Early 2B Rankings with Commentary

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





Paul is the Editor of Rotographs and Content Director for OOTP Perfect Team. Follow Paul on Twitter @sporer and on Twitch at sporer.

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burningbridges247
6 years ago

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.

henrywilsonmember
6 years ago

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.

CCSAGE
6 years ago
Reply to  henrywilson

“Cesar, and bring her to me!”