When drafting, wait just a second

ASK ANY pundit what players you should pick in the first few rounds of your fantasy baseball draft, and they will often tell you to grab the best ones available. Though that is true, if you don’t understand the depth at each position, you could be left scraping the bottom of the barrel in some areas. The corner infield is a perfect example of that, but for the middle infield, there are late-round options who could be worth the wait.

Of course, everyone drafting would prefer to have Ozzie Albies or Jazz Chisholm at second base, but further down draft boards, there are less expensive options who should offer tremendous value.

Giants second baseman Thairo

Estrada might be one of the most underrated options at second, as evidenced by his 189 ADP (16th round in a 12-team league). Last season, he surprised everyone with 14 home runs with 21 steals, and based on what we’ve seen this spring, he is expected to be their starting second baseman and No. 2 hitter against both lefties and righties.

The Giants don’t have much in the way of power-hitters, so we expect them to be aggressive on the basepaths and work tirelessly at manufacturing runs. That puts Estrada in a great place to increase his steals. At age 27 he is in his physical prime, a point at which most hitters increase their power.

If Estrada eludes you, you can easily pivot to former NL Rookie of the Year Jonathan India. His current ADP puts him in a similar range as Estrada, and he too should beef up both his power and speed numbers from last year.

We had high expectations after the Reds second baseman hit 21 home runs with 12 stolen bases during his rookie campaign in 2021, but injuries hampered him all last season, and the fantasy community mistakenly soured on him. This season, India is a candidate to lead off, and it’s no secret how hitter-friendly the Reds’ ballpark is. Dismissing him after one injury-plagued season would be an error in judgment.

Howard Bender is the head of content at FantasyAlarm.com. Follow him on Twitter @rotobuzzguy ard-winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 6-8 p.m. Go to FantasyAlarm.com for all your fantasy baseball advice.