Comments on: Top 20 2nd Basemen for 2009 Fantasy Baseball

By: Grey

Grey — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 15:50:22 +0000

@Rob: Hold him for now.

By: Rob

Rob — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 14:03:12 +0000

I took a shot at Alexi Casilla in a larger league. Should I hold him on my bench or start looking on waiver wires once the season starts for an backup infielder.

By: Freak

Freak — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 18:22:32 +0000

@Jim: Fontenot is a starter on one of the top 5 offensive teams in MLB. He's worth a look. And if Kosuke starts sucking again, there's a real chance he could be hitting 2nd and scoring a crapload of runs.

By: Grey

Grey — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 18:22:21 +0000

@Jeff: Still no frontrunner, and I think Teahen is a good sleeper pick for 2nd base. He’ll definitely put up good 2nd baseman numbers if he gets the nod.

@Jim: I like him a lot and mention him here (http://razzball.com/sox-put-mi-in-mri/).

Great, cheap source of 15/10 numbers and lots of Runs if the Cubs bat him in an ideal spot.

By: Jim

Jim — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 18:15:22 +0000

What do you think about Fotenot of the Cubs?

By: Jeff

Jeff — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 11:54:47 +0000

What is your take on Teahen? He’s hitting .462 with 5 bombs so far this spring and it’s looking like he could start at 2b.

By: Grey

Grey — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 22:01:17 +0000

@Rustyn: Yeah, that was what I meant by not that attractive. He's basically Polanco. It's okay, but it's not ideal. You're better off taking a late round flier for speed (Burriss) or for a little of both (Asdrubal).

By: Rustyn

Rustyn — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 21:59:10 +0000

Well admittedly I play in deeper leagues (16-20 teams usually), but I don’t see Skip’s numbers being remarkably different, if not better than Aviles or Po Po Polanco…

By: Grey

Grey — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 21:52:25 +0000

@Rustyn: Eh, he's not very attractive wherever he's playing except in very deep leagues.

By: Rustyn

Rustyn — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 20:45:59 +0000

If Schumaker jumps to 2B for the Cards, where do you put him in the grand scheme of things?

By: Grey

Grey — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 15:53:51 +0000

@TEEJ: I'm probably all over the map because he is still a mystery. He shouldn't do what he did last year, yet he did it. You catch my drift? He was playing above his head. He's not going to have the power of Peralta. He's not going to have 20 steals. Worst case he's 7/7/.270... That's droppable numbers. Best case he's 15/15/.320, those are very solid numbers. In the end, he will be somewhere between hence my projections: 80/10/55/.295/10

By: TEEJ

TEEJ — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 15:00:06 +0000

I can’t tell from this post or several others that involve Aviles, but are you high on the guy or no? You said you drafted him in like 11 or 12 but kind of dog him a little bit above and on the 2nd Baseman past the top 20. Having him, Drew and Furcal (Furcal will be sitting until he proves something or may get traded, etc) Anyhow, im kind of high on the guy i got Aviles in the 12th and really projected him as a “poor mans Peralta” Maybe im just toooooo high like Snoop, so give me your thoughts PLEASE. Puff, Puff, Pass….

By: robbie

robbie — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 15:20:02 +0000

phillips and ramirez don’t control the strike zone nearly as well as pedroia or roberts. in leagues with OPS, you’d be a dummy to take either of those two above pedroia or bri rob

By: Grey

Grey — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 22:30:06 +0000

@IowaCubs: He just missed this list and made the top 20 SS list that's coming later this week. He was one of the reasons why I felt the 2nd basemen list was deeper than the shortstops.

By: IowaCubs

IowaCubs — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 22:26:11 +0000

Another name you left off was Deer Meat.

Barmes isn’t going to start at 2b this year for the Rockies? I just looked at his stats and realized he hit 11/290/13 last year. Flukey or no Flukey? Do you classify him as a SS first, 2b second?

By: Grey

Grey — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 19:27:26 +0000

@Horste: Yup, very optimistic.

By: Horste

Horste — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 19:18:20 +0000

Is it just me, or doe Bill James’ projections seem a bit high for everyone?

By: IowaCubs

IowaCubs — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 19:16:17 +0000

@Grey: Just playing around Mr. Grey. Have I mentioned that your mustache is looking exceptionally fine today, sir?

By: Grey

Grey — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 19:05:41 +0000

@sean: I eye-rake you then Rudy tags in and enters off the top ropes. @IowaCubs: My inclusion of DeWitt is not meant as an affront to Fontenot. He would be right after the end of this list.

By: IowaCubs

IowaCubs — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 18:57:25 +0000

You are totally in LaLa land over DeWitt. DeWitt doesn’t get to 400 ab this year.

