Middle Infield Rest Of Season Rankings: April Update

We’re 1 month into the marathon that is the MLB Season, and there’s nothing like reading over rankings to know where your boys stand and where you should be looking.  I have taken it upon myself to let you know where you are and where you should be.  Frankly, 1 month of data is a great way to make grand pronouncements.  So let’s get started.  Players will be ranked in their primary positions, and I’ll start with 2B.

Top 5

• 1. Brice Turang
• 2. Nico Hoerner
• 3. Ketel Marte
• 4. Jose Altuve
• 5. Jazz Chisholm Jr.

Turang is continuing his onslaught on pitching, which he began in August.  He’s been slugging close to .540 in that time, and that gives him the edge over Nico in my estimation.  Where Nico excels over Turang is in the fact that the bottom of the Cubs lineup gets on base more than the bottom of the Brewers lineup, giving him more RBI chances to take advantage of, as he has.  For me, it’s 1a and 1b.  You really can’t go wrong either way.  Altuve is thriving in an Astros lineup that is actually hitting expectations, with Renaissance years from Christian Walker and a finally healthy Yordan Alvarez.  As long as that keeps up, he’ll be a top 5 2B.

Marte and Chisholm have struggled mightily, and I’m much less concerned about Ketel than I am Jazz.  Ketel’s power is still on display. He’s still on pace to match his homer output of last year. When his luck normalizes, so will his RBI and Runs output.  Jazz is more concerning.  He has been dreadful to the point of the Yankees dropping him to 6th in the lineup.  He’s demonstrated no power whatsoever.  Yes, he is up there in SB, but that’s all he’s contributed.  Even with a normalization of his luck, he won’t be getting the top 2B spot without a massive run over the summer.

Next 5

• 6. Brandon Lowe
• 7. Xavier Edwards
• 8. JJ Wetherholt
• 9. Ozzie Albies
• 10. Luis Arraez

It gets ugly after this, but let’s accentuate the positive.  A healthy Brandon Lowe will hit you 30 bombs at the 2B position.  A Brandon Lowe hitting over .260 will get you a top 5 2B by the end of the year.  He’s doing both right now.  X has ridden his hot streak to scoring a ton of runs for the surprising Fish, though he isn’t running as much.  I am skeptical as his BABIP normalizes.  JJ is a different kind of BABIP casualty, but he can show all-star level production once he gets used to the league.  I’m very bullish on him.

Ozzie is hitting, which is nice to see, but he isn’t running.  The Braves are winning a lot and likely don’t want to take risks when they don’t have to.  It’s good to see him round into his good form again.  Arraez has played primarily 2nd for the Giants, and is that weird BA only guy.  But he’ll keep that up and won’t kill you in R or RBI.

Third 5

• 11. Marcus Semien
• 12. Gleyber Torres
• 13. Jackson Holliday
• 14. Luke Keaschall
• 15. Ernie Clement 

Here are your strugglers, and a guy who is in a struggling lineup.  Semien will rebound as the Mets rebound.  I have full faith that as it heats up in summer, he will as well, getting you good production the rest of the way out.  Gleybur is living off of Good Gleybur from last year’s first half.  I believe in him more than the others behind him.  But there’s a good chance of him dropping to the last 5 or even out of the top 20 altogether.

Holliday is coming back from hamate surgery and just started his rehab assignment.  He is capable of 15/20 production the rest of the way, even with the recovery from the injury.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was submitted before the news of an MRI for Holliday, who is still feeling hand discomfort.  This probably knocks him down to borderline top 20.

Keaschall remains who I thought he was.  His production was incredibly batting average dependent last year, and it’s shown this year.  The more concerning item is he’s running at a much lower rate than he did last year.  With Royce Lewis coming back, he’s going to move down the lineup card and get fewer chances to score runs. Ernie Clement is hitting in a struggling Jays lineup.  As he continues, he’ll pile up those counting stats and be a good contributor to your MI spot, moving to a starting 2B spot when injury occurs.

Last 5

• 16. Jeff McNiel
• 17. Matt McLain
• 18. Chase Meidroth
• 19. Nasim Nunez 
• 20. Edouard Julien

McNiel is leading off for a team that plays in a AAA ballpark. They’re going to score 700 runs, and he may as well score a lot of them while not killing you anywhere else.  McLain can’t be this bad right?  I mean, he’s going to bounce back.  Meidroth remains an on-base pest even if his numbers have normalized a bit.  He’s still in the lineup, and that can only remain good.

