"Spring training camps are underway, which means it is time to look at the state of baseball. As part of our 2026 MLB season preview, ESPN's Buster Olney surveyed those around the industry to help him rank the top 10 players at every position as part of his annual positional ranking series. Today, we rank the best of the best at second base. The objective of this exercise is to identify the best players for the 2026 season, not who might be best in five years or over their career."
"The most coveted free agent in the fall will be Tarik Skubal, probably commanding offers that might well shatter the record for a starting pitcher -- the $325 million contract signed by Yoshinobu Yamamoto in 2023. But as for impending free agent position players, Jazz Chisholm Jr. would seem to be a candidate to land the biggest deal, with some gaudy numbers on his résumé. He was a 30-30 player for the Yankees last season, with 31 homers and 31 stolen bases, after swiping 40 bases in 2024. He has been an All-Star twice and won a Silver Slugger Award. He has been on the cover of MLB: The Show. The speed, the power, it's all there. One evaluator says Chisholm could hit 40 homers in a season: "The strength in his wrists -- just incredible." He ranks fourth among all second basemen in Fangraphs' defensive metric, just behind Xavier Edwards and just ahead of Bryson Stott."
Spring training camps are underway. A positional-ranking series will identify the top 10 players at every position for the 2026 MLB season, with one position released per day over two weeks. The schedule includes starting pitchers through designated hitters across consecutive days. The most coveted free agent among pitchers is Tarik Skubal, who could exceed prior pitching contract records. Jazz Chisholm Jr. is positioned to be the leading position-player free agent candidate after a 30-30 season with 31 homers and 31 stolen bases for the Yankees. Chisholm combines elite speed and power, solid defensive metrics, but needs greater consistency across full seasons.
Read at ESPN.com
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