Positional Prospect Ranks For Points Leagues: Second Base

Zac Beck's Prospect Positional Rankings for Dynasty Points Leagues

If you missed Beck’s other positional rankings, check them out here:

Zac Beck's Points League Prospect Ranks: Catcher

Positional Prospect Ranks For Points Leagues: First Base

1. Curtis Mead, Tampa Bay Rays, 22, - 6’2, 171 lbs

‘22: 331 PA, .298/.390/.532/.922, 13 HR, 7 SB, 18.7% K, 10.9% BB (AA, AAA)

Mead is the perfect Tampa Bay Rays prospect. He’s patient, doesn’t strike out much, and can play all over the infield dirt. He has the potential for above average game power if he’s able to increase his flyball rate (they’ve ranged between 28% and 35%). 

He’s rather underrated at the moment, including in my last set of rankings. His batted ball data is better than a lot of options being pushed up across the industry. He represents one of the safest prospects in the top 30 overall.

The minor risk is that he’s sequestered to a 1B/DH role, in which case his bat doesn’t play as tremendously as it would at 2B/3B. 

Recommendation: Buy

2. Termarr Johnson, Pittsburgh Pirates, 18 - 5’7, 175 lbs

‘22: 82 PA, .222/.366/.365/.731, 1 HR, 6 SB, 25.6% K, 19.5% BB (Rk, A)

Termarr’s 5’7, 175 lb frame packs a punch. He won the High School Home Run Derby at Coors Field as a 17-year-old. Some evaluators gave him an 80-grade hit tool pre-draft but I’m not yet willing to go there yet (it’s a bridge too far for a prep bat) but there is a lot to like visually in his swing. 

He uses a concise, direct-to-the-baseball stroke to spray line drives with authority to all fields. His preternatural instinct for contact paired with impressive swing decisions make him a relatively high floor prospect, particularly when measured against his prep peers.

I think he’s getting unfairly judged for a poor professional debut that totaled just 82 plate appearances. Termarr was #4 in my FYPD rankings, only trailing Druw Jones, Jackson Holliday, and Kodai Senga.

Recommendation: Buy

3. Connor Norby, Baltimore Orioles, 22 - 5’10, 187 lbs

‘22: 547 PA, .279/.360/.526/.886, 29 HR, 16 SB, 20.8% K, 10.1% BB (A+, AA, AAA)

Norby has surprising pop for a smaller guy, average bat to ball, and passable on-base skills. He clubbed 29 homers in 477 ABs this year while stealing 16 bags, planting him firmly in the conversation at the top of 2B rankings. He’ll start 2023 as a 22-year-old at Triple-A and will be among the flood of young talent making their debuts in Baltimore soon.

What I find appealing in his profile is the proximity, the contact rate (76.6% at Double-A and 87.2% at Triple-A in 2022), and the hard hit rate (32.0%).

With all of that said – He’s getting a lot of helium. I’ve seen him inside the top 30 by a couple outlets. I would sell if you can get a return commensurate with that valuation.

Recommendation: Sell

4. Edouard Julien, Minnesota Twins, 23 - 6’2, 195 lbs

‘22: 508 PA, .300/.441/.490/.931, 17 HR, 19 SB, 24.6% K, 19.3% BB (AA)

You’ll be hard pressed to find a hitter in the minors this year with a more patient, up-the-middle approach. He walked 19.3% of the time while only striking out 24.6%. His spray chart is dotted evenly in all fields – 32.6% pull, 39.8% to center, 27.6% to the opposite field. That’ll play excellently in batting average and OBP leagues, but also provide a secure floor in points leagues.

On the other hand, sending two thirds of your batted balls up the middle and to the opposite field will cap his power output. Hell, he was hitting the ball the other way in the AFL Home Run Derby. That’s not something that can’t be addressed, but as it stands he’s a positionless, high-floor bat with proximity.

Recommendation: Hold

5. Michael Busch, Los Angeles Dodgers, 25 - 6’1, 210 lbs

‘22: 641 PA, .274/.365/.516/.881, 32 HR, 4 SB, 26.1% K, 11.5% BB (AA, AAA)

There are some things to address with Michael Busch but I have to start with a story about my friend Sam.

