THE JON: Founder and the most successful fantasy baseballer in the group. Favorite players owned, Vladimir Guerrero, Ichiro, Johan Santana and Roy Halladay. 
He loves you and he loves fantasy baseball. Favorite team, the Red Sox. Spends his day drawing hearts around Mr. David Wright and Mrs. Newspaperman Wright. 
THE OZ: Has been a buster ever since winning TheBaseballStars inaugural season. Favorite team, the A's. Best keeper, Alex Rodriguez. 
FREESANJOSE: The sworn enemy of The Jon, FreeSanJose is the most versatile of the group when it comes to team strategy. Favorite team, the A's. Best keepers, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. 
POIDOG: Makes the playoffs every year. Has never won a title. Favorite team, the A's. Best players, Jake Peavy and Miguel Cabrera. Still crying over the Dan Haren trade. 
Second base is considered to be the second driest position in fantasy baseball. While this year’s crop will not yield an abundance of talent, it is no longer the barren wasteland the position was once considered. Gone are the days when an aging slugger such as Jeff Kent could crack the top 10 out of position scarcity and name recognition. There is a new crop of guys ready make their marks in the bigs. Of course there is Chase Utley who could arguably be the second overall pick in the draft with Albert Pujols’ injury concern. Also, take a look at the voting. There are three ties in the top 10, which screams that second base has something for everybody. To the power lovers, to the hit extremists, to the steal-and-run loving managers, second base is a far cry form the punch ‘n judy hitters of old. Yes, we are talking about you, Jody Reed.
1. Chase Utley (50 votes)
2. Robinson Cano (41)
3. Tie: B.J. Upton
Brandon Phillips (36)
5. Chone Figgins (26)
7. Tie: Brian Robert
Placido Polanco (23)
8. Ian Kinsler (12)
9. Tie: Freddy Sanchez
Dan Uggla (7)
10. Kaz Matsui (3)
1. Chase Utley: ‘Nuff said. No one needs to tell you why this guy is the best and if they do, you haven’t been paying attention. This guy should be the no worse than the third overall pick in your draft.
2. Robinson Cano: No doubt he is helped by the mashers up and down the Yankees lineup, but he is a talent in his own right. A cursory look at his 2007 numbers indicate that he took a step back, but his second half numbers were off the charts and at age 25, he is only getting better. Perfect combo of power and batting average for this position.
T3. B.J. Upton: B.J. finally realized the potential that people had seen in him over the previous two years. Upton produced a 20/20 season last year and has the potential to improve upon that this year. He is a slight risk due to the fact that he has had only one good season in the pros, but his age and the projections of what he should be make him likely to sustain 2007’s numbers.
T3. Brandon Phillips: Everything that was said about Upton can be said about Phillips. Except that Phillips was better. He put up more home runs, runs, RBI and steals and finally showed why so many people believed he could be a star. While he may not repeat last years numbers, anything near 30/30/ with 94 RBI out of you second baseman should make you ecstatic.
5. Chone Figgins: Looking at Chone’s raw numbers from 2007 won’t do him justice. He missed the first 50 games due to injury but returned like a house on fire hitting at a .330 clip and nabbing 41 bags while scoring 81 runs. He even shipped in with a respectable 58 RBI. With that devastating lineup around him, a healthy Figgins should easily eclipse 100 runs and 60 steals while batting around .300.
T6. Placido Polanco: There were doubters of Polanco until last year. Even without the pop, Placido is a wizard with the bat and can just flat out hit, as proven with last years .341 batting average. He gives you a ton of hits and runs and comes at a low price. He will never hurt your team and he hits in the two hole in the best lineup in the world.
T6. Brian Roberts: For some unknown reason (Mitchell Report) Roberts is no longer a 20-30 home run guy. However, His speed and hitting ability make him a perennial top ten second baseman. His 50 steals and 103 runs are reasons enough to draft him, but he also approaches .300 every year and gets decent RBI number for a number two hitting middle infielder. There could be a slight dip in production due to the absence of Miguel Tejada, but not enough to knock Roberts out of the upper tier at his position.
8. Ian Kinsler: Now it is time to gamble. If you are going to take a risk, someone with a ceiling as high as Kinsler’s is the way to go. If he stays healthy, you could have a young Jeff Kent breaking out this year. He has the second most power potential, next to Utley, and a favorable home park. Kinsler has all the tools, he just has to put it all together. If you have him when it happens, bully for you.
