We already went over the top 20 catchers and the top 20 1st basemen for 2021 fantasy baseball. Today, we dip our big toe into the top 20 2nd basemen pool. Also, for the 2nd time in two positions, I ranked and projected every player in the top 20. Glorious be me, but also that means there were very few guys to come out of nowhere this year. Through three recapped positions, it’s only been Eric Haase. More like HAHAHAHAHaase. To recap this crap (rhyme points!), this final ranking for last year is from our Fantasy Baseball Player Rater with my comments. The Player Rater allows me to be impartial while looking at how I ranked them in the preseason. Anyway, here’s the top 20 2nd basemen for 2021 fantasy baseball and how they compared to where I originally ranked them:
1. Trea Turner – In the preseason, we thought 2nd base was going to be shallow. I will now laugh for 35 minutes until I’m carted away by a team of professionals. 2nd base ended up being as deep as 1st base! Granted, some of that had to do with players gaining 2nd base eligibility — Treat Urner, for one. As for Urner, he’s robotic with his numbers — 30+ steals again, 19 or more homers again, .300+ hitter in his career. For our little game called fantasy, he’s so predictably good, there’s more of a case for him as a top three hitter than a lot of guys who are usually ranked above him. Preseason Rank #3 for shortstops, 2021 Projections: 106/20/74/.306/33 in 608 ABs, Final Numbers: 107/28/77/.328/32 in 595 ABs
2. Marcus Semien – Few guys were more frustrating than Semien. All those years of holding him and loving him, then just as Semien’s about to explode, I’m sputtering with nothing. Semien was definitely in the right color uniform. The blue is not for the Jays, though. It’s for the blue Nicki Minaj Trinidadian cousin’s friend in my shorts! What an absolutely glorious season for Marcus. Gotta love those career years when a guy turns 31 years old. Career high in power, speed, RBIs and SLG. Coming off a 7/4/.223 season and he did that roughly every month plus way more average. This was the year to roster Semien, and I’d be shocked if he ever comes close to any of this again, after he signs for an invariably insane contract to play for the Mets or Yanks. Preseason Rank #12 for shortstops, 2021 Projections: 88/26/71/.249/12 in 573 ABs, Final Numbers: 115/45/102/.265/15 in 652 ABs
3. Ozzie Albies – Keep expecting Albies to end up as the top 2nd basemen (though if Treat Urner has 2nd base eligibility, he’s clearly better than Albies), and Albies keeps coming up short (wrong position). The why on ‘why this is irrelevant?’ Is because Albies still had a great year, even if a few guys had better years. It shows you how good some of these years were that Albies went 30/20 and wasn’t the best or second best 2nd baseman. Also, once again, as I said in the 1st baseman recap, there was an insane number of at-bats for some guys. Preseason Rank #1, 2021 Projections: 92/29/97/.262/15 in 607 ABs, Final Numbers: 103/30/106/.259/20 in 629 ABs
4. Whit Merrifield – Will say this about the Royals, they did a few contracts I wouldn’t have done and they got plenty back in return. I would’ve let Merrifield walk years ago, and, at 32, he had one of his best years. It’s a blind spot of mine to overestimate how quickly guys will age. Hey, at least I can see my blind spot! Imagine “aging” is a kiddie song, and aging players are sitting in a circle and I have to sit in a player’s lap before the music stops and I’m always stuck sitting in the guy’s lap who sucks…is this analogy making any sense and why am I sitting on Mike Moustakas’s lap? Something I have realized, just as many guys like Gavin Lux (young) fail to provide value as old guys (Mostsuckass). Now it’s putting that into practice. Preseason Rank #3, 2021 Projections: 102/12/62/.284/22 in 613 ABs, Final Numbers: 97/10/74/.277/40 in 664 ABs
5. Jorge Polanco – This was the best profit vs. draft price, right? Maybe Semien, since he ended up higher, even if his price was much higher. I had Polanco on teams, and I can say with a straight face, it didn’t feel that amazing. Maybe because the teams where I had him had bigger issues, and couldn’t just bask in Polanco’s value. The pretty cool thing about Polanco is he seems to give the impression this is not repeatable, but it looks close to doable again. Trying to focus the recap on this year vs. next, but yeah, Polanco looks to have become something. Preseason Rank #19 for shortstops, 2021 Projections: 83/23/74/.272/8 in 572 ABs, Final Numbers: 97/33/98/.269/11 in 588 ABs
6. Jose Altuve – As I said at one point this year that remains true, “(Altuve’s) numbers have markedly changed since 2019 — Huh, weird. Seriously, he’s a totally different hitter. Highest FB%, lowest GB%, crazy number of infield flies, huge uptick in Launch Angle and pulling everything. Not sure what it means. My guess is he’s embraced being a .270 hitter and decided hitting homers is a good way to distract from the lower average. He’s become like the anti-Jeter.” And that’s me quoting me! Preseason Rank #15, 2021 Projections: 85/21/71/.267/9 in 546 ABs, Final Numbers: 117/31/83/.278/5 in 601 ABs
7. Brandon Lowe – What a time to be alive: You can’t throw a rock and hit a 2nd baseman with some form of 30-ish/10-ish. “Nice beaver” but about 2nd basemen. Preseason Rank #6, 2021 Projections: 77/29/83/.258/6 in 518 ABs, Final Numbers: 97/39/99/.247/7 in 535 ABs
8. Javier Baez – His Statcast numbers are like “Build-A-Player”-type numbers if you just wanted a guy who’s good in fantasy.
