Who is the best second baseman in MLB? As part of our preview for the 2026 Major League Baseball season, we're ranking every position ahead of Opening Day. Based on various MLB statistics from 2025 and recent seasons, we are determining who we see as the best second baseman in MLB right now. What's worth noting is that this position feels thinner than it has in years and is one of the weakest in baseball.
Based on both run production and fielding ability, here are the 10 best MLB second basemen in 2026.
1. Catel Marte, Arizona Diamondbacks
Ketel Marte is the best second baseman in baseball. The subject of MLB trade rumors for months, he will at least begin the 2026 campaign with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Over the past two seasons, he has led all second basemen in FanGraphs Wins Above Replacement (9.5) – one of only two with a fWAR of 8-plus – and he tops the leaderboards in home runs (54), OPS (.911) and RBI (143), with the second-best batting average (.287) and fourth-most runs (155). Heading into his age-32 season, Marte should deliver his fourth consecutive campaign with a .840-plus OPS, 20-plus home runs and 70-plus RBI.
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2. Nico Horner, Chicago Cubs
Nico Horner is the most accomplished second baseman in MLB. In 2025, he led the field in defensive runs saved (17) and ranked in the 98th percentile for outs above average (15). Additionally, the Chicago Cubs home fielder had more than 29 steals for the third consecutive year and boasted the highest batting average (.296) while being the only second baseman with a strikeout rate under 10 percent (7.4 percent). Hoerner doesn't hit for much power, but that doesn't really matter when you can get on base 34 percent of the time (.339 OBP over the last three seasons), add value on the base paths and win a Gold Glove award.
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3. Bryce Turang, Milwaukee Brewers
Bryce Turang is the latest breakout star of the Milwaukee Brewers' player development pipeline. He earned a Gold Glove Award in 2024 and is tied for the most defensive runs saved (29) at second base the last two seasons. Turang took a bit of a step back defensively (34th percentile out above average). [-1] and 7 defensive runs saved [ninth]), but he made up for it with career highs in OPS (.794), home runs (18), RBI (81) and batting average (.288). He is also excellent on bases, topping the league in steals (74) over the past two seasons. Turang has a great chance to earn his first All-Star selection in 2026.
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4. Jazz Chisholm Jr., New York Yankees
Jazz Chisholm Jr. has found a nice home at second base with the New York Yankees. Since joining the club in the middle of the 2024 season, he has posted an .816 OPS with 103 runs, 49 steals, 32 home runs, 22 doubles and multiple RBI in 638 at-bats. Those numbers at second base, along with league-average defense, are incredibly valuable at a time when the position is so thin. However, in a contract year, teams anticipating MLB free agency in 2025 may question his .207 batting average and .299 OBP out of Yankee Stadium.
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5. Brendan Donovan, Seattle Mariners
One of the many skills that Brendan Donovan brings to the table is his versatility. He has appeared in 153 games at second base and 123 games in left field over the past two seasons, as well as appearances at third base (nine games) and shortstop (six games). Now with the Seattle Mariners, he will spend more time at the hot corner this season. Donovan earned his first All-Star selection in 2025 and finished the campaign with a .775 OPS, 32 doubles and a .287 batting average. This matches his production since his major-league debut in 2022, and he ranks fourth in batting average (.278) and sixth in OPS (.753) over that four-season span. With even more talent in the Mariners' lineup, Donovan has a chance to put up even better numbers in 2026.
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6. Ernie Clement, Toronto Blue Jays
By the end of the season, fan-favorite Ernie Clement of the Toronto Blue Jays could be viewed as one of the five best second basemen in MLB. Defensively, despite playing only 60 games at the position last year, he had the third-most defensive runs saved (10) and placed in the 98th percentile for strikeouts above average (15). Winning a Gold Glove Award is a very important thing. We are also looking at his performance in October. Clement set a single-season MLB postseason record for hits (30) by posting an incredible .411/.416/.562 triple-slash line with a .977 OPS, 13 runs scored, and 9 RBI in 18 playoff games. Gold Glove-caliber defense with a .760-plus OPS makes you one of the second-best players in MLB.
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7. Gleyber Torres, Detroit Tigers
Five years after earning his second All-Star selection in 2019, Gleyber Torres returned for his first year with the Detroit Tigers. Leaving the Yankees turned out to be the best thing for him, as evidenced by his career-best .358 OBP last season, which had 74 RBI, 22 doubles, 16 home runs and almost as many walks (85) as strikeouts (101) in 532 at-bats. Torres ranks fifth in OPS (.754) among second basemen over the past three seasons. Run production is the only positive thing in the 29-year-old's game, but he has firmly established himself as one of the 10 best players at his position.
8. Xavier Edwards, Miami Marlins
A former top prospect with the San Diego Padres and Tampa Bay Rays, landing with the Miami Marlins really changed the direction of Xavier Edwards' career. Last year Miami moved him from small to second base, and the results were impressive. He finished with the second-most defensive runs saved (12) and placed in the 77th percentile for strikeouts (2) above average. At the plate, he now sports a .298/.361/.375 triple-slash line with a .736 OPS, 69 RBI, 68 steals and 32 doubles over the past two years. Miami has him under contract through 2029, so he will be one of the most cost-effective second basemen for a few years.
9. Bryson Stotts, Philadelphia Phillies
It's at this level with the best MLB second basemen where we're talking everyday players who are worth replacement at about 2-3 wins per season above. Bryson Stotts seemed to be a rising star in 2023, hitting a .280/.329/.419 line with a .747 OPS, 15 home runs and 4.3 bWAR with 32 doubles. Stotts has been worth a combined 4.7 bWAR over the past two seasons. As of 2024–25, he ranked 14th in batting average (.254) and 15th in OPS (.698) among second basemen. He's an everyday above-average player at this stage of his career, but the version of him we saw a few seasons ago is clearly not coming back.
10. Marcus Semien, New York Mets
From 2021-23, Marcus Semien hit 100 home runs with 285 RBI and had a .263/.329/.482 triple-slash line with an .811 OPS. Those numbers landed him on the All-MLB First Team twice and landed him in the All-Star Game twice. Unfortunately, by the time we reach our mid-30s the fighting has subsided considerably. Semien has been responsible for a .686 OPS (19th at second base) with a .234 batting average (21st) over the past two seasons. The New York Mets are probably going to get even more than that in 2026, but Semien (92nd percentile above average) is still very good defensively.