T9. Freddy Sanchez: Sanchez is like a poor man’s Placido Polanco. He does great in the hits and average categories, but gives little power and has no speed. Unfortunately, he plays for the Pirates and has no protection nor base runners ahead of him to set the table. Like Polanco, he won’t hurt you, but he does have hit limitations.
T9. Dan Uggla: 2007 was a slight disappointment for 2006’s waiver wire darling. While he still gave rare power for a 2B, 31 homers and 88 RBI, his .245 batting average killed many a manger most weeks. The loss of Miguel Cabrera can not be good for Uggla who will see less good pitches to hit but if you are looking for power at a position that rarely provides it, Dan is your man.
10. Kaz Matsui: No doubt that Matsui has been bad for most of his career, but 2007 was a sign of things to come. Escaping the pressure put on him by playing in New York, Kaz had a great season stealing 32 bags and scoring 84 runs while only seeing 410 at bats for the Rockies. He was also the main table setter in an improbable run to the World Series. Now with the Astros, he will set the tone for the Major’s most improved lineup. With Pence, Tejada, Berkman and Lee watching his back, 100 runs should be a minimum for Matsui.
Filed under: Draft Advice, rankings, thebaseballstars.com, thebaseballstars/draftadvice | Tagged: B.J. Upton, baseball, Brandon Phillips, Brian Roberts, Chase Utley, Chone Figgins, Dan Uggla, fantasy, fantasy baseball, Freddy Sanchez, Ian Kinsler, Jody reed, Kaz Matsui, Placido Polanco, punch n judy hitters, rankings, Robinson Cano, second base, sports
If i didn’t land Utley, I would wait till a later round and grab Rickie Weeks. He should look to finally break out this year, and should score some runs in that offense.
Weeks was supposed to break out last year … If you’re drafting Weeks, you;d better have Plan B lined up. Polanco is the man.
I agree with that statement. But I would take Brian Roberts (he will be a Cub very soon) over Polanco for his steals which you won’t get out of Placido. They have similar stats when it comes to Runs and RBIs, both of which will go up as a Cub for Roberts. The downside being his batting avg. but that is a stat you can easily make up with another position.
Roberts won’t kill you with the average either. But Polanco have big spikes in runs and rbi considering the fact that Carlos Guillen and Jacque Jones are the 8 and 9 hitters on that team now. The Miguel Cabrera deal was a boost for Placido.
And Weeks is as likely to break his hand as he is to break out this year.
If you are banking on Weeks, bank on trying to find another 2B for the rest of the season.
I am not sold on Upton or Phillips having the same type of seasons especially Upton who has never shown that kind of pop. I think Upton is getting drafted way to high in Mock Drafts. I would rather wait a few rounds and pick up a Weeks and Escobar (who is 3 position eligible) than waste a high draft on someone who has had 1 good year.
The Jon agrees on Upton and Phillips going too high.
But if you wait, look at Polanco and Sanchez. You can always get Weeks later.
Polanco and Sanchez have more of a track record and are better hitters (for now) than weeks or Esco.
My problem with Sanchez is the offense that he plays in. I have a feeling Escobar will get more runs and run opportunities in the Braves offense. But yes Escobar is a risk, but to me a risk worth taking in the late rounds.
I had Sanchez last season and he took care of me. He got his hits and runs, but consider this, If you are picking Sanchez late, that usually means you have an offense that already has a ton of runs, RBI etc. Sanchez and Polanco keep you afloat and can carry you on off-weeks.
And don’t get too concerned about offense. Every offense produces with pitching being as weak as it is.
A lot of this depends on how you want to construct you team and the way that the draft unfolds. I agree that Upton and Phillips are risky picks if you take them high, but someone certainly will draft them high. If you want to parlay on drafting a second baseman high, there will be quality ones available, a la Sanchez, Matsui or Kelly Johnson, but you won’t get the power. Maybe you can go with Uggla or Kinlser late, but you will sacrifice hits and average. Though they are risky, Upton and Phillips are the only ones with the potential to give you both.
Where the hell is Howie Kendrick? Figgins isn’t going to play 2B eventhough he’s eligible, he will play 3B. Now I would agree he is somewhat unproven with only 600 or so career at bats for Kendrick but he seems to have proven his ability with his 185 hits over that span with a few jacks and more importantly 11 steals with a comparable average to Sanchez. He also plays in a much more potent offensive line up with 6 less years on those legs. If Kendrick slips, grab him while these other guys are fighting over the Freddy Sanchez’s and Rickie Weeks of the world.