper. Yeah deep deep sleeper. All right. A little ale only action there All right. Yeah, the only two I have here in bus 1.0 at second base are holiday and say Don Raffela And I think we flesh both of those out pretty well. Yep. All right. Scott don't hate me the names I wrote down here Bryce Tarrang and Jose L2 thing. So uh, you know, look, it's again, it's I don't think look how to they could kind of bottom out and that one You know could get ugly, but it's he still has been a productive player. It's just probably not gonna be me. I think it cost Bryce Tarrang. It's kind of like what you were just saying Chris. I kind of I kind of like the player I think I kind of buy it, but the price is like Fourth round pick for Bryce Tarrang. It's I don't know. It's it's too high for me. So it's well The major case of like yeah, what if everything goes right Yeah, you know, like what if he does the hitting from 2025 and the running from 2024 What if he doesn't get the 10 home or month, you know, right? Like what if we don't get the 10 home or month What if he's a 10 home or guy who steals 20 well, but what if he's last year stolen based total And he I think if he's not getting those home runs he's he's gonna have more than last year's stolen based I agree with that. I would agree with that, but you know, we we've seen We've seen down we've seen both upside and downside in every direction for Bryce Tarrang I like to hope that there's more Paths to the upside going forward, but it could be the downside. Yeah I kind of like to know what I'm getting for my players and price tarang. I just don't really know what I'm getting there for sure Which brings me to favorite second-base minute draft and it just depends on the format So it's Marta and head to head points all things considered. So yes second third round pick or Nico Horner in a categories league Chris favorite second-base minute draft. It's all these in any format. I think Oh, wow. I have competition for all of them. But I could also throw Brandon Lau and Jorge Polanco in there. I like both of them Yeah And you didn't even you didn't even say Luke Keishel. That's I thought you were gonna say him for sure I do have him ranked a little bit ahead of ADP, but relative to ADP I'm 40 picks ahead of ADP on Aussie all these to name one. Yeah I I'm having a hard time zeroing in on one here tarang if I go high and all these if I don't But Lau if all these isn't there and then if I go cheap, it's Polanco or simian. So I'll I'll just say tarang But you know there's that those are kind of the different bands of second-basement. I like to draft All right. Well the next question was favorite middle infueler to draft that second-base, but you have kind of answer So Yeah, Semian and Polanco, buddy. Yeah, the meds there for Chris and uh, so Chris and I are like picking the same names here JJ Weatherhold is is the middle infueler for me. I do like to go after him quite a bit Let's get back into second base ADP to finish out the show We left off with Brandon Lau and after Him you have three names in the 175 to 280 p range We have semi in at 175. We talked about him a lot. Exevere Edwards at 182 Bryson's stock at 185 Edwards last year good batting average Three homers 27 steals so the steals came down the pace at which he ran Came way down. It was so weird. He had a stolen base every 2.3 games in 2024 He had a stolen base every 5.1 games last year I think the good news everything I've heard is that the marlins do want to run quite a bit this year So I'm hoping the steel total comes back up for a savior Edwards and then Bryson's stock Look kind of like Nikolory. You know what you're gonna get. It's 250 to 260 10 to 12 homers 25 to 30 steals. It's Fine. I think it's like a totally Cromulent middle infueler for you know doesn't kill you anywhere and gives you some speed So any thoughts on Edwards and Bryson's stock? I think the problem with stock in particular is He doesn't really help you anywhere either Yeah, like he's kind of a better deep league name because he Like you just you know how nobody isn't hurt you anywhere in a 15 team context 24 steals is pretty valuable Even that does like you look at every other category. He hasn't had more than 66 R runs since 2023 He's never had more than 66 RBI. He hasn't been playing against lefties the past couple He doesn't play against lefties. He has been a poor source of batting average despite sitting against a lot of lefties So yeah, I think in 15 team league he he's fine, but I would feel pretty bad if that's my Metal infielder in a 12 team league like even though that's where he should go I just can't bring myself to get excited about it. What are you guys expecting from Xavier Edwards this year? I mean if if last year's the downside That's pretty good. It's kind of like Nikolory with even less power. So yeah, that's That's a thing like it's easy to draw a comparison between Edwards and Horner and the price difference is enormous I think I think it is kind of the downside we saw from Edwards with the steals especially You know the Marlins have been talking about how they want to be an aggressive base stealing team this year So I think that's a point in Edwards favor I would start for both position