Fantasy baseball second basemen #4: Andres Gimenez
Andres Gimenez broke out in 2022. The lefty hit .297/.371/.466/.837, good for a 141 OPS+. He hit 17 homers, 26 doubles, drove in 69 runs, and scored 66. He also stole 20 bases. Last year was his first year as a starter, and he took full advantage. He posted the highest walk rate of his career so far (6.1%) and the lowest strikeout rate (20.1%). Both of those rates have room for improvement, but keep in mind that he’s still just 24 years old, so he has plenty of time to make those adjustments. If he puts up similar numbers in 2023, he will cement himself as one of the best players at this position.
Fantasy baseball second basemen #3: Jose Altuve
Altuve was in the #1 spot before his thumb injury in the WBC that will cause him to miss about a third of the season, but he slides down to #3 now. The righty slashed .300/.387/.533/.921, which leads to a position-best 160 OPS+. He hit 28 homers, 39 doubles, drove in 57 runs, and scored 103. He also stole 18 bases, and only got caught once. It says a lot about this position that a guy who is going to miss so much time is still in the top three. If you want to draft him high and stash him until he returns, it’ll be worth it.