Sam was a high school sophomore with dreams of winning the starting third base job on the varsity squad in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota. He showed up to tryouts ready to battle – but there was nobody else on the field that day vying for the hot corner. The job was his… until a 12-year-old Michael Busch arrived. Sam was unseated by a seventh grader. So it goes when you have the misfortune of playing the same position as a generational high school (middle school?) talent.

Busch was a notable miss in my first iteration of the top 100. His profile is fantastic for points formats and he figures to slot in between 75 and 100 in my next release. The power is real, and while the K’s are worth keeping an eye on they aren’t a deal-breaker. He’s likely to find time with the big league team in 2023.

Recommendation: Hold

6. Zack Gelof, Oakland Athletics, 23 - 6’3, 205 lbs

‘22: 440 PA, .270/.352/.463/.815, 18 HR, 10 SB, 27.5% K, 11.4% BB (AA, AAA)

Gelof’s 2021 was terrific, quickly ascending to Triple-A and looking extraordinary in a very small sample. He started 2022 at Double-A, where he was solid but unspectacular, eventually landing back in Las Vegas to close out the campaign.

He’s an excellent athlete with great zone recognition and plus power. He looks like a big league regular right now with the opportunity to be an above average bat and defender at multiple infield positions. He’s somewhat underrated, perhaps because he’s in Oakland’s system, but he’s a genuinely exciting prospect.

If you look at his line very closely, you’ll notice it really closely resembles that of Marco Luciano. I have Luciano much higher on my overall list because of ceiling potential, and obviously they are different ages competing at different levels of minor league ball, but that should give you a sense for how Gelof compares statistically.

Recommendation: Hold

7. Nick Yorke, Boston Red Sox, 20 - 6’0, 200 lbs

‘22: 373 PA, .232/.303/.365/.688, 11 HR, 8 SB, 25.2% K, 8.8% BB (A+)

Nick Yorke, what happened? I’m hoping you read that in the voice of James Droz. The falloff between 2021 and 2022 was perplexing. His surface level stats crumbled as the year went on, so what was going on under the hood?

Yorke played through injury for a lot of 2022, dealing with bouts of turf toe and wrist stiffness. He also got a little unlucky, a little whiffy, and a little less judicious. His BABIP fell year-over-year from .353 to .288 while his hard hit % rose from 24.9% to 30.6%. His K% grew from 15.6% to 25.2%. He walked 8 fewer times in 27 more plate appearances.

The Fall League was a good sign that the woes plaguing his 2022 were the culprit behind poor production. I think he’ll be a bounce-back candidate assuming health.

Recommendation: Buy

8.  Jace Jung, Detroit Tigers, 22 - 6’0, 205 lbs

‘22: 134 PA, .232/.373/.333/.706, 1 HR, 1 SB, 25.9% K, 23.1% BB (A+)

Josh’s younger brother Jace was an electric ballplayer at Texas Tech who took (or was told to take) his talents to Detroit in July. He’s an odd fit defensively and it’s unclear where he’ll eventually land on the diamond, but the bat plays.

It’s an unconventional set-up reminiscent of Mickey Tettleton that works to get the bat through the zone on an optimal path for line drives. He has a plus approach and chance to get to above average game power.

Recommendation: Hold

9.  Jordan Diaz, Oakland Athletics, 22 - 5’10, 175 lbs

‘22: 527 PA, .326/.366/.515/.882, 19 HR, 0 SB, 14.4% K, 5.3% BB (AA, AAA)

Jordan Diaz is Jackson Merrill if he were 5 inches taller and 3 years younger. Both demonstrate exceptional contact ability (>85% z-con) and solid power (Merrill’s 90th percentile EV was 103.7 mph, Diaz was >105 mph) but hit the ball on the ground too much.

We’re projecting Merrill to fix the launch angle issue and fill out his large frame. While the latter isn’t much of a possibility for Diaz, he could conceivably make strides toward elevating the baseball with regularity. If that happens he becomes a much more coveted asset.

