Fantasy baseball analyst Dalton Del Don circles the bases to identify which infielders drafters should avoid at their lofty prices this season.
Arizona Diamondbacks: Ketel Marte, 2B
Marte now carries a top-30 ADP after coming off a career-best season, so proceed with caution. He hasn’t reached double-digit stolen bases since 2019 (when he had 10), and he’s missed an average of 34 games over the last four seasons. Marte was legitimately awesome in 2024, posting a 151 wRC+ that ranked top 10 in baseball. But he owns a career 118 wRC+, and OOPSY projects Marte to come back down to 25 home runs in 2025 (over an optimistic 147 games played).
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Chicago White Sox: Andrew Vaughn, 1B
A depleted White Sox roster gives few options here, and it also hurts Vaughn’s counting stats. He managed just 55 runs scored and 70 RBI over 619 plate appearances last season. Vaughn is a fine floor pick if you need to fill first base, but he’s never reached 70 runs scored or surpassed 80 RBI or 21 homers during his career. Vaughn has three career stolen bases. Chicago’s lineup could become even uglier if/when Luis Robert Jr. gets traded. The White Sox are projected to once again score the fewest runs in baseball in 2025.
Houston Astros: José Altuve, 2B
Altuve is a rock-solid fantasy player, but a borderline third-round pick is too early. Altuve reached his most plate appearances (682) last year since 2016, yet it still resulted in relatively modest counting stats. The compiling helped his fantasy line, but Altuve showed signs of decline at the plate, which is more concerning entering his age-35 season. Altuve will also be learning a new position with his move to left field. THE BAT X projects Altuve to go .258-79-17-67-15, which would be a reach as a top 40 pick in Yahoo drafts.
Los Angeles Angels: Logan O’Hoppe, C
O’Hoppe hit just .196/.266/.312 with a 64 wRC+ after the All-Star break last season, when his K% also skyrocketed to 38.2%. Injuries may have contributed, but O’Hoppe is now in danger of losing at-bats after the Angels signed Travis d’Arnaud during the offseason. D’Arnaud’s 105 wRC+ ranks 11th among all qualified catchers since 2022. O’Hoppe’s .244 BA came with a .318 BABIP that was 68 points higher than his 2023 hit rate. O’Hoppe is at risk of platooning far more in 2025, yet he’s being drafted next to J.T. Realmuto.
Los Angeles Dodgers: Freddie Freeman, 1B
Freeman absolutely could be a nice bounce-back candidate after a down 2024, but there’s also risk while remaining a top 20 pick in Yahoo leagues. The Dodgers will reportedly manage his ankle over the first half of the season after Freeman underwent offseason surgery. It could also lead to fewer stolen base attempts, especially considering his already notable declining speed. Freeman’s Bat Speed was in the 20th percentile last year, and he’ll turn 36 years old this season. Freeman has a nice floor as a BA help and hitting in the middle of a loaded lineup, but he hasn’t reached 30 homers since joining Los Angeles, and his SBs are at risk. Fade Freeman as a top 20 pick.
Milwaukee Brewers: Brice Turang, 2B
Turang was one of fantasy’s biggest breakouts last year, but he offers little power and should regress in steals. Turang hit just .220/.277/.287 with a 58 wRC+ after the All-Star break last season. His Bat Speed and Barrel% both finished in the bottom 3% of MLB. Turang owns a career 76 wRC+ (that would’ve ranked third worst among 129 qualified hitters last year), so he’s destined to hit toward the bottom of Milwaukee’s lineup.
Turang’s projections are nearly identical to Victor Robles, who goes 100 picks later in Yahoo drafts.
Minnesota Twins: Royce Lewis, 3B
Lewis clearly has upside after posting a 154 wRC+ just one season ago, but the piling up of injuries have become hard to ignore. Lewis has missed an average of 92 games over the last two seasons thanks to a litany of health issues, and he also hit just .207 with a .620 OPS over his final 56 games last year. Lewis didn’t attempt a single stolen base in 2024. He’s plenty capable of bouncing back at the plate, but there are too many durability questions for Lewis to be worth a top 90 pick in Yahoo leagues.
New York Mets: Mark Vientos, 3B
Vientos was a real nice power surprise last season, when he popped 27 homers over just 413 at-bats. But his K% jumped all the way to 33.7% in the second half after pitchers saw him more, and that K% would have ranked behind only Zack Gelof (who hit .211) over the full season. Vientos had the 12th-biggest negative difference in wOBA and xwOBA, and he hits in one of baseball’s most extreme pitcher’s parks. THE BAT X projects Vientos to hit .232 this season, yet he’s somehow being drafted right next to Junior Caminero in Yahoo leagues.
San Francisco Giants: Willy Adames, SS
Adames set career highs in homers (32), runs scored (93), RBI (112) and stolen bases (21) during his contract year last season. Hitting mostly cleanup helped Adames’ run production, but his RBI total came thanks to historic opportunity. Adames saw the most plate appearances (224) with runners in scoring position last season since 2012. He tied Ken Griffey Jr. with the most three-run homers in a season in MLB history (and later added a grand slam). Moreover, Adames posted a 1.073 OPS with runners in scoring position but just a .694 OPS with the bases empty.
Adames also will be hitting in a different lineup and in a much more favorable pitcher’s park after signing in San Francisco during the offseason. Milwaukee has increased HR for RHB by 11% over the last three seasons, whereas San Francisco has decreased them by 21%. Graphics may show all of Adames’ 150 career home runs theoretically leaving Oracle Park, but the main issue in San Francisco is air density, not park dimensions. Those fly balls simply won’t travel as far in the Bay Area. The Giants haven’t had a 30-homer hitter since 2004 for a reason; every other team has at least one since 2019.
Adames also never had more than eight steals in a season before his contract year, and he now joins a San Francisco organization that was the least likely to attempt a stolen base last season (50 SBA+).
Texas Rangers: Marcus Semien, 2B
Semien remains a fine compiler, but it took 718 plate appearances for him to record 23 homers and eight steals last season. Semien deserves credit for surpassing 700 PAs six straight seasons (not counting the shortened 2020), but his Bat Speed fell to the 10th percentile as a 33-year-old, and his 99 wRC+ ranked outside the top 100 qualified hitters. Semien will likely continue to run less now that he’s 34 years old, and manager Bruce Bochy plans on resting him more in 2025, yet he remains a top 70 pick in Yahoo leagues.
Washington Nationals: CJ Abrams, SS
Abrams is just 24 years old and could improve, but he hit .203 with an ugly 64 wRC+ after the All-Star break last season, contributing to a brief trip to Triple-A. Counting stats will remain an issue on the Nationals, and Abrams sports a cold Statcast page (and a career 94 wRC+). The steals are nice, but more are available later in drafts than ever. Abrams is being drafted next to Oneil Cruz, Jacob deGrom and Wyatt Langford and ahead of James Wood in Yahoo leagues, all of whom are preferred picks.
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