Fantasy Baseball Rankings: 2B

Written by Brad Berreman

Fantasy Baseball Rankings: 2B

Second base can be an overlooked position in fantasy baseball. It is also not a particularly deep position. So if you miss out on one of the high end guys or guess wrong on someone further down the rankings, you could be scrambling to fill the spot all season.

Tier 1

Chase Utley-31

	AB	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG.	OBP.
2007	530	104	22	103	9	.332	.410
2008	607	113	33	104	14	.292	.380
2009	571	112	31	93	23	.282	.397
Proj.	590	110	32	103	18	.290	.390

Utley is the cream of the second base crop. He looked fully recovered last season after having hip surgery, and is a model of consistency.

Tier 2

Ian Kinsler-27

	AB	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG.	OBP.
2007	483	96	20	61	23	.263	.355
2008	518	102	18	71	26	.319	.375
2009	566	101	31	86	31	.253	.327
Proj.	530	92	24	75	27	.270	.340

Kinsler enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2009, as he had a 30-30 season. His home run total was fueled by a 54% fly ball rate, which is likely to normalize. Don’t bet on another 30-30 season, but 20-20 with a better batting average is still excellent.

Dustin Pedroia-26

	AB	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG.	OBP.
2007	520	86	8	50	7	.317	.380
2008	653	118	17	83	20	.326	.376
2009	626	115	15	72	20	.296	.371
Proj.	625	112	15	78	20	.305	.375

Pedroia is a solid fantasy producer that will help you in all five categories as he hits atop a potent Red Sox lineup.

Brian Roberts-32

	AB	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG.	OBP.
2007	621	103	12	57	50	.290	.377
2008	611	107	9	57	40	.296	.378
2009	632	110	16	79	30	.283	.356
Proj.	620	108	15	75	25	.290	.360

Roberts has seen a decline in his stolen bases the last two seasons, but he is still a solid across the board fantasy contributor. Age may start to become a factor soon, but his fantasy owners should still be happy with his production.

Brandon Phillips-28

	AB	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG.	OBP.
2007	650	107	30	94	32	.288	.331
2008	559	80	21	78	23	.261	.312
2009	584	78	20	98	25	.276	.329
Proj.	590	85	23	85	26	.280	.330

Phillips had his third straight 20-20 season last season, and he shows no signs of decline. As long as 1B Joey Votto and OF Jay Bruce are healthy and productive this season, he should be able to reverse his recent decline in runs scored.

Robinson Cano-27

	AB	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG.	OBP.
2007	617	93	19	97	4	.306	.353
2008	597	70	14	72	2	.271	.305
2009	637	103	25	85	5	.320	.352
Proj.	625	95	20	93	4	.305	.350

Cano set career highs in home runs and runs scored last season, while hitting .300 for the third time in four years. He is now in his prime, so the inconsistency that plagued him early in his career should be a thing of the past.

Aaron Hill-28

	AB	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG.	OBP.
2007	608	87	17	78	4	.291	.333
2008	205	19	2	20	4	.263	.324
2009	682	103	36	108	6	.286	.330
Proj.	630	95	22	85	6	.285	.335

Hill led all middle infielders in home runs and RBI last season as he was named American League Comeback Player of the Year. He is unlikely to repeat last year’s power numbers (15% hr/fly ball rate), but should still provide nice power production at a spot where it is tough to find it.

Dan Uggla-30

	AB	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG.	OBP.
2007	632	113	31	88	2	.245	.326
2008	531	97	32	92	5	.260	.360
2009	564	84	31	90	2	.243	.354
Proj.	575	95	32	95	4	.255	.360

Uggla rivals Chase Utley from a HR and RBI perspective in recent years, but high strikeout totals (150 or more each of the last three seasons) keep his batting average down. There is a possibility he could get traded or change positions in the near future.

Jose Lopez-26 (Upside)

	AB	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG.	OBP.
2007	524	58	11	62	2	.252	.284
2008	644	80	17	89	6	.297	.322
2009	613	69	25	96	3	.272	.303
Proj.	620	72	25	93	4	.275	.305

Lopez continued to develop last season, and 2010 could be another step up. He played 16 games at first base last season, so he could be eligible there in many leagues as well. Due to his age, there is some upside in these projections.

Ben Zobrist-28

	AB	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG.	OBP.
2007	97	8	1	9	2	.155	.184
2008	198	32	12	30	3	.253	.339
2009	501	91	27	91	17	.297	.405
Proj.	500	88	25	88	15	.280	.385

Zobrist was one of fantasy baseball’s pleasant surprises in 2009, as he played three positions-2B (91 games), OF (70 games) and SS (13 games). He will settle in at 2B this season, but should be eligible in most leagues at all three spots. Don’t expect a repeat of last season, but something close is possible.

Tier 3

Asdrubal Cabrera-24 (Upside)

	AB	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG.	OBP.
2007	159	30	3	22	0	.283	.354
2008	352	48	6	47	4	.259	.346
2009	523	81	6	68	17	.308	.361
Proj.	540	88	8	65	19	.290	.370

Cabrera played 101 games at SS last season, so he is eligible there as well as second base (28 games last season). The return of a healthy Grady Sizemore should bolster his runs scored total, and he possesses 20 steal potential.

Martin Prado-26

	AB	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG.	OBP.
2007	59	5	0	2	0	.288	.323
2008	228	36	2	33	3	.320	.377
2009	450	64	11	49	1	.307	.358
Proj.	520	80	13	55	4	.300	.360

Prado took over as the Braves’ starting second baseman last season, and he did not disappoint. He will be eligible at 1B (29 games in 2009) and 3B (41 games) as well, which adds to his fantasy value.

Rickie Weeks-27 (Upside)

	AB	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG.	OBP.
2007	409	87	16	36	25	.235	.374
2008	475	89	14	46	19	.234	.342
2009	147	28	9	24	6	.272	.340
Proj.	460	86	15	60	17	.260	.350

Weeks looked to be on track to realizing his potential before tearing a tendon sheath in his left wrist last season. If he can be healthy for an entire season, he could become a solid fantasy option. There is some upside in these projections.

Howie Kendrick-26 (Upside)

	AB	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG.	OBP.
2007	338	55	5	39	5	.322	.347
2008	340	43	3	37	11	.306	.333
2009	374	61	10	61	11	.291	.334
Proj.	450	70	12	65	15	.300	.340

Kendrick was demoted to Triple-A last season, and hit .351 with six home runs, 37 RBI in 54 games after returning to the big leagues. He has solid potential to exceed these projections if he can stay healthy and consistent.

Kelly Johnson-28

	AB	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG.	OBP.
2007	521	91	16	68	9	.276	.375
2008	547	86	12	69	11	.287	.349
2009	303	47	8	29	7	.224	.303
Proj.	430	65	12	55	9	.265	.340

Johnson hit just .214 before the All-Star break last season, suffered a right wrist injury and eventually lost his job as the Atlanta Braves’ second baseman to Martin Prado. He had just a .249 BABIP last season, which is bad luck that will likely reverse this season. He got a necessary change of scenery by signing with the Arizona Diamondbacks this offseason.

Tier 4

Alberto Callaspo-26
Clint Barmes-31
Orlando Hudson-32
Skip Schumaker-30
Akinori Iwamura-31
Scott Sizemore-24
Mark Ellis-32