I know the consensus is to take Mike Trout with the No. 1 pick. And he’s really good and worthy of the distinction.
For my money, though, I’m buying into Houston’s Jose Altuve for another year. So if I have the No. 1 pick (or No. 2 in a league where Trout goes first), I won’t need a sleeper second basemen. The likelihood that I’m that lucky is minimal, so I’ll be eyeing some value at the position.
Here’s three second basemen with sleeper potential in the 2018 fantasy baseball draft.
Whit Merrifield, 2B, Kansas City Royals
Can he also be on my bust list? There are some major red flags. He was basically a nobody until last year — at age 28 — he led the American League in steals.
Oh, and did I mention he hit for power, average and scored a decent amount of runs?
It sounds too good to be true, but I’m going to ignore the alarms going off in my head, and consider Merrifield based on his price.
If he continues the work he did last year, he’s a top-five option at the position. That gives him good value as the ninth-ranked second baseman in average draft position with an overall draft position at 82. That puts him at the top of the next tier of second basemen, but his numbers from last year indicate he should be considered more toward the top of this group.
DJ LeMahieu, 2B, Colorado Rockies
For the price, he’s not a bad bet.
LeMahieu dropped last year in meaningful stats, but he still has the ability to be a game-changer in multiple categories. That’s a boon with LeMahieu’s ADP sitting at 89th overall and 11th among second basemen.
That’s too low for what LeMahieu can bring to the table. He’s going to hit for average and get on base. His steals have gone down the last two seasons, but he’s still a producer in the runs category.
If he can either steal some more bases or hit for a bit more power, LeMahieu is a steal based on his ability to consistently produce in at least three categories.
There’s riskier picks earlier in the draft for second basemen, so I would feel comfortable with drafting LeMahieu.
Yoan Moncada, 2B, Chicago White Sox
If you’re looking for a speculative pick, Moncada could be your guy.
He was called up late in 2017 and after a rough start, didn’t finish too bad. He hit for a little power and wasn’t horrible in scoring runs.
He’s not exactly elite at anything in terms of fantasy baseball categories, but he can be a multiple-tool option for your lineup if he performs to the hype. And he’s going to be a late-round draft pick with an ADP of 16th among second basemen.
He’s a highly touted prospect that the White Sox are eventually looking to cash in on. He may be an inconsistent option, but if he can find his hitting stroke, he may be a gem for weeks at a time this season.
