Paul Sporer’s Top 55 Second Basemen

by
February 9, 2021

The keystone is an interesting position in 2021. It definitely has some depth that you really start to see once you get in the trenches and start drafting. There are also a ton of bargain versions of players where they are slightly worse and thus projections are a bit lower, but their talent profiles are close enough that you have a real shot to spike the star-level season from the cheaper version. This isn’t unique to 2B and I’ll likely point it out in a few comments in the upcoming SS and 3B rankings, but it was almost unavoidable here as I saw it popping it up a lot.

I’ll have an update in early March to account for any moves, news, and/or injuries. Let me know what you think in the comments: how are you building your 2B plan? do you want an extra 2B for MI or do you prefer SS? who is your sleeper at the position?

Here’s my list.

2021 2B Rankings
RK PLAYER TM ELIG. COMMENT ADP
1 DJ LeMahieu NYY 1B, 2B, 3B With the depth at 2B, is his best position actually 1B even w/only decent pop? 28
2 Ozzie Albies ATL 2B Haven’t seen best of this 24 y/o stud yet… will trade R for RBI w/lineup move 34
3 Whit Merrifield KC 2B, OF Compiler profile makes health his best asset at age 32; 71% SB% since ’19 39
4 Max Muncy LAD 1B, 2B, 3B Wish the ’20 performance would’ve dropped the price a bit more 95
5 Keston Hiura MLW 2B BABIP/K% concerns were valid, but he overpowered the AVG drop w/13 HR 69
6 Jose Altuve HOU 2B Countered rough ’20 w/1.229 OPS, 5 HR, 11 R/RBI in 60 Oct. PA 99
7 Brandon Lowe TB 2B, OF Similar BABIP/K% concerns of Hiura countered w/K% & BB% gains & more pop 72
8 Tommy Edman STL 2B, 3B, SS, OF Discount Albies w/Arenado move bringing R infusion 129
9 Cavan Biggio TOR 2B, 3B, OF OBP god will be a run machine regardless of lineup spot 61
10 Jeff McNeil NYM 2B, 3B, OF Discount LeMahieu who will be a total R machine if he stays in the top 3 87
11 Ketel Marte ARZ 2B Reverted to ’18 plus HR/FB% bad luck sapping more pop; still had AVG at least 80
12 Mike Moustakas CIN 1B, 2B CIN offense can’t be this bad again meaning Moose could cop 1st 100 RBI season 120
13 Nick Solak TEX 2B, OF Sneaky speedster w/more pop than we saw in ’20 (xSLG was +47 pts v. SLG) 171
14 Jake Cronenworth SD 1B, 2B, SS Talent plays, I’m staying invested on my boy, especially at his sinking price 185
15 Chris Taylor LAD 2B, SS, OF Why doesn’t he get more love as a super-utility stud? Great in mid & deep lgs 214
16 Dylan Moore SEA 2B, OF Pwr/spd isn’t new, but AVG is a big question mark so plan for it if you like him 114
17 Jurickson Profar SD 2B, OF PT logjam but he’s at 18 HR/10 SB per 500 PA since 2018 237
18 Andrés Giménez CLE 2B, 3B, SS Could start in MiLB if Rosario isn’t moved, stay tuned 168
19 Tommy La Stella SF 1B, 2B Held some pwr gains from ’19 and further improved elite K & BB rates 303
20 Nick Madrigal CWS 2B Have to draft around the tiny HR count, but AVG, SB, R can be very valuable 189
21 Jonathan Schoop DET 2B Discount Moose w/a bit less pop and much worse lineup around him 422
22 Jonathan Villar NYM 2B, SS Still had 16 SB in brutal yr; will play super-UT for NYM w/~10 HR & 20 SB 148
23 Jean Segura PHI 2B, 3B Still good for a double-double & decent AVG, but 9 pt K% surge is alarming 188
24 Cesar Hernandez CLE 2B Discount Segura… like extreeeeemly discounted 383
25 Jon Berti MIA 2B, OF Might have a full-time role but even if he doesn’t, he has 24 SB per 400 PA 264
