Breaking down 3 second basemen to consider deeper in your 2021 fantasy baseball drafts

Grabbing someone such as DJ Lemehieu, Whit Merrifield or Ozzie Albies early in your draft might give your fantasy baseball team an advantage since second base doesn’t offer a wealth of dependable players once you get outside the top six or seven. But if you don’t land one of those studs and decide to wait at this position, here are three value picks for later on in your draft.

Tommy La Stella, San Francisco Giants

Stella’s 2019 with the Angels was a magical half-year ride. He hit 16 home runs in just 80 games after hitting no more than five home runs in any of his previous five MLB seasons. That power surge quieted in 2020 as he only sent five balls out of the yard in 55 games. But he will probably start 2021 as the Giants’ lead-off hitter and over the course of a full season, La Stella will probably give you 10-plus HRs, a batting average hovering between .280-.290 and a useful on-base percentage propped up by his commonly good walk rate. La Stella is eligible at first base and third base in some leagues as well.

Nick Solak, Texas Rangers

Here’s another multi-positional player, but one with much more untapped potential. Whether the rebuilding Rangers put Solak at second or in the outfield, they are going to an everyday place for him. He opened eyes in 2018 when he recorded 18 homers and 21 steals while in Double-A for the Rays. He then hit .347 in a 30-game stint for the Rangers’ Triple-A club the following year. In his first 91 games at the MLB level spread across two seasons, Solak has compiled seven HRs, nine SBs and a .277 average. That .347 is an outlier, but the 26-year-old has some power, plus speed, a good eye at the plate, the ability to hit to all fields and a starting job. However, he is being taken past pick No. 170 in National Fantasy Baseball Championship drafts, on average.

Jonathan Schoop, Detroit Tigers

If you prefer more pop from your late-round second basemen, Schoop will provide it. He has topped 20 homers in each of the past four full seasons, including 32 HRs while with the Orioles in 2017. That total is unlikely for Schoop in Detroit’s cavernous home park, but he’s a .260-.270 hitter who should exceed that power baseline once again once again, and he’s basically free in drafts.