Dynasty/Keeper Middle Infield Buys Heading Into 2026

I suppose you could call this a buy week at the Dynasty Dugout. No, we are not taking a bye week; instead, we are giving you all the players to buy or pick up before the season ends.

This article series will feature some MLB hitters that may be worth buying low on. Today, we talk about five corner infielders who may be worth buying now. Maybe it is an injured player. Perhaps it was just someone who struggled and saw their stock fall, but still has things under the hood to like. All players can buy now!

Middle Infielders to Buy or Stash for 2026

Lenyn Sosa, INF, Chicago White Sox

Sosa is a fascinating player. Having spent the majority of his games at second base this year, Sosa is not playing first base. He is also having a career-best season and is up to 20 home runs in 493 trips to the plate. The OBP skills are way below average, largely thanks to a 43 percent chase rate, but he still has a slash line of .265/.297/.436.

The power outbreak has happened recently as Sosa has blasted 11 home runs in his last 158 plate appearances with a 91 mph average exit velocity and a 14 percent barrel rate over that span. The hard-hit rate of 48 percent has pushed his season-long rate to 43.6 percent, which is an impressive mark.

It is not just the power metrics that have led to power, though; it largely plays up thanks to ideal launch angles. Sosa’s sweet spot rate north of 40 percent ranks in the 94th percentile among all MLB hitters. Sosa does a good job getting to the pull-side, and the ground ball rate has dropped nearly ten percentage points this year.

The downfall is that Sosa has one of the worst walk rates in baseball. The chase rate sits right at 40 percent, and he does not counter it with high in-zone swing rates. In fact, Sosa’s meatball swing rate is 17 percentage points below the MLB average.

But Sosa makes up for it with contact in the zone. Having an 87 percent in-zone contact rate, Sosa has seen it jump to 91 percent since the All-Star break. Given that he is still fairly young, Sosa might have established himself as part of the White Sox lineup moving forward. Given that he will have corner and middle infield eligibility next year, Sosa could be highly valuable.

Luke Keaschall, 2B, Minnesota Twins

Keaschall did not spend much time in the minors before being promoted to Minnesota in April. After a strong first week, he was hit on the forearm by a pitch and was out until August. This does create an opportunity to buy Keaschall in fantasy for a reasonable cost.

Since the return from injury, Keaschall has returned to form and done nothing but hit. In 142 trips to the plate, Keaschall has eight doubles and four home runs with a slash of .310/.373/.465. Keaschall has even swiped seven bases over that span and has shown highly impressive underlying traits.

With a chase rate below 20 percent, Keaschall has average in-zone swing rates. With an in-zone contact rate of 87 percent and an overall mark of 83 percent, the contact skills are some of the best in the majors.

While Keaschall does not hit the ball overwhelmingly hard, his launch angles are near elite. He squares up the ball better than nearly any hitter in baseball, and he consistently hits the ball at ideal launch angles regularly.

Right now, Keachsall looks like a 15-20 home runs type that will likely steal 20 bases. On top of that, he should put up impressive batting averages and OBPs. You can still probably get him at an affordable cost right now, but there is likely to be offseason buzz.

Willy Adames, SS, San Francisco Giants

Remember when everyone said Adames going to San Francisco and being in his first year in a huge contract year would lead to a terrible season? Well, it certainly seemed that way early in the year. Adames is suddenly up to 28 home runs and could pass his career-high mark of 32 he hit last season. Sure, the slash line doesn’t look great on the surface, but Adames has really gotten things going and shown improved underlying data all year.

Coming out of the All-Star break, Adames has 16 home runs in 208 trips to the plate and has seen his slash line jump to .246/.337/.542. The strikeout rate has fallen to 25 percent over that span, and his zone contact rate has jumped to 85 percent. With improved contact and strong batted ball angles, Adames has put together one of the best performances of any hitter in the last two months.

With a barrel rate near 13 percent for the season, Adames’ home runs are no fluke. Given that he just turned 30 years old, there should be plenty of good seasons ahead of Adames, and it seems people were quick to fade him. The number of shortstops with Adames' power is slim, and it makes him a good buy.

Trevor Story, SS, Boston Red Sox

I am still questioning myself on this one, but Story is healthy for the first time in a long time and has put together a season that might result in him hitting 25 home runs and stealing 30 bases. Currently sitting at 24 home runs and 28 stolen bases, with one more homer, Story would join just eight other hitters who have hit 25 home runs and stolen 25 bases.

Over his last 166 plate appearances, Story has nine home runs, 12 doubles, and a .311/.373/.570 slash. He is even 11 of 11 on stolen bases over that span. I think people are still questioning the legitimacy of the second half performance, but the underlying data suggest it is legit.

A season-long average exit velocity of 91.5 mph and a hard-hit rate of 47 percent are both career-best marks. There has also been a huge jump in zone-contact rate in the second half, sitting just shy of 90 percent. Sure, there is aggression and a lot of chase in the profile, but Story makes it work with how hard he is hitting the ball.

Given that he will turn 33 this offseason and has a long track record with injuries, the cost should be fairly low on Story. I would consider buying the veteran for the power-speed potential.

Brice Turang, 2B, Milwaukee Brewers

Turang grades out as the best second baseman for the season by a long margin according to the Razzball Player Rater. Full disclosure, I did not buy into the power gains, but at this point, it is hard to ignore. In an early mock draft done by a lot of smart NFBC players, Turang went 135 overall. This still seems like a great buying opportunity, and here is why.

After blasting a huge home run yesterday, Turang is up to 18 home runs on the season, blowing by his career total of 13 entering the season. In addition, Turang has 90 runs scored, 24 stolen bases, and a .289/.356/.445 slash line.

In his pro debut in 2023, Turang had an average exit velocity of 85.5 mph and a hard-hit rate of 27 percent. Both marks were some of the worst in the league. While there were gains last year with an average exit velocity jump to 87 mph, this year it has jumped a full four mph to 91 mph. Turang’s barrel rate increased from 2.4 percent last year to 8.4 percent this year. The xwOBAcon also jumped from .322 to .410. The gains are real and have stuck all year.

The rolling numbers are strong, and the exit velocities have gotten even better as Turang has a 15.5 percent barrel rate and a 55 percent hard-hit rate in the second half. Turang has done this while maintaining a strong approach and impressive contact rates. You could point to a five percentage point jump in strikeout rate this year, but I will gladly take that trade-off for a power jump.

The sprint speed is still there, and Turang is still stealing bases at a high clip. Given the combo of skills here, I am surprised Turang is not being valued higher. But I was also one of those doubters. At this point, you can’t ignore Turang’s performance.