Avoiding overvalued second basemen and shortstops is key to keeping your fantasy offense afloat.
Avoiding the pitfalls of overvalued players is key in any fantasy baseball draft. These five middle infielders enter draft season as possible landmines.
Bo Bichette, SS, Blue Jays
The 2025 season couldn’t be much bigger for Bichette as he enters his walk year. The former star would love to put 2024 behind him, as he hit only .225-4-31 in 81 games while fighting multiple injuries. Those numbers are a farcry from what we’ve seen of Bichette earlier in his career, as he averaged .298-24-89 with 14 steals in 2021-23 and got MVP consideration.
Bichette should have plenty of motivation to rebound, but that’s easier said that one. He had an OPS above .600 in only one of his three relatively full months last season, and saw strong downward trends in exit velocity, barrels, and hard-hit rate. He’s also shown a significant speed decline in the last two years, likely putting a cap on his stolen base potential. The upside remains for a rebound, but the combination of last year’s struggles and a low stolen base ceiling make an ADP near 130 a tough risk to take.
Maikel Garcia, 2B/3B, Royals
We saw a broad range of performance from Garcia last season. He started the year in a frenzy, hitting four home runs with eight steals in the first month, but the offensive production eventually tailed off and caused him to be pushed down the batting order. The second half saw Garcia produce a terrible .590 OPS.
The Royals know they’re getting speed and defense from Garcia, but is that enough to keep him on the field if he struggles again? The team has added significant depth with Jonathan India, and Nick Loftin also shows potential off the bench. Further, Garcia seems unlikely to regain a favorable spot in the batting order due to India’s addition, which will be a major hindrance on his counting stats in any case. The multi-position eligibility is nice, but there’s risk here with an ADP around 214.
Carlos Correa, SS, Twins
Correa had a strong rebound season for the Twins in 2024, hitting .310-14-54 in 86 games. He has a case as one of the best pure hitters in the game, but his physical concerns are what should make fantasy managers nervous. Correa has suffered chronic foot problems lately, which held him out for significant time last year, and will likely continue to take a toll as he enters his age 30 season. The physical issues are also apparent in his lack of stolen bases, as Correa has attempted only two steals total over the last six seasons.
There isn’t much argument to be made about Correa’s hitting ability with continued exit velocity numbers and a strikeout rate last season that was the best of his career. Unfortunately, the physical ailments simply add a lot of risk, and this isn’t exactly a time to buy low with an ADP near 250.
Otto Lopez, 2B, Marlins
A waiver claim from the Giants in early April last season, Lopez developed into a surprising regular for the Marlins. He managed to see 434 plate appearances, hitting .270 with 20 steals for a rebuilding Marlins squad. The metrics also shown elite defensive range and very good speed from the 26-year-old.
While there’s a lot to like for the Marlins, the jury is still out on Lopez as a regular. His .690 OPS didn’t exactly make him an offensive asset, and Lopez’s OPS at Triple over nearly 1,000 plate appearances was only .751. Lopez is at least a strong bench option, but the team has a younger player available in Javier Sanoja with similar attributes and incentive to keep their eye on future possibilities as they rebuild. With last year looking like the relative upside, an ADP near 330 still doesn’t make Lopez a great buy.
David Hamilton, 2B/SS, Red Sox
Hamilton was a nice in-season find for Boston last year while their middle infielders were injured. He played 98 games, swiping 33 bases. His ADP is close to 400 over the last month, but the nearly insurmountable path to playing time could make that price too hefty.
Boston’s depth was severely strengthened after they signed Alex Bregman. The team now has a glut of talent on the middle infield, particularly with top prospects Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer nearly ready, not to mention the hope of a rebound from Vaughn Grissom. Yet, Hamilton might not even be a preferable bench option for the team with very average range and limited versatility beyond the middle infield. Fantasy managers in Draft Champions leagues see the cheap steals, but finding weeks when Hamilton is playing regularly might not come to fruition.
--Seth Trachtman
You can find fantasy baseball analysis in the 2025 Fantasy Baseball Index Draft Kit and Fantasy Baseball Index magazine.