Second base may be lacking in a true super-elite prospect, but there’s six from our top 100 plenty of high-upsides to soon bring reinforcements to a position that’s a bit lacking in the majors right now.
With the Dodgers having Max Muncy at third base, Miguel Vargas is moving over from the hot corner to second base and he takes the No. 1 spot at the keystone in our 2023 preseason second base rankings. Vargas put up the vaunted 3-4-5 triple-slash last year at Triple-A with a .304/.404/.511, 17 homers and 16 steals. The 23-year-old features a 65-grade hit tool with the ability to become a 20-20 player and should benefit from likely getting a starting job on the Dodgers out of spring training.
No. 2 Termarr Johnson was a much-ballyhooed high schooler who then went fourth overall to the Pirates thanks to a 70-grade hit tool. The 18-year-old struggled in his first taste of pro ball, hitting just .130 over 9 games in the Florida Complex League, but heated up after a promotion to Low-A, putting up an .846 OPS, 1 HR, 4 SB in 14 games. He could wind up challenging for batting crowns, so how much power he gets to will go a long ways to determining how sought after he winds up being in fantasy.
Edouard Julien of the Twins is an on-base machine who will surely find his way into the lineup somewhere, but his lack of defensive acumen might have him wind up at DH. Since he played 94 games at second base last year in Double-A (he also logged 18 games at DH), we’re ranking him here and the offensive skill set will make him a fantasy asset no matter where he winds up. If Kevin Youkilis was the Greek God of Walks, then Julien (a Quebec native) is the Canadien God of Walks. Julien has a career walk rate of 20.4% in the minors while Youkilis was at “just” 18%. The 23-year-old posted a .441 OBP in Double-A last year with 17 homers and 19 steals, so there’s lots to like for fantasy and Julien should be up in Minnesota by season’s end.
Other prospects who could be up in the majors sometime in 2023 include: No. 5 Michael Busch of the Dodgers, No. 6 Connor Norby of the Orioles, No. 7 Zack Gelof of the A’s, No. 10 Jonathan Aranda of the Rays, No. 12 Nick Gonzales of the Pirates, No. 13 Brice Turang of the Brewers, No. 14 Lenyn Soa of the White Sox, No. 16 Justin Foscue of the Rangers, No. 17 Jordan Diaz of the A’s, No. 18 Ji-hwan Bae of the Pirates, No. 19 Eguy Rosario of the Padres and No. 20 Samad Taylor of the Royals.
Busch, who has long drawn Max Muncy comps, put up a combined .881 OPS with 32 homers and 108 RBIs last year between Double- and Triple-A. Norby took off upon reaching Double-A last summer, posting a .960 OPS, 17 HR, 10 SB in 64 games and then keeping it up in Triple-A (1.123 OPS, 4 HR in 9 games). Gelof took off in a late-season promotion to Triple-A, smashing 5 homers in 9 games. Aranda raked in Triple-A last season (.915 OPS, 18 HR) before struggling in 87 PAs in Tampa Bay (.597 OPS, 2 HR).