Sport: MLB

Playing in AL or NL-only leagues is a give-and-take. When it comes to our NL-Only Second Base Rankings, player movement did us a favor this offseason. We had multiple players shift leagues, which only served to enhance the player pool.

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Depth is certainly relative here. There’s a clear dropoff from Ketel Marte to Brice Turang and Nico Hoerner and then to the rest of the player pool. While there are some options better than others, there’s a matter of preference here as well. Whether it’s speed, power, or batting average, there’s something for everyone.

With that being said, here are our 2026 NL-Only Second Base Rankings.

National League Only Second Base Notes
Xavier Edwards, Miami Marlins

I’ll be the first to admit that I wasn’t a fan of Xavier Edwards last season. He appeared to be too one-dimensional for me, and there were doubts about a repeat. To be fair, that was proven to be correct. However, we now have a legitimate baseline for Edwards, and based on his draft-day cost, it’s all quite reasonable.

In 2024, Edwards stole 31 bases in just 70 games. Last season, he only dropped down to 27 stolen bases, but the problem is that Edwards needed 139 games to do it. The good news is that Edwards didn’t get any slower or forget how to steal bases. That means we have a well-established floor.

Last season, Edwards hit .283 with just three home runs and 43 RBI, but he did score 75 runs. It’s become very clear that the power and quality of contact are simply not there. Out of 479 batted balls last season, Edwards had just four barrels. However, he does such a great job of putting the bat on the ball, 89.2% contact rate, and it’s not all terrible contact, as his soft contact rate is just 16.7%.

Seeing Edwards’ 24.4% line drive rate does allow you to hope, but the important thing is his stable skill set. We can count on Edwards to contribute in three categories, and there’s nothing to suggest that he won’t hit his 30 stolen base floor.

Jorge Polanco, New York Mets

We aren’t here to figure out what the New York Mets are doing, but Jorge Polanco will be playing first base this season. From our perspective, the good news is that he’ll likely be in the lineup most days and at a lower-impact defensive position.

Health has been a key variable for Polanco, but it was good news that he stayed healthy last season. Polanco hit .265 with 26 home runs, 78 RBI, and 64 runs scored while stealing six bases. Perhaps more importantly, Polanco’s strikeout rate decreased to 15.6%.

Because he hasn’t had consistent health, Polanco seemingly gets overlooked at times. With a 10.3% barrel rate and 45.8% hard hit rate, there’s nothing to suggest that he won’t have a repeat performance. What also caught my eye, though, was Polanco’s career-high 90.8 MPH average exit velocity.

Brandon Lowe, Pittsburgh Pirates

From a NL-only perspective, there’s a lot to like about Brandon Lowe’s move to the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, everything further as it pertains to Lowe comes down to one thing: health.

If we were able to consistently count on Lowe to remain in the lineup, there would be a lot to feel good about. Instead, it becomes an exercise in replacement value if/when Lowe is sidelined. Last year, that wasn’t something we had to worry about and the proof was in the results.

Lowe played in the second-most games in his career, 134, and his counting stats followed suit. The second baseman hit 31 home runs to go along with 83 RBI and 79 runs scored. He hit a solid .256, and his 12.9% barrel rate, .221 ISO, 46.4% hard hit rate also backed up his success.

With the Tampa Bay Rays playing away from Tropicana Field last season, we do have to take a closer look at the splits. The good news here is that Lowe hit 15 home runs at home and 16 on the road. His batting average also followed suit, .240 at home and .275 on the road, which bodes well for 2026.

2026 NL-Only Second Base Rankings

RnkPlayerTeam

1Ketel MarteARI

2Brice TurangMIL

3Nico HoernerCHC

4Ozzie AlbiesATL

5Brandon LowePIT

6Xavier EdwardsMIA

7Matt McLainCIN

8Bryson StottPHI

9Otto LopezMIA

10Jorge PolancoNYM

11Luis GarciaWSH

12Brendan DonovanSTL

13Tommy EdmanLAD

14Marcus SemienNYM

15Willi CastroCOL

16Luis ArraezFA

17Caleb DurbinMIL

18JJ WetherholtSTL

19Brett BatyNYM

20Nasim NunezWSH

21Jake CronenworthSD

22Nick GonzalesPIT

23Jared TrioloPIT

24Ha-Seong KimATL

25Tyler FreemanCOL

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