26 Gavin Lux LAD 2B Still just 23 y/o meaning it’s not time to panic on him, even if ’21 is modest 253
27 Enrique Hernández BOS 2B, OF Could get his first 500+ PA season in new home 427
28 Joey Wendle TB 2B, 3B, SS With health, his ’18 is very much in play: 7 HR, 16 SB, .300 AVG… solidly boring 315
29 Nico Hoerner CHC 2B, SS Discount Madrigal w/a worse hit tool, but more pop (plus SS elig.) 468
30 David Fletcher LAA 2B, 3B, SS Must be planned for as the big AVG comes w/huge HR-RBI-SB deficits 225
31 Ryan McMahon COL 1B, 2B, 3B Is this the year? Probably not. 239
32 Ty France SEA 2B Should get a shot to show if his ’19 AAA run (196 wRC+) was a sign of big upside 336
33 Starlin Castro WAS 2B Lost ’20 to broken wrist (16 G); solid glue guy in refreshed WAS lineup 338
34 Garrett Hampson COL 2B, OF Coors Field can’t fix a 29% K rate so until he does, the ceiling is capped 263
35 Luis Arraez MIN 2B Discount Fletcher w/a better AVG, but fewer PA 397
36 Kevin Newman PIT 2B, SS Had a run similar to ’20 in his breakout ’19 (.595 OPS in 44 gms 6/30-8/23) 541
37 Scott Kingery PHI 2B, OF COVID & inj. ruined ’20; plate skills (28% K, 6% BB) limit his overall upside 313
38 Mauricio Dubón SF 2B, SS, OF Could be a capable compiler 275
39 Wilmer Flores SF 1B, 2B No longer needs a full platoon w/decent work vR since ’17 338
40 Kolten Wong MLW 2B Glove makes him a better IRL player, but could finally cop 2nd 600+ PA 388
41 Luis Urías MLW 2B, 3B, SS He’s just 24 y/o with a mere 422 PA on his ledger, don’t give up yet 409
42 Brendan Rodgers COL 2B If you like thrift shopping prospects, it’s time to snag Rodgers 513
43 Michael Chavis BOS 1B, 2B, OF AVG sinkhole who might not have enough pwr to be worth it, even w/the triple elig. 432
44 Niko Goodrum DET 2B, SS BABIP meltdown & K% surge killed ’20; basically a poor man’s Villar 430
45 Rougned Odor TEX 2B Career .289 OBP & 56% SB% could turn him into bland no-AVG, low-SB pwr bat 534
46 Adam Frazier PIT 2B, OF Would’ve likely reached his standard high-.270s AVG w/a full season of work 517
47 Donovan Solano SF 2B Is a .328 AVG over 431 PA since ’19 worth the 7 HR, 52 RBI, 49 R, and 0 SB w/it?? 523
48 Chad Pinder OAK 2B, 3B Doesn’t need to be a short-side platoon, but even w/PA he’s an AL Only piece 543
49 Jazz Chisholm MIA 2B, SS Worth having on your radar for ’21, but almost certainly a midseason call-up 512
50 Luis Garcia WAS 2B Worth having on your radar for ’21, but almost certainly a midseason call-up 623
51 Isan Díaz MIA 2B Still like him but he’s a super deep lg play at best, better to just watchlist him 697
52 David Bote CHC 2B, 3B Perfect NL Only piece w/multi-elig. & able to do a bit of everything 519
53 Josh Rojas ARZ 2B Still like him but he’s a super deep lg play at best, better to just watchlist him 681
54 Dee Strange-Gordon CIN 2B, OF Could be some cheap deeeeep league speed if he finds PT in Cincy 717
55 Shed Long Jr. SEA 2B Ks too much & not enough SB to target, plus he lacks a role heading into ST 664
SOURCE: NFBC ADP Since 1/1





 

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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weekendatbidens
3 years ago

Danny Santana is recovering from surgery and will miss time. Assuming that’s he finds a team with a role, he would provide solid value. A team like the Royals would benefit immensely as would fantasy owners.

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