2B Keeper Rankings: 2nd Tier
After looking at the top tier of 2B, I will move onto the 2nd tier. The top 3 are much better than these 4 players, but the drop off after these three is much smaller.
I am basing the list heavily off of the talent ranking I did recently. As a general rule, the ranking did not like younger players with little MLB experience.
Michael Young (35 years old) – Man, what to think of him. He seems to have been around forever. He has found a way to continue putting out good stats late in his career.
When healthy, which is most time, he plays and puts up decent stats. He is a career 0.300 hitter. He gets plenty of Run and RBI chances being in the Ranger’s line up. Also, he looks to be qualified at 1B, 2B and 3B for 2011. He is a great player to sub in if anyone else is hurt on a team or has a day off.
The biggest concern I have for him going into 2012 is his power. His HRs went from 22 and 21 in 2009 and 2010 to 11 last season. Also his HR/FB% has been cut in half (14.9% to 7.4%) from 2009 to 2011. The drop off can further be seen by his home run and fly ball distances over the past 3 years.
In 2011, he ended up as the 28 highest rated fantasy player. He has some useable traits going forward, but his declining power is a huge concern.
Brandon Phillips (30 years old) – He is model for consistency. He hits for power and AVG. He used to steal a bunch of bases. Not so much anymore.
What used to be his main value, steals, are on a steady decline. Since 2009, his SB have gone from 25 to 14. Even more important for teams in leagues with net steals (SB-CS), he only had 5 net steals last season.
Brian’s owners should have an idea to expect around a 0.290 AVG, 15 HR and 15 SB next season.
Rickie Weeks (29 years old) – After playing in 160 games in 2010 and 102 to start the 2012 season, Rickie remember who he was and promptly ended up back on the DL. At times he looks like an elite player, if he is on the field.
The one change I could see in his future value is a decrease in counting stats with Prince Fielder no longer on the Brewers.
Chase Utley (32 year old) – The $100,000 question going into 2012 for Utley is the condition of his knee. It is a huge concern and I will monitor reports on it this off season. The knee’s health will be key for him to start getting his power back which is on a 4 year decline.
Chase, along with Joe Mauer, could make a huge difference on a team if they are able to bounce back. The amount of playing time and production are huge unknowns going forward with Chase.
Jeff, one of the authors of the fantasy baseball guide,The Process, writes for RotoGraphs, The Hardball Times, Rotowire, Baseball America, and BaseballHQ. He has been nominated for two SABR Analytics Research Award for Contemporary Analysis and won it in 2013 in tandem with Bill Petti. He has won four FSWA Awards including on for his Mining the News series. He's won Tout Wars three times, LABR twice, and got his first NFBC Main Event win in 2021. Follow him on Twitter @jeffwzimmerman.
I would prefer Uggla (31) and Zobrist (30) to Weeks by a considerable margin. For years Weeks was drafted for his potential and underperformed his draft position; in 2010 he finally rewarded his owners, and he will probably continue to be overdrafted by those imagining he will be able to replicate it. Weeks has played one full season in his career (stretching back to 2005), topped 20 HR once, doesn’t hit for average, and has only stolen 22 bases in the last 3 seasons. Uggla is far more consistent, hits around 30 HR every year, and almost 100 RBI (Weeks 2nd highest season RBI total – 49). Zobrist does not have the same track record as Uggla, but he has been better than Weeks over the last 3 years and is the only one of the 3 who can steal 15+ bases.
I know Zobrist and Uggla were next in line. With this group, there is a chance of having a great season -or- not much of one at all. The choice between good heath and less talent or vice versa will need to be made between these few players.
‘there is a chance of having a great season -or- not much of one at all’
I am dumbfounded as to how that statement could apply to Uggla, who produced consistently in every single season since his 2006 debut – just look at his career numbers. I suppose it could apply to Weeks if you modify it to ‘there is a small chance of having a great season (1 1/2 seasons) and a large chance of not having much of one at all (5 seasons)’. Unless Weeks can greatly increase his steals from what he has done in the past three years, Uggla is superior in talent and far superior in injury-risk.
The RBI total is irrelevant now that Weeks is no longer hitting leadoff. There is a distinct possibility he could hit 4th next season, so the RBI’s could jump way yp.
Uggla’s BA is a disaster, just as disaster.
But you can make it up elsewhere. There is something to be said for 30/100 from a 2b. I would rather have to work to bring up an average depressor than to try to plug HR/RBI holes in my team.
But…if you were a Weeks owner, certainly, it was a good year from him, no doubt. Going forward? Who knows. I do not.
It’s easy to just write off Weeks as injury prone, but all of his injuries have been of the fluky type and don’t appear to be chronic. His ankle injury this year was just bad luck and could have happened to anyone, and his wrist injuries from a few years ago were because of his bat waggle which he doesn’t have anymore. He still hit 20 home runs this year, and I think it’s fair to expect 2010 type numbers going forward.