The crop of second basemen and shortstops in 2025 look as deep as ever, with some strong sleeper finds.
Heading into the 2025 season, the middle infield is flush with high-upside finds. These five undervalued players stand out as sleepers as we approach the month of March.
Bryson Stott, 2B, Phillies
Recency bias comes for us all in fantasy baseball, and it’s hard to fight entering draft day. Stott is coming off a relatively disappointing season, as he saw his batting average drop 35 points after a breakout 2023 season to .245, and his extra-base hits also declined from 49 to 32 in only 69 fewer plate appearances. Still, Stott looked like a budding star in 2023, and now we have reasoning for his decline.
MLB.com reported Stott battled an injured elbow last season, a clear explanation for the decline of the career .300 minor league hitter. Granted, the highly talented Phillies lineup doesn’t allow for much batting order upside even if Stott starts hitting again, but the floor remains extremely high due to his stolen base efficiency (63-for-69 in the last two years). There’s more meat on the bone here with last season looking like a floor as he enters his prime at age 27. An NFBC ADP near 180 over the last month is a very reasonable cost for his five-category upside.
Brendan Donovan, 2B/OF, Cardinals
There isn’t much reason to be optimistic about the Cardinals heading into 2025, as a team that made basically no moves in the offseason and could trade prominent players like Nolan Arenado and Ryan Helsley. Still, there are some interesting players left on the team, led by Donovan. Returning from elbow surgery in 2024, he played 153 games and had a very strong year hitting .278-14-73 with 65 runs scored.
Donovan has been an excellent batting average and OBP player in his short career, hitting at least .278 in all three of his seasons with a career .364. The question now is whether the counting stats can grow, but a favorable lineup spot should be in his future after the team let Paul Goldschmidt walk. A rising launch angle and healthy offseason could create optimism Donovan has more power in his bat, but even the worst case appears to be a very high floor player at a cheap price with an ADP near 240.
Christopher Morel, 2B/3B, Rays
The trade of Morel as a Cubs fan-favorite last season was one of the most surprising moves of the deadline. He’s hit a formidable 63 home runs in nearly 1,500 plate appearances over three seasons, and carried the Cubs offense on occasion. Unfortunately, Morel ran into struggles following the trade, hitting only three home runs in 49 games for Tampa Bay.
Morel enters 2025 learning the outfield, and definitely has big upside in an offense that was hunting for power. He’s been one of the most pull-heavy hitters in the game over the last two years with a rate hovering near 50%, a strong indicator for his power potential. Despite last year’s tanking batting average, Morel has also started to cut down on his strikeouts with a rate that dropped 5% to 26% last season. After hitting 26 homers in only 107 games during 2023, the big power upside is clear at an ADP near 277, and his pending three-position eligibility is a bonus.
Thairo Estrada, 2B, Rockies
Estrada was a productive find for the Giants in 2022-23, producing nearly identical stats. Last year’s injuries and a lack of plate patience likely caused the Giants to move on from Estrada, however, but he finds a very favorable home in Colorado on a one-year deal.
There’s hope Estrada can rebound at age 29, and Coors Field will certainly help. Despite sub-par exit velocity during his career, Estrada has shown he can pop some balls out of the park and play excellent defense at second base. He’s also shown consistent speed near the 70th percentile over the last three seasons, so there’s no reason to think Estrada won’t run when he’s healthy. 15/25 potential is worthy of a roster spot anywhere, but especially with the help of Coors Field and an ADP near 305.
Jacob Wilson, SS, Athletics
While he might not be handed the shortstop job this Spring, Wilson is the clear long-term answer at the position for the Athletics. He suffered a hamstring injury shortly after his promotion last season, limiting him to only a .250 batting average in 28 games in his MLB debut. Still, the minor league numbers and pedigree are worth noting.
The son of former Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson, Jacob is a much more gifted hitter who put up video game numbers prior to his promotion. The former first-round pick hit .433-7-39 in 226 plate appearances between three minor league levels, and that absurd production follows the pattern he showed in college at Grand Canyon. Wilson’s bat-to-ball skills and plate discipline are clearly elite, and he has a chance to move up the Sacramento batting order if he hits early. A possible .300 hitter at shortstop shouldn’t be falling in the 300 ADP range like Wilson has so far.
--Seth Trachtman
You can find fantasy baseball analysis in the 2025 Fantasy Baseball Index Draft Kit and Fantasy Baseball Index magazine.