Early 2B Rankings with Commentary
by Paul Sporer
February 16, 2018
Continuing to make my way around the diamond, I’ve got the second base rankings today. You can find my SP and 1B rankings by clicking on those links in case you missed them the first time around. These Average Draft Positions come from NFBC data as of 2/1. Each colored bar represents the start of a new tier.
Let me know how you’re attacking 2B in the comments below. Ideally I’d like to get in that 2nd tier for my primary 2B, but I’m OK if I have to dip into the 3rd or 4th tiers should I miss out on a Dozier or Odor and then I wait on MI and leverage the later tiers for that (Panik, Walker, Miller, etc…).
February 2B Rankings
| RK | PLAYER | TEAM | ADP | COMMENT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jose Altuve | HOU | 2 | Avg of .341, 24 HR, 31 SB the last 2 yrs; only player besides Trout w/case for #1 overall |
| 2 | Jose Ramirez | CLE | 19 | B2B big yrs establishes him as a true stud; pop should regress, but .300/20/20 is elite |
| 3 | Brian Dozier | MIN | 37 | His stability is underrated, avg’ing about .250/100/30/85/15 the last 4 yrs |
| 4 | Dee Gordon | SEA | 29 | Rebounded from weak ’16; must plan around low HR; will add OF eligibility |
| 5 | Daniel Murphy | WAS | 69 | Oct. knee surgery healing well; an ADP bargain if Opening Day outlook holds during ST |
| 6 | Jonathan Schoop | BAL | 63 | His ’17 was likely the peak, but a dip back to .275/85/27/85 still works well |
| 7 | Robinson Cano | SEA | 86 | Basically an older Schoop w/the AVG being safer and HR/health riskier |
| 8 | Rougned Odor | TEX | 105 | Went 30 HR/15 SB in bad yr; better than a .204 even w/his IF flyball issues; buy! |
| 9 | Ozzie Albies | ATL | 133 | Thanks to Eno for making me pay attention to Albies last summer; 10+ HR/30+ SB upside |
| 10 | Chris Taylor | LAD | 92 | Many fearful of collapse, but has legit speed & plate skills plus decent pop & dual elig. |
| 11 | Whit Merrifield | KC | 76 | Speed feels bankable w/27 per 600 PA in minors; pop was new, but 9% HR/FB isn’t outrageous |
| 12 | Eduardo Nunez | BOS | 130 | Having a tm will push ADP; likely FT 2B in Pedroia’s absence then utilityman |
| 13 | DJ LeMahieu | COL | 134 | Quality asset in two most overlooked hitting cats: AVG and R w/.319, 95 per yr since ’15 |
| 14 | Marwin Gonzalez | HOU | 115 | Boost in lgs that favor eligibility w/OF, SS, 1B, 2B in 20 gm lgs; adds 3B in 15 gm lgs |
| 15 | Yoan Moncada | CWS | 130 | Should get his first major opportunity; 12 HR, 17 SB in 80 AAA gms last yr |
| 16 | Ian Happ | CHC | 133 | Switch-hitting and positional flexibility should help him carve out PA on deep CHC roster |
| 17 | Javier Baez | CHC | 101 | Opened w/.601 OPS in Apr before posting an .825 w/22 of his 23 HR from May 1st on |
| 18 | Ian Kinsler | LAA | 188 | No reason .244 BABIP should last; K%,BB% improved while HR/SB remained strong; buy |
| 19 | Jonathan Villar | MIL | 180 | Once again priced to buy after ’17 collapse thanks to speed and role |
| 20 | Josh Harrison | PIT | 262 | 2014 pop returned w/FB%, Pull%, and Hard% improvements; has never reached 150 gms |
| 21 | Cesar Hernandez | PHI | 258 | .294 AVG, .372 OBP since ’16, could push 100 R in emerging PHI lineup |
| 22 | Scooter Gennett | CIN | 209 | 2x HR/FB en route to massive pwr surge; worth pick 200 even if he returns to ’16 level |