scarcity reasons and job security reasons. I would rather target Xavier Edwards Than Chandler Simpson Obviously we're mixing positions here, but that's that's part of the analysis like I I think Edward should be getting the attention Simpson is Because you can count on him more and he'll meet the need better and the stolen base difference might not be as big as you think Given What we saw Edwards do as a base dealer two years ago. I think the best case scenario for Chandler Simpson's a lot better and the worst case scenarios a lot worse The other thing that's weird about Xavier Edwards is like Yeah, it feels like he should steal more bases because that's who he was in the minors And that's what he did in 2024. He's not actually that fast though. Yeah 75% house makes me So that's where that's that's not nearly as important is getting good leads and jumps. Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry But We also saw last year that he was not as effective a base dealer as we expected so yeah, I think I Like Edwards more than start But among this trio. I think Semiens clearly the most interesting of the three and Edward could turn out to be a totally fine starter in a point So you guys well, sure makes a lot of contact He's gonna hit near the top of the lineup and two years ago 3.5 fantasy points per game for Xavier Edwards Drop down a little bit three names in the 215 to 225 range. We have Jorge Polanco Glebert Torres and Jose Caballero We've spoke a lot about Jorge Polanco so far. I mentioned Glebert Torres as a potential sleeper in a point sleek So I'll get your guys thoughts on him on the Jose Caballero Just the quietest back-to-back 40 plus steel seasons that you will ever see had 44 two years ago 49 Last year and he is going to start for the Yankees early in the season while Anthony Volpe is returning from shoulder surgery There's maybe a slight chance five 10% chance that if he's just really good he just takes that job But the Yankees like Volpe so I don't think that's gonna happen What do you guys think here on Glebert Torres and Caballero? And I think the problem with Caballero is Yeah, 40 plus steals at what cost yeah, I mean you know in drafts not not much But to your actual fantasy team Four other categories He kind of feels like a good head-toed categories player because he is one of these specialist types and in a daily lineup Lee you could just well he gets a lot of them as pinch runner two So I can't even say that but at least you could throw them in the lineup when he's in the lineup I think the better way to put it is he's what second third and short and outfield eligible. Yeah Uh It doesn't really matter if Caballero is starting you just you're gonna have someone add line up in your daily lineup So he just true you just put him wherever Someone's out of the lineup and you probably get close to 40 steals out of him. It's just He's a really bad hitter otherwise So he walked a decent amount. I guess 12.7% last year 9% for his career, but This is like bottom of the barrel stolen based specialist. This is I think you're Arguably doing more harm to the rest of your team by having to rely on Caballero as a starter You know what you could do in a road league where you could kind of if you use him early in the season You could kind of build up that steal total and then when Volpe is back you could just kind of get rid of him but I think on NFBC specifically Caballero might be the most overdrafted player You said the cost isn't that high and it does get reduced when you bring all those other informats in for the fantasy pros average But an NFBC is going ahead of Jorge Palanco and Marcus Simeon. I think a lot of those are like draft and hold leagues So people like the position it flexibility with him. Yeah, that helps. Yeah, I hear you And there's something to be said for that flexibility But there's also something to be said again for a guy who just brings you down and for a fight for our five categories. Yeah Your thoughts on Glebert Torres here I do think he was affected by that sports hernia in the second half and it kind of D railed his season a little bit um, but he had a great first half and the Quality of contact improved the expected stats word you know We weren't expecting anything in Detroit and you actually Hit really well the first three months of the season. I mean he's likely to be better than a lot of the guys we've already talked about but The upside just isn't enticing enough at least for this format points leagues. It's a little better Yeah, any categories like I don't really want anything to do with Glebert Torres but And a point. Yeah, I get it if we could get him back to being like a 14 steel guy I think that would make him a lot more interesting, but as it is there's just There's no 20 homerups side. I think the batting average is going to be pretty bad in Detroit kind of a Specialist I guess is probably his biggest contribution and then a good points and obi-pie league guy It's worth saying with Glebert if Especially if the plate discipline games from last year's stick four names in the 230 to 250 range of 80 pb We have Luis Garcia Jr. Matt McLean Caleb Durbin who I you know what I cheated here because he's Third base