Chad Young’s Ottoneu FanGraphs Points 2B Ranks
Having completed C, the corners, and SP, we move back to the dirt to rank MI, starting with second base today and continuing with shortstop next week. The keystone is strange this year, as I really like a bunch of names at the top, but it falls off rather quickly. That said, you still need to fill out both 2B and MI in your Ottoneu leagues, so you may find yourself diving into the depths, whether you like it or not.
Our regular reminders:
- These are based on points leagues, but can roughly be used for 4×4.
- I use projected points/game as a starting point, but factor in playing time, future value, and my own adjustments to projections.
- These rankings are position-specific, though that doesn’t matter much here. Gleyber Torres is valued as a 2B, not a SS. Brandon Lowe is valued as a 2B, not an OF. But you’ll find that this season, 2B is as shallow as anything.
- The tiers below range up – so when you see Max Muncy in the $20 tier, that means I might go to $21, $22, even $24 on him, but probably not $25.
- All tiers are pre-inflation.
May I present to you a long list of 2B:
Chad Young’s Ottoneu FanGraphs Points 2B Ranks
| Tier | Rank | Player | Eligibility | P/G per Depth Charts | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $30 | 1 | Gleyber Torres | 2B/SS | 6.34 | Feels like people are sleeping on a guy because of a “down” year in which he walked more, struck out less, increased his Max EV and hard hit rate. |
| $20 | 2 | Ozzie Albies | 2B | 5.94 | He had a .403 wOBA in the second “half” of 2020 and while I wish he would walk more, I am not complaining about the overall line. |
| $20 | 3 | Max Muncy | 1B/2B/3B | 5.86 | The .203 BABIP hurt him last year and while there are reasons to think his time as a fantasy 2B are done, he made enough 2020 starts there to give some hope. |
| $20 | 4 | DJ LeMahieu | 1B/2B/3B | 5.58 | His wOBA last year was actually slightly worse than his best 60-game run in 2019 and I suspect given a full season, he would have ended up closer to 2019 overall. |
| $15 | 5 | Jeff Mcneil | 2B/3B/OF | 5.59 | I keep hearing he had a down year but he had a .360 wOBA and finished super strong. |
| $15 | 6 | Jose Altuve | 2B | 5.68 | It’s tempting to assume the power is gone as quickly as it came, but his hard hit rate didn’t drop, so don’t write that part of his game off yet. |
| $15 | 7 | Brandon Lowe | 1B/2B/OF | 5.47 | His big overall gains in 2020 were the sum of a series of smaller individual gains in BB%, K%, Barrel%, and HR/FB%, none of which look unsustainable. |
| $15 | 8 | Ian Happ | 2B/3B/OF | 5.63 | His 2019 and 2020 ended up similar overall, but underneath, in 2020 he walked more and hit the ball harder, and I can’t help wonder if there’s more. |
| $15 | 9 | Lourdes Gurriel Jr. | 2B/OF | 5.51 | He might fall back to closer to his 2019 than his 2020 but that would still be really good. |
| $10 | 10 | Keston Hiura | 2B | 5.33 | The upside is further up this list, but the increasing K rate is a real concern. |
| $10 | 11 | Cavan Biggio | 2B/3B/OF | 5.12 | Legitimately elite on base skills that play up in Ottoneu. |
| $10 | 12 | Mike Moustakas | 1B/2B/3B | 5.69 | He needs to bring the strikeouts back down to where they were, but no reason to think he can’t do that. |
| $10 | 13 | Ketel Marte | 2B/SS/OF | 5.79 | People want to tell me that 2020 was just a down year, but that requires believing in his 2019 over every other season in his career. |
| $5 | 14 | Whit Merrifield | 2B/OF | 5.20 | Empty average with a bunch of stolen bases is way more fun in 5×5 than any other Ottoneu format. |
| $5 | 15 | Nick Solak | 2B/3B/OF | 4.94 | His 2020 HR/FB rate was a big drop from 2019, but his EV, Max EV, hard hit rate and launch angle all increased. |
| $5 | 16 | Gavin Lux | 2B/SS | 5.06 | Want a guy you can pencil in for 140+ games of solid production, you might get that lower on the list. Want a guy who could be a top 5 2B by next season, he has that upside. |
