Second base is having a moment in MLB and fantasy baseball, and not always in a good way.
In this FantasyPros MLB episode, Joey P., the Welsh, and CBS’s Chris Towers work through the 2026 second base pool with the kind of conversation fantasy managers actually have in draft rooms. Which guys are worth paying for? Which breakouts are real? Where can you wait and still get production?
The big takeaway: 2B is not a position where you want to get cute with your roster build. The top is legit, the middle is full of “depends what you need,” and the back half has a few cheap glue guys who can keep your team afloat if you missed early.
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Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide: Second Base
Let’s break down the key debates, the targets, and the landmines.
The state of second base in 2026 fantasy baseball drafts
The hosts frame 2B as a position that’s thinner than people want it to be, but not totally hopeless. There’s top-end talent, then a fast drop into a group where ADP often reflects scarcity more than true skill.
That scarcity point matters, because it’s how you get a player like Brice Turang pushed into a premium overall slot. Not because everyone is convinced he’s a top-50 hitter, but because drafters get nervous when a position looks “stinky,” and they pay extra to feel safe.
Towers pushes back a bit on the panic. He argues that second base is being treated like a wasteland when other spots (they mention third base) can look just as messy depending on league settings and eligibility. The bigger point is this: your platform rules matter. A player like Maikel Garcia can swing the whole board based on whether he qualifies at 2B where you play.
So before you decide how aggressive to be, make sure you’re drafting off the same eligibility universe your league uses.
The Turang debate is really an ADP debate
Turang is the first real fault line in the episode. Welsh lays out the case for skepticism, and it’s not unreasonable:
The 2025 line looks great on the surface (power + speed + average).
But the power came in a huge lump: 10 of his 18 homers in August, with five other months sitting at two homers or fewer.
The steals also fell hard year over year (from the “he might steal 50 bags” profile to a much more normal total).
Welsh’s underlying fear is simple: if you draft Turang as a top-50 overall player, you’re paying for a near-perfect combo season. If projections pull him back to something like 12 HR with 30-ish steals and a lighter RBI/run profile, he stops looking like a difference-maker and starts looking like a guy you could have replaced.
Towers is more willing to buy in, mostly because Turang has produced top-tier value in back-to-back seasons, even if it came via different routes. He also makes a point a lot of us forget on draft day: we tend to overfit hot streaks. August might be “the new Turang,” or it might just be a heater.
So where does that leave you?
This is the practical way to play it: Turang is interesting as a profile, risky as a price. If the room forces him into the “I need my second baseman early” tier, you can let someone else pay. If he slips because your league is skeptical, then the blend of speed, runs, and a plausible power baseline can absolutely play.
The post-elite tier is where drafts are won
After the top names, the conversation shifts to the group that actually decides leagues: the 2B6 through 2B15-ish range where upside exists, but warts are everywhere.
Towers is clearly in on Keaschall, and the argument is pretty clean:
The major-league quality of contact looked light in a small sample.
But there’s minor-league pop (mid-teens homer pace), plus a history of pulling the ball in the air.
The speed is real, and the team let him run aggressively.
Towers’ “sell” is that Keaschall can be a high-average, high-steals second baseman with enough pop to avoid being empty. He throws out a path to 35-40 stolen bases, which would change the entire fantasy equation.
Luke Keaschall (2B – MIN), but from the other side
Welsh makes him the bust, and his case is also coherent. It’s mostly about the power ceiling:
Slow bat speed.
Weak barrel and hard-hit rates.
Low average exit velocity.
Welsh is not saying Keaschall can’t be useful. He’s saying the market can start dreaming on 15-20 homer upside that may not exist, and if the power doesn’t come, you’re drafting a steals-and-average guy at a cost where you could build steals later without sacrificing thump.
If you want the actionable takeaway: Keaschall is roster-construction dependent. If you took early power bats and need speed badly, he makes sense. If you are already light on homers, he can paint you into a corner.
Breakout & Bounce-Back: Jackson Holliday versus Ozzie Albies
Welsh calls Holliday the best bet to jump into the true top tier. The selling points are the kinds of improvements fantasy players love:
Power/speed production already showed up (a 17/17 type season).
Strikeouts improved dramatically from year one to year two.
He got meaningfully better against breaking and offspeed pitches.
Welsh’s optimism is basically: the numbers weren’t even fully “there” yet, and Holliday still produced. If the launch angle and pull-side damage tick up, he has the makeup of a “jump a level” star.
This is the kind of breakout profile that can decide leagues because the cost usually bakes in uncertainty, not dominance.
Towers takes Albies as the “return to the top five” candidate, and it comes down to health context.
