2020 Second Base Rankings
The keystone is probably the weakest non-catcher position, but it’s not awful. I can’t get on Brad Johnson’s train that 2B is deeper than SS, but I will concede that the lack of depth at 2B has been overstated.
The blue bar starts a new tier. I included guys with at least 10 appearances at 2B to accommodate Yahoo!’s eligibility rules (I forgot to do that at 1B).
If you want to check out my list from September with some commentary on the Top 30, you can still find that here.
Let me know what you think in the comments!
2B Rankings for 2020
Where would you put Lourdes Gurriel on this list? He is eligible at 2B in Ottoneu.
Also, in Yahoo – which is actually 5 GS for eligibility, not 10.
Ah it’s 5 starts or 10 appearances. The site I used only had appearances… https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/2019-appearances-fielding.shtml
Nick solak is another that falls in the 5 starts but not 10 appearances bin
Love Solak!
Big Gurriel fan, he’d be under Escobar.
He’ll most likely never play 2B again (yips). He has a cannon arm and has been great in the OF.
That being said I think there is value available in Cavan Biggio at #15. Should be hitting in front of Vlad and Bo, gets on base a lot, may flirt with 100 runs. Puts up numbers across the board. Sneaky value there.
I feel like Brock Holt could be on here ahead of some of these bums?
Hard for me to see Muncy over LeMahieu in 5×5 with AVG as a category.
Players I like a little more than you do: VanMeter, Long, DJLM, maybe Newman. We both like Arraez, Edman, & Wong. Players I like a little less: Muncy, Kingery (who typifies warning track power IMO), Happ, & Chavis.
Yeah, Paul and Muncy need to get a room.
Is the reason you have Dubon so low because of potential PT concerns? Seems a pretty good bet for double digit HRs and SB and seems will play alot for a poor SF team.
No Houston Penalty? Or is it more wait and see? It didn’t seem Altuve benefited that much, but it looked like Bregman did (?)
Even if I give Altuve a little dip, I’m still not sure my boy Albies passes him
It feels like there’s a reasonable chance Brandon Lowe ends up at the top of the tier just outside of the Top 10. Especially if the Rays let him hit lead-off this year and there are more counting stats with more exposure to LHPs. Even if the BA suffers somewhat, and the BABIP normalizes, it’s not hard to see him being radically different than Moose.
I like Lowe, but the Rays are very unlikely to let him play vL a lot unless he greatly improves. He might be able to match Moose’s power output from a rate standpoint and even run a good bit more, but I just don’t see him reaching Moose’s level because of volume.
I could see him pushing up closer to 14-15.
Rumor is the only other IF on the team to start is going to be left hand hitting Wendle. Lowe hit lefties ok in the minors, and last season was SSS. he will be playing everyday for the most part other than 10 days of rest. This assumes health of course.
That’s how I see it too. The Rays will platoon 1st base long before 2nd. Lowe will bat 1st or 2nd in 70% of the Ray’s games.
I have been with you for most of this offseason, Paul, but I just don’t see how Arraez is two tiers above Starlin Castro. Even assuming there are no sophomore slump issues, he’s just a two category guy in average and runs. And bad BABIP luck could hurt him significantly. Castro’s boring, but in a much better lineup, and solid, and will just be 30 this year.
Castro is is the better lineup? I dont think so.
Castro is coming off a 91 wRC+ season and may have PT issues whether he struggles or not. More than anything though, Arraez’s profile has room for growth, we know what Castro is.
Sorry, I meant that Castro is in a better lineup this year than he was last year. Not that the Nats’ lineup is better than the Twins’.
I don’t hate Castro, but there’s NO CHANCE he plays 162 games again. In fact, he could play closer to 130 with the depth they have in Washington.
I think Arraez could have some decent RBIs, too, given the depth of that lineup. Not necessarily making him an asset there, but hanging with Castro.
Comparing the two, I think Arraez will smoke him in AVG, beat him in R and SB, hold his own in RBI, and then get smoked in HRs (7-9 for LA; 17-19 for SC)
Interesting. Pretty much all of the projection systems are bearish on Arraez’s Runs/RBI, but they tend to underrate kids.
Love this Paul! Only disagreement is i’d put Kendrick 10 spots higher. Had .336 xBA and .622 xSLG. Story was he made legit swing changes but doesn’t have stamina to play every day. Finished as ~#17th 2B in 5×5 per FG auction calc. He’s got a lot of value in daily move, deep bench and/or OPS type leagues.
Brandon Lowe will make you rue the day!
lol I consider myself a pretty big fan, but he plays on a team that will almost certainly platoon him and he K’d waaaayyyy too much last year. This ranking feels fair until we see more from him.
I don’t see the platoon though. The Rays have a ton of outfielders and a ton of first basemen. That’s the platoons. Joey Wendle is left handed. I don’t see Daniel Robertson or Michael Brosseau taking away many at bats from Lowe. I see Lowe batting second 400 times this year, and another 200 elsewhere when a lefty starts.
The strikeouts are worrisome, but the playing time isn’t. 2nd base is Lowes’ job to lose. 3rd base with Yandy and Tsusugo is a much bigger question mark.
Keston too low? Yes BABIP probably not going to be .400 but he hit 38 HR in 141 games last yr. Oh my. And he might steal more bases than anyone in the top 10. He could be 30/20 guy.
Considering Altuve is already aging and his SBs dipped tremendously, I’m confident Hiura finishes ahead of Altuve. No way Altuve should be 2B1.
Can we put Odor in ALL of the tiers?
My boy Jeff Mcneil is gonna eat LeMahieu’s lunch this year.