My late smack in the face to everyone in your draft in the last round is MIKE FONTENOT. 70/13/85/.290/4

He’ll bat either 2nd or 7th in a pretty hefty Cubs lineup and Lou is in love with him. 500ab!

By: sean

sean — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 18:48:56 +0000

@grey: agreed on the speed, but if we’re talking about 10 steals, you can make up the difference with a two-week SAGNOF’er waiver wire move… Something about Ramirez’s age (veintiocho latino) worries me given the Cuban defectors’ collective track record re: injuries

@rudy: amen. in an ideal world, cano gets to relieve dj at the 2 slot if jeter struggles this year…

i wasn’t ready for the razzball doubleteam there, but i appreciate it, fellas

By: Rudy Gamble

Rudy Gamble — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 18:17:20 +0000

@sean: agreed on cano vs. ramirez. with the addition of teix and hopefully a healthy posada, i’d expect the yanks will be back to scoring a lot of runs which helps Cano’s R/RBI value. A lot depends on your picks prior to a 2B – if you’re weak on steals, you may need to go w/ someone like Weeks. if you’re strong on steals, you can afford a Cano who has better value in other positions….

By: Grey

Grey — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 17:56:31 +0000

@sean: Cano lacks any real speed, so he's not quite as valuable, but he is a .300 hitter, even last year when he had an off year, he actually should've hit .297 when you account for luck.

By: sean

sean — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 17:47:24 +0000

Cano has the contact skills to be a .300 hitter, but he absolutely refuses to take a walk. He’d rather hit ball four into play than accept the free pass. In my mind, that accounts for his low BABIP as much as bad luck does.

On the plus side, he’s got outstanding gap power and a sweet stroke that produces a lot of line drives (20%). I see Cano projected closer to what you projected for Alexei Ramirez, and given the hype that there is surrounding Ramirez (ADP 52), I’d rather scoop Cano in the Yankee lineup 3 rounds later and hope that he’s back to ’07 form.

By: Grey

Grey — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:22:15 +0000

@Steve: Well, if you figure the first tier (Utley/Kinsler) is the 2nd round. Then the 2nd tier (up to Uggla) is about the 6th round. So anytime in the next few rounds is when Cano should be taken. I have a post coming specifically about Cano. I do like him for 2009, just don't expect more than the projections I gave him above. The guys ranked 18th to the end are great sleepers. Ian Stewart could shoot way up after 2009. @Tony: I grabbed Aviles in an expert draft last night in the 12th round. There will be a write up of that mock draft coming at 12pm PST. @101 M.P.H.: Polanco? Your name should be 55 MPH. Yeah, he's ranked 14th above because he does belong on certain teams. If I thought he wasn't worth owning on any teams, I wouldn't have even mentioned him. Though I do think you're better off taken a guy with some upside. @Rob: D'oh! Take on me was my intention. I'm updating the post. You're like the guy who found the F*ck Face Ripken card. @101 M.P.H.: I love Weeks if he can get 500 at-bats. "And if “ifs and buts” were candies and nuts, we’d all have a merry Christmas…." -- Ha! Nice.

By: 101 M.P.H.

101 M.P.H. — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 14:30:16 +0000

@Tony: I don’t blame you for your dislike of Weeks. He’s been a huge disappointment up to this point in his career. With that said, if ever manages 550 at bats in a season and is able to raise his average to .275, I expect he will be at least as valuable as Brian Roberts.

And if “ifs and buts” were candies and nuts, we’d all have a merry Christmas….

By: Tony

Tony — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 14:08:22 +0000

I hate Rickie Weeks. Own him once, you’ll never own him again. 0-5 is not pretty.

By: 101 M.P.H.

101 M.P.H. — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:35:12 +0000

@Steve: I'll cast my vote for Rickie Weeks.

By: Rob

Rob — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:31:20 +0000

Grey, I can’t believe you wrote “A-Ha! Take a chance on me.” without making a reference to “Take on me” by A-Ha.

I agree with the Cano comments. And remember, there’s always gonna be one Yankee fan at the draft who will probably reach for him. 11th/12th sounds too early for Aviles to me.

By: 101 M.P.H.

101 M.P.H. — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:26:29 +0000

At the risk of exposing myself as an ignoramus, I’m considering a Crapolanco purchase at my fantasy baseball auction this year. Presuming that I can pick him up for $5 or less (in a 13 team mixed league), my plan is to pair him up with a low-priced, low average, slugging outfielder (Pat Burrell types tend to be relative bargains in our league), and pony up for a marquee shortstop (Reyes, Rollins or Ramirez).

Polanco is about as interesting as the instructions on a bottle of shampoo. With that said, if he comes cheaply enough, you can quietly bank the 90 runs and a +.300 batting average from a shallow position, and use the savings for a big ticket purchase.

In the right mix of players, at a low enough price, I believe that Polanco has a place on a winning roster. Just be prepared for the boredom that ensues….