Top Five Fantasy Baseball Draft Questions: Second Base

1. Who should be the first second baseman off the board?

Regardless of his hip surgery and the chance that he might miss the beginning of the season, it is still Chase Utley that HAS to be the first guy at his position off the board.  He has been the picture of consistency for a number of years now, and he is the only second baseman who will provide you with that kind of power, a consistently good average, and a handful of steals. 

Sure, Dustin Pedroia was the AL MVP and Ian Kinsler had impressive statistics, but Pedroia still fell short of Utley, and Kinsler has been hurt every season he’s been in the majors.  Stay consistent, stay with what you know, and keep Utley at the top of your rankings at this position.

2. What can you expect from Alexei Ramirez?

The Cuban defector had a strong spring but then didn’t find his way to the majors for about six weeks.  But once he started playing regularly, Ramirez hit the ball like crazy and didn’t stop until the season was over.  He should be second base eligible in all leagues this season after playing 121 games there last year, but there is a strong chance he will be moved to shortstop in 2009 so he could be dual-eligible. 

He also played 11 games in the outfield, so if that is enough in your league, he might be eligible there too.  Ramirez batted .290 with 21 homers, 77 RBI, and 18 steals for what could have been a ROY season, if it wasn’t for Evan Longoria.  So, does he take a big jump back?  I don’t believe he does. 

The concern out there is for his plate discipline, but plenty of star players strike out more than most of us at a bar on Saturday night.  I expect Ramirez to have a similar type season to the one he had in 2008.  I can see him hitting around .280 with 20/20 potential.  He is among the top five at the position.

3. Will Robinson Cano bounce back?

All last year I was touting Cano as a huge second-half comeback player and even predicted that he would hit over .300 on another site that I write for.  Cano was hitting around .265 at the time.  Shortly after he got up to about .280, I was busy patting myself on the back.  Sadly, another slump ensued and he ended up at .271.  This is a guy who hit .342 just two seasons before.  So, is Cano the .340 hitter, the .306 hitter from 2007, or the .271 hitter from 2008? 

As much as I HATE the Yankees, and believe me, I do, I see Cano getting his average back well over .300 again in 2009.  I would be very surprised if it was in the .340s range again, but I am predicting a .315-.320 season for the Yankees’ second baseman.  Cano will hit you 15-20 homers and drive in 70-85 runs.  He will fall in the drafts due to last year’s performance, and if you miss out on the top few players, Cano is an awesome fall back plan.

4. Is Clint Barmes a legitimate fantasy player?

Barmes broke onto the fantasy scene in his 2005 rookie season, and he looked like he was well on the way to a rookie of the year trophy, before an unfortunate deer-meat-carrying incident cost him half the season. 

The two years after that, Barmes fell off the face of the planet and it looked like we would never hear his name again.  However, due to injury he got another chance in 2008 and he had a good couple of months.  Barmes looks to battle Jeff Baker for the starting job, a battle he should win. 

Most likely Barmes will go undrafted and you will be able to pick him up if you have an injury or underperforming player.  Barmes is a deep sleeper heading into 2009 but someone to keep your eye on.  If you see him having a hot first two or three weeks, THEN maybe he is worth adding to your roster.

5. What can we expect from injury-prone players?

There are three players who have a ton of talent that can’t seem to get through a whole season of good health.

Ian Kinsler of the Texas Rangers has the most upside situation of the group.  After two seasons of teasing us with his talent, Kinsler was among the best at his position before a sports hernia ended his season in the middle of August. 

He had already scored over 100 runs, had set a career high in average and RBI, and was approaching 20 homers and 30 steals.  His minor league statistics show that the .319 average might be a little high to expect, but the rest of his numbers should remain solid, if not improve just a little bit.  Kinsler will either be a late first round to mid second round pick.

Rickie Weeks came into the league with all the hype in the world but has yet to live up to it at all.  Weeks has never played more than 129 games in a season, but the good news is that his career high was in 2008.  And although he was respectable with 14 homers and 19 steals, Weeks remained unable to keep his batting average out of the .230s. 

IF he could play a full season, Weeks could give you a 20/20 season, but just be sure that your team has multiple players that hit over .300, because he will bring your team average way down.

Howie Kendrick has been touted as a future batting champion, but so far, all he has been is a present player who always ends up on the DL.  Worse than Weeks, Kendrick’s career high in games played is just 92 in his three seasons in the bigs.  His batting average has been over .300 the past two seasons, but he fails to bring enough power to be among the top guys at his position. 

He was able to steal 11 bases in his half a season in 2008, so perhaps he could bring you 20 if he was ever able to stay healthy.  If you draft Kendrick, be prepared for bad news at some point during the year, but if he could stay on the field, you could get a .315 average with 14 homers, 65 RBI, and 19 steals.

Do you have your own questions? Do you disagree? As always, your comments and questions are welcome at [e-mail]. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Also, don’t miss “The Fantasy Baseball Gurus Show” on Blog Talk Radio every Wednesday night at 10 p.m. EST.