I guess ideally you’d have a guy like Juan Soto, who walks, because that leads to runs, too. Or maybe a guy with a better xBA. But if you needed someone who was cheaper to produce in a game setting and had to sacrifice one thing, Baez’s numbers are pretty perfect for fantasy only. Preseason Rank #9 for shortstops, 2021 Projections: 86/33/97/.271/12 in 597 ABs, Final Numbers: 80/31/87/.265/18 in 502 ABs
9. Max Muncy – Already went over him in the recap of the top 20 1st basemen.
10. Tommy Edman – This is funny (possibly only to me). I had Polanco, as mentioned above, and Edman on multiple teams, and I enjoyed Edman more, mostly because I was able to move him all around my lineup. His eligibility allowed me to cover for so many different guys and this helped make him more valuable in my eyes. It’s worth pointing out position eligibility doesn’t itself make for a great experience. Member Cavan Biggio? In March, “Biggio will hit leadoff and Semien 9th.” Those people misread the situation in possibly the worst of ways. Preseason Rank #11, 2021 Projections: 88/15/61/.262/19 in 581 ABs, Final Numbers: 91/11/56/.262/30 in 641 ABs
11. Jonathan India – Will he be a top 25 hitter in 2022? Okay, this is about this year and not next, but I’m so crazy about India I got Jollywood about his Ballywood. He’s in such a perfect place too. Have you watched a game in Cincy? I swear it’s the only stadium that hasn’t installed a humidor. Balls be flying out of there, and India can grow into my power for those roundtrippers to bomb-yay! Preseason Rank #41 for 3rd basemen, 2021 Projections: 41/16/54/.254/4 in 445 ABs, Final Numbers: 98/21/69/.269/12 in 532 ABs
12. Chris Taylor – If it’s not clear, there’s a bit of a gap between “Nice beaver but about 2nd basemen” and this general area. In the preseason, I call this tiers. As for Taylor, Dave Roberts has proven himself adroit of getting great fantasy value out of guys who you don’t roster, and screwing guys you do roster. A master of propping Taylor, and undercutting Lux. Preseason Rank #47, 2021 Projections: 42/12/51/.241/7 in 337 ABs, Final Numbers: 92/20/73/.254/13 in 507 ABs
13. Jonathan Schoop – Already went over him in the recap of the top 20 1st basemen.
14. Ryan McMahon – Already went over him in the recap of the top 20 1st basemen.
15. Jake Cronenworth – Already went over him in the recap of the top 20 1st basemen.
16. Eduardo Escobar – His stats scream, “He will be next year’s Mike Moustakas.” Just brutal numbers outside of some homers. A falling BABIP is like a check engine light that is always on. Mechanic says to you, “It’s fine that the check engine light is on, but just make sure you hold the door shut with your left hand while you’re driving.” That’s Eduardo Esco-car. Preseason Rank #24 for 3rd basemen, 2021 Projections: 64/26/72/.252/4 in 575 ABs, Final Numbers: 77/28/90/.253/1 in 549 ABs
17. Ty France – Already went over him in the recap of the top 20 1st basemen.
18. Jazz Chisholm Jr. – This guy is a good reason to ignore runs and RBIs completely. It’s nice if a guy gets them, but Jazz had about as good a season as you can expect from any guy who only played two-thirds of the season, let alone a rookie. The average was low even with a decent BABIP, which is a little scary, but to see a 20/20-ish season from a rookie? Where do I sign up for more? Preseason Rank #31, 2021 Projections: