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2015 Second Base Rankings: A Look Back

Ray reviews Fake Teams 2015 preseason second base rankings, providing thoughts on some of the second baseman you should keep an eye on in 2016 drafts.

Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports

The end of the 2015 fantasy baseball season has arrived, and we hope we were able to help you win your leagues this season, or at least finish in the money. If not, we hope our baseball and prospect coverage helped you begin your rebuild to win your leagues in 2016.

Our prospect team just completed publishing their Top 10 Fantasy Prospects for all American League East teams last week and have begun publishing their AL Central Top 10s this week They will continue to release their top 10 fantasy prospects for each team in the weeks and months ahead.

Beginning sometime in January, we will begin to publish our 2016 consensus position rankings, but before that, I will review our 2015 consensus position rankings, continuing with the second base position today. In addition to reviewing our preseason position rankings, I will address the impact of many of the offseason free agent signings and trades, and publish some player profiles along the way as well.

With all that said, let's take a look at how our preseason top 30 second baseman performed in 2015, along with some thoughts on a few of the players, including a few second baseman that out-performed our rankings in 2015.

Our preseason Consensus Second Base Rankings for 2015

Rank

Name

Team

G

PA

HR

R

RBI

SB

AVG

OBP

SLG

wRC+

WAR

1

Anthony Rendon

Nationals

80

355

5

43

25

1

0.264

0.344

0.363

97

0.9

2

Robinson Cano

Mariners

156

674

21

82

79

2

0.287

0.334

0.446

116

2.1

3

Jose Altuve

Astros

154

689

15

86

66

38

0.313

0.353

0.459

120

4.3

4

Ian Kinsler

Tigers

154

675

11

94

73

10

0.296

0.342

0.428

111

4.2

5

Brian Dozier

Twins

157

704

28

101

77

12

0.236

0.307

0.444

103

3.4

6

Dustin Pedroia

Red Sox

93

425

12

46

42

2

0.291

0.356

0.441

116

2.5

7

Jason Kipnis

Indians

141

641

9

86

52

12

0.303

0.372

0.451

126

5.2

8

Neil Walker

Pirates

151

603

16

69

71

4

0.269

0.328

0.427

108

2.4

9

Dee Gordon

Marlins

145

653

4

88

46

58

0.333

0.359

0.418

113

4.6

10

Daniel Murphy

Mets

130

538

14

56

73

2

0.281

0.322

0.449

110

2.5

11

Howie Kendrick

Dodgers

117

495

9

64

54

6

0.295

0.336

0.409

109

2.1

12

Ben Zobrist

Royals

126

535

13

76

56

3

0.276

0.359

0.450

123

2.1

13

Chase Utley

Dodgers

107

423

8

37

39

4

0.212

0.286

0.343

71

0

14

Kolten Wong

Cardinals

150

613

11

71

61

15

0.262

0.321

0.386

96

2.3

15

Javier Baez

Cubs

28

80

1

4

4

1

0.289

0.325

0.408

98

0.5

16

Brett Lawrie

Athletics

149

602

16

64

60

5

0.260

0.299

0.407

94

0.6

17

Jedd Gyorko

Padres

128

458

16

34

57

0

0.247

0.297

0.397

93

0.7

18

Brandon Phillips

Reds

148

623

12

69

70

23

0.294

0.328

0.395

96

2.6

19

Scooter Gennett

Brewers

114

391

6

42

29

1

0.264

0.294

0.381

77

0.2

21

Rougned Odor

Rangers

120

470

16

54

61

6

0.261

0.316

0.465

105

2.3

22

Martin Prado

Marlins

129

551

9

52

63

1

0.288

0.338

0.394

100

3.1

23

Aaron Hill

Diamondbacks

116

353

6

32

39

7

0.230

0.295

0.345

71

0.1

24

Arismendy Alcantara

Cubs

11

32

0

5

1

1

0.077

0.226

0.077

-3

-0.4

25

Marcus Semien

Athletics

155

601

15

65

45

11

0.257

0.310

0.405

98

1.7

26

Jonathan Schoop

Orioles

86

321

15

34

39

2

0.279

0.306

0.482

112

0.8

27

Joe Panik

Giants

100

432

8

59

37

3

0.312

0.378

0.455

138

4.2

28

Omar Infante

Royals

124

455

2

39

44

2

0.220

0.234

0.318

44

-0.9

29

Nick Franklin

Rays

44

109

3

11

7

1

0.158

0.213

0.307

42

-0.8

30

Emilio Bonifacio

White Sox

47

82

0

5

4

1

0.167

0.198

0.192

1

-0.7

Dee Gordon, Marlins

Gordon was traded to the Marlins from the Dodgers in the offseason and all he did was lead the NL in hitting and put up a 4.6 fWAR season. He stole 55+ bases for the second consecutive season, and there is no reason to believe he will stop running in 2016. He hit .304 or better in every month with the exception of July, where he slumped to .208., and he also stole 8 or more bags in five of the six months this season. Draft with confidence in 2016, as he should hit around .290-.300 with 50+ stolen bases once again.

Rouged Odor, Rangers

Odor had an excellent rookie season in 2015, hitting .261 with 16 home runs and 61 RBI. He led all qualified second baseman in slugging percentage and ranked second behind Brian Dozier in ISO.  If he can repeat the power production, and add to his stolen base total, he can be a top 5 fantasy second baseman in 2016.

Brian Dozier, Twins

Dozier is my early #2 at second base heading into the 2016 season, as I still think Nationals second baseman Anthony Rendon is the #1 guy at the keystone on draft day. That said, one can argue that, despite his lower batting average, Dozier is the #1 second baseman. Dozier had yet another phenomenal year, hitting .236, but with 28 home runs, 101 runs scored, 77 RBI and 12 stolen bases. Yeah, he fills up the box score, and with the Twins lineup improving, his runs scored and RBI could increase a tad next season.

Jose Altuve, Astros

Altuve didn't run as much this year as he has in the past, attempting just 51 stolen bases last season, but he more than doubled his home run total, as he traded some doubles for home runs. If he can repeat the 15 home runs and steal 35-40 bases once again, he will be a top 3 second baseman next season.

Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox

Despite playing in just 93 games last season, Pedroia hit the most home runs he has hit since 2012, and put up his second highest wRC+ since 2011. The Red Sox lineup disappointed early in the season, but showed it's run-scoring potential in the second half, so if Pedroia falls in your drafts next season, don't hesitate to grab him.

Some guys to consider in 2016

Enrique Hernandez, Dodgers

With Howie Kendrick becoming a free agent this offseason, the Dodgers may elect to let him walk and taking the draft pick as compensation. Enter Hernandez, who played all over the diamond in 2015. In his 218 plate appearances, Enrique hit .307 with a .490 slugging percentage and .183 ISO, so the Dodgers could elect to allow him to replace the dependable Kendrick in 2016.

Devon Travis, Blue Jays

Travis started the season on fire, but a shoulder injury limited him to just 238 plate appearances in 2015. But, Travis made the most of those opportunities, hitting .304 with 8 home runs, 38 runs scored and 35 RBI. His .498 slugging percentage ranked second among all second baseman with 200+ plate appearances, so he could easily put up a .15 home run season in full time duty in 2016.

Fantasy Rundown

If you are looking for more fantasy baseball, football or basketball rankings, make sure you check out Fantasy Rundown, where you can find links to rankings and fantasy advice from the best sites on the 'net.