Earlier this month, I updated the second base tiered rankings and opined that Tier One consisted of Robinson Cano, Dustin Pedroia and Ian Kinsler. That’s not really a controversial grouping, especially given the three currently lead qualified second basemen across the league in wOBA. They’re three ducks in a row atop the stat sheets.
And fourth in wOBA is … Matt Carpenter?
Let’s take another dive into the free agent pool,
With the hopes of finding a hitter with more than one tool,
So you don’t end up looking like a fool.
You may find more of Pod’s Poems on the forthcoming PoemGraphs, where we calculate RARP (rhymes above replacement poet) and discuss the ridiculousness of haikus (really, a poem that doesn’t rhyme? that’s NOT a poem).
Second base. Where you stick your shortstops that fail defensively and your third basemen that can’t hit. Second base, where a little agility can turn a tweener bat into an every day asset. Second base! Where fantasy team dreams go to die.
Second base. Where you hope you’re in a 16-team league or less, because the 17th-best second baseman might not hit .230 the rest of the way. Second base, where a guy like Darwin Barney — who may not hit six homers or steal six bases or hit .280 — may yet figure in to your deep league plans.
I make fun, but at least some sleeper two-baggers have shown us enough to solidify the back end in traditional mixed Leagues. Josh Rutledge has his flaws, but he’s already shown power and speed. Chase Utley has a degenerative knee condition, but he’s doing well for now. Neil Walker and Howie Kendrick haven’t been vintage Neil Walker and Howie Kendrick, but it wouldn’t kill you to run them out there for a while. Especially if you’re waiting for Aaron Hill, who showed enough in a short sample sophomore effort in Arizona to be exciting.
In professional golf, Saturday is dubbed “Moving Day” because players must go low to give themselves a chance on the final day. Without positioning themselves near the top of the leaderboard with a good round on Saturday, it becomes very difficult to challenge for a championship.
While a month still isn’t the greatest of sample sizes to cast judgment, now is when you have to start making some of the tougher decisions as to whether or not it’s in your team’s best interest to give up on certain players and start picking up guys who can help you in specific categories or if you should just continue to grin and bear it through their hard times. The decision of whether or not to cut someone is a little easier to make (or not make as the case may be) in deeper leagues as the waiver wire is far from flush with talent, but in leagues more shallow, there’s plenty still from which to choose. Here’s a look at two who, based on ownership percentages, could be available in your league… Read the rest of this entry »
We’re roughly one month into the season, which means it’s time to update the tiered rankings for each position. Though I wanted to be conservative and not alter too many rankings based on data from only one month, some changes seemed warranted.
Here are the tiers:
Daniel Murphy has started to command more attention from fantasy owners. He amassed 600 plate appearances for the first time last year and has really locked down the everyday role at second base. And over the last three seasons, he has hit .302/.344/.425 for the New York Mets — only Robinson Cano has a higher batting average among qualified second basemen over that time frame.
Despite that fact, according to Zach Sanders’ End of Season Rankings, Murphy was only the 18th-ranked second baseman in standard fantasy leagues last season. This is largely due to his lack of power and (somewhat) stolen bases. To put his lack of power into context, he only hit six home runs in both 2011 and 2012. Last season, he ranked 20th among qualified second basemen. Only Jemile Weeks and Jamey Carroll hit fewer home runs.
Murphy hasn’t always lacked power, though. He had double-digit home run totals in 2007 and 2008 in the minors, and he also launched 12 home runs during his first full season in the majors in 2009. The potential for double-digit homers seems to be present.
Could this be the season in which everything comes together and he hits for both power and average? After all, Mets’ manager Terry Collins believes Murphy is “capable of hitting .300 with 15 homers a year” and his .167 ISO through his first 23 games is the highest of his career.
Even Jeff Keppinger might not have expected to be among the more interesting free agent possibilities this past off season, but after a (surprising?) impressive campaign with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2012, that’s exactly what he became. In signing with the White Sox there was some intrigue in fantasy circles about this guy who seemed to have double-digit power and could hit for average, all while qualifying at shortstop, second base, third base, and maybe even first base depending on your league rules. He was viewed as a great late-round or cheap flyer that could pay off when injury strikes or in deeper leagues, a handy guy to move all around your roster without the risk of killing you in any particular category.
One of the most popular sleeper picks this spring was San Diego’s Jedd Gyorko. A third baseman by trade, he’s expected to be the Padres’ primary second baseman once Chase Headley returns from the disabled list, so the positional flexibility will benefit fantasy owners.
The primary reason owners have been drawn to Gyorko is his potential to offer plus-power at the second base position. He launched 30 home runs last season between Double-A and Triple-A, culminating in an impressive .413 wOBA with 24 home runs in 92 Triple-A games. Gyorko backed it up with four long balls this spring and the bandwagon had little room room for additional passengers. It was already filled to the brim.
Early this season, however, the 24-year-old rookie has gotten off to a bit of a slow start. He’s hitting .244/.347/.317 in 49 plate appearances, and while his 14.3% walk rate provides value in OBP leagues, his much-hyped power potential has been notably absent. He currently has an .073 ISO and hasn’t hit a home run on the season.
A week into the regular season, fantasy baseball owners already have much to analyze and discuss. From the unexpected struggles of R.A. Dickey to the scorching-hot start of Chris Davis, early performances often leave lasting impressions. Early-season struggles can poison the well and cause owners to overlook quality midseason production, and vice versa.
With that said, owners should certainly monitor early-season trends to help determine if they should buy low or sell high on various players. Here are some performances this week that stood out at second base: