OBP Leagues: Made it to Second Base!

Second base is a solid position in OBP leagues and you can find standouts across the board and throughout the top-20. I have a few guys I am targeting heavily in drafts for the keystone, as well as MI positions, as I tend to end up with a second baseman there too. The top-5 in OBP looks a lot like most rankings: Robinson Cano .382, Jose Altuve .377, Ben Zobrist .354, (Anthony Rendon if eligible .351), Howie Kendrick .347, and Brian Dozier .345. There are also a couple of names left off of this list that are pretty consistently in the top 5 ranks: Ian Kinsler .307, and Dee Gordon .326 (but more on him later.) Here are a few guys I am targeting and one player, who was a surprising breakout last year, that I’m avoiding…

Brian Dozier – A top-3 second base option. I can make the case for Dozier as a top-3 option in standard leagues, but in OBP it’s a no-brainer for me. His last three years seem to be showing growth and improvement which leads me to believe his numbers in 2014 aren’t much of an outlier and even have room for improvement.

Dozier was one of five players last year to go 20/20, he had the second most runs in baseball, lead the position in walks and was 6^th in all of baseball, and tied for the lead in HR’s at the position all while having the 16^th best BABIP at the position. I could easily see a repeat of his 2014 thanks to improvement in his BABIP which should help account for regression in the other stats. Oh did I mention he is going 6^th at the position and almost 50 picks after Cano and Altuve? If I can get Dozier in the 4^th/5^th round I am jumping at the chance.

Ben Zobrist, Howie Kendrick, Neil Walker – The Three OBP Amigo’s. These guys finished 3rd, 5th, and 8th at the position in OBP last year (Zobrist .354, Kendrick .347, Walker .342) but they’re going 13th, 15th, and 14th at the position in ADP. I like all three where they are going and I look at them as stand out values at the position. In drafts I tend to target the last of the three as I can wait a bit longer than their ADP if I do that. Let’s take a look at the last three years for each.

Looking at their stats for the last three years you start to see why they fall a bit in drafts. Zobrist seems to be in his decline, Kendrick has average counting stats, and Walker took a jump forward in his HR’s and RBI in 2014. I will agree with most of those reasons for each player to be outside the top-5 at the position as they aren’t elite, but they are very solid. I put each in my top-10 at second base and am targeting them in every OBP draft I do.

Dee Gordon – OBP Bust. Dee Gordon had a great year in 2014 and in his first full season and seemed to have a break out, but I’m not a believer. Let’s breakdown his stats first.

He had a good year in 2014 but I don’t see it improving and see some regression coming thanks to the league’s 14^th best BABIP for any position. He has zero power, doesn’t walk at an elite rate, and figures to bat leadoff so his RBI total will continue to be a negative. His runs and SB’s are great but I see him has a drag in the other categories and won’t come close to living up to his ADP of 5^th second baseman and 60^th overall. Especially in OBP leagues his 31 walks don’t leave much room for error so his OBP will be tied closely to his AVG and any dip in his BABIP will result in a huge hit in his value. I am easily passing over him and waiting to take one of the three OBP amigo’s 90-100 picks later.

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