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Zach's undervalued fantasy baseball sleepers and breakout candidates at second base for 2025 drafts. These emerging hitters are 2B value picks with upside.
Second base didn't earn its nickname as the keystone from its fantasy baseball value, but it is a critical position to figure out in your fantasy baseball drafts. Overall, the position is thin at the top, which allows an opportunity to set your team apart with an elite option. However, if you miss out on the big names, don't despair! Lower in the rankings, some great fantasy baseball sleepers are breakout candidates in 2025.
Every year in fantasy baseball, exciting new talents emerge who end up being key contributors to winning seasons. Sometimes, the breakout candidates are young players getting their first chance in the majors, while other times, they are players who have been around a while but take their game to the next level due to improved health or a change in their swing.
Due to the lack of depth at the position, second base is also a place to swing for the fences and pivot quickly if things don't work out. With spring training ongoing, this article will highlight five of my top second base breakout candidates to target in fantasy baseball drafts this season.
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Connor Norby, Miami Marlins
Before we get to the deep cuts, let's take a look at a second baseman who is outside the top 10 in ADP at this point but has the potential to emerge as a top-10 producer at the position with a strong season. Norby was traded from the Orioles to the Marlins last season, along with outfielder Kyle Stowers, in exchange for Trevor Rogers.
Norby was somewhat blocked in Baltimore by all its strong position-player prospects, but he became a key contributor for the Marlins in the majors right away.
The 24-year-old showed some very positive signs in his first MLB action, hitting .247 in 36 games with the Marlins with eight doubles, seven home runs, a .329 wOBA, and three stolen bases. He spent most of the year hitting first or second in the order, and he's expected to hold a premium lineup spot again this season.
In his first 18 games with the Marlins, Norby made a great first impression. He began his career with a 10-game hitting streak and posted a .329 average, six home runs, and a .439 wOBA in those 18 contests. Even though he cooled off a little bit after that, he put together a strong enough showing to establish himself as one of the Marlins' core pieces moving forward.
He has consistently made hard contact throughout his rise to the majors and has a good upside to produce if he continues to do that this season. He stated his personal goal is to hit 30 homers.
Individual goal for Connor Norby in 2025?
30 home runs.
“I won’t be swinging for the fences, but that would be pretty cool” pic.twitter.com/4WDMks6LsP
— Isaac Azout (@IsaacAzout) February 7, 2025
Coming into spring training, Norby was being drafted outside the top 25 second basemen, but if he can continue to build on his momentum from last year, he could be a top-15 or even a top-10 option with good run production potential from his premium place in the Miami batting order.
Jonathan Aranda, Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays have been very high on Aranda for the last few seasons, but 2025 may be the year he finally gets his chance to break out. In most formats, the 26-year-old has eligibility at both first and second base, but he typically carries more value at second base since the position is a little thinner.
It's easy to see what the Rays like about Aranda. In 2022, he hit .318 with 18 home runs and a .400 wOBA in his first taste of Triple-A. In 2023, he followed that up by hitting .339 with 25 home runs in 95 games in Triple-A with a .459 wOBA. He was poised to be a breakout player in 2024 and had a sizzling spring, hitting .371 with a .432 wOBA, but he fractured his ring finger right at the end of camp, which kept him out until mid-May.
When Aranda did get back to action, he struggled at first, going 10-for-47 (.213) in 18 games. To give him more consistent playing time to refine his timing, the Rays sent him to Triple-A, but Aranda strained an oblique that kept him on the bench until August. By the end of August, he finally got back to Tampa Bay, and he put together a strong finish to the season.
Over his last 26 games, he hit .247 (20-for-81) with five home runs and a solid .347 wOBA. He produced a 132 wRC+ over that small sample size, which the Rays hope is a sign of things to come in 2025.
Excited for Jonathan Aranda’s 2025!
He has always profiled as a high upside LH Power Bat and the numbers showed in 2024:
91.9 MPH EV
16.5% Barrel%
48.5% Hard Hit%His Brls/PA% (min.50 PA) of 11.2% was 6th in all of Major League Baseball!#RaysUp pic.twitter.com/2i8sX4XsjW
— Running From The OPS (@OPS_BASEBALL) February 20, 2025
If Aranda can stay healthy, this season could be the year he finally breaks out and pays off his potential. The lefty was going outside the top-35 second basemen drafted coming into spring training, but he has the potential to be one of the biggest breakouts on the board.
