Fantasy Baseball 2B Sleepers for 2025

You’ve probably heard this one: “Second Base is the shallowest position in Fantasy Baseball.”

The draft board backs it up—only six players at the keystone are in the NFBC top 100.  Compare that to the other infield spots: Shortstop has eleven, First and Third Base each have eight—and even Catcher has seven.

If you’re looking for power, this ain’t the place—just one second-baseman hit over 25 home runs in 2024.  So sure, the top of the position is fairly weak.

But the truth is, Second Base is getting overlooked.  Most of the top twelve are good players coming off down years or long-term injuries – Ozzie Albies, Marcus Semien, and Matt McLain could all bounce back.

As for the later rounds, some names showed promise in the second half last year and are bona fide breakout candidates.  Others topped 2024 sleeper lists and didn’t pan out (always remember: last year’s bust is this year’s sleeper).  And while power is rare here, speed is not—seven players had 30+ steals last year.  Either way, there are plenty of opportunities in the position everyone is dismissing.

 

Jordan Westburg

2024 stats (447 PA): .264 AVG, 57 R, 18 HR, 60 RBI, 6 SB

Everyone is starting to ’ship this guy, so maybe he heliums up the draft board too high to be a sleeper.  But if for some reason he slips to the eighth or ninth round, there aren’t many 2B’s in the 92nd percentile in Expected Batting Average and Expected Slugging.  His Hard Contact% was 30th among all hitters and with the Baltimore fences moving in he has an outside chance of thirty homers.

One curious thing about Westburg’s game is he has way-above-average sprint speed (91st-percentile), but has only ten steals in his entire career (which amounts to 675 plate appearances).  If he decides to capitalize on this and run more, look out.

Pitcher List’s exclusive ‘Process’ ranking puts Westburg in pretty heavy company at 21st overall:

For what it’s worth, only Ketel Marte ranks higher overall at the position.

Now, a few caveats—first, your league-mates might be all over him given the increased attention.  Second, he’s currently slotted to bat seventh or eighth in a crowded lineup.  Third, his eye is pretty weak (sub-5% walk rate, nearly-30% K-rate) and pitchers started throwing more breaking stuff his way later in the season.  Still, Westburg could break out in a big way and give you .270-25-15 with potential for more.

 

Andrés Giménez

2024 stats (633 PA): .252 AVG, 64 R, 9 HR, 63 RBI, 30 SB

After four seasons with the Guardians, Giménez was traded in December and looks for a new start in Toronto.  This might be a great fit—the Blue Jays keep toying with George Springer at the top of their lineup with less and less success, and Gimenez can profile as a contact-first leadoff guy.  A points-league darling, Giménez has notched over 150 games the last two seasons thanks to his incredible defense and could top 650 plate appearances.

Giménez was an All-Star in 2022 when he hit .297, slugged .466, and is just 26 years old.  His Statcast line won’t wow you—okay, his EV’s border on abysmal—but he doesn’t strike out and puts the ball in play, and could be a great table-setter for Guerrero, Bichette, and Santander.

While his OBP might not scream leadoff (it hovered around .300 last year) and his walk rate is a paltry 5%, he takes an HBP with Jeter-like frequency and his 90th-percentile sprint speed should net 25-30 steals.  He might only chip in a dozen home runs but that shouldn’t hurt you around pick 175.  Watch whether Toronto is putting his name at the top of the lineup card this Spring—he should be on your roster if so.

 

Zack Gelof

2024 stats (547 PA): .211 AVG, 60 R, 17 HR, 49 RBI, 25 SB

Remember when Gelof was on everyone’s sleeper list?  He was going in the top 125 in drafts and in some cases made the top 100 after he dazzled in 2023 with 14-14 in just 300 PA’s.  Then reality set in as he had contact issues all year and struck out 34.4% of the time, falling to the bottom of the order in a shallow A’s lineup. His .211 average was somehow ABOVE his xBA, which came in sub-Mendoza line at .199.

