I have shocking, breaking news: Robinson Cano is a fantastic baseball player. That should come as no surprise given that his 7.8 WAR was tied for fourth in all of baseball this year, of course, and it’s been that way for a while. Measuring only his offense using wOBA, he was the best second baseman in baseball in 2012, second-best (by a single point) in 2011, best in 2010, and third-best both in 2009 and 2006. In a galaxy of Yankee stars, Cano is among the brightest, having provided more WAR value to the team since 2006 than anyone other than Alex Rodriguez. Read the rest of this entry »

Jemile Weeks came into the season with a lot of promise. As a 24-year-old, Weeks just slashed .303/.340/.421 in limited action, cementing his status as Oakland’s starter at second. On top of that, Weeks had a strong pedigree. His brother, Rickie, was once a top prospect and has experienced success in the majors. Though both players offer a completely different skill set, there was still reason to believe Jemile would be a solid fantasy option. As frustrated fantasy owners know, that didn’t happen. Weeks completely collapsed, hitting just .221/.305/.304 in 511 plate appearances. His poor performance led to a demotion, and an exclusion from the postseason roster. But with the club’s recent trade of Cliff Pennington, it looks like Weeks will have another chance at a full-time role next season. After a disastrous first shot, Weeks will have a lot to prove in his second season.

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If you hit 26 homers and lead your league in basically every offensive stat from your position, but no one notices, does it still make a sound? That twist on the classic thought problem seems to apply to Arizona’s Aaron Hill, who bounced back from two consecutive disappointing seasons to become the second-best second baseman in baseball in 2012, both by WAR and Zach Sanders’ end-of-season fantasy rankings. The hype, however, including an All-Star snub, never seemed to follow.

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For the past number of years, Brandon Phillips has teetered between elite and second tier second baseman, which to me puts him in the elite category due to his consistency. Being able to consistently bi the 3-7 range at second base as Phillips has been over the majority of his career makes him a big target on draft day. While he no longer possesses 30 home run power, he has hit exactly 18 home runs in each of the past three years while stealing 16, 14, and 15 bases respectively.

Another great attribute about Phillips has been his health, which has allowed him to play no fewer than 141 games in each year since 2006, amassing over 600 plate appearances in each year aside from his first full season in which he accrued 587. His average dropped to .281 this year, which is still very respectable, and his .300 average from a year ago looks like a clear outlier compared to the rest of his career. Going forward, expecting his average to sit at around his career average of .273 seems to be reasonable, considering his age and three year average of .285. His walk rate dipping back to the 4.5% rate is a bit concerning, but not concerning enough for it to alter his value much. He will never be a big walker, but monitoring his walk rate in the early part of next year is recommended.

The age is one thing to consider with Phillips, as he will play half of next season at age 31 and the other half at age 32. Being on the wrong side of 30, his play could begin to deteriorate as may his health. The good thing is that there is not much to point to this happening next year.

Overall, he seems like a good target due to his name becoming less flashy compared to the Cano’s and Kinsler’s and his upside being capped. You know what you are getting with Phillips, which is valuable in and of itself. Taking some of the risk out of a position like second base, where overall production is usually lighter and the difference between the elite and the back end fantasy starters is large, is absolutely a positive that needs considering.

This was not a great year for Phillips and it was not a bad year. It was a Phillips year, where he contributed to every category solidly. Without one special tool, the value in having a guy like Phillips who provides consistency to your team in both his production year to year and in his ability to produce in every category has made him a great fantasy add for his entire career.

I like games. I’m sure you like games. So let’s play one. No, this is not an earthshattering new game that will revolutionize the world. In fact, you have probably played it before. It’s that old “here are several players’ statistics, guess who each line belongs to” one. Fun, right? I agree. I will also try to perform an entire analysis without revealing names until the end. So here they are, try to guess without cheating:

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Martin Prado’s hitting bounced back nicely after being affected by a staph infection in 2011. Hitting .300 with double digit HRs should have been expected in 2012. The biggest surprise with him was the 17 SB after only getting 13 total in his 6 previous seasons. The totals put him as the 9th highest rated 2B in Zach Sanders’ 2B End of Year Projections. His 2013 production could be similar to 2012 levels. Maybe. Probably not.

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Continuing with our look through Zach Sanders’ Second Base End of Season Rankings and scrolling all the way down to number 27 on the list, we find White Sox second baseman Gordon Beckham, one of the more disappointing youngsters over the last few years. Plucked from the minors and thrust into a starting role at just 22 years old in 2009, Beckham’s career began on a high note as he powered his way to a .270 average with 14 home runs and 63 RBI through just 430 plate appearances. He was lauded as one of the premier up-and-comers and a welcomed addition to a position in need of some life. It has been downhill ever since. Read the rest of this entry »

Dustin Pedroia must have wondered exactly how he insulted the patron saint of thumbs. He injured the abductor muscle in his right thumb in May, causing him to miss six games, and then a month later, he hyperextended the same thumb. As my kid would say, “ouchers miscouchers.”

There’s no way of knowing how that specifically impacted his hitting, but you have to believe it certainly didn’t help. Despite the thumb injuries (and a host of other dings), Pedroia still managed to hit 15 home runs, steal 20 bags and amass a triple slash of .290/.347/.449, placing him eighth on the Zach Sanders supernatural end of season rankings at second base.

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Chase Utley wasn’t a full-time player until he was 26-years-old. For the next five seasons, Utley turned in one of the most dominant stretches in fantasy baseball. At one of the weakest fantasy positions, Utley was an absolute monster. Over that five year stretch, Utley hit .301/.388/.535, and averaged 33 home runs per season. His power dropped in 2010, but Utley was also dealing with a thumb injury, which was the likely culprit. Just before the 2011 season, things got much worse. Utley started experiencing problems with his knees, causing him to miss nearly the first two months of the season. Utley played through the pain, but his numbers clearly suffered. Things got even worse this past season, as it was revealed Utley’s knee issues were worse than initially thought. He didn’t play a game until late-June, and his numbers barely improved. Utley will turn 34 this December, and already has a chronic knee condition. His days as a fantasy starter may be over.

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Before the season, Neil Walker basically epitomized the term “blah” when describing his fantasy baseball prospects. He was expected to contribute a little here and a little there, but not stand out in any one category. These types of players always seem boring, but are typically undervalued as the perceived value of their across the board contributions are less than those from the speed demons or big power hitters. Surprisingly, we had a bit of disparity in our pre-season rankings, as they ranged from 9 to 15, with a consensus of 13. I personally came in at 15, which provides yet a second surprise given the fact that I boldly predicted that Walker would earn top five value at second base.

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