Second Basemen

2011 Fantasy Baseball Position Tiers — Second Basemen

1st Tier:  Robinson Cano, Chase Utley, Dustin Pedroia

     Pretty simple top tier to pick here as all three would be a fantastic, albeit expensive, option for you at second base.  Cano has great power and a fantastic batting average; the only thing he doesn’t do is steal bases, but I think we can all live with that so long as the power production is maintained.  Injuries slowed down Chutley (yes, that’s right….Chutley) and while you hear some rumblings about a decline, he is still a HUGE fantasy asset when healthy.

      Pedroia moves up to the top tier for me this year for a few reasons.  First of all, after a huge year back in 2008 and my skepticism of a repeat performance, Pedroia came through with a solid season in ’09.  His power dipped a shade under .300, but he still plugged 15 dingers while scoring 115 runs and swiping 20 bases.  Last year, he looked to be headed towards super-stardom before a broken foot derailed his season.  Still, his .288-12-41 in 302 AB was better than some of the lower tiered guys with a full season under their belts.  With Pedroia staying in the 2 hole in front of Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez, there’s no telling what he could do.  I still think he’s an a-hole as a person, but this is fantasy and fantasy is business.  Even I would be happy to have him on my roster.

2nd Tier:  Ian Kinsler, Brandon Phillips, Dan Uggla, Rickie Weeks, Martin Prado

     Overall, the second tier doesn’t fall far off from the top top tier as there’s still a good amount of talent.  With a full year of health, I like Kinsler to fall somewhere in between his ’08 and ’09 totals which would put him in the .290 range for average and 20-25 HR.  His lineup is stacked around him, so injury appears to be the only thing hindering his totals.  And speaking of injury, hello Rickie Weeks.  Last year was a great display of what he can do when he stays off the DL, so a repeat performance would be nice and tasty.  If he can do it again and maybe increase the BA and the steals total, he just might join the others in the top tier.

     Uggla remains one of the top offensive options at the position and his move to Atlanta should only help him maintain his triple digit output in RBI.  He’ll be a top tier option if he can keep that batting average up again, but like Weeks and the injuries, I need to see it atleast one more time.  Uggla’s arrival in Atlanta pushes Prado to left field, but he still retains his eligibility at the position for this season.  He has certainly proven himself to be a solid commodity capable of 15 HR and a .300 average which is delish at second base.  Not to mention the added eligibility in th eoutfield, as well as the impending 3B eligibility once ol’ man Chipper tweaks one body part or another. 

     And finally, there’s Phillips who lost ended his three year 20-20 minimum streak with an 18-16 2010.  I see a return to form this season as he hits leadoff in the ever-improving Reds lineup.  He won’t head back to his 30-30 ways of 2007, but let’s not be too greedy here.

3rd Tier:  Brian Roberts, Aaron Hill, Kelly Johnson, Chone Figgins, Neil Walker, Gordon Beckham, Ben Zobrist

     Roberts just isn’t the elite option he once was, especially after last year’s injury debacle.  Between the back problems, the abdominal strain and th elate season concussion, he frustrated numerous owners who were banking on a strong year.  He claims to be in great shape now, so while you won’t see much in the way of power totals, he should still be able to swipe 30 bases and score 100 runs atop the Oriole’s improved offense.  

     Hill and Johnson were two players moving in opposite directions last season yet met somewhere in the middle as each plugged 26 HR.  Hill, who regressed from his monster 2009, should maintain his mid-20′s HR power and will hopefully improve that woeful batting average and Johnson should stay the course and continue to produce fairly well.  He’s only in this tier because why?  Right.  he needs to do it again before getting a bump.

     Figgins, Zobrist and Beckham are all in need of a rebound season and each one has the ability to do so.  Figgins needs to increase that BA and continue to steal bases to maintain his usefulness, Beckham needs to shake off his sophomore slump but is still capable of 15+ HR, and Zobrist needs a littl erebound to show that 2009 wasn’t a fluke.  I do love Zobrist for his position eligibility (10+ games at 1B, 2B and OF) and his 20+ steals potential.

     The wild card of the group is Walker who had a tremendous breakout last season.  A concussion in late June kept him out for a little while, but he still managed a dozen HR and a .296 avergae in 426 at bats.  If he’s for real, then I could see 15-20 HR with an average of about the same.  We’ll track his progress.

4th Tier:  Howie Kendrick, Mike Aviles, Ryan Theriot, Orlando Hudson, Freddy Sanchez, Sean Rodriguez, Eric Young, Jr., Omar Infante, Juan Uribe

     Now here’s where we see more of a mixed bag.  Kendrick was normally just an empty battign average as he contributed very little in the other categories.  However, he did kick in 14 steals with another 10 HR last year, but at the expense of his usual .290/.300 average.  Aviles has solid power potential if he gets regualr at bats, so we’ll have to see if he sticks as the new third sacker in K.C.  Hudson is on the decline, Sanchez needs to stay healthy, and while Uribe’s power was a treat, his batting average is cumbersome, at best.

     I like Theriot, who is the new SS for the Cardinals, but shoving him down to the 8th spot leaves me little hope for much in the way of productivity.  Infante’s second half as a starter in Atlanta gave the Marlins hope that he could be their regular starter at second but he has very modest power and minimal speed.  He is very durable though and can hit for a decent average.

     Rounding out the tier are two of my favorites in Rodriguez and Young.  Rodriguez had a hard time getting regular ABs last season which didn’t help his consistency, but he did show the power potential as he knocked out 6 HR during the spring which put him on everyone’s radar.  With Jason Bartlett now gone and Zobrist full time in the outfield, I think Rodriguez will settle in nicely and have a very productive season.  Young has amazing speed potential, but will have to beat out both Jose Lopez and Jonathan Herrera this spring to lock in the job.  I rank him inthis tier because I think he can do it and will be a great 1-2 punch with Dexter Fowler atop the Rockies lineup.

5th Tier and beyond:  Ty Wigginton, Reid Brignac, Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Blake DeWitt, Mark Ellis, Danny Espinosa, Jason Donald, Bill Hall, Skip Schumaker, Clint Barmes, Maicer Izturis

     A mix of unproven talent and utility players who may or may not get full time at bats.  Wigginton always seems to find a way into a lineup is a decent power guy with multi-position eligibility, DeWitt, Barmes, and Hall are starting again after finiding themselves in utility positions, and Nishioka, Espinosa and the oft-injured/sick Brignac all have some upside, but need to show something this year.  As for the others…..meh.  Serviceable if you’re stuck fishing near the bottom of the barrel.