The second base position in fantasy baseball drafts is shaping up the same way they usually do when a position feels thin: managers start reaching for “safety,” ADPs get weird, and suddenly the best way to win the position is to not pay for the panic.
The good news is that this 2B pool has a handful of targets who check at least one of these boxes:
- Discounted veterans with real bounce-back paths
- Stable four-category bats going too late
- Multi-eligibility glue guys who patch roster holes
- Upside plays where the market hasn’t fully priced the ceiling
Fantasy Baseball Draft Values & Sleepers
Below are the best values and sleepers pulled straight from the themes in a recent FantasyPros MLB podcast episode, with a focus on players you can realistically build around in 2026 drafts.
Values you can draft as starters
If you want the cleanest “value” argument at the position, it’s Albies.
Chris Towers’ point is simple: when Albies is healthy, he’s been a top-tier fantasy second baseman for long stretches of his career. The recent seasons have been messy because of injuries, but the type of injuries matters. Broken bones and isolated issues are different than chronic soft-tissue decline, and Towers is more willing to bet on a return when the player is still in the age range where production usually holds.
This is the profile you want when you’re shopping for values: a former early-round staple now priced like a mid-round question mark. If he’s on the field, you’re buying a path back to impact across four categories with upside in a strong lineup.
Semien is the definition of “boring value,” and boring value wins leagues when everyone else is chasing shiny.
In the transcript, the argument for Semien isn’t that he’s guaranteed to be 2021 Semien again. It’s that the classic aging-collapse signals don’t look as loud as the market is treating them. Welsh and Towers both note that pieces of the skill set still appear intact, and the bigger contextual shift is landing in a Mets lineup that projects to offer more support than what Semien dealt with in Texas last year.
The Mets acquiring Semien is real, and it’s not a small change in environment.
If Semien is being drafted as the 14th-ish second baseman in your room, that’s the range where you can absorb downside. You’re paying for a rebound into “useful everyday starter,” not “league-winning star,” and that’s exactly where values live.
Polanco is the player Towers is flat-out higher on than the room, and it’s easy to see why if you’re drafting for stability.
He’s been a fairly consistent producer when healthy, and the Mets are clearly planning to use him as a key middle-of-the-order bat. MLB.com’s early look at the Mets roster even projects Polanco as their first baseman, which only increases the chance he racks up counting stats if he’s parked in the heart of the lineup.
This matters because Polanco’s “value” isn’t built on steals. It’s built on the easiest thing to bank in fantasy: a competent hitter getting real volume in a strong run environment. If you’re the type who hates playing musical chairs at MI all season, Polanco is one of the best “set it and move on” targets in this pool.
Holliday sits in a sweet spot where he’s still priced like a growth project, but the production is already knocking.
Welsh highlights the most important ingredient for a young hitter leveling up: he made meaningful adjustments. Specifically, he improved his ability to handle non-fastballs and cut the strikeouts substantially year over year, while still posting a power/speed season that would be a “good outcome” for plenty of second basemen.
If the batted-ball shape (more pull, more air) improves even slightly, Holliday is one of the few names at the position with a realistic path to top-tier production. He’s not a sleeper in the deepest sense, but he’s a value anytime the room treats him like “still not ready.”
Mid-to-late targets that play up in deeper formats
Westburg is a classic “draft talent + eligibility” value. Welsh is firmly on him over the cheaper question marks because he believes the underlying power indicators point to a real homer ceiling if you finally get the playing time.
If you’re building a roster that prioritizes power without sacrificing flexibility, Westburg is one of the best bets in the middle rounds because he can cover multiple infield spots. That matters more than ever when you’re trying to avoid burning early picks on a position that can be patched.
Donovan is Welsh’s must-have for a reason: he’s the roster glue player most fantasy teams realize they need around Round 18.
The Mariners acquiring Donovan is confirmed, and the team clearly views him as a meaningful bat/OBP stabilizer.
The appeal is not “20/20.” It’s this:
- Helps batting average (and often OBP, depending on format)
- Everyday at-bats
- Multi-position eligibility
- Run-scoring upside if he’s hitting near the top of the order
In deeper leagues (15-teamers, NFBC-style builds), this is the kind of player who ends the season on playoff teams because the at-bats and ratios add up. In shallower leagues, he’s a smart bench piece with plug-and-play value.
True sleepers (late picks and stash candidates)
Towers’ sleeper call is McNeil, and it’s rooted in two things: tangible swing-speed changes and a friendlier hitting environment than what he had with the Mets.
McNeil was traded to the Athletics in December.
The important part for fantasy is what Towers is implying: McNeil doesn’t need to become a different player. If he’s simply a “good average, decent runs, mid-teens pop” bat who plays regularly, he’s useful. And because he’s rarely drafted as a starter now, you’re getting that profile at a cost where you can cut bait if it doesn’t click.
One caution from the transcript: thoracic outlet surgery introduces uncertainty. That said, as a late pick, this is the right kind of risk to take.
This is the fun one.
Welsh calls Wetherholt a “cheaty” sleeper because the exact position assignment and early-season role can shift, but the core point stands: if Wetherholt breaks camp and gets eligible at 2B on your platform, he can matter immediately.
Prospects at second base tend to be shortstops in transit anyway, and Wetherholt’s fantasy appeal is obvious: power/speed potential with a hit tool that could translate faster than the average rookie.
In drafts with benches deep enough to stash, Wetherholt is a target. In leagues with shallow benches, he’s still a name you should have queued up as an early-season watchlist add.
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