WaiverSharks 2009 Preseason
Fantasy Baseball Rankings:
Second Base - 2B
Don’t kill the messenger Utley/Phillies fans, but when we peruse phrases like “Out 4-6 months” “Possibly out until June” and “Arthroscopic Hip Surgery” – WaiverSharks tend to tread these shallow waters with a somewhat cautionary approach.
Ranking Fantasy Baseball Second Basemen is already a rather daunting task.
Okay, maybe “daunting” is a little strong – but the past few seasons Fantasy baseball managers at least knew – with without ANY doubt who the first 2B to be drafted should be – Chase Utley.
A No-brainer. A Lock. Put er’ in the vault - since in recent years he has down right dominated the 2nd base position. Now, having to factor in his hip surgery into the equation – Second base becomes a little more murky.
Sure - Utley could still be ready to play come opening day – but what if he’s not? Having this high a caliber player on one’s bench to begin the season could prove to be terribly frustrating. It’s comparable to if you were ready to draft Sidney Crosby in a Fantasy Hockey League – only to learn he would possibly miss the first 10 games of the NHL season.
Would you still draft him #1 in the hopes that since he is such a stud superstar player he would MORE than make up for the lost time upon his return? Or do you go with Ovechkin or Malkin instead?
Last season when the Anaheim Angels hurler John Lackey went down just prior to the start of the year – his stock fell, but he did go on to have a very respectable 2008 season. Often however, athletes recovering from serious injuries do not get out of the gate so well – and if we recall, Utley started 2008 with a serious bang!
Chase is known to be one tough cookie – but the fact remains - he will most definitely, by early prognosis – miss the start of the 2009 Season – and will not likely see any Spring Training games what so ever. So how much rust will be gathered on the Phillies World Series ring bearer’s bat when he begins play in 2009?
In Keeper leagues – Chase Utley would remain our 2B Top Dog – but in single season Mixed Leagues we got things ranked this way:
The TOP TEN
1) Ian Kinsler, Texas Rangers - Had an injury not cut his season short last year – Well – let’s just wait and see, but there is NO reason he couldn’t be in store for another fantastic fantasy baseball season in 2009.
2) Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox - “Peds” kicked ASS in 2008 and should kick ass in 2009
3) Brian Roberts, Baltimore Orioles – And completing the Chase Utley snub we are keeping the reigning Second Base King out of the Top 3. We hope we are wrong Philadelphia !
4) Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies - Given the situation, slotting - Chase in the 4 spot is the best we could do – for now. Nervous keeper league owners may want to unload his services early – but if you’re a gambling man – gamble on his early return, and reap the benefits if you guessed right!
5) Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati Reds – A guy doesn’t go out and have a 30 homerun/30 steals season (2007) without amazing talent.
6) Dan Uggla, Florida Marlins – Power like this is hard to find at 2B.
7) Alexei Ramirez, Chicago White Sox – “Baby Soriano” or sophomore slump? The deceptive power of this stickman figure should garner positive results.
8) Robinson Cano, New York Yankees – 2009 will be better for Cano.
9) Jose Lopez, Seattle Mariners – High ceiling here for a player who just turned 25 years old – but the surrounding cast needs to improve.
10) Howie Kendrick, Anaheim Angels – “IF” Howie could stay off the dog gone DL he might end up competing for a batting title one year.
The Next 10
11) Mark DeRosa, Cleveland Indians – A Cubs uniform suited the versatile DeRosa well, but now he’ll don a Tribe uniform and man the hot corner in Cleveland. He will still be eligible at several positions includinf second base (where he retains the most fantasy value, but we wonder if DeRosa who turns 34 in February/2009 possibly peaked offensively last season with the Cubbies?
12) Mike Aviles, Kansas City Royals – Should have 2b/SS versatility in many leagues – This guy dropped from the sky last year – careful not to overpay here – he is after all still a Kansas City Royal.
13) Rickie Weeks, Milwaukee Brewers – Last chance Rickie! S–T, or get off the pot! We’ve seen glimpses, but you continue to disappoint Fantasy managers and Brew Crew fans alike. The talent is there, but similar to Howie Kendrick – we need to see it come together in 2009 or it’s time we move on.
14) Ryan Theriot, Chicago Cubs – Fantastic 2008 campaign - just no power.
15) Placido Polanco, Detroit Tigers – Possibly the biggest cranium in the game? The Detroit Tigers will look to avenge a dismal 2008 – and the bats seem to follow suit when the Granderson and Polanco firecrackers ignite the offence.
16) Kelly Johnson, Atlanta Braves – Both Kelly Johnson and Yunel Escobar are expected to have very productive seasons. We’ll rank Yunel in our upcoming 2009 Short Stop SS Rankings.
17) Ian Stewart, Colorado Rockies – Since Stewart netted 12 games at Second base – 2B last season we are including him here. He’ll likely take over for at third base while Garrett Atkins moves over to first. Some talk has been rumored of him playing left field in place of departed superstar Matt Holliday – but that seems unlikely to us.
18) Orlando Hudson, Arizona D-backs – The O-dog generally puts up decent enough numbers to warrant a mid to late round draft selection.
19) Asdrubal Cabrera, Cleveland Indians – Asdrubel had us drooling going into last season. We still feel this kid could be special – as we look to many of the Tribe’s key offensive players to turn in better years then the 2008 debacle.
Second Base Sleepers
20) Blake DeWitt, Los Angeles Dodgers – DeWitt wasn’t suppose to factor into the Dodgers plans in 2008 – but he made enough impression to have a legitimate shot at taking over the 2B duties in 2009.
21) Aaron Hill, Toronto Blue Jays – Post concussion syndrome plagued Aaron Hill throughout the majority of 2008 – making him available for a song for the upcoming 2009 Fantasy season.
22) Mike Fontenot, Chicago Cubs – “The Snoz” hit 9 dingers in only 243 at bats last season. Sure, he’s never going to challenge Chase Utley for the 2B homerun crown – but that’s decent production for this position – and imagine what he could do if he earns the fulltime second base job for the Cubs!
23) Matt Antonelli, San Diego Padres – Digging into our Deep Sleepers and Prospects - we still like Matt Antonelli’s chances of making a splash in the big leagues – despite his forgettable 2008 minor league season.
24) Emilio Bonifacio, Florida Marlins – The Florida Marlins received speedster Emilio Bonifacio in an early offseason trade that sent the Nationals Scott Olsen and Josh Willingham. He could be a steals king if he was able grab a regular gig with the Marlins.
25) Alberto Callaspo, Kansas City Royals – Hits for Average – and has a strong chance of sewing up the second base - 2B duties for the Royals this coming 2009 spring – consider him as a deep sleeper.
Dynasty Leaguers – Here’s a few DEEPER SLEEPER Prospects to keep an eye on in the future:
Jemile Weeks, Oakland Athletics – (pictured above) A real longshot here Lets just hope Jemile Weeks can develop quicker than his brother –Milwaukee Brewers Rickie Weeks has. More of a line-drive hitter than Rickie, Jemile is a speed burner – Unfortunately he could see a move to center field in the future.
Adrian Cardenas, Oakland Athletics – Mark Ellis has enjoyed decent years recently that led to him signing a new contract – he also had shoulder surgery this offseason – which has us a bit concerned. The Athletics may need to dip into their minor league prospect pool if Eliss’ bum shoulder acts up during the 2009 campaign.
German Duran, Texas Rangers – Our final 2B Deeper Sleeper prospect has some pop in his bat – which is always tough to find from a 2B – and could translate nicely playing in Arlington . But the jury is still out where his (AB’s) at bats will come from - he may even see some time at third base.
