Second base — everybody’s playing it!
The position will take on a different look this year, not just because of the up-and-comers around the league starting to make their imprint — a group that includes Matt McLain and Edouard Julien and could soon include top overall MLB prospect Jackson Holliday — but also because of the veteran difference-makers changing places. In the NL West, six-time Gold Glove Award-winning right fielder Mookie Betts will be making the full-time transition to second base while four-time All-Star shortstop Xander Bogaerts will be shifting to second for the first time in his career.
Meanwhile, the position also includes the reigning NL batting champion and a 30-home run hitter, each entering their age-27 seasons.
Our nine-part position series continues here with the top 10 second basemen entering the 2024 season.
MLB position rankings: Top-20 starting pitchers; Top-10 closers; Top-10 catchers; Top-10 first basemen
1. Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers
2023 stats: .307/.408/.579, 39 HR, 167 wRC+, 8.3 fWAR
2024 ZiPS projection: .278/.381/.515, 31 HR, 143 wRC+, 5.6 fWAR
Whichever position Betts decided to play this year, he would rank among the best in baseball at that spot. At second base, coming off a second-place finish in NL MVP voting and his best year since his 2018 MVP campaign, the choice is clear. The Dodgers decided last year that they needed more assistance in the middle infield, and Betts was happy to help, splitting his time in right field (77 starts), second base (62 starts) and shortstop (12 starts) while mashing a career-high 39 home runs, including a franchise record 12 as the first batter of the game.
While it’s impossible to know with any certainty if the joy he gets from playing the infield contributed to the offensive uptick, as some within the organization believe, it certainly didn’t hurt. Betts had a .996 OPS in 65 games at second base and a 1.039 OPS in 14 games at shortstop last season (his .970 mark in right field wasn’t too shabby, either) while setting a career high in average exit velocity and the second-highest hard-hit rate of his career in his age-30 season. Even if he only grades out average defensively at second this year, he can impact a game like no other player at his position.
Is Dodgers’ Ohtani-Betts-Freeman trio MLB’s best?
2. José Altuve, Houston Astros
2023: .311/.393/.522, 17 HR, 154 wRC+, 4.0 fWAR
2024 ZiPS: .277/.352/.467, 20 HR, 127 wRC+, 3.4 fWAR
3. Marcus Semien, Texas Rangers
2023: .276/.348/.478, 29 HR, 124 wRC+, 6.3 fWAR
2024 ZiPS: .265/.337/.457, 26 HR, 115 wRC+, 4.6 fWAR
4. Luis Arráez, Miami Marlins
2023: .354/.393/.469, 10 HR, 132 wRC+, 3.4 fWAR
2024 ZiPS: .316/.369/.418, 7 HR, 113 wRC+, 2.4 fWAR
Arráez, who just became the first player in baseball’s modern era to win the batting title in each league in back-to-back seasons, is defying what we thought possible in today’s game. In a time of exit velo and launch angle, there is no hitter quite like him. He doesn’t hit it hard. He doesn’t hit it far. But he also doesn’t miss. Arráez was on .400 watch for much of the year before finishing the season with a .354 batting average — the highest mark over the course of a full season since Josh Hamilton (.359) in 2010.
Arráez sported MLB’s lowest whiff rate (7.8%) and strikeout rate (5.5%) last season, and no one came close to challenging him. (The average MLB whiff rate and strikeout rate last year were 25.8% and 22.7%, respectively.) His defense hurts his projections, but there’s a reason he finished eighth in MVP voting in 2023. And still just 26 years old (he turns 27 next month), it’s possible his ceiling goes higher.
Marlins’ Luis Arráez on hitting approach & Tony Gwynn comparisons
5. Ozzie Albies, Atlanta Braves
2023: .280/.336/.513, 33 HR, 124 wRC+, 4.0 fWAR
2024 ZiPS: .273/.327/.478, 26 HR, 113 wRC+, 3.3 fWAR
6. Xander Bogaerts, San Diego Padres
2023: .285/.350/.440, 19 HR, 120 wRC+, 4.4 fWAR
2024 ZiPS: .275/.346/.424, 17 HR, 115 wRC+, 4.0 fWAR
He’s one of the toughest players to rank on this list, given that he has never played the position before. But regardless of how Bogaerts handles the defensive switch, the former shortstop immediately becomes one of the top hitting second basemen in the sport. Even in a down year offensively last season, Bogaerts’ .790 OPS was still 20% better than league average and would have ranked seventh among all qualified second basemen (eighth if you include Betts at the position).
He has had an OPS+ of 120 or better every year since 2018, and after dealing with a nagging wrist injury early in the 2023 season, he looked much better in the second half. There will be more dynamic defenders at the spot, but his offensive talents provide a higher floor than most players at this position.
Xander Bogaerts blasts solo homer to extend Padres’ lead vs. Astros
7. Andrés Giménez, Cleveland Guardians
2023: .251/.314/.399, 15 HR, 97 wRC+, 3.6 fWAR
2024 ZiPS: .272/.339/.424, 15 HR, 113 wRC+, 4.7 fWAR
8. Nico Hoerner, Chicago Cubs
2023: .283/.346/.383, 9 HR, 102 wRC+, 4.7 fWAR
2024 ZiPS: .276/.335/.392, 11 HR, 99 wRC+, 4.0 fWAR
9. Ketel Marte, Arizona Diamondbacks
2023: .276/.358/.485, 25 HR, 127 wRC+, 4.2 fWAR
2024 ZiPS: .279/.353/.473, 19 HR, 122 wRC+, 3.4 fWAR
10. Gleyber Torres, New York Yankees
2023: .273/.347/.453, 25 HR, 123 wRC+, 3.2 fWAR
2024 ZiPS: .271/.342/.454, 24 HR, 121 wRC+, 3.6 fWAR
Honorable mentions: Matt McLain (Cincinnati Reds), Brandon Lowe (Tampa Bay Rays), Bryson Stott (Philadelphia Phillies), Edouard Julien (Minnesota Twins), Jordan Westburg (Baltimore Orioles), Jeff McNeil (New York Mets)
MLB position rankings remaining schedule:
Monday, 3/11: Third basemen
Tuesday, 3/12: Shortstops
Wednesday, 3/13: Outfielders
Thursday, 3/14: Designated hitters
Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.
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