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Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all of our readers!! I hope Santa brought you good tidings and cheer!
Yeah, it is Christmas day and I am publishing my updated Top 30 Second Base rankings for 2015 because I just started drinking coffee this year, and Santa brought me a Keurig coffee maker today, so the coffee has kicked in even though I am pretty tired right now. So, if these rankings make no sense to you, well, let's discuss in the comments section below.
Robinson Cano, Mariners
Some might disagree with my ranking of Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano at #3, and maybe I am too low on him, but Rendon puts up solid stats across the five categories, and Altuve was the best hitter in the American League last season, and is in the conversation for best hitter in the game. Cano is very good, but Safeco Park has sapped some of his power, as evidenced by his almost 50% drop in home runs last season. Add in the fact that his ISO dropped from .202 in 2013 to .139 last season, and one has to wonder if we will see another drop in his power as he is a year older this season.
Jason Kipnis, Indians
I might be too high on Kipnis, but I see a bounce back season from him in 2015. He dealt with an oblique and hamstring injuries, affecting his power and speed skills. He apparently bulked up last offseason, in an effort to improve on his power, and maybe that led to the oblique injury. This offseason, the Indians have given him a different conditioning program to lose some weight and increase his flexibility in 2015. I am a buyer on the weakness I think we will see in his draft day value in 2015.
Kolten Wong, Cardinals
I moved Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong to #9 in my rankings, as he showed us bursts of power last season while stealing 20 bases in 24 attempts last season. He didn't hit for a high average which was his calling card in the minors, but there is a chance he puts it all together in 2015. He has the talent to be a hitter with a .280ish batting average with double digit home runs and 20+ stolen bases, and that is pretty valuable at the second base position. Is it a reach to say he could put up a .280 - 15 home run -25 stolen base season in 2015?
Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox
Is Pedroia in the decline phase of his career already? I know he has dealt with hand injuries, but he did have offseason surgery last offseason and his home run total dropped once again. Actually, this isn't anything new for Pedroia:
2010: 12 HRs, .205 ISO, 75 games
2011: 21 HRs, .167 ISO, 159 games
2012: 15 HRs, .160 ISO, 141 games
2013: 9 HRs, .114 ISO, 160 games
2014: 7 HRs, .098 ISO, 135 games
Not a good trend, and his slugging percentage is following a similar downward trend as well.
Marcus Semien, Athletics
I wrote about Semien after his trade to the A's a few weeks ago, and you can find that in the link below:
Marcus Semien is now fantasy relevant
Semien just needs to convert the excellent batting eye he showed in the minors to the big leagues, and he could easily be a top 10 fantasy second baseman at this time in 2015.
Javier Baez, Cubs
Baez is a tough one to rank, as he owns so much power potential, but his vicious swing leads to plenty to strikeouts. How he performs in spring training will determine whether he starts the season in Chicago or in Iowa. He has the power to rank among the league leaders, so he could move up these rankings in 2015 if he can reduce the strikeout rate.
Rank |
Name |
Team |
1 |
Anthony Rendon |
|
2 |
Jose Altuve |
|
3 |
Robinson Cano |
|
4 |
Ian Kinsler |
|
5 |
Brian Dozier |
|
6 |
Neil Walker |
|
7 |
Jason Kipnis |
|
8 |
Dustin Pedroia |
|
9 |
Kolten Wong |
|
10 |
Dee Gordon |
|
11 |
Mookie Betts |
Red Sox |
12 |
Daniel Murphy |
|
13 |
Ben Zobrist |
|
14 |
Javier Baez |
|
15 |
Chase Utley |
|
16 |
Marcus Semien |
|
17 |
Brandon Phillips |
|
18 |
Howie Kendrick |
|
19 |
Rougned Odor |
|
20 |
Asdrubal Cabrera |
- - - |
21 |
Jedd Gyorko |
|
22 |
Brett Lawrie |
Athletics |
23 |
Jonathan Schoop |
|
24 |
Scooter Gennett |
|
25 |
Aaron Hill |
|
26 |
Arismendy Alcantara |
Cubs |
27 |
Wilmer Flores |
Mets |
28 |
DJ LeMahieu |
|
29 |
Omar Infante |
|
30 |
Joe Panik |
Fantasy Rundown