Meet these 2026 second base prospects | Baseball prospectus

Translated by Carlos Marcano

There is only one player below who feels like he will definitely have an impact fantasy in 2026, and probably won’t be eligible for second base (yet). Yes, the options are scarce in the intermediate segment.

JJ WetherholtSt. Louis Cardinals

For a number of reasons, I decided to cheat a bit with Wetherholt’s position and put him at second base instead of shortstop. Shortstop has been his most important position in professional baseball thus far and probably the only spot where he would be considered for your selection in the first place. fantasy chosen.

But if Wetherholt makes it to the big leagues in 2026, I think it will be at second base. Plus, shortstop is loaded with enough young talent for about four of these items, while second base is so barren that I had trouble finding six names.

Wetherholt was a first-round pick in the 2024 draft and had an excellent shortened pro debut that year at Class-A Palm Beach. However, he was even better in 2025, when he split his season between Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis, with a .306/.421/.510 line, 17 home runs, 23 stolen bases and a 72/73 BB/K ratio in 109 games.

With no real weaknesses in his game, Wetherholt is as safe a bet as possible to become at least an above-average Major Leaguer and possibly more. He has excellent contact skills and understanding of the strike zone, and the left-handed hitter has no problems against left-handed pitchers.

Wetherholt is more contact than power, and the pitcher-friendly Busch Stadium could make him more of a 15-20 home run guy than a 20+ full-club bat. However, he has legitimate power, especially for someone with a relatively slim build. Additionally, while not an extremely fast runner, Wetherholt has good speed and is a very smart baserunner, so he should regularly record 20+ stolen base seasons.

Win is entrenched at shortstop for the Cardinals, but Wetherholt has played both second and third base and will compete to lead the team into either of those positions. The clearest vacancy right now is at third base Nolan Arenado has been changed, but it is probably that Brendan Donovan follow Arenado out the door and second base is likely Wetherholt’s best long-term position.

Travis BazzanaCleveland Guardians

Bazzana was the No. 1 overall pick in the same draft where Wetherholt was No. 7 overall, becoming the first second baseman taken with the first pick. Wetherholt is considered the top prospect at the moment, but there are still plenty of positives to Bazzana’s long-term prospects.

Oblique issues limited Bazzana to 84 games in 2025, and the numbers he put up (.245/.389/.424, nine home runs, 12 stolen bases) were good, not great. His walk rate of 17.6% on three stops and 24.2% during his time at Triple-A Columbus stood out, though Bazzana was arguably too passive and would likely be better served by getting loose more often, even if it means his on-base percentage suffers a bit.

His raw power is only average, but he’s good at getting the ball through the air, and that, combined with his plate discipline, should allow him to maximize his home run production. He’s also a “plus” runner who should be a reliable base-stealing threat in the major leagues.

His 24.3% strikeout rate last season was higher than you’d like, and the 23-year-old seems better suited for OBP leagues than AVG (batting average) leagues. Bazzana needs a little more time in the minors, but if he gets off to a good start in Columbus, we could see him sooner rather than later. The Guardians have almost nothing to stand in their way. The ceiling for Bazzana seems lower than it was a year ago, but he could have another 20-20 seasons left.

Brice MatthewsHouston Astros

Matthews is by far the riskiest of the three hitters in this section, as his strikeout issues could keep him from becoming a fixture in the major leagues. However, if the young infielder can make enough contact, he has a power/speed combination that is intriguing.

Matthews got his feet wet with the Astros last season, but performed poorly, posting just a .287 wOBA while striking out at an unsustainable 42.6% rate. He managed to hit four home runs in 13 games, giving him a total of 21 home runs between the majors and minors, along with 42 stolen bases in the two stops. Matthews also hit 15 home runs and stole 32 bases in just 79 games during the 2024 season.

His 14.1% walk rate in the minors shows that Matthews is not undisciplined, but when he swings, he swings very hard and tries to pull the ball through the air into left field. That leads to some home runs and a lot of hard-hit balls, but it also results in missed swings, as evidenced by his 28.9% strikeout rate on farms.

Matthews has split his time fairly evenly between shortstop and second base, and has also played third base and small center field. The Astros have talked about getting more reps in the outfield, and since it appears José Altuve will primarily play second base in 2026, Matthews’ best route to playing time could be in a super-utility role.

For the 2027 season and beyond

Mitch VoitNew York Mets

The Mets acquired Voit from the University of Michigan with the 38th pick in the 2025 draft. Voit was a two-way player (two-way player) for a time in college before internal support surgery on his elbow led him to focus solely on hitting. That kind of profile means he still has room to grow, and the Mets are hoping Voit can develop more in-game power (although a home run in his 99-at-bat professional debut wasn’t encouraging in that regard). Voit already has great legs, and he showed that by going 21-for-20 in steals in just 22 games at Class-A St. Lucie.

Jeral Perez, Chicago White Sox

Perez was acquired from the Dodgers at the 2024 trade deadline in a three-team deal that also included the Cardinals. Perez spent his entire age-20 season (he’s now 21) in 2025 at high-A Winston-Salem and led the South Atlantic League with 22 home runs. His .244 batting average and .315 on-base percentage were less impressive, but keep in mind he was quite young for his class. Perez’s defense at second base is suspect and he probably won’t contribute more than a handful of stolen bases, but he has enough power to be a low-average hitter with 20+ home runs at second base.

Aron Estrada,Baltimore Orioles

Estrada came to Double-A Chesapeake as a 20-year-old last season and finished the season with a .288/.366/.447 line with 10 home runs and 34 stolen bases over two stops. The switch-hitter struck out 17.4% overall and just 15.5% in Double-A, and he also walked a fair number, at 9.9%. Estrada doesn’t have great power, but he could be enough to reach double figures in home runs in the Majors, and he combines that with the speed to steal more than 20 bases. He could eventually establish himself as a super utility player, but Estrada’s best position is second base.