Do you like stolen bases?  Nasim Nunez can get you those in spades! Do you like anything else? Well… Do you like stolen bases? Julien is leading off for a major league team. They’re going to score 600 runs, and he may as well score a lot of them.

On to the Short Stops.

First 5

• 1. Elly De La Cruz
• 2. Gunnar Henderson
• 3. Bobby Witt
• 4. CJ Abrams
• 5. Zach Neto

Elly is on track for a 40/40 season.  The only thing that could derail that is if the Reds remain just a 2 hitter team.  It’s him, Sal Stewart, and literally no one else hitting.  Why is Gunnar my number 2? He’s hitting 198, but his counting stats haven’t hurt.  On pace for 90/40/90/25 season.  Now imagine his hit luck normalizes.

Bobby is suffering from a slow starting Royals lineup.  As it heats up, so will they, and he’ll be fine.  The no bombs is a blip.  Abrams’ hot start has had him make a nice jump up the rankings. Neto is doing what we thought he would. 25/25 is very probable.  The lower average has hurt his RBI totals, but he’s still scoring enough runs as was expected.

Next 5

• 6. Corey Seager
• 7. Franciso Lindor
• 8. Dansby Swanson
• 9. Colson Montgomery
• 10. Kevin McGonigle

This is where I’m going to get some pushback.  Seager continues to pound the ball and is already on pace for 35 bombs.  Lindor is a notorious slow starter, but both he and the Mets can’t be this bad, right? (Seriously, right?!?)

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was submitted before the news of Lindor leaving the game early for calf tightness.  Could just be precautionary, but keep an eye on it.

I like Swanson to continue his march to 90/25/80 in that Cubs lineup.  And some may take issue with him being that high, specifically for those below him.

Montgomery continues his power onslaught, showing that he can be the new Seager, without the lineup driving him in as much.  I’m lower on McGonigle than most.  I have 3 reasons to put him below these guys.  1) He’s not getting the right counting stats.  Unless your league counts doubles (which most don’t), he’s not producing in the power category you need. 2) He doesn’t run. He had 10 SB in the minors last year, and that’s just not part of his game. 3) His BABIP is 356. It will normalize. So his average will come down.  There are plenty of reasons to rank him higher, but these are why he is where he is on my list.

Third 5

• 11. Otto Lopez
• 12. Trea Turner
• 13. Gerardo Perdomo
• 14. Mookie Betts
• 15. Konnor Griffin

Otto has been the epitome of solid, scoring the 3rd most runs so far in the position and holding his own in every other category. He should run more as the year progresses, but he should build on his good start.  Trea is concerning. He isn’t running as much, and the 20 bomb power of the past isn’t there.  His young man skills aren’t holding up in his age 33 season.  Perdomo is back to being an average and SB guy, not standing out anywhere else.

Mookie is not the Mookie of old, and when he comes back from injury, a 20/20 pace of whatever is left of the year isn’t out of the question at all.  But Father Time is undefeated. So don’t expect what we saw previously. Konnor will figure it out, and in his short time, he’s already running.  He will be a top 10 2nd-half guy, and you’ll be happy if he’s on your bench right now.

Last 5

• 16. Willy Adames
• 17. Eziquiel Tovar
• 18. Brayan Rocchio
• 19. Jeremy Pena
• 20. Trevor Story

Willy is going to get his bombs in, and he’s going to run.  Slow starts, as the entire Giants offense has had, are going to happen.  Given that the Giants offense is not good, I wouldn’t count on him in the R categories. Tovar continues to be one of those Ugh… I need an injury replacement guys.  He’s going to hurt you on the road, but at home, he should be ok.  Rocchio is having his age 25 Renaissance. He’s cut his k% in half, and that’s producing a solid offensive SS.  He stays in the lineup, he’s good for a MI slot.

Pena should be returning from his hammy injury in a week.  He’s got 20/20 potential when adjusted for time missed, but I am concerned with the lower walk rate.  Story is the Red Sox SS and hasn’t missed time.  He will kill your average, but he may do OK in the speed and R categories.