| 23 | Paul DeJong | STL | 145 | Hit it hard (36%) & in the air (43%) w/regularity, but plate skills (0.17 BB/K) preach caution |
| 24 | Jason Kipnis | CLE | 263 | Never been a huge fan, but can’t hurt at current price & could pay off massively w/health |
| 25 | Jose Peraza | CIN | 206 | Is there such a thing as poor man’s Billy Hamilton? Destroys pwr cats w/only 20-something SBs |
| 26 | Asdrubal Cabrera | NYM | 310 | Triple elig. (2B, SS, 3B), decent pop, and a .280 AVG last 2 yrs; should bat high in order, too |
| 27 | Joe Panik | SF | 391 | Basically a poor man’s DJ LeMahieu; improved lineup could send Runs to new heights |
| 28 | Starlin Castro | MIA | 288 | Don’t buy expecting a trade, but he’s fine at this ADP even if he remains in MLB purgatory |
| 29 | Kolten Wong | STL | 374 | Wonder if he could consolidate HR/SB from ’14-15 with AVG/OBP of last yr?! |
| 30 | Neil Walker | FA | 416 | Could move up the board if he finds a starting spot; worth the cheap spec right now |
| 31 | Brad Miller | TB | 456 | Labored through injury-riddled ’17; 30 HR repeat unlikely, but 15+ likely w/health |
| 32 | Yangervis Solarte | TOR | 271 | Positional flexibility should keep him in lineup even if Travis somehow stays healthy |
| 33 | Raul Mondesi Jr. | KC | 360 | The re-signing of Escobar crushes his PT outlook, but still a solid SB spec for reserves |
| 34 | Brandon Drury | ARI | 423 | Not sure there’s another 480 PA w/out injury or trade, but the bat is intriguing |
| 35 | Scott Kingery | PHI | 340 | Huge AA/AAA season fuels hype, but where’s he play unless Crawford flops & Cesar moves to SS |
| 36 | Brandon Phillips | FA | 401 | Averaging .290, 12 HR, 16 SB, 75 R, 65 RBI the last 3 yrs, but currently lacks a team |
| 37 | Devon Travis | TOR | 415 | Can’t stay on the field and the market has finally priced that in (-200 picks from ’17 ADP) |
| 38 | Dustin Pedroia | BOS | 412 | Slated to miss some time after knee surgery, though latest news says he’s targeting OD |
| 39 | Jose Reyes | NYM | 328 | Without looking, guess his HR/SB totals from ’17… also has triple elig. (2B, SS, 3B) |
| 40 | Jed Lowrie | OAK | 434 | Stayed healthy for the first time in 4 yrs, can he do it again at age-35? |
| 41 | Ronald Torreyes | NYY | 490 | Could offer some empty batting average while we wait for Gleyber Torres |
| 42 | Logan Forsythe | LAD | 430 | Crushed lefties (.870 OPS), but could be relegated to short-side platoon (.576 vR) |
| 43 | Adam Frazier | PIT | 401 | Basically a poor man’s Joe Panik; chance to start in LF; 79% of ’17 PA were in 1st/2nd spots |
| 44 | Yolmer Sanchez | CWS | 436 | AL-only option at best, but modest SB output could be in peril w/horrific 46% success |
| 45 | Wilmer Difo | WAS | 444 | There’s no real avenue for playing time right now |
| 46 | Ben Zobrist | CHC | 459 | SBs are gone (11 total since ’15) so even if the AVG returns, there isn’t much to buy here |
| 47 | Alen Hanson | SF | 630 | NRI w/no clear path to PT, but 39 SB per 600 PA in MiLB so keep him in mind just in case |
| ADP from NFBC leagues as of 2/1 |
I’m all about Albies, Moncada (who I have as a keeper), and C. Hernandez. To me, this is where steal value is to be found. Excited about all 3 of those guys and the price they AREN’T demanding.
I think C. Hernandez is the most undervalued player on this list. I think he has great potential with decent floor at almost no cost.
“Cesar, and bring her to me!”