eligible, but expected to gain second base because he was just traded to the boss and red socks like earlier today So from the brewers to the red socks I don't know exactly where he's gonna play. I've seen some people say second. I've seen some say third, but Obviously second base would be you know pretty helpful in this discussion And then auto Lopez is also in this range. So well the story determined Durbin doesn't have second base Yeah, cuz we're back and forth on that. He's third base on Yahoo on CBS But yeah, he probably does have it on Let me check See Caleb Durbin. Yeah, he second base eligible on Yahoo is yeah Second and third base eligible hint if you go to fantasy pros 80p If a player is listed as eligible there that it means they're listed as eligible at one of the sites Which is usually Yahoo because I think it's six appearances the previous year to remain eligible. Yeah, uh, let's start here with Luis Garcia Jr He did take a step back from his breakout 2024 But his underlying numbers the expected stats were actually better in 2025 Scott the problem here is that he's probably not gonna play against lefty. So it's you know how Excited can you get about a strong side platoon for the Washington Nationals? I guess who rarely gets on base too, so I mean that that further nerfs his counting stats Yeah, I'm not very excited. Not very is really it's a really batting average dependent profile and um You know, he just hit 252 last year. So that guy says says he should have hit 281 But we've only had one year where he's actually hit that high. So I think It's a Deep league corner in field option and not a particularly exciting one better 15 team league player for sure than 12 team I think 12 team Luis Garcia is pretty fringey Another daily lineup league guy where you could just get him in there whenever he's in the lineup Expected again to be a strong side platoon there for Luis Garcia Jr Matt McClain Chris you mentioned his name a few times You are getting him on the cheap the ADP this time last year was 86 yeah, and now his ADP is outside of the top 200 I just don't think we know who that McClain is so we're still trying to figure that out Um, so look all the reasons that people were excited about this guy a year ago are Not completely gone. There is still power speed. There's still a grape ballpark. He is still sang a base eligible He was terrible last season. There's no doubt about it. 212xba that is not playable um But he is a good defensive player, so I think there's going to be value there And it's worth keeping in mind with Matt McClain as we talk about what he did last season He missed all of 2024 recovering from shoulder surgery and he had a rib issue I think he had a an oblique injury that ended his previous season like this dude's dealt with a lot over the past two years He stayed healthy last year. That's a good sign now. I think it's Let's see what he can do. I'm kind of willing to give Matt McClain a bit of a uh Mulligan for last year in part because I just I thought the idea of him as like a top 85 pick was kind of silly I didn't think that was taking into account the downside that he had showed In his skill set, but I don't think he's as bad as he was last year and if he is Oh, no my 215th or 230th pick didn't work out. That's what happens with 230th picks I'd rather target a young-ish player with a broad skill set like Matt McClain And see what happens there Yeah, my confidence in Matt McClain isn't any higher than it was last year. I mean It was pretty low last year. It's even lower now But the price is so low that it's just like well, what if What if I'm wrong? What if I'm even kind of like I think playing you just look at what they did last year Jackson holiday was better Was it seven rounds worth of better? I really don't think that's the That's the case here 200 names in this range of 80p again I mentioned Caleb Durbin traded to the red socks earlier today on Monday when we're recording this Obviously, his swing should do pretty well in Fenway and he's third base to start on CBS Mike gain second base eligibility the other name here is auto Lopez who was just rock solid middle infield They're went 15 15 last year and The xba right around 270 each of the past there's these Upside there if the batting average gets to 270. Yeah, I think both of these guys could be you know totally fine Middle infielders that hit again like 270 15 15 I I get see both of them doing that Caleb Durbin and auto Lopez I liked the more for Well, I guess an a lonely league in Durbin's case now and then in El for auto Lopez Because they feel like I've those those the like in those extremely deep leagues where you're just never getting anything off the waiver wire you want Safe projectable at bats. Yeah, and I think they're going to be pretty good for that You know, well still delivering some totals now if you get into a 12 team mix league You know it's scraping the bottom of the barrel as far as your middle infield options go your your You could maybe get by with them, but they're obviously not doing much to help your team So I'd rather shoot for upside. I'd rather shoot for Like a mcclain for instance in a format like that, but if if he's already gone You know Lopez