Well there was one rumor that Brandon Phillips would get traded to the Braves, but then the Braves insisted that Dan Uggla be a part of the deal and we haven’t heard that trade rumor again in a while. So no, the title isn’t about flocking south for the Winter or a trade rumor, the title is about the fact that Brandon Phillips is post-peak. Decidedly so.
After the 2012 season, Dan Uggla ranked just 17th among second basemen. We thought that was bad and he had hit rock bottom. But the downward spiral actually continued. His encore was not one to celebrate, as he slid even further to just 27th within the position. Heading into his age 34 season, is the power hitting, some time acceptable batting average contributing middle infielder officially done as a fantasy delight?
In his fourth full big league season, Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy finally fulfilled his fantasy promised and delivered great value to his owners. Likely drafted in the last two rounds or simply left as waiver wire fodder, Murphy ended the year as the league’s fourth best fantasy player at the pivot.
Ignore one category, and you might wonder why Matt Carpenter was ranked second among all second basemen in fantasy value in 2013. He hit 11 homers, stole three bases, and drove in 78 runs. Even Ichiro Suzuki, when he was someone you could count on for batting average — like you *might* be able to do with Carpenter — hit about as many homers and stole ten times as many bases when he was going well.
But there is that batting average. And there are those runs scored. And if he regresses in those two categories, will the 27-year-old build in other areas to combat that regression?
Every year, we all have our short list of “must have” guys on draft day. I used to be so concerned about value that I’d begrudgingly let those “must have” guys slip away when they became a couple dollars too expensive, but as I’ve gotten more experienced, I’ve started to trust my analysis a little more and ensure I acquire the players I covet. This year, I drafted Mike Minor, Jean Segura and Jason Kipnis in all four of my leagues. Those were my guys.
Today we begin second base week and that means a look back at my Pod’s Picks at the position. It wasn’t that crazy a season with most of the usual suspects atop the value list and only a couple of true surprises. Let’s see how my rankings compared to the actual ones.
The 2013 fantasy baseball season has come to a close, so it is time to look back at the season past and determine which players were the most valuable at each position. This week focuses on second baseman.
The players were ranked based on their 2013 production, using the evaluation system explained and updated on this site some time ago. To keep things manageable and avoid skewing the numbers, players were only considered if they amassed 400 plate appearances over the course of the year. The replacement level was also adjusted to account for players eligible at multiples positions. The valuations are built for $260 budgets and traditional 5×5 roto fantasy leagues, where only one catcher is started.
One important thing to note is the premium (or lack thereof) placed on the position a player occupies in your lineup. For example, while a first baseman may be able to accumulate superior overall numbers, the availability of such production lower in the rankings severely dampers the amount the player was worth.
These rankings are meant to reflect a player’s value should he have occupied this spot in your lineup for the entire year. So, a player who missed time due to injury but put up great numbers during his time on the field would be worth less.
With all this in mind, here are your rankings. Read the rest of this entry »
Remember how great it was during Jason Kipnis’ rookie year? You probably got him for cheap in your draft and right out of the gate, he starts producing. Sure, he hit just .256 for that first month, but he also had three home runs, 12 RBI and four stolen bases. Not bad for your low-budget, rookie second baseman. But then the calendar flipped to May and Kipnis flipped a switch…a power switch, that is. He batted .295 for the month, hit another five home runs with another 18 RBI and another seven stolen bases. Two months in and he’s already paying big dividends. With a solid month of June, he totally crushed it in the first half, batting .277 with 11 home runs, 49 RBI and 20 stolen bases; basically the line you hoped he would have by the end of the season. And just to help make you feel more comfortable about his performance, his walk rate was slightly better than league average (8.9%), he had just a 15.4% strikeout rate and posted a solid .345 on-base percentage. He was the total package. Read the rest of this entry »
Raise your hand if you expected Matt Carpenter to lead all of baseball with 126 runs scored (and not just lead, but trounce the next highest total by 17!) and tie for the lead in total hits recorded. Mrs. Carpenter, put your hand down. That’s what I thought, none of you. According to Zach Sanders’ end of season dollar value calculator, Carpenter earned nearly $26, ranking 19th overall. On the value leaderboard, he rated as the second most profitable hitter and ninth most profitable player behind a slew of starting pitchers. By any method you choose, it’s clear that nobody expected this.
We’re going real deep today folks for perhaps the last deep league waiver wire piece of the 2013 season. If you’re looking for middle infield help, it’s your lucky day!