Fantasy Baseball 2025: Second Base Sleepers

When it comes to fantasy baseball, and fantasy sports in general, everyone is always trying to find the next potential star player who nobody else is aware of. It’s a fair goal. Fantasy managers will try to find value wherever they can. 

I will be providing as many draft tips as possible now that we’ve hit February, and getting started with sleepers is a phenomenal way to do so. My definition of ‘sleeper’ refers to players who are being taken outside the top 180 NFBC rankings. This means guys to focus on after the 15th round of a 12-team format.

After starting with first base, we will now be diving into second base sleepers. Simply put, this is a position with change on the horizon.

The ultra-reliable Marcus Semien and Jose Altuve are aging, Ozzie Albies can’t stay on the field, and Ketel Marte was really the only “superstar” at the keystone in 2024. Second base depth is weak, so I want to provide a few new players to focus on.

Not many people know their names. That will soon change. Let’s take a look at these silent advantages!

Second Base Sleepers to Draft in 2025

Kristian Campbell Was a Monster in the Minors in 2024 – #313

Kristian Campbell (@RedSox) continues to scorch the ball, no matter the level 🔥

The 2023 fourth-rounder goes deep for the 4th time in 13 Triple-A @WooSox (1.006 OPS) games, having entered play Thursday with a 182 wRC+, the top mark among @MiLB full-season ball.@MLBDevelops pic.twitter.com/jBTJlXrOwy

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) September 5, 2024

Let’s talk about Baseball America’s 2024 Minor League Player of the Year.

Kristian Campbell was off the radar for many teams, including the Red Sox, at this point last season. But after he was drafted in 2023 and committed to Boston’s offseason plan, his bat speed increased in a tremendous way, along with various other developmental skills. While his swing is one that baseball historians would cringe at, it works. 

Across three levels this past season, Campbell posted a monstrous .997 OPS with 20 home runs and 24 steals while slashing .330/.439/.558. He also struck out just 103 times compared to walking 74 times.

Sheesh. 

Now let’s be real for a second. Although the Red Sox saw eleven different players patrol second base in 2024, I still think their front office would like to let Campbell develop a bit more in Triple-A. 

Yet, just because he might not be on the Opening Day roster, doesn’t mean he’ll be held down for the entire year. In fact, I expect him to be up relatively soon after the start of the season.

The Red Sox would like to compete this season, and there’s only so much David Hamilton can provide at second base. So draft Campbell late, stash him on your bench, and activate when he’s up. Easy enough!

It’s Way Too Soon To Give Up On Jackson Holliday – #216

If we were giving out awards for impatience in the fantasy baseball community, look no further than Jackson Holliday.

Highly touted prospects are supposed to be great right away!

He doesn’t need time to develop, his dad is Matt Holliday.

Don’t worry, he’s going to be a beast from the start. Right? 

Wrong.

Let’s come back to earth for a second and remember one thing: The kid just turned 21 in December. He is simply, well, a kid.

Young players deserve time to grow in the big leagues, so let’s throw all that nonsense about him killing your 2024 fantasy squad out the window. After all, I’d offer the opinion that you’re not a quality fantasy manager if you were counting on him to seamlessly make the transition and put up similar numbers to his minor league career. 

And now that we’ve mentioned his minor league data, might as well focus in a bit. It’s unfair to expect him to be the player his father was. He’s not. Matt had the power tool, and while Jackson may hit a few long balls every once in a while, consistent impact on the ball isn’t his strong suit. 

However, you don’t have to hit millions of homers in order to be a useful fantasy talent. And that’s where I believe he’ll be productive in 2025. His profile still points to a contact-first approach, just with more power than the normal singles hitter.

You may think I’m talking about a guy like Nico Hoerner. False. But Holliday could be Nico Hoerner with 15 more long balls per year, which intrigues the heck out of me. 

His Triple-A performance in 2024 did not go unnoticed, as he put up 10 homers in 73 games with a .431 OBP and .908 OPS.

The one major factor I saw change from the minors to the majors was his BB:K ratio. He was very balanced and patient in the minors, unlike in his time with Baltimore last season. Again, it’s nothing that time won’t fix.

With elite batting average sure to come around at some point along with 95th-percentile speed and a knack for taking bags, Holliday is well on his way to becoming his true self at the major league level. And being eligible at a position like second base only makes him more attractive if we focus on the weak keystone talent across the league.

I’m not sure I’ve seen more eyes on a prospect with such criticism in his first year. Cash in on all the haters who are judging him based on a 60-game sample size at 20 years old. You’ll be thankful in the future. 

Second Base Sleeper Maikel Garcia Offers 40-Steal Potential – #205

“But the data doesn’t support what he’s doing on the field!” 

While that may be true for the power aspect of Garcia’s game, it’s dead wrong in other areas. His chase and whiff rates were in the 92nd percentile last year, while his squared-up rate was in the 98th percentile.

I’d love to see him capitalize on his strong 70th-percentile average exit velocity in 2025. But let’s face it, Garcia is not focused on home runs. However, he has the potential to be valuable in every other area. Plus, that second and third base eligibility is always appetizing. 

So let me be real clear in what I’m looking for when it comes to drafting Maikel for my fantasy squad. We’ve heard time and time again about how much speed can be found throughout the draft. But in my view…really? 

In 2024, the top ten steals leaders were as follows: Elly De La Cruz, Shohei Ohtani, Brice Turang, José Caballero, José Ramírez, Jazz Chisholm Jr, Maikel Garcia, Corbin Carroll, Victor Robles, and Jarren Duran.

Six of those players are being drafted inside the top 25. While Garcia does not provide the same type of hitting numbers as those guys, he provides 40-stolen base potential, a statistical threshold many players simply can’t reach. 

A variety of players averaging twenty steals per season can be found throughout the draft, fine. But this kind of elite baserunning talent is only found in a few select players, including Garcia. If your team looks a little slow in the middle rounds, focus on adding this young second base talent.