| $5 | 17 | Jonathan Schoop | 2B | 5.17 | He’s not exciting but he is more productive than you think, given the solid power at a weak position. |
| $5 | 18 | Luis Arraez | 2B/3B/OF | 5.24 | His on-base skills boost his Ottoneu value while his complete lack of power suppresses it, and I don’t see him adding that power. |
| $5 | 19 | Jake Cronenworth | 1B/2B/SS/SP | 4.73 | I want to believe, but the Padres keep adding guys who play where he plays and that doesn’t bode well. |
| $5 | 20 | Brendan Rodgers | 2B/SS | 4.90 | Can you be a post-hype guy three years in a row? Cause he is headed that direction. |
| $5 | 21 | Chris Taylor | 2B/SS/OF | 5.07 | My money is on 2018-19 Taylor and not 2017/2020 Taylor, which both limits his value and puts his playing time at risk, as Lux looms. |
| $1 | 22 | Tommy La Stella | 1B/2B/3B | 5.09 | 2019 looks like a power outlier for him and moving to San Francisco isn’t going to help. |
| $1 | 23 | Carter Kieboom | 2B/SS/3B | 4.65 | His MLB career to-date is ugly, but it’s also only 165 PA and his upside is high. |
| $1 | 24 | Nick Madrigal | 2B | 4.70 | He’s like Arraez, but with less power, less of a track record, but more job certainty. |
| $1 | 25 | Scott Kingery | 2B/SS/3B/OF | 4.08 | You want to bet on his lack of HR power or his high barrel rate from 2020? |
| $1 | 26 | Donovan Solano | 2B/SS/3B | 4.38 | The similarities between his 2019 and 2020 make it look like he’s reached a new level, but the combined .403 BABIP isn’t very comforting. |
| $1 | 27 | Austin Nola | C/1B/2B | 4.16 | Let’s be honest, you are not using him at 2B anyway. |
| $1 | 28 | Ty France | 1B/2B/3B | 4.96 | Line drive is fickle and given France lost EV and decreased his hard hit rate, I am skeptical he’ll continue to post the high BABIP that drove his 2020 breakout. |
| $1 | 29 | Colin Moran | 1B/2B/3B | 4.99 | He saw real gains in contact quality, but also beat everything into the ground in the second half, blunting his breakout. With more lift, he moves up. |
| $1 | 30 | Kolten Wong | 2B | 4.69 | His slugging completely dried up in 2020, but a new park will help. |
| $1 | 31 | Jean Segura | 2B/SS/3B | 4.89 | Does a little bit of everything, making him a nice bench MI bat. |
| $1 | 32 | Ryan McMahon | 1B/2B/3B | 5.16 | Maybe this will be the year he finally breaks out. |
| $1 | 33 | Eduardo Escobar | 2B/3B | 4.93 | Is he 32 and in decline or just coming off a short season that doesn’t tell us much? Probably a little bit of both. |
| $1 | 34 | Royce Lewis | SS | #N/A | He has some fantasy helium because the 20/20 potential is real, but an ugly 20/20 plays way down in Ottoneu. |
| $1 | 35 | Dylan Moore | 2B/SS/3B/OF | 4.24 | He could improve on the strikeouts, but he struggled with them in the minors, as well. |
| $1 | 36 | Nico Hoerner | 2B/SS/3B | 4.50 | If he can put up K- and BB-rates like he did in the minors, he’ll get on base and offer a nice floor with little upside. |
| $1 | 37 | Isan Diaz | 2B | 4.17 | His best attributes are his power and Jazz Chisholm’s K-rate. |
| $1 | 38 | Vidal Brujan | 2B/SS | #N/A | I don’t see a ton of Ottoneu value in his future, except as a trade chip to someone who sees something I don’t. |
| $1 | 39 | Enrique Hernandez | 2B/SS/OF | 4.94 | I like what he can do in Fenway but he really should only play vs. LHP which limits his value. |
| $1 | 40 | Brad Miller | 2B/3B/OF | 4.82 | He’s put up two straight good years, but he is also likely a bench bat for the Phillies, at least for now. |
| $1 | 41 | Andres Gimenez | 2B/SS/3B | 4.38 | His defense will keep him on the field and he wouldn’t be the first (or second) high contact MI Cleveland was able to coax power out of. |
| $1 | 42 | David Fletcher | 2B/SS/3B/OF | 4.47 | He isn’t going to win you any Ottoneu leagues but his OBP will give him some value across multiple spots |
| $0 | 43 | Garrett Hampson | 2B/SS/OF | 4.50 | The Rockies are trying to find space for Hampson, but unless he finds more power, he won’t be useful in Ottoneu leagues |
