2020 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Top 30 Second Basemen (Updated)

Second Base Week happened in early February here at Fake Teams. That’s quite the layoff for not updating rankings, but we haven’t had much to be excited about on the baseball front in some time.

As we draw more near to a forced 50-game reality, I hope it makes sense to update our ranks. Maybe we can get 60-70 games? Maybe we’ll just have to watch the drama unfold and settle for 50. Maybe we get nothing. Either way, this will serve as our final pass through the rankings for 2020. In the books already are Catcher and First Base. Check ‘em out if you missed them.

Now for the table, with our original staff rank infused with updated rankings from myself, Jonathan Butler, and Mark Abell:

Within the elite tier, one big change is that our initial top man, Ozzie Albies, is now the undisputed No. 1 option. As a Braves fan, I’ll take that. And if you’re reading this, Garrett, I’d love to know your updated ranking for Albies. Garrett was the low-man on Albies back in February.

Another departure from February rankings has Keston Hiura leaping ahead of Jonathan Villar, a move that myself, Jonathan, and Mark all support. These two are close if you’re considering NFBC data. Over the last two months they are separated by just two picks, with Villar at 40.72 on average and Hiura at 42.16. If you wanted to weave in roster construction with these two, you could. One is clearly going to offer more power (Hiura) while the other will offer elite speed (Villar).

Max Muncy and D.J. LeMahieu have also switched spots, with Muncy moving ahead of LeMahieu. These guys are also tight in ADP, separated by just five spots on average per NFBC. The significant change here was Garrett not being able to jump in on updated rankings, as he had Muncy a distant 12th in our February pass. Anyway, this is another case of roster construction. Muncy is going to give you power and OBP, and with LeMahieu you’re obviously chasing batting average, but with enough power to not be hurtful. Might come down to whether or not my league used batting average or OBP, honestly. These two have been close all draft season due to their skill sets and their multi-eligibility.

The next four were unchanged, with Whit Merrifield, Cavan Biggio, Jeff McNeil, and Mike Moustakas rounding out our top 12. And it’s a sturdy top 12 in both iterations. The average ranking for Moustakas in February was 10.75, followed by our 13th man, Eduardo Escobar, all the way at 13.50. And here in June we have more of the same, with Moustakas at 10.75 and Escobar still our 13th man at 13.50. I checked NFBC data and it’s the same with two distinctions. There’s a clear-cut top 11 per NFBC, ending with Moustakas at pick 91. Then there’s Escobar at 12th (ADP 115.46) and Cavan Biggio at 13th (ADP 122.46). I illuminated all of this for one very important point—we here at Fake Teams are Cavan Biggio supporters, believers, encouragers, die-hards, etc. etc. etc. Let’s do this thing in 2020, Toronto.

Outside of the top 12, the first mover is Ryan McMahon leapfrogging Brandon Lowe. In February we had more hope (probably false hope) of a Lowe breakout. Now in a shortened season with a platoon-happy Rays team, this move makes sense given the relative assurance that McMahon is the starter at the keystone in Colorado.

Kolten Wong, too, moves up a couple of spots (from 22 to 20) likely due to a longer amount of time to cement his playing time status in our minds. He jumps ahead of Michael Chavis (who could be platooned with Jose Peraza) and Cesar Hernandez (who was more appealing in a full-season). I support this move strongly. Chavis has pop but the playing time isn’t assured, and Hernandez was always like a 10/10 contributor who had more value as a compiler in a normal season. In a shortened season, I much prefer the potential punch that Wong can offer with regard to speed. He should leadoff against right-handers for St. Louis, and he’ll have a chance to stay there against lefties, too, given last year’s .288 batting average and .333 OBP in that split.

Also moving up two ticks is Starlin Castro, who also leapfrogged Chavis and Hernandez. Another move that makes sense, given that we’ve had a longer amount of time to mull over Castro’s playing time in Washington. I know I was slightly confused early on as to what the Nationals were doing signing multiple infielders. Now with the assurance of a universal DH if we do get a season, that’s just more reason to consider Castro as a safe option if you need more late in your drafts. You won’t have to worry about at-bats (Chavis) and Castro should offer a bit more potential than a guy like Hernandez.

Other than that, it’s kind of a bunch of micro-movements to round things out. So overall, we’ve solidified Ozzie Albies as our top option at the position. Keston Hiura bumps ahead of Jonathan Villar. Max Muncy is one slot ahead of D.J. LeMahieu. We are Cavan Biggio believers. We’ve corrected Ryan McMahon over Brandon Lowe due to playing time considerations. And finally, Kolten Wong and Starlin Castro have bumped up a couple of spots as veterans we can trust.

What say you all? Anything we are missing? And what say you—ARE WE GOING TO HAVE BASEBALL OR NOT?