He points out that some injury types scare him more long term than others. Broken bones are often bad luck, not chronic decline. He also notes Albies looked more like himself as the season progressed, especially from the right side where his production versus lefties has historically been a key part of his fantasy ceiling.
The “must draft” logic is ADP-based: a player who used to live in the early rounds is now being pushed down far enough that you’re no longer paying for peak. You’re paying for a bounce-back with real upside.
In a vacuum, Holliday is the shiny breakout toy. Albies is the uncomfortable veteran value. In competitive leagues, you usually want at least one of those archetypes on your roster.
The bounce-back bet people will argue about all spring
A big chunk of the episode goes to Semien, framed as a classic “is he done or is he discounted?” debate.
Welsh leans toward discounted. He points out that a lot of the underlying markers did not collapse the way you’d expect if a player completely fell off:
Strikeout rate stayed stable.
Average exit velocity wasn’t the issue.
He still put the ball in the air.
Towers adds a key aging check: bat speed and sprint speed staying basically steady across recent seasons is a meaningful signal. Not proof of a rebound, but a reason not to treat him like a dead asset.
The show also leans into context. They talk about lineup support, pressure, and where he hits in the order. The takeaway is less “Semien is a star again,” and more “Semien doesn’t need to be a star to beat his price.”
If he’s drafted as the 14th second baseman and returns top-100-ish value, you’re thrilled. If he fails, you did not burn an early pick.
That’s what a good bounce-back bet looks like.
The underrated target Towers keeps circling
Polanco gets strong support from Towers as one of the best “reliable fallback” plays at 2B. The reasoning is mostly track record plus context:
His good seasons cluster around a pretty stable level of production.
His down year is framed as injury-related and environment-related.
When healthy, he’s a steady four-category contributor with some steals sprinkled in.
They also bring up the unique hitting issues in Seattle, with Towers noting how that park can impact strikeouts and general comfort for hitters. The point isn’t “never draft Mariners.” It’s that adjusting to that environment matters, and Polanco looking better later can be read as adaptation plus improved health.
If your draft plan is to avoid early 2B and still come away with competence, Polanco is exactly that kind of name.
A cheap glue guy who matters more in deeper leagues
Welsh’s “must-have” is Donovan, and it’s a very specific type of recommendation.
He’s not selling a league winner. He’s selling a player who fixes problems fantasy teams quietly develop by the middle rounds:
Batting average stabilization.
Runs in a lineup spot that can produce counting stats.
Multi-position eligibility that makes weekly roster management easier.
Welsh also makes a key point: park downgrade matters less when the player’s fantasy value is not built on home-run ceiling. Donovan is a contact/on-base type who can be useful even without big pop.
This is the kind of player who is much more valuable in 15-team formats and deeper NFBC-style builds, where replacement level is ugly and “everyday at-bats with skills” becomes a cheat code.
Sleepers and busts: the final calls
Towers’ sleeper is McNeil, based on tangible swing changes (harder swing, improved expected production markers) plus what he expects to be a very hitter-friendly environment. He does mention the medical concern of thoracic outlet surgery, noting it’s a bigger red flag for pitchers than hitters, but still an unknown.
The fantasy pitch: a boring veteran with a path to a useful average and mid-teens power at a price that won’t hurt you.
Towers’ bust is Rafaela. He’s basically asking: how much is 15/20 worth if everything else is a drag?
Poor plate discipline can torpedo batting average and OBP, which then drags runs and RBI. If the speed is not elite enough to carry the profile by itself, you’re paying for a stat line you can often find cheaper.
This is a good reminder for category leagues: power/speed is sexy, but if the player is actively hurting you in three categories, you need a steep discount.
Fantasy Baseball Takeaways
- Brice Turang is a profile you can draft, but not at any price. If he’s pushed into top-50 overall territory, you’re paying for a perfect outcome.
- Luke Keaschall‘s value hinges on power. If you believe in even mid-teens pop, he can be a steals anchor. If you don’t, he’s a risky early speed buy.
- Jackson Holliday has the cleanest “jump to elite” path if the batted-ball shape improves while the contact gains hold.
- Ozzie Albies is the veteran ceiling bet that can beat ADP if health cooperates, especially if the lineup context lifts counting stats.
- Marcus Semien is a classic discount play. The underlying indicators discussed on the show suggest he may be closer to “boring useful” than “fully cooked.”
- Jorge Polanco is a steady fallback if you wait at the position and want four-category competence without paying up.
- Brendan Donovan is a deep-league glue pick who helps batting average and roster flexibility, even if the power ceiling is limited.
- Ceddanne Rafaela is a trap if you pay for 15/20 without respecting the damage he can do in average and counting stats if OBP stays light.
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