2011 Fantasy Baseball Preview - Second Basemen Rankings

Introduction  - Catchers  - First Basemen  - Second Basemen  
Third Basemen  - Shortstops  - Outfielders 1  - Outfielders 2  
Starting Pitchers 1  - Starting Pitchers 2
Second base is a big position in fantasy baseball. This year the position is extremely thin, so it's a great strategy to draft one of the top second basemen early in the draft and enjoy getting good numbers from a position where most of the other teams in your league aren't getting them.

#1 Robinson Cano
Cano is the hands down number one second baseman, and there is no argument about it. He was in strong consideration for AL MVP but got beat out by Josh Hamilton, who had ridiculous numbers. Cano's .319 average, 29 home runs, and sabermetrics to go along with his career averages are more than good enough to get the nod from me. Get Cano in round 1 or 2 and enjoy top of the league offense from a tough offensive position.

#2 Chase Utley
Utley had a tough year in 2010. He played only 115 games due to injury, and because of that, his power numbers fell off. He hit only 16 home runs after hitting at least 31 in his previous two seasons, and his average fell down to .275. He is now 32 years old and a continued decline shouldn't be a shock. However, I don't expect it to happen, Utley will bounce back and if he stays healthy he has 30 HR and .290 average potential.

#3 Dustin Pedroia
Pedroia has seen his production fall off every year for the last 3 years. He won the AL MVP in 2008 with 17 home runs and a .326 batting average, but last year he hit only 12 home runs with a .288 batting average. However, Pedroia missed a ton of time with injuries, playing only 75 games. That said, those 17 home runs are pretty impressive. His ISO was 49 points higher than his career average, and he took advantage of Fenway Park with a 11.4 HR/FB percentage, which was 4.4 points higher than his career average. I don't think he is going to hit home runs at the pace he was hitting last year, but you can take a good batting average and a bunch of runs scored to the bank. Pedroia is close to Utley, but pretty distant from Cano. He rounds up the 2nd-tier.

#4 Dan Uggla
If you like hit or miss guys, Uggla is your guy. He pounded out a career high 33 home runs in 2010 and even raised his batting average to .287, another career high. The good news is that his ISO and HR/FB stayed pretty much where they have always been. The high batting average might have been fluky, but the power is real. He now plays for the Braves, which I don't see making too much of a difference. 30 home runs is a good bet, but he's probably not going to hit above .270 again and he'll strike out a ton.

#5 Ian Kinsler
Kinsler is another guy that was held back by injuries in 2010. In 103 games, he hit .286 with only 9 home runs. His sabermetric power numbers were well below his career averages, which will probably translate into return to form of 25+ homers if he stays healthy. Kinsler isn't a sure thing like the guys ahead of him, but he has upside of a top 3 second baseman. He'll give you good batting average, pretty good power, and he'll steal you bases. He's a good guy to grab and could be undervalued this year because of his 2010 season. This one of my main targets this year, and I think he should be one of yours too.

#6 Martin Prado
Prado is one of the most consistent players in the game. His numbers were nearly identical to his career averages last year, and that was the same case last season as well. Prado is only 27 and has some room to improve. He doesn't have great power but his home runs totals have been increasing every year since 2008, so 20 homers isn't out of the question for him. He'll hit at least .290 and score a good amount of runs. He's pretty far behind the guys above him, but he's a decent option if you use your first 5 or so picks on other positions.

#7 Rickie Weeks
Weeks experienced a huge spike in his power numbers last year, which raises some red flags. His ISO was 19 points higher than his career average, his BABIP was 23 points higher, his HR/FB was 4.6 points higher, and his LD% was 2 percentage points lower. What's all that mean? It was a fluke season and he will not hit anywhere near 29 home runs again. However, he will steal some bases and score a lot of runs hitting in front of Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder. Just don't expect more than 20 home runs from him.

#8 Gordon Beckham
Beckham was one of my late round sleeper picks in all of my drafts last year, and he didn't really do much. He hit only .252 with 9 home runs. He had a horrific start to the season but played better near the end of it. The sabermetrics say that he was on pace with his career averages, but last year was his first full season and you expect a player of his age to improve mightily and not stay the same. Beckham still has a ton of potential and could be a very, very good value pick later in the draft.

#9 Brandon Phillips
Philips was unspectacular in 2010. He scored 100 runs because of the fantastic performance of the offense behind him, but he himself wasn't that great. His .275 batting average was higher than his career average, but still not much to write home about. He hit 18 home runs, which was his lowest total since 2006. His numbers in the table above seem to be all right around his career averages, so there's no reason to believe he'll have big improvement or big decline next year. He's turning 30 this year so I'd guess he would remain right around where he was last year. I'd say there's a pretty big drop off after Philips, so if you miss out on the guys above him, I'd consider snatching him up.