Gelof’s OPS dropped from .841 in his 2023 half-season to .632 last year, but an early-season oblique strain may have been a factor. He batted just .153 in May with a .401 OPS after coming off the injury. Things got after the All-Star Break, where he hit .220 and stole 14 bases, and he finished the season with 17 homers and 25 steals in less than 500 plate appearances. That’s pretty decent for a player going after pick 200!

One red flag—Gelof slashed just .138/.239/.479 against lefties last year.  But the Athletics still gave him 125 plate appearances against them, so they either like Gelof’s defense or potential enough to keep him an everyday player, or just haven’t found a decent enough bench player to platoon him with.  Either way, he’s a bench candidate for your squad when a southpaw starts for the other side.

Zack Gelof, righty vs lefty splits	Lefties 2023	Righties 2023	Lefties 2024	Righties 2024
Plate Appearances	80	220	125	422
Batting Average	.167	.303	.138	.232
Slugging	.236	.601	.239	.397
Homers	1	13	2	15
K%	35.0%	24.5%	36.0%	33.9%

We have yet to see how friendly the confines of Sacramento will be, but it’s surely a better hitter’s park than Oakland.  The result is a middle infielder with the potential to go 20/30 in homers and steals—but you’ll have to feel pretty safe in the Batting Average category if you want to gamble on the upside.

 

Matt McLain

2023 stats (403 PA): .290 AVG, 65 R, 16 HR, 50 RBI, 14 SB

Last year’s bust is this year’s sleeper, right?  In this case, let’s make it official.  In my 2024 Bust List, I said McLain reminds me of David Eckstein with power but his ADP of 60 felt too high on a limited track record.  McLain never got the chance to follow up on his stellar rookie campaign, however, as shoulder surgery in March led to setback after setback and he missed the entire season.

If you don’t remember McLain’s rookie season, here’s a primer: he was really, really good.  He had 43 extra-base hits in just 365 at-bats and almost went 15/15 in less than 90 games.  He also crushes lefties, compiling a .995 OPS against them, and doesn’t seem prone to slumps – his worst monthly batting average was .263.

Some downside?  He struck out 28.5% of the time and his .290 average was 34 points higher than expected, so he profiles as more a .270 type (it’s hard to fathom how he had a top-20 wOBA in 2023, but being 5’8″ will net an extra walk or two).  He was also caught stealing five times in less than twenty attempts, but has 90th-percentile sprint speed and Terry Francona will probably give his players a decent leash on the basepaths.

McLain might have made an appearance last year had the Reds made the postseason, but benefits from a few extra months of R&R and will slot back in with Cincy’s nucleus of young talent.  His power isn’t eye-popping but it doesn’t take much to launch balls out of GABP.  McLain’s a 25/25 candidate if that shoulder’s right, so watch how well he’s squaring up this Spring—I’m almost hoping he has a slow start or this potential top-50 player will be rocketing up draft boards.

 

Thairo Estrada

2024 stats (381 PA): .217 AVG, 43 R, 9 HR, 47 RBI, 2 SB

A second member of my 2024 Bust List, Estrada completely cratered last year and hit .217 with nine home runs.  Worse, after a pair of 20-steal seasons he managed just two swipes across 364 ABs.

Estrada was going around pick 100 last year with what seemed like a secure #2 batting slot, a decent floor of steals, and a pretty good average.  But a 2023 hand fracture seemed to carry over as he hit the IL twice with wrist sprains and then was relegated to the minors.  After the Giants let him hit free agency, Colorado picked him up with a one-year, $3.5M deal.

So a historically decent hitter who played half his games in San Fran has a chance to revive his career in Coors?  Yeah, I’m interested in that.  His low-K, low-walk profile fits the park perfectly.  It’s purely Rocky Mountain reasoning, but makes for a pretty good dart throw in the last couple of rounds of a 15-teamer or NL-only.