RotoGraphs Consensus Ranks: Second Base

Maybe we all use rankings differently. Most of the time, I look at rankings and try to find where I value players differently. That’s gold! A ranking that’s too high for my liking means I can throw that player to get money on the table, or wait a round because I’m sure someone will take him. A player I like better than others is someone I can wait for.

I guess there might be a ranking out there that would be perfect for me, that I would take and use for myself without editing. Not even sure my rankings are those rankings. Because we’re getting information daily and that can nudge a guy up or down. But sure, I’ll be using my rankings in my drafts, in some form.

What you could also do is use the spreadsheet that will come at the end of these rankings, bump guys up or down a bit as you see fit, and really personalize your ranks for your needs, wants, desires and outlook on life. That might work, too.

To the second baseman!

What a crappy crew this is once you lose out on the top three. Some of you might not even like the third-best option, he’s got either a bad thumb injury or declining power that wasn’t great to begin with. The next guy has declining power *and* wheels. The next guy is all steals and runs, well he’s on the Astros so never mind those runs. And then once you’re talking about middle infielders, well it’s just take your pick. It’s obvious who I like better than everyone in the 12-18 range… who’s your guy there?

Rankings based on 5×5 roto, 12 teams, single-catcher with Middle Infield and Corner Infield spots, 14 hitters and 9 pitchers. Each ranker had their own mix of projections and intuition.

RG name Jeff Zach Mike Eno
1 Jason Kipnis 1 2 1 1
2 Robinson Cano 2 1 2 2
3 Dustin Pedroia 4 4 3 3
4 Ian Kinsler 5 5 4 4
5 Jose Altuve 3 3 6 6
6 Aaron Hill 8 9 5 7
7 Matt Carpenter 10 7 10 5
8 Jedd Gyorko 6 6 7 14
9 Daniel Murphy 11 8 9 9
10 Martin Prado 9 11 12 8
11 Ben Zobrist 7 15 8 12
12 Chase Utley 12 13 13 11
13 Brandon Phillips 13 12 11 15
14 Howie Kendrick 14 10 15 13
15 Neil Walker 17 14 14 16
16 Anthony Rendon 19 16 20 10
17 Brian Dozier 16 18 18 19
18 Jurickson Profar 15 20 19 17
19 Omar Infante 20 17 17 21
20 Jed Lowrie 18 24 16 20
21 Kolten Wong 22 21 22 22
22 Alexander Guerrero 23 19 23 26
23 Scooter Gennett 27 23 24 18
24 Marco Scutaro 24 25 26 24
25 Kelly Johnson 21 26 21 36
26 Josh Rutledge 26 22 33 25
27 Dustin Ackley 25 27 30 29
28 Dan Uggla 28 30 28 28
29 Gordon Beckham 29 34 29 27
30 Nick Franklin 30 28 32 31
31 Darwin Barney 31 32 34 35
32 Rickie Weeks 35 31 36 34
33 Brian Roberts 33 33 42 33
34 Jordy Mercer 40 40 25 37
35 Jemile Weeks 40 40 44 23
36 Mark Ellis 38 29 40 40
37 Jonathan Schoop 40 35 41 32
38 Emilio Bonifacio 40 40 40 30
39 Ryan Goins 37 37 40 38
40 Kevin Frandsen 34 38 40 40
41 Skip Schumaker 32 42 40 40
42 Donovan Solano 41 36 40 39
43 Tyler Pastornicky 36 41 40 40
44 Danny Espinosa 39 40 40 40
45 Steve Lombardozzi 40 39 43 40
46 Grant Green 43 40 40 40

Other players ranked by one analyst: Jordany Valdespin, DJ Le Mahieu, Alberto Callaspo, Eric Sogard, Ryan Flaherty, Maicer Izturis, Logan Forsythe, and Nick Punto





With a phone full of pictures of pitchers' fingers, strange beers, and his two toddler sons, Eno Sarris can be found at the ballpark or a brewery most days. Read him here, writing about the A's or Giants at The Athletic, or about beer at October. Follow him on Twitter @enosarris if you can handle the sandwiches and inanity.

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Jeremy Roell
10 years ago

Really surprised to see Kipnis ahead of Cano. How much does moving from Yankee Stadium to Safeco have to do with this? Kipnis is good, but with only two good years, and has yet to put up a season like Cano does almost every year. Just curious as to what the rationale is behind that.

stuck in a slump
10 years ago
Reply to  Jeremy Roell

It looks like Steamer and the fans are projecting him for under 25 HR’s and little speed, with an average around .300. Kipnis is being projected anywhere from 15-20 HR’s (I’ll take the under on the 20 HR’s) between 22 and 32 SB’s and between a .262 and .277 average (I’ll actually take the over on the average considering the change in his approach which increased his LD% and that he was under his xBABIP last year). All projections have both with about the same amount of runs while Kipnis’ highest RBI projection is about the same as the lowest RBI projection for Cano.

By straight projections, I’d say that Cano is the best, but if Kipnis keeps his LD% up, and can come closer to his xBABIP from last year, I’d expect that he could put a .285 90-16-80-30 line vs a .300 90-24-95-5 line from Cano. Depending on how you feel about SB’s, that makes them a bit closer. Of course, my estimation depends on where Kipnis bats, if he hits 3rd, I think that my projection is about right, if he hits 2nd he may end up with about 95-100 runs and 70 or so RBI. But with Bourn leading off I’d say Kipnis hits 3rd with Swisher batting 2nd.

ray
10 years ago

I see Cano’s and Kipnis’ runs and RBIs in the 80-90 range. Cano will hit a few more HRs than Kipnis with a higher BA, but Kipnis’ steals will be the difference maker.

ray
10 years ago
Reply to  Jeremy Roell

Love the Kipnis ranking. I ranked him at #1 in my rankings as well. Safeco will depress Cano’s counting stats and BA to the point that Kipnis and his steals are the difference.