March 15, 2016

RotoBaller's staff rankings and projections for 2016 fantasy baseball second basemen (2B). Tiered MLB second base ranks, expert draft analysis and fantasy baseball advice.

It seems like only yesterday that we kicked off our preseason coverage back in December with the first round of our RotoBaller staff rankings. Just kidding – it feels like an eternity whenever we’re waiting for baseball to return. But the weather is warming, the days are getting longer, and spring training is in full swing.

This is our final preseason update to the rankings. As before, I was joined by Bill Dubiel, Jeff Kahntroff, Brad Johnson, Nick Mariano, Max Petrie, and Harris Yudin. I’ve previously offered my thoughts on first base, third base, the outfield, and starting pitching. Today, we’ll look at second base. Let’s get down to business.

Editor's note: Be sure to also check out our 2016 fantasy baseball rankings dashboard. It's already loaded up with tons of great rankings articles and draft analysis. Aside from our tiered staff rankings for every position, we also go deep on MLB prospect rankings, impact rookies for 2016, and dynasty/keeper rankings as well. Bookmark the page, and win your drafts.

2016 Fantasy Baseball Rankings Analysis: Second Base

Tier One

Jose Altuve
Dee Gordon

Other than Jeff, who had the two flipped, this was our unanimous 1-2 punch at the top of the heap. Both players should be elite contributors in average, runs, and steals, but Altuve’s greater pop was enough to give him the edge for most of us.

Tier Two

Robinson Cano
Brian Dozier
Jason Kipnis

Cano looked cooked at the break, but a huge second half put him back in the good graces of fantasy owners. Even more impressive – his .926 OPS and 15 homers in the second half came while he played through a sports hernia. Dozier, meanwhile, faded as the season wore on for the second straight year. Kipnis bounced back from a nightmarish 2014 for a productive fantasy season despite totaling just 21 HR+SB.

Tier Three

Anthony Rendon
Rougned Odor
Ian Kinsler
Dustin Pedroia
Kolten Wong

Rendon and Pedroia’s production will be enough to consider them top options at the keystone if only they can manage to stay healthy – a dicey proposition for both. Odor and Wong have similar upside but haven’t yet established themselves. Kinsler is the group outlier, offering a lower ceiling but a fairly safe floor.

Tier Four

Ben Zobrist
Joe Panik
Daniel Murphy
Neil Walker

Zobrist’s days as the most underrated player in baseball are done, but he remains a solid fantasy asset at second base. Hitting near the top of the Cubs’ stacked lineup, and getting to play half his games in Wrigley rather than the Trop should do wonders for his production.

Given his excellent contact skills and likely status as the Giants two-hole hitter, it’s a bit surprising that Panik is getting as little attention in drafts as he has been. On the other hand, he’s unlikely to hit for any power or run much. Murphy and Walker are boring vets, though there’s certainly value in knowing what you’ll get.

Tier Five

Josh Harrison
Howie Kendrick
DJ LeMahieu
Devon Travis
Jonathan Schoop
Addison Russell
Logan Forsythe
Brandon Phillips
Starlin Castro

Speaking of knowing what you’ll get, it’s hard to be more consistent than Kendrick has during most of his career. Harrison had the largest spread between his highest ranking (eighth, Jeff) and his lowest (22^nd, yours truly), while LeMahieu’s 2015 isn’t something any of us are really buying. Schoop and Travis each performed well but missed significant time with injury; it’s easy to see either proving they can replicate those efforts in 2016.

Russell’s value is limited by the fact that he’s buried in the Cubs’ lineup, but he’s still immensely talented and only 22. A breakout is a definitely possibility, and he also carries eligibility at shortstop. Forsythe finally got a full season of plate appearances and acquitted himself well enough to be in the mix for the top spot in the Rays’ order. Phillips was surprisingly valuable in 2015, but it’s hard to imagine a repeat is likely. As for Castro, he’s been wildly inconsistent but enters the season at just 26 years old and a fresh start in New York.

Tier Six

Brett Lawrie
Trea Turner
Brock Holt
Jace Peterson
Cesar Hernandez
Javier Baez

If he’s able to win a starting job out of camp, Turner could certainly outperform this ranking. That seems unlikely, however. The rest of the players in this group have fairly unexciting profiles and upside. Lawrie and Baez (if he gets enough at-bats) could be solid sources of pop, while Peterson and Hernandez offer some sneaky speed. Holt’s value mainly comes from his Swiss Army knife positional eligibility; you’ll get an empty average from him and not much else.

Tier Seven

Chase Utley
Ryan Goins
Cory Spangenberg
Enrique Hernandez
Chris Owings
Jedd Gyorko
Scooter Gennett

Even at 37, I think Utley has a little left in the tank after his solid second-half performance in 2015. In the interest of full disclosure, though, Mac’s letter is roughly analogous to my feelings about the man. More importantly, Kendrick returning to the Dodgers means Utley (and Hernandez) won’t get enough at-bats to be fantasy relevant barring injury. The name to watch in this tier is Spangenberg. He strikes out too much, but he has enough speed to hit for a decent average anyway and steal plenty of bases.

Tier Eight 

Wilmer Flores
Jose Ramirez
Kelly Johnson
Jose Peraza
Johnny Giavotella
Dilson Herrera
Darnell Sweeney

Flores has shown plenty of pop and contact ability, but his free-swinging ways and lack of speed mean he’ll never post great AVG or OBP marks. He’s also buried on the depth chart for the Mets (as is Herrera), though the seemingly inevitable David Wright injury could open the door to regular at-bats. Peraza can fly, but likewise is blocked from playing time and limited by his lack of power or patience.

Second Base Tiered Fantasy Baseball Rankings (March)

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