and Durbin might be your best bet and They might be startable for you all year Three names in the 260 to 275 range of ADP we have Brendan Donovan Luis arise and Colt Keith arise again Doesn't have second base eligibility yet on CBS But he is expected to play second base with the Giants so he should gain it early on Brendan Donovan was traded over to the Mariners. So look two guys probably an review Good batting average here arise probably much more batting average in Brendan Donovan But Scott just an example of two more names where If you miss out on others in a points league they could kind of be like ultimate fallback options Donovan and Luis rise Yeah Yeah I don't I don't have that much to add I think arise I think arise with the signing with San Francisco his stock definitely went up in my eyes I moved him up a few points in my first base rankings unfortunately. That's the only place he's eligible I think it approves his chances of getting his batting average over 300 It was already likely to be there But more than anything we know he's regaining second base eligibility in short order We know he's an everyday player still And I think the price has never been more reasonable for him At least since he first became a thing in fantasy batting average really hard to fill eight in drafts and a points leagues is infrequently as he strikes out he's You know on a 12 team context. He's not going to set you apart, but he's he's going to be starting for somebody After a while after some of these gambles Fail it you get the bad side of some of these upside downside cases arise is going to be he end up getting picked up and started for somebody in a points league. So I think he's going to be You know to look better once he's second base eligible, but we know for sure that's coming Cold Keith. He has second base and third base eligibility Underwhelming start to his career so far, but he's still just 24 years old And Chris he did make some improvements last year. He upped his walk rate though. PS was up I improved his quality of contact as well But Probably not going to play against lefties. I don't know what the upside is like 15 to 20 home runs and in okay batting average for cold Keith It just Doesn't get me too excited I guess Yeah, I'm pretty unenthused by the idea of oh look he got better in a rate stat when he went from Playing occasionally to let against lefties to never basically I think 90 plus percent of his played appearances came against Righties last season. So it's like I don't know even if he is an 800 OPS against righties It's not that valuable in a 15 team league that can be useful, but I don't think cold Keith is likely to matter at all on any 12 team leagues Look at I if I could just circle back to Donovan real quick because I think I glossed over just how good he is in points leagues 2.77 points per game branded Donovan last year Brandon Laugh was 2.79 Jose L2 V 2.81. I mean, that's a minuscule difference between those two and what Donovan did on a per game basis. So You know points leagues he even I don't know where I haven't ranked but quite a bit higher Oh, I can't pull it up quick enough, but yeah, I made my case Brennan Donovan points league specialist Five names in the 275 to 300 range of 80 pb. We have Tommy Edmund Ernie Clement Lenin Sosa JJ Weatherhold and Brett Beatty. We spoke about Weatherhold already Edmund his season was derailed by an ankle injury. He had offseason surgery Not a guarantee to be ready for opening day. So Not to not really excited at all about Tommy Edmund Ernie Clement he's gonna be the starting second baseman. Boba Shett is now gone with the blue J so Badding average not much else there with Ernie Clement Lenin Sosa we mentioned him on the first base preview had a nice season last year We just not really sure how much he's going to play with the white socks Weatherhold we spoke about Brett Beatty. I'm kind of intrigued here. I I wish this playing time I guess was a little bit more cemented But I I think between D.H. and maybe left field like they could find ways to get him in there and He's still young. He hits the ball really hard and he was really good over the final two months. So It's got I feel like maybe you've made this case as well, but I think of a really deep sleeper. I'm kind of intrigued by Brett Beatty I'm definitely intrigued by him, but all the additions the mets have made at the positions he plays I'm having a hard time calling Beatty a sleeper at this point because I just don't see any way he gets at bats It gets lefty and you can't get him and Vientos in the line at the same time unless Beatty's playing left field Which just seems like a stretched offensively and a lot of people think cars and benches gonna be a left fielders I doubt benches sitting that often for Beatty So I would make any sense for benches lefty that I think they're both left much sense for him to sit for Brad Beatty. Yeah So yes, I think Beatty Took a big step toward realizing his offensive potential, which I think is Considerable certainly from a second base third base context the position sees eligible But I just don't think the playing time's gonna be enough. It have to be like a 15 team bench option and just hope Enough players