2015 Second Baseman Rankings
As has become an All-Star break tradition, here’s a peek ahead at some very, very preliminary 2015 player rankings. I’m only concerned with next year here, so these aren’t true keeper rankings; if I were factoring in 2016 and beyond, some younger players would be listed quite a bit higher. As always, I’m going position by position (trying to account for next year’s position eligibility) and including a top 300 overall.
This winter’s free agents are listed without teams. Players facing option years are listed as “opt” in the team column.
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Click to see other preliminary 2015 rankings:
Top 300 | SP | RP | OF | 1B | SS | 3B | C | DH
2015 Second Baseman Rankings
2015 | Second Base | Team | 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jason Kipnis | Indians | 1 |
2 | Robinson Cano | Mariners | 2 |
3 | Anthony Rendon | Nationals | 19 |
4 | Jose Altuve | Astros | 7 |
5 | Ian Kinsler | Tigers | 4 |
6 | Dee Gordon | Dodgers | 25 SS |
7 | Dustin Pedroia | Red Sox | 3 |
8 | Brian Dozier | Twins | 15 |
9 | Kolten Wong | Cardinals | 11 |
10 | Howie Kendrick | Angels | 10 |
11 | Arismendy Alcantara | Cubs | 45 SS |
12 | Daniel Murphy | Mets | 12 |
13 | Jurickson Profar | Rangers | 20 |
14 | Aaron Hill | Diamondbacks | 8 |
15 | Neil Walker | Pirates | 18 |
16 | Chase Utley | Phillies | 13 |
17 | Brett Lawrie | Blue Jays | 15 3B |
18 | Jedd Gyorko | Padres | 16 |
19 | Brandon Phillips | Reds | 9 |
20 | Jonathan Schoop | Orioles | 32 |
21 | Scooter Gennett | Brewers | 36 |
22 | Gordon Beckham | White Sox | 17 |
23 | Derek Dietrich | Marlins | 44 |
24 | Rougned Odor | Rangers | 62 |
25 | Omar Infante | Royals | 25 |
26 | Luis Valbuena | Cubs | 32 3B |
27 | Rickie Weeks | 24 | |
28 | Alex Guerrero | Dodgers | 34 |
29 | Logan Forsythe | Rays | 29 |
30 | Emilio Bonifacio | 26 | |
31 | D.J. LeMahieu | Rockies | 22 |
32 | Danny Espinosa | Nationals | 42 |
33 | Joe Panik | Giants | NR |
34 | Marcus Semien | White Sox | 26 3B |
35 | Josh Harrison | Pirates | 134 OF |
36 | Tommy La Stella | Braves | 52 |
37 | Micah Johnson | White Sox | 73 |
38 | Alberto Callaspo | 37 | |
39 | Brian Roberts | 28 | |
40 | Jose Peraza | Braves | NR |
41 | Luis Sardinas | Rangers | 109 SS |
42 | Dan Uggla | Braves | 23 |
43 | Ryan Brett | Rays | NR |
44 | Sean Rodriguez | Rays | 138 OF |
45 | Taylor Lindsey | Angels | 84 |
46 | Jose Pirela | Yankees | NR |
47 | Marco Scutaro | Giants | 27 |
48 | Jeff Baker | Marlins | 125 OF |
49 | Mark Ellis | 49 | |
50 | Darwin Barney | Cubs | 40 |
Second Basemen
There’s a nice collection of young second basemen here, and it doesn’t even count one of the best of the bunch, Mookie Betts. Unless Pedroia is forced to the DL for a spell in the second half of the year, Betts will likely open 2015 with only outfield eligibility.
The Braves will likely enter next season with either La Stella or Phil Gosselin as their starter at second base, but Peraza appears primed to become their long-term fix. A natural shortstop moved off the position because of Andrelton Simmons’s presence, he’s been a very pleasant surprise offensively this year, hitting .342 in 284 at-bats at high-A Lynchburg and .365 in 85 at-bats since moving up to Double-A. He’s also swiped 42 bases in 54 attempts.
It’ll also be very interesting to see what the Rangers do. The 20-year-old Odor has more than held his own despite being rushed up from Double-A, hitting .260/.296/.391, and while the Rangers could send him back down for more seasoning next year, planning for a future with Profar at shortstop and Odor at second base seems more realistic now that the team is looking to rebuild on the fly.
On the free agent side, there aren’t any sure things. I’m reasonably sure Weeks can still be a useful regular, but I think he might be better off in the outfield. Bonifacio and Callaspo are likely to be regarded more as utilitymen than everyday options at second, which bodes well for Roberts landing another starting job.
