Thursday, January 7, 2010

The Leagues 10 Best 2nd Basemen

1. Abraham Fonda He can pretty much do it all. On pace for 25-100 with 30 steals and a .335 avg a .400 OBP. His fielding isn’t great but he holds his own and is close to the complete package as this league has at 2nd base.

2. Steve Wells His game is almost more well rounded then Fonda. Right now is hitting for better power while stealing as many bases and fields slightly better. Is at times to aggressive on the bases and doesn’t draw as many walks. Probably will never be as good a run producer as Fonda, but still very good.

3. Chip Hodges His stat line isn’t as flashy as others, but he gets the job done on a nightly basis. On pace for over 100 rbi and 100 runs while only hitting 10 homers and stealing 25 bases. Also going to draw 100 walks and plays a very solid second base. Reminds me of Tommy Herr in the mid 80’s.

4. Lorenzo Gabriel Is perhaps the most explosive hitter at this position. Is on pace for a 40-30 season (homers-steals). Gets caught stealing his fair share and doesn’t draw enough walks. Is a very good fielder. He shows why 2nd base is one of the deepest positions in this league as he could very easily be ranked number one.

5. Gabby Rogers Wow, Wow, Wow!!! Stealing over a base a game and scoring at an almost equal pace. Beyond singles doesn’t add much with the stick. Is also one of the weaker fielders and really needs to work on getting his throws out of the dirt.

6. Harry Alicea The only thing from keeping out of the top five is his somewhat reckless nature on the bases. Should hit 25 homers with around 100 rbi. Draws a decent amount of walks and plays the postion well enough to not need a defensive replacement.

7. Virgil Rodriguez Is having a down season as far as power and steals goes. Is however still doing enough to be ranked with the best. Hitting an incredible .339 and getting on base over 40% of the time. Never much of a fielder he is towards the bottom end there. Still on pace for 100 rbi despite only having 4 homers a third of the way thru the season.

8. Jordan Mahaffey If not for Toby Douglas, he would stand a good chance at winning a Gold Glove, but he is only 23 so he still has time. Hitting a solid .270 and on pace for about 15 homers and 50 steals. He isnt just a one trick pony.

9. Hector Pavlik A sure handed fielder, that is also one the smartest baserunners in the game. Draws a solid amount of walks and is bargain at just over a million and a half season.

10. Bruce King One of the most sought after free agents this off season he signed a huge 8 million a season contract. While his power is way down he is stealing at a unprecedented rate that should get him close to 50 steals. His avg is also down but should draw over 100 walks this season. Below average as a fielder will probably be moved to the outfielder in a season or two.

1 comment:

  1. Sorry gb, but I really must take exception to this list. How can you leave Johnnie Haselman off any list of the top 2B in our league? For sheer production, there is only one guy on your list,Virgil Rodriguez, who exceeds Haselman. Careerwise, prior to this season, Johnnie has averaged 40 HR and 113 RBI per season. That is solid, sustained production. He has played 160+ games in 7 of his 8 ML seasons(149 in the other), and has over 100 RBI in 6 of the 8. I think way too much emphasis has been put on SBs on this list. IMO SBs, while certainly a plus if you can get them, are just not that important. While his BA of .270 is lower than anybody on the list, his production far exceeds almost all of them. I think he ranks higher than Rogers(despite his SBs), Mahaffey, & Pavlik at least, on this list. His D is average(.977 FP, .752 Rng), comparable to Rogers. Only 2 guys average more HRs per season and only 1 more RBIs. This season he's hitting .309 with 7 HRs & his 39 RBI leads my club. It is an injustice to leave Johnnie Haselman off of any listof top 2B in this league.

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