Recommendation: Buy

10. Nick Gonzales, Pittsburgh Pirates, 23 - 5’10, 195 lbs

‘22: 327 PA, .264/.382/.435/.817, 7 HR, 6 SB, 28.4% K, 13.5% BB (Rk, A, AA)

Gonzales struggles mightily with high velocity and spin both in and out of the zone. We saw it all year and it continued in the Arizona Fall League. Even if you’re giving him some slack for missing much of the summer with plantar fasciitis, it’s a profile that looks more like a solid if unspectacular big leaguer than an impact fantasy bat right now.

If you’re able to procure a top-100 prospect in return for him, I would. He was at 96 on my December edition of the 100 and he will not be present in the next iteration.

Recommendation: Sell

11. Enmanuel Valdez, Boston Red Sox, 24 - 5’9, 191 lbs

‘22: 573 PA, .296/.376/.542/.918, 28 HR, 8 SB, 21.6% K, 11.2% BB (AA, AAA)

It’s a little obscene that a second baseman who popped nearly 30 home runs isn’t getting much attention at all in the fantasy space. Sure, he’s 24 and has been a minor league player since 2016, but at some point we must start accounting for the lost 2020 season when incorporating age to level in valuation.

I wouldn’t necessarily call him a defensive swiss army knife, but there’s enough versatility that we could see him in Boston this year. He projects as a .240-.250 hitter with average to above-average power output.

It’s worth noting that he spent the majority of his 2022 in hitter-friendly environments and that he struggled after being shipped to Worcester in the Christian Vasquez deal.

Recommendation: Hold

12. Carlos Jorge, Cincinnati Reds, 19 - 5’10, 160 lbs

‘22: 154 PA, .261/.405/.529/.935, 7 HR, 27 SB, 26.6% K, 16.2% BB (Rk)

Originally signed for $495,000 in 2021, Jorge has become one of Cincinnati’s most promising youngsters among an impressive group of minor league talent. Thus far he’s demonstrated a willingness to work deep in counts and it’s cut both ways, leading to a tremendous OBP but an equally notable K% at the complex level.

He’s a good athlete that seems to get to more power than you’d expect considering the frame, partially because he pulls the ball the majority of the time and partially because more than 40% of his batted ball events were in the air this year. 

I’ve seen him getting some helium of late as a standout performer in the DSL and then again in rookie ball. The strikeouts are a genuine concern — no qualified second baseman K’d in more than 22% of their plate appearances at the MLB level in 2022.

Recommendation: Sell

13.  Justin Foscue, Texas Rangers, 23 - 6’00, 205 lbs

‘22: 460 PA, .288/.367/.483/.870, 15 HR, 3 SB, 14.3% K, 9.8% BB (AA)

Firmly a bat-first infield prospect, Foscue will have to hit his way to any kind of significant role in Texas – a tall task for a ballclub that features Marcus Semien and Corey Seager up the middle. He could perhaps get to 20 or 25 home run power if he continues to hit the ball in the air regularly (41% in 2022) and to the pull side (52.6%).

Interestingly, Foscue halved his K% year-over-year at the same level en route to a 116 wRC+.  

Recommendation: Hold

14.  Lenyn Sosa, Chicago White Sox, 23 - 6’0, 180 lbs

‘22: 536 PA, .315/.369/.511/.881, 23 HR, 3 SB, 15.5% K, 7.3% BB (AA, AAA)

Sosa started 2022 in AA as part of Chicago’s ‘Project Birmingham’ and made his presence known quickly. He ascended to AAA and eventually Guaranteed Rate field, where his presence was acknowledged but quickly disregarded. The ascendance and subsequent irrelevance came on with similar velocity after he debuted and posted a .114/.139/.229 line in 36 PA.

Not one to tool you to death, Sosa has a knack for contact that affords him a high floor as a fourth infielder or utilityman. He could surprise and become a steady regular not unlike the 2021 version of Thairo Estrada.

Recommendation: Hold

15.  Eddinson Paulino, Boston Red Sox, 20 - 5’10, 155 lbs

‘22: 539 PA, .266/.359/.469/.827, 13 HR, 27 SB, 19.5% K, 12.1% BB (A)

The calling card for Paulino is his reportedly stellar hand-eye coordination that allows him to make contact and spray line drives. The power may never fully materialize as a result of his wiry frame, but a gap-to-gap hitter who puts the ball in play and limits K’s has its place in points formats.

Recommendation: Hold