Second Base Rankings

One of the most important things to remember when drafting is to know when value for a certain position drops off dramatically.  If you go into the draft with a strategy of targeting specific players and doing the prep to know when you need to draft your favorite players so they can be on your team, you're likely going to end up losing value.  I like to know when I can get comparable value at a position multiple rounds later and when waiting a round or two could cost me significant value.  Today we look at second base.

First we start with what they did last year.  Green indicates a player's rank has increased from the standard player rater,  red indicates a player's rank has decreased from the standard player rater,and italics indicates a player missed a significant portion of the season.

1. Robinson Cano (13.49)
2. Aaron Hill (11.71)
3. Ben Zobrist (8.10)
4. Dustin Pedroia (7.83)
5. Ian Kinsler (6.97)
6. Brandon Phillips (6.96)
7. Jose Altuve (6.64)
8. Jason Kipnis (6.53)
9. Marco Scutaro (6.50)
10. Neil Walker (4.47)
11. Omar Infante (4.28)
12. Howard Kendrick (4.28)
13. Danny Espinosa (4.27)
14. Daniel Murphy (4.06)
15. Rickie Weeks (3.82)
16. Jeff Keppinger (3.58)
17. Chris Nelson (3.07)
18. Dan Uggla (2.50)
19. Chase Utley (2.47)
20. Kelly Johnson (1.17)

Tier 1 - Robinson Cano

  I've heard some fans of Cano talk about taking him number one overall, which seems ridiculous at first.  But when you look and the difference between Cano and the next guy who didn't have a ridiculously lucky season (sorry Hill, not gonna happen again), the gap is larger than any position outside of maybe third base, which we all know is much deeper.  Unless you really believe Cano can't put up similar numbers this year than he really needs to be in your top four overall.

Tier 2 - Dustin Pedroia, Ian Kinsler, Ben Zobrist

  There may not have been a large gap between these three and the next tier last year, but these guys have proven reliable over the years and can be trusted to put up similar numbers or better.  If you don't want to worry about this position at all throughout the season draft one of these top four options and take your risks elsewhere.

Tier 3 - Brandon Philips, Jose Altuve, Jason Kipnis, Aaron Hill

  In a standard league, Kipnis probably belongs in the tier above, but his value is reduced significantly in this format.  If you miss out on one of the top four options I strongly consider grabbing one of these guys before things get Uggla ugly.

Tier 4 - Dan Uggla, Danny Espinosa, Howie Kendrick, Chase Utley, Rickie Weeks, Neil Walker, Dustin Ackley

  Some of these names are going to make you cringe based on what they did for you last year.  Some of them will bounce-back, others will not.  Don't say I didn't warn you!  My two bounce-back candidates are Utley and Weeks, who both posted about an .800 OPS after the all-star break.

Tier 5 - Jurickson Profar, Marco Scutaro, Daniel Murphy, Gordon Beckham, Omar Infante, Jeff Keppinger

  If you have the bench space to draft and stash one player, it should be Wil Myers.  If you miss out on him, you can grab Profar but understand there's no guarantee he plays half a season and gets 300+ at-bats to make it worthwhile.  The rest of the guys could get lucky and crack the top ten, but I see little upside and lots of downside.

Third base rankings should be out on Thursday.

~Antal