| $0 | 44 | Aaron Bracho | 2B | #N/A | Bracho could easily be a top 100 guy by the end of the year, and his upside is more Ottoneu-friendly than Brujan. |
| $0 | 45 | Luis Garcia | 2B/SS | 4.06 | Guys who have doubles power without HR-power can play up in Ottoneu, but only if they get on base at a high rate and I am not sure he will. |
| $0 | 46 | Jon Berti | 2B/SS/3B/OF | 4.38 | If he walks like he did last year, he’ll crush these projections and be a decent back-of-your-roster option. |
| $0 | 47 | Brice Turang | 2B/SS | #N/A | The power isn’t great and the hit tool isn’t great so what does he bring to Ottoneu? |
| $0 | 48 | Jurickson Profar | 2B/OF | 5.06 | Profar sort of is what he is at this point, and that isn’t bad, but in a limited role in SD, it isn’t great for fantasy either. |
| $0 | 49 | Wilmer Flores | 1B/2B | 5.38 | Flores wasn’t bad vs. RHP last year and if he can maintain that 106 wRC+ and hold a full-time job, he gets really interesting, but looks like he’s the small side of a platoon. |
| $0 | 50 | Xavier Edwards | 2B/SS | #N/A | He’ll be fun in 5×5 but not so much here. |
| $0 | 51 | Tommy Edman | 2B/SS/3B/OF | 4.56 | I am pretty sure I am the low man on him and I am honestly not sure why others aren’t lower? |
| $0 | 52 | Joey Wendle | 2B/SS/3B | 4.30 | He bounced back from a rough 2019, but projections aren’t buying it and he probably won’t get a truly full-time job cause the Rays are the Rays. |
| $0 | 53 | Rougned Odor | 2B | 4.49 | A lesson in how hard it is to develop plate discipline or a hit tool. |
| $0 | 54 | Cesar Hernandez | 2B | 4.72 | Even at his peak, his OBP didn’t get enough help from his power for Ottoneu, and that was a few years ago now. |
| $0 | 55 | Adam Frazier | 2B/OF | 4.63 | He’s shown hints of more from time to time, but he’s a better real player than Ottoneu player. |
| $0 | 56 | Asdrubal Cabrera | 1B/2B/3B | 5.01 | Roster Resource has him in a bench role and if that holds, he won’t be useful in Ottoneu |
| $0 | 57 | Nick Gordon | 2B/SS | #N/A | The shine has worn off since he was drafted and the profile was never great for this format. |
| $0 | 58 | Luis Urias | 2B/SS/3B | 4.54 | First he was under the radar, then he was way overhyped, and now he’s probably going unrostered. |
| $0 | 59 | Mike Brosseau | 1B/2B/3B/OF | 4.82 | Small side of the platoon and his 2020 smells like small sample noise to me. |
| $0 | 60 | Michael Chavis | 1B/2B/OF | 4.69 | I was so excited about Chavis last year, but he fell flat and may not even have an Opening Day roster spot at this point. |
| $0 | 61 | Shed Long Jr. | 2B/3B/OF | 3.97 | He’s still more projection than production, even in the minors. |
| $0 | 62 | Kyle Farmer | C/1B/2B/SS/3B | 3.79 | On the plus side, if you are in the Ottoneu Prestige League, he qualifies everywhere can that is very useful in best ball. |
| $0 | 63 | Niko Goodrum | 1B/2B/SS/OF | 4.20 | He had a rough 2020 and now finds himself in a surprisingly crowded infield, even before Paredes and Torkelson arrive. |
| $0 | 64 | David Bote | 2B/3B | 4.72 | More useful to the Cubs than to you. |
| $0 | 65 | Andy Young | 2B/SS/3B | 4.60 | Minor league track record is stronger than I realized, but he’s not headed towards many PA in Arizona. |
| $0 | 66 | Mauricio Dubon | 2B/SS/OF | 4.37 | Limited power, a bad park for HR, and now maybe a deadened ball? Dubon isn’t cut out for Ottoneu. |
| $0 | 67 | Starlin Castro | 2B/3B | 4.93 | Sometimes I forget how good and young he was when he came up, but that feels like a long time ago now. |
A long-time fantasy baseball veteran and one of the creators of ottoneu, Chad Young's writes for RotoGraphs and PitcherList, and can be heard on the ottobot podcast. You can follow him on Twitter @chadyoung.
Albies was also playing through a wrist issue for most of the beginning of the season, see: https://www.mlb.com/news/ozzie-albies-healthy-and-motivated-for-braves
He hit .159/.196/.273 before hitting the IL and .338/.372/.581 once he came back
There is a ton of upside there, for sure.