The Top 10 Second Basemen for 2025

Look, I know it looks bad. Altuve has been among the leagues best second basemen for a long time now, and in my eyes, he is a hall of famer. As for projecting the 2025 season goes, Altuve is my 10th ranked second basemen. The surface level stats don't look bad at all for Altuve, in fact they are very productive for a 34 year old, but that's the thing, he's going to be 35 next season. Not that I'm expecting his production to fall off a cliff, but looking under the hood at some of the deeper analytics, he is slowly regressing in areas where he is great. He has always been a hard guy to strikeout and would draw his walks, while being a xBA king. These numbers are slowing down, and were debatably the worst they've been last season, and given he's not getting any younger, the 2024 season numbers seem to be the ceiling for the guy. His defense has also regressed badly, and he isn't anything special on the base paths, so he has to make his money with his bat. I still think he's got plenty of season's left, just don't be shocked if you see Altuve in the DH spot a little more this season.

Back to back risky picks huh? Going from a 34 year old to a 20 year old, I am projecting Holliday to be number 9. Now, you know who Jackson Holliday is if you are reading this, but your thinking this is too early. We haven't seen anything from him yet to get our hopes up. Well, yes and no. Holliday played several positions in 2024, everywhere on the infield but 1B and Catcher. Doing that won't help his adjustment to the MLB, so once he can settle at second base, he can really start to develop. His 2024 numbers are dragged down by his slow start early in the season, but when he was called back up he was a drastically better hitter. He is also one of the fastest players in the MLB, and has a great glove once he gets settled, so he will at the very least provide value on defense and on the base paths, but I am willing to bet that the former number 1 prospect will be at the very least a league average hitter.

Another former top prospect in the sport, Keith had a very solid rookie season. the surface level numbers don't really jump out at you, especially the on base percentage, but his numbers against fastballs are outrageous for a rookie. Maybe this is more of a pick where I'm hopeful he can live up to his prospect tools, considering he doesn't have a very high floor as a defender. He is going to get plenty of playing time in 2025, and I expect leaps to be made. If he was a league average hitter as a rookie, I'd project him to be at the very least an above league average hitter in his sophomore season.

I don't think anyone saw the breakout season coming in 2024 that Turang had. Many know him for his stolen bases and speed, and while that is his top skill, he is also one of the league's best contact hitter, comparable to Luis Arraez. Now, being just a contact hiter has it's down sides, as barrel rates and bat speed are not very good for Turang, but he hardly swings and misses, and when he does swing, he squares it up. Turang has one of the highest floors as a second basemen considering his speed and glove, but if he can improve his power even a little bit, he could potentially climb up this list.

I am getting very risky for this list aren't I? India is coming off a relatively normal 2024, slightly above average. He has always been a great bat, and an on base machine, but when you look at some of his more advanced stuff, you would have expected a better statline for India in 2024. Among the leagues best when it comes to whiff rate, walk percentage, and strikeout percentage, but it cumulated in a .750 OPS. The truth is, he has gotten better each season he has been in the big leagues, my question is, will he continue to improve, and if so, how much? He was a 1-2 WAR player in 2024, so overall hard to know if he will improve in a pitcher-friendly KC.

Mclain is a very hard player to rank. On one hand, he missed the entire 2024 season, and we only have not even a full season to look at for his time in the majors. On the other hand, he was debatably the best second baseman in 2023 as a ROOKIE. A full season for Mclain in 2023 would have had him as a near 8 WAR player, around the level that you start entering the MVP conversation. Now it is a tricky game with him, coming off a serious injury and missing an entire season. He could easily come back and not look like the same player, or he could come back and pick up right where he left off. I feel that placing him at number 5 accounts for both scenarios. An all around stud, with the only hold in his game being the strikeouts.

Consistency. Production. That has been the name of the game for Garcia Jr over the last couple of seasons. He continuously improves year in and year out. Now I said the same thing for India, but with Garcia Jr, it is a little different. For one, he is younger, as 2025 will be his age 25 season, usually when players tend to break out. Also, all of his under the hood numbers are great, except for his walk percentage. This could definitely come back to bite me ranking him this high, but I don't see any reason for his offensive output to increase with a better lineup around him and great stats already in 2024.

Nico is simultaneously one of the league's most underrated players, yet in my eyes he is the best player on the Cubs. Remember what I said about Turang? Yeah, crank that up to 11, and throw in the fact that he's the best defensive second basemen in the NL, maybe even one of the best defenders period. If you look at his savant page, you'll see there are some glaring blue circles, or A.K.A. holes in his game. Hoerner has never been a guy who hits the baseball with much power, nor does he get many barrels. I love hoerner as a player, but he can't be the league's best second baseman if he is in the 1st percentile of barrel rate. However, it is a trade off with whiff rate and K rate, as he is 99th percentile in both. There is speculation that Hoerner could be dealt at the deadline, and I think that would be a massive loss for the Cubs, however, if Hoerner is on the big stage for a big team, perhaps he would get more love.

I had to give some love to the old guys. Semien was the best defensive infielder in 2024 by just about most defensive metrics there are. That alone should make his case for number 2. You could certainly look at his surface level numbers and say that he is about to decline hitting-wise, and there is a chance that could be true. However, his advanced metrics are exactly the same as years past, if not better in aspects such as squaring up pitches. While his days of 30 homer seasons may be behind him, that doesn't mean that the slugging is going away, nor are his consistently low whiff and strikeout rates (just now noticing how the top second basemen all have good whiff and strikeout rates). Could the aging curve catch him? I doubt it. He had a 4.1 WAR in a down year, I think he'll be fine.

It felt pretty obvious, right? Marte was an MVP finalist along side Ohtani and Lindor, it only makes sense that he is the best second basemen in the league. Just about every element of his game exploded, however most impressive to me was his slugging. it went up almost an entire 100 points. That can be attributed to his crazy good barrel rate and exit velocity. He just simply is hitting the ball harder, while maintaining his excellent plate discipline. If there was anything to possibly be concerned about with his game, it would be he has had inconsistent seasons. However, I am not worried, as Marte had an excellent 2024, and should have another.