2023 Dynasty Second Base Rankings

baseball
December 30, 2022
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After covering catcher and first base, we’ll head to the keystone today with my Dynasty Second Base 2023 Rankings. Once considered a light and defensive spot, this second base position has steadily grown with fantastic options more exciting every year.

– Publicity –

In 2022 alone, we’ve seen a lot of movement in the position, both positively and negatively. At the top, Ozzie Albies was limited in more ways than one, but we also saw the rise of Jazz Chisholm Jr, who quickly became one of baseball’s most exciting players. We also received several other breakouts while some more established players endured tough seasons offensively.

Player Notes

There will be a debate at the top between Ozzie Albies et Jazz Chisholm. One is coming off an injury-riddled season after half a decade of top-notch results. The other has the most upside in that position, but he’s also very raw and still finds his place at the Major League level. Right now, I’m leaning towards Albies and think he’s a good low-cost candidate in the Dynasty leagues if given the opportunity. Apparently, all it takes is an injury-shortened season and less-than-stellar production to make many forget that in each of Albies’ last three full seasons (2018, 2019, 2021), he’s made at least 24 home runs, 14 steals, 102 runs and 72 RBIs. On top of that, Albies best season to date came in 2021 where he set career records in HR, RBI and SB.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. leads MLB in hit percentage! ????
???? @j_chisholm3 ???? pic.twitter.com/8nqxI8WUXW
— Codifier (@CodifyBaseball) 24 avril 2022

As for Chisholm, he’s the flashy new you in this position with the sexy metrics that a lot of fantasy players drool over, including a 16.7% barrel rate, 46.7% hard hit rate and speed of 94th percentile sprint. On the surface, Chisholm has racked up 14 home runs and 12 interceptions in just 241 plate appearances in 2022 with a .254/.325/.535 slant line. However, there are a few red flags with Chisholm in his approach, mainly with his 74.6% zone contact rate and 32.1% scent rate. There is no doubt that Chisholm has the highest potential in this position and could easily grab and run away with the top spot. However, I would like to see an improvement in his approach before putting him ahead of Albies at this time. That said, this duo is easily the #1 and #2 options at this position right now for dynasty purposes.
We have two new Tier 2 additions this year with Andres Gimenez et Vaughn Grissom. After suffering from some prospect fatigue, Giménez broke out in 2022 with 17 homers, 19 interceptions and a .297/.371/.466 slant line. However, when you look under the hood, its statcast page doesn’t paint a pretty picture. Okay, maybe that was a bit harsh, but aside from his sprint speed, there’s a lot of blue. All of Giménez’s QoC metrics were league average or below average and he was never one to walk much. Additionally, Giménez was helped by a .353 BABIP last season, which certainly helped given his contact parameters, which, again, were in the middle of the road. I’m not saying that Giménez is bad or that he’s going to fall off a cliff. But what I’m saying is that I expect a bit of a pullback in his offensive numbers in 2023. However, additional plate appearances could help soften the blow. Giménez is more of a sell than a buy right now for me.
Bringing our attention to Grissom, he’s the one I would consider buying in the Dynasty Leagues entering 2023. It’s hard to get a “Tale of Two Seasons” storyline in just 156 board appearances, but that is exactly the case here. In his first 103 AP, Grissom cut .347 / .398 / .558 with five home runs, four interceptions, a 17.4 percent strikeout rate and a .211 ISO. At that time, everything was on the Grissom train. But in his last 53 plate appearances, Grissom has struggled to hit a .174/.264/.196 line with zero homers, a steal, a 30.2 percent strikeout rate and a .022 ISO. Ouch. yuck. But don’t hold back those 53 home plate appearances for too long. Grissom is a talented bat who hit .315 in 227 minor league games. That includes a .324 average in 2022 as well as 14 home runs and 27 steals in 96 games. Grissom should be able to hit for high AVG with enough power and speed to flirt with 20/20 per year. Just keep in mind that he falls short with the departure of Dansby Swanson and could lose his eligibility.
One of the most polarizing players in this position entering 2023 has to be Trevor’s Story. In his first season with the Red Sox after signing a six-year contract, Story cut .238/.303/.434 with 53 runs, 16 homers, 66 RBIs and 13 steals in 396 plate appearances. If you extrapolate these appearances over 650 plates, you would have 87 R, 26 HR, 108 RBI and 21 SB. Sounds awesome, right? Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. As a Red Sox fan, I watched Story look completely lost for about 90% of last season. That other 10% was a 10-game streak in May when he hit eight home runs. This means that he had as many home runs in this 46 AP sequence as in his other 350 APs. Additionally, Story had a 30.8% takedown rate, 30.8% smell rate, and 33.1% chase rate. Now is not the time to write him off, but expecting a major rebound from him in 2023 is also not recommended. We’re probably looking for another solid power/speed rhythm, but with lower AVG and OBP.

That much, Brandon Lowe becomes a difficult rank. We’ve seen what he can do when everything clicks like in 2021 (97 R, 39 HR, 99 RBI), but this also serves as his only season north of 330 PA. Lowe was limited to 65 games in 2022 due to a back problem and only reduced 0.221/0.308/0.383 while on the court. We also saw his barrel rate and hit rate drop significantly while his smell rate remained too high. But on the other hand, Lowe improved his strikeout rate to a career-best 22.9% and posted a walk rate above 10% for the third consecutive season. When it comes to whether or not to buy a weak dynasty, the asking price is particularly important (duh). I think Lowe’s production will bounce back in 2023, but the return issue and general inconsistencies have me a bit concerned. Buy low, but be careful.
The last player I wanted to talk about is Nolan Gorman. This is the story of one of my former favorite prospects turned player whom I strictly avoid in all formats right now. There are several reasons for this. For starters, one area for Gorman that has always been exciting is his power. Gorman flexed that power on his Major League debut in 2022, hitting 14 home runs in 313 board appearances with a 14.4% barrel rate and 43.3% hit rate. But outside of power, his profile turns sour in a hurry. Gorman hit just .226 last season, which includes a .192 average and a 33.2 percent smell rate against fastballs. This mark of 192 was the 6th worst mark in baseball last season (min 100 PA). Overall, Gorman recorded a 34.5% scent rate and 74% zone contact, both significantly worse than the league average. And even if I could look past it all (I can’t), Gorman is far from a lock to receive consistent playing time in St. Louis. The Cardinals basically refused to let him face LHP last season and also have Brendan Donovan pictured at second base. Gorman’s best chance for playing time is for Donovan and/or multiple DH options (Yepez, etc.) struggling in spring training as he puts up a strong spring performance. And even if all this happens, these previously mentioned measures still do not guarantee that he will be able to maintain this position. Just as I faded away from Dylan Carlson in 2021 and 2022, Gorman also became a strong fade.

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