Colt Keith, Detroit Tigers
The Tigers' big offseason acquisition of Gleyber Torres means that Keith is working at a new position this year and is expected to be Detroit's everyday first baseman going into the season. He played all of his 133 games at second base last season, so most formats still have that as his primary position, but he'll likely bring additional flexibility and eligibility as the season progresses.
Keith was just 22 last year but was given an everyday role as one of Detroit's top prospects. He struggled badly out of the gate but found his footing as the year went on. In 2023, he hit .306 with 27 home runs and a .405 wOBA in Double-A and Triple-A.
After all that success, it was jarring when he hit just .152 over his first 30 games of the season without a home run. After May 5, Keith hit a much improved .285 with 13 home runs and a .320 wOBA. Nine of those home runs came from July 4 through the end of the year as he helped the Tigers with their push to the playoffs.
Looking at his splits, Keith surprisingly hit better against lefties than righties, which should help him stay in the lineup and avoid getting stuck in a platoon. He also had excellent contact stats against fastballs while struggling more against breaking balls.
One year ago today, Colt Keith signed his extension with the Tigers 🐅
Go behind the scenes of Colt's rookie season and more in our 2024 season documentary: https://t.co/FtP9iNx5dw pic.twitter.com/BiNRifePjK
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) January 30, 2025
Keith is just 23 years old but is locked in as an everyday contributor for the Tigers. He could have a breakout season after his strong finish last year and a new offseason regimen, which he modeled after Astros first baseman Christian Walker.
Ryan Bliss, Seattle Mariners
Aranda and Keith bring plenty of power potential, but Bliss brings a different element, which makes him an especially attractive late-round add as a potential breakout. He does add a little pop, but his main fantasy asset is his speed. Last year, Bliss got his first taste of the majors, and this year, he's expected to compete for the starting second base job with veteran Dylan Moore and top prospect Cole Young, who has yet to play above Double-A.
Bliss was acquired by the Mariners from the Diamondbacks in the midseason Paul Sewald trade in 2023. In 128 games in Triple-A that season, he hit .304 with 23 home runs and an impressive 55 stolen bases. Last year, he racked up 50 stolen bases in just 93 games in Triple-A, hitting .269 with a .371 wOBA and 12 home runs.
In his 33 MLB games, Bliss hit two home runs and stole five bases while posting a .222 batting average.
Bliss hit .350 against breaking balls in 2024 but just .194 against the fastball, so improving against fastballs has been a focus for him this offseason.
Ryan Bliss on Mariners Hot Stove Show just now:
“…I know something for me is I gotta hit the fastball”
Encouraging to hear the young 2B is working on what was a clear problem for him at MLB level last season. https://t.co/hp1kpyIuc6
— Kick Dirt Baseball (@KickDirtBB) January 29, 2025
Bliss is currently barely being drafted in most formats, but he could win the starting job with a solid spring training. If he does earn playing time, his speed alone makes him a great late-round target with plenty of upside. If he hits fastballs at even a league-average level, he could be poised for a breakout season at the keystone in Seattle.
Travis Bazzana, Cleveland Guardians
The Guardians drafted Bazzana with the No. 1 pick in last year's MLB Draft. He's a long shot to make the team out of spring training, but he's a great option to stash for dynasty leagues or in formats that allow you to easily carry players in the minor leagues. Even though he's just 22, he could arrive in Cleveland as early as the middle of this season since he is such a refined prospect with elite upside.
He had three home runs, seven doubles, and five stolen bases in his 27 games for the Lake County Captains in High-A after being drafted last season with a solid .365 wOBA and 126 wRC+.
Bazzana was ranked as the No. 10 prospect in all of baseball by MLB Pipeline, and he's projected to skyrocket through the Guardians system.
"I think [Travis Bazzana] is up in the Big Leagues by the end of the year."@jimcallisMLB breaks down @MLBPipeline's No. 10 overall prospect ahead of his first full year in pro ball. pic.twitter.com/6XLcxVLNAK
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) February 1, 2025
Cleveland traded away Andres Gimenez to Toronto this offseason, and one of the reasons may have been that it thinks Bazzana can be fast-tracked to the majors. The Australian native has shown a mature approach at the plate and to the process as a whole, so he could be a fast riser in the minors and not take long to reach the MLB level.
He's a breakout candidate to monitor closely and get ready to grab if he receives the call at any point this season.
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