MLB Top Second Baseman of the First Third

American League	National League
Jazz Chisholm	Brandon Lowe
HM – Chase Meidroth	HM – JJ Wetherholt

For these second base rankings, I focused on overall player value using a combination of WAR, wRC+, OPS, batting average, and home run production. Because second basemen often impact games in multiple ways, defensive value and baserunning were also heavily considered. Advanced metrics such as batting run value, fielding run value, and baserunning run value help provide a more complete picture of a player’s contribution beyond the traditional box score. All statistics are from FanGraphs and Baseball Savant and are current through May 22.

I want to start this by saying that the top 7 second basemen in the league are in the national league and 4 of them are in the NL Central… It was extremely difficult to choose the National League second basemen. Brandon Lowe has a WAR of 2.3, Xavier Edwards and Brice Turang at 2.2, JJ Wetherholt at 2.0, and Nico Hoerner at 1.8. The only second basemen in the American League with a WAR over 1 are Jazz Chisholm and Chase Meidroth, who I’ll start with. 

At first glance, Jazz Chisholm based on wRC+ is at 100… he’s an average second baseman, but how does his WAR look so good? Defense and baserunning. I’m not saying that Chisholm isn’t a good hitter, he just isn’t as good as the rest of the guys I mentioned above. However, his defensive range is in the top 90 percentile and his base running value add is also in the 90 percentile. He’s also been off to a cold start to the season and in May he’s hitting .313 with an OPS in the .700s. 

Chase Meidroth is similar to being an elite defender and an okay hitter. He has an even 1.0 WAR. Meidroth has a batting average in the top 10 of second baseman, and defensively is in the 90th percentile of fielding run value. Both Meidroth and Chisholm have the ability to affect the game positively at the plate and on defense, which puts them both high on my lists of players. 

In the National League I chose Brandon Lowe as my All-Star. His National League leading WAR paired with his 13 homers at a position not known for power sets him apart. He’s in the 97th percentile for batting run value and in the 83rd percentile for fielding run value. Combine those two and he’s arguably the best second baseman in all of baseball when it comes to being a 5-tool player. If you look at his hitting stats from this year to last year you wouldn’t think he’d be having this type of season though. However, if you look at his strikeout and walk rate, you’d see that he’s walking 6% more and striking out 4% less. His patience is paying dividends as he’s a main cornerstone on a Pirates team that is surprisingly really good this year. 

Like I said earlier, the choices for All-Star second baseman in the National League was difficult, but I’m placing a premium on the best overall player. I know that Turang and Edwards are known for speed and defense, but almost all of their WAR in 2026 comes from offense, according to FanGraphs. JJ Wetherholt on the other hand, is split in half with WAR. Half from defense and half from offense. He’s flashed power with 9 home runs, he draws walks, and he has the fourth best wRC+ among qualified second baseman. Wetherholt is in the 99th percentile for defensive run value, 95th percentile for base running run value, and yes, he is above average at 77th percentile in batting run value. I also have to mention that he’s doing all of this as a rookie. (I’m not giving him special treatment, I’m a Cubs fan so this hurts me to put Wetherholt over Nico Hoerner, but it’s the truth.)

Do you agree with these second base rankings? Let me know which player you would put at the top of each league, and come back tomorrow as I break down the best third basemen in baseball through the first third of the season.