#10 Ben Zobrist
Zobrist was drafted too high last year because of his impressive 2009 season, but he certainly did not make his owners too happy in 2010, posting a .238 batting average with very little power. Looking at his numbers, it really seems like 2009 was a fluke for Zobrist. He's 30 years old now and there's really not much room for improvement in my opinion. The Rays are going to be a new look team this year so it's tough to predict lineups or anything like that. Zobrist is going to play a lot and play different positions, so he'll have some eligibility at other places, which is nice. He'll also steal you some bases, so he's not a bad guy to get, but I wouldn't want him as my starting second baseman.

#11 Kelly Johnson
Johnson jumped out to a hot start in 2010, and was leading the league in home runs for the first couple of months. His hot streak ended, however and he finished the year with a .284 average. That was still 15 points higher than his career average but possibly influenced by the .339 BABIP. He has always has a higher than average BABIP however, and that probably is because he hits the ball well, when he hits it. He hits a line drive 21.4% of the time, which is pretty impressive. Johnson won't get you high average, but he'll hit more home runs than other guys you'd be drafting around the same time, so he's not a terrible pick.

#12 Brian Roberts
Roberts is old. He's 33 and had the most frustrating year of his career last year. Injuries held him to only 59 games and he hit .278 with only 4 home runs in those games. He stole only 12 bases, which isn't terrible for the sample size but still not what his owners were looking for. Roberts has been a top 5 second baseman most of his career, but those days are over. There's only so much you can take from statistics coming from 59 games, but nothing really looks good for Roberts' future. He could squeak out another solid season or two, and if he even plays his average season he'll be a lot better than some guys ranked ahead of him, but I see him continuing to decline. I wouldn't touch Roberts unless it's really late.

#13 Aaron Hill
Toronto's second baseman blasted 36 home runs in 2009. That's the biggest joke I've ever heard. Before that season, his career high was 17. He outdid that number again in 2010 by hitting 26, but he killed his fantasy owners with a .205 batting average and 85 strikeouts in only 138 games played. Hill's BABIP was unbelievably low, so there's definitely reason to believe he'll improve in the batting average category, but even if he goes up to his career average of .270, that's still not very good. He'll have to hit 25+ home runs to have good value, and I don't see that happening again.

#14 Chone Figgins
Figgins was one of the reasons Mariners fans thought that last year was their year. However, he struggled like the rest of the team and posted a career low .259 batting average. He still stole 42 bases, which is why most people draft him. He's 33 now and I expect those steal numbers to decline. He has no power (that 70.0% HR/FB is a big time typo, it should be 0.7), but his line drive percentage has always been decent. He'll get on base and steal some bases for you, but that's pretty much all he'll do.

#15 Neil Walker
Walker is one reason for Pirates fans to believe that the streak of 18 straight losing seasons is going to end soon. He did not play a full season, but hit a very impressive .296 with 12 home runs in 110 games. Walker was having a lot of struggles in the minor leagues before 2010, which led a lot of fans to rule him out completely, but he broke out last year and now looks to be part of the future. One year is never enough to make judgements on though, so there is a chance that Walker will fall off the table completely and not be relevant at all in fantasy. However, his 22.4 LD% is an encouraging sign that he's for real. He will also hit in the middle of the order, which not many second baseman do, so there will be some RBI opportunities. However, there's too much uncertainty with Walker to draft him on your fantasy team, but he could be a steal in the last few rounds.

#16 Howie Kendrick
Kendrick was a guy that people were expecting to break out a few years ago, but he never really has. He's a good average hitter most years, but he struggled last year with a .279 mark, which is interesting because he still had a good BABIP at .313. He doesn't have power and doesn't steal a ton of bases, so there's no real reason to draft him. You know what you're going to get, the upside is seemingly gone, so use your late round picks elsewhere.

#17 Omar Infante
Infante made the all-star team last year, and he wasn't even an every day starter. He hit .321 in 134 games (506 plate appearances) with 8 home runs and 7 steals. His BABIP was high at .335, and his line drive percentage actually went down. He's a utility player that won't start every day in 2011, so there's absolutely no reason to draft him unless you're in an NL only or 14+ team league.

#18 Tsuyoshi Nishioka
Nishioka is new to the states. The Twins signed him as an international free agent and will give him the chance to play second and third this year. There's really no way to predict what he's going to do, but I can pretty much say he has limited power. I don't see him hitting more than 10 homers for the Mets, so he'll have to make his living with batting average and runs scored. He hit only .260 in Japan in 2009, but then busted out with a .346 average in 2010. He is similar to Ichiro, but not nearly as consistent. He might turn into a decent onbase/steals guy, so he might be worth taking very late in the draft.