Fantasy Football

2011 Fantasy Baseball Mid-Season 2B Rankings: Cano On Top, Weeks Keeps Climbing

Picture

Robinson Cano (see credits below)

If hitters and starters were like children, starters would definitely be the favorite first son of mine.  Which is why I write a weekly pitching article, The Rubber.  Hitters would be the youngest child that could never quite live up to their big brother.  And closers, well, they would be like the middle child no one ever pays any attention to.  But in the interest of spreading the love, I’m going to write a six article series where I rank the players at every position for the rest of the way.  Hitting in the three hole this week, second basemen. 

As I’m writing this, the future stars of the game are playing in the only All-Star game I have any interest in watching this week, the MLB Futures Game.  It got me thinking about the future of the second base position.  Second base is a position that is generally viewed as one of the shallower fantasy positions, but that may not be the case in the very near future.

Part of the wave of young second base talent has already hit major league shores. 

Danny Espinosa, playing his first full season with the Nationals, looks to be a veritable counting number machine.  Dustin Ackley, the Seattle second basemen long considered one of the best prospects in baseball, has been as good as advertised since his first call up a few weeks ago.  Jemile Weeks, younger brother of Rickie Weeks and Oakland second baseman, has 8 doubles and 7 steals in his first 118 AB’s in the bigs.

And there is more on the way. 

Brett Lawrie, who was traded straight up by the Brewers for Shaun Marcum, was ripping up AAA and bucking for a promotion to his new big league club, the Toronto Blue Jays, before a broken hand delayed his MLB debut.  Jason Kipnis, the second baseman of the future in Cleveland, hit a homerun in the Futures Game off Julio Teheran and should be up very, very soon (heads up AL-only owners).  Jose Altuve, the diminutive Astros prospect (he’s 5’5”), is hitting .385 with nine homers and 24 steals in about 350 AB between A+ and AA this year.

The list goes on and on.  Johnny Giavotella (Royals), Jean Segura (Angels), and Delino Deshields, Jr. (Astros) also have quite a bit of potential.

But since we can’t yet be with the prospects we love, let’s love the ones we’re with.

1st Tier

1. Robinson Cano | New York Yankees | 100% owned

2. Dustin Pedroia | Boston Red Sox | 100% owned

3. Rickie Weeks | Milwaukee Brewers | 100% owned

It would appear that Weeks figured out big league pitching in 2009.  Unfortunately, he tore a muscle in his hand on May 18 of that year and missed the rest of the season.  However, it is clear that when Weeks has been on the field over the last three years, he has been one of the best hitting second basemen in baseball.

His 162 game averages from 2009 to present are as follows: .272, 30 HR, 82 RBI, 116 R, 11 SB.

Stud.

Tier 2

4. Ben Zobrist | Tampa Bay Rays | 100% owned

5. Brandon Phillips | Cincinnati Reds | 100% owned

6. Ian Kinsler | Texas Rangers | 100% owned

People love them some Ian Kinsler, but there’s too much risk involved with owning Kinsler for my liking.  First, there’s the batting average risk.  His batting averages by year from 2006-2011 are:

.286, .263, .319, .253, .286, .250

Then there is the injury risk.  Kinsler plays in an average of 123 games per year, so he’s seeing the DL just about every year. 

This isn’t to say that Kinsler is a poor fantasy option.  He’s currently fourth among second basemen on ESPN’s player rater behind only Cano, Pedroia, and Weeks.  Clearly the guy can hit.  I just don’t want the risk.

Tier 3

7. Michael Cuddyer | Minnesota Twins | 100% owned

8. Danny Espinosa | Washington Nationals | 100% owned

9. Chase Utley | Philadelphia Phillies | 100% owned

10. Dan Uggla | Atlanta Braves | 100% owned

11. Kelly Johnson | Arizona Diamondbacks | 92.1% owned

12. Howard Kendrick | Los Angeles Angels | 100% owned

Maybe the perception that second base is a shallow position is a little off because there is quite a bit to like in this group.  You’ve got some counting number machines in Cuddyer and Espinosa (edge to Cuddyer because of the average), a former stud in Utley, the nothing-but-pop Uggla, and two other very viable options in Johnson and Kendrick.

I know I’m not breaking any news when I say catcher is a much shallower position, but just for comparison, Miguel Olivo was my 11th ranked catcher two weeks ago.

Tier 4 

13. Dustin Ackley | Seattle Mariners | 65.2% owned

14. Neil Walker | Pittsburgh Pirates | 100% owned

15. Aaron Hill | Toronto Blue Jays | 67.3% owned

16. Jemile Weeks | Oakland Athletics | 31.7% owned

If you had told me in the preseason that Mark Ellis and Alexi Casilla would have a higher ISO than Aaron Hill at this point in the season, I would have agreed to light myself on fire were your asinine prediction to come true.  Well, somebody get me some octane 87 and a box of strike anywhere matches because that is exactly what has happened.

Yet my unconditional (aka irrational) love for Aaron Hill will not let me ignore his 3.7% HR/FB rate, his .260 BABIP, his 18% line drive rate, and his improved K rate.  Not to mention his 11 steals.  I’m not ready to give up on Hill just yet.

Tier 5 

17. Gordon Beckham | Chicago White Sox | 50.7% owned

18. Daniel Murphy | New York Mets | 87.2% owned

19. Chris Getz | Kansas City Royals | 6.4% owned

20. Alexi Casilla | Minnesota Twins | 21.8% owned

21. Darwin Barney | Chicago Cubs | 46.3% owned

22. Maicer Izturis | Los Angeles Angels | 57.8% owned

23. Mark Ellis | Colorado Rockies | 14.8% owned

24. Jeff Keppinger | Houston Astros | 2.9% owned

25. Orlando Cabrera | Cleveland Indians | 35.8% owned

Ummmmm, we’ve officially bottomed out.  Hard.  Lots of empty average, a few guys with a little speed, and a big disappointment in Gordon Beckham.

This group actually makes me want to light myself on fire.

All ownership percentages from ESPN.com.  All stats current through 7-9-11. 

Martin Prado omitted to be included on the third base list next week. 

(July 6, 2011 – Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images North America)

Written by Brett Talley exclusively for thefantasyfix.com.  Brett is a law student in Dallas who watched baseball for ten consecutive hours on Sunday.  He had to binge since it’s time for rehab the All-Star break.   You can follow him and/or ask him for fantasy advice on Twitter @therealTAL.


Tags: The Fantasy Fix,  2011 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Advice, 2011 Fantasy Baseball Player Rankings, 2011 Fantasy Baseball Second Basemen Rankings, Brett Talley
Previous post

2011 Fantasy Baseball Daily Fix: Sabathia Wins The Battle of Wills in the Bronx

Next post

2011 Fantasy Baseball Rookie Report: Mid-Year Rookie Report Cards Are In