get hurt that Beatty plays more than expected. Yeah In the 300 to 350 range of ADP we have Jonathan India, Andres, Hemenes and Willie Castro who signed a two-year deal with the Rockies this off season. So You know perhaps a little bit of a batting average boost there a very deep league name Chris any of these standout to India andress, Hemenes, Willie, Castro uh every offseason there's some mediocre hitter who signs with the Rockies and we kind of talk ourselves into them being useful and Tyro Shrada guilty as char Tyro Shrada last off season was definitely one of them who was the last one who actually ended up being good because he went to course field I can't thank it. It wasn't assigning but Nolan Jones the trade worked very well for yeah Nolan Jones getting out there He was young He wasn't uh, but yeah, we've done this a few times in it. I guess Mickey Moniac Kind of work nobody was actually excited about him when he got there um yeah, and I kind of don't get why people are excited about him now But that's fine. He's at course fields. I guess that's fine But yeah, I Would not be shocked if Willie Castro was useful for fantasy this year for sure because course field will inflate that babbip Maybe he can hit you know 270 with double digit homers and 20 steals. I could see that happening, but uh, it's certainly not something I'm betting on and then India and Hemenes I Hemenes I I'm just a man as a poor man's brison stop and that's not really a uh Particularly positive thing to say about someone he had 30 seals in both 2023 and 2024 But that was in Cleveland so I just I don't know if he's gonna get back to running at that pace with the Toronto blue G's three other names I miss here. How could I uh Brooks lead jay kronoworth and Jeff McNeil Chris he did mention Jeff McNeil earlier is a very deep sleeper He is coming off of thoracic Atlas syndrome surgery and so I think it's a huge wild card, but Jeff McNeil has made Some real strides over the past couple of years. He increased his bat speed around the all star break in 2024 And his underlying numbers were pretty solid last season 330 x-wobba 327 x-wobicon that's bad, but that was his best since 2022 and he's in a Sacramento ballpark that inflated Production by a huge margin last year so if he's Healthy and what he was last year I could see a world where Jeff McNeil hits 270 with 15 homers and you know Useful ish counting stats when he's on the field. I'm not saying it's super likely or that there's a huge upside there, but I would not be surprised if check me new Jeff McNeil is useful when he's healthy next year or this year Names outside of the 350 ADP that I think are at least a little intriguing chase my drawth Christian Campbell Nolan Gorman Christian Moore Luis on heliconia Sungmoonsong who signed with the podres this all season he came over from Korea Gavin Luxrayed it's a Tampa Bay and Naseem Nunez who was with the nationals. Oh also Cole Young so lots of names here again Cole Young Naseem Nunez Gavin Lux Sungmoonsong Luis on heliconia Christian Moore Nolan Gorman Christian Campbell chased my drawth. It's got lots of names here, but I can man. I could see Deep league Upside cases for maybe any of them all of them. Yeah, I mean lottery tickets. Yeah lottery That in the truest sense in that they're very unlikely to pay off, but they could pay off big I think especially Christian Moore given his prospect pedigree Nolan Gorman Given the power upside And a pointfully context. I think Jonathan India could be something of a lottery ticket because of his on base skills doubles prowess and Is somebody who could benefit some from the fences moving in we've seen him approach 20 homers before Uh, so I kind of like him for points league specifically gorman and Moore. I think better category Lottery ticket place How about uh Maybe maybe we see jet Williams play a little second base and I know Bryce Terang's very good, but you know I saw a quote that the brewers kind of you jet Williams is someone who could play all over the field right now He might be their starting shortstop. He might be their starting third baseman. He might be in triple A Um, but if something happens to Bryce Terang, Jebel Williams could uh Could certainly factor in a second base for them as well. Yeah, uh jet Williams by the way Prospect traded from the meds to the brewers in the uh Freddie Peralta trade shortstop only to start the season on CBS But could gain other eligibility's and the seam new news. I'll just mention the name a big speed in the miners I have no idea if he can hit at all, but he's 25 years old. He's with the nationals 36 deals in the miners last year 52 in 2023 70 back in 2022. So uh, he is very fast prospects of note Travis Basana with the guardians we probably see him at some point this year and then Tommy Troy with the debacks Probably would take some injuries, but uh, you know Yes, put up some good numbers in the minor league. So Basana of the guardians and Tommy Troy of the debacks We are gonna right there for Scott Chris. I am Frank. Thanks as always for tuning in to fantasy baseball today Please make sure to follow and leave a five-star rating on apple or Spotify and you will be back again tomorrow Bye Paramount podcasts