To put it simply, second base is in for a major shakeup in 2016. With the potential arrivals of big name prospects: Yoan Moncada, Javier Baez, Rob Refsnyder and Jose Peraza along with young exciting bats like Jonathan Schoop, Devon Travis and Joe Panik, the position is becoming deeper than ever.

For the 2016 season, keeping any second baseman outside of the top six listed below is only recommended for the deepest of leagues. Most of those previously mentioned second basemen will be available on draft day and will produce similar results. In addition, Matt Carpenter is a must own in Yahoo leagues for his 2B-eligibility in 2016. He plays the position so infrequently that it’s unlikely he will retain it again for the 2017 season.

As a special thanks for reading RotoBaller's Top 10 Dynasty Rankings, I have included four predictions that are absolutely guaranteed to come true:

• Jose Altuve has more stolen bases than Dee Gordon
• Schoop hits more home runs than Baez
• Kolten Wong ranks in the top 50 on ESPN’s player rater
• This will be the last year we see names like Robinson Cano and Brian Dozier on the RotoBaller Top 10 Dynasty list.

 

Top 10 Dynasty Second Basemen For 2016

Make sure to also check out our awesome 2016 fantasy baseball rankings dashboard, where you will find more of my dynasty rankings. You'll also find RotoBaller staff rankings for all positions, tiered rankings starting to ramp up, MLB prospect rankings for 2016, and much more. Okay, let's get to it.

1. Jose Altuve, 25

Altuve is my early early pre-spring training pick for the AL batting title. I expect Altuve and Dee Gordon pace each other for SB’s and BA. I bet they even keep tabs on each other as the season progresses. In 2015, Gordon out-Altuve’d Altuve, but despite Gordon’s success, Altuve still gets the edge for his decent pop and youth. Altuve has increased his HR, R, and RBI totals in each of the last three seasons. He is a solid keeper.

 

2. Dee Gordon, 27

I love the Gordon story. Back in 2011, he was the Dodgers top prospect. At 23, he was called up and hit .300 with 24 SB in only 56 games. A popular breakout candidate in 2012, Gordon didn’t perform. Batting .228 with 32 SB wasn't enough to keep him up with the big league club, and he went back and forth from Triple-A.

Reports heading into spring training 2014 were that he added 20 pounds of muscle over the winter. With that news, he had my attention. Anyone adding that much muscle in the offseason means he’s either juicing or they are committed to success. Either way, the news is always good for fantasy owners, and Gordon has performed like a top 30 keeper ever since.

 

3. Jason Kipnis, 28

Kipnis is one of the streakiest bats in all of baseball. He drove in a third of his 52 RBI in May. He had twice as many RBI’s and runs over the first half of the year. Even during his best season in 2013, 76% of his HR production came before the All Star Break and 68% of his RBI came before the break. He is either on fire or playing hurt. It would be nice to see the 28-year-old put up a solid healthy season to see what he can actually do. Smart owners should probably sell high if Kipnis has another big first half.

 

4. Anthony Rendon, 25

After his breakout season in 2014, Rendon followed up with an injury filled replacement level campaign. The doubters are out there, and he is now much more of a risk in Dynasty formats. Next year will tell us a lot about Rendon. Steamer projects him for a drop in all statistical categories from his breakout in 2014.

 

5. Matt Carpenter, 29

This rank only applies to Yahoo. Other leagues might not count Carp as a second baseman, but if you play Yahoo leagues, you are in for a treat as he will retain the eligibility. Carpenter is simply underrated. He’s top five in runs scored (cumulative) for the past 4 seasons. He is among the likes of Trout and Miggy when it comes to runs. Add the 25 HRs in 2015 and he is a legit star. At second, that kind of production is insane.

 

6. Kolten Wong, 25

The power and speed combo is so sweet. The pride of Kamehameha High School and the University of Hawaii was raised by his father to be a baseball player. Two hours a day chopping wood and daily batting cage sessions, Wong comes from a lineage of Hawaiian baseball players. After posting a 11/71/61/15/.262 fantasy slash, I’m betting he improves in 2016.

 

7. Brian Dozier, 28

I think Dozier has an outside chance at a 20/20 season. The downside is he is a career .240 hitter. In each of the last three seasons, Dozier has improved upon his HR and RBI totals. That's a positive trend. He'll have trouble improving his batting average because he's so predictably pull happy.

 

8. Addison Russell, 21

Addison “Silk” Russell has great skin. His complexion rivals Manny Machado for handsomest infielder in all of baseball. Looks aside, Russell is an all around contributor in the box.  Steamer projects him to hit 13 home runs with 53 run and 55 RBI. Despite his youth and ability, I’m not convinced he is ever going to hit for average or power. Like Billy Beane, I am not particularly interested in keeping Russell, because it would be just like keeping Brett Lawrie.

 

9. Robinson Cano, 33

Old man Cano is only 33. His first half was atrocious, but he finished batting .287/.334/.446 with 21 home runs, 82 runs, and 75 RBI. He finished the year ranked the ninth best second baseman. I can reasonably expect something similar in 2016.

 

10. Rougned Odor, 21

Stinky is only an acceptable keeper in the deepest of leagues. I wouldn’t expect much more than what DJ LeMahieu, Dustin Pedroia, Daniel Murphy, Devon Travis or Logan Forsythe will do. However, he does possess some breakout potential after rebounding from a lousy start to the 2015 season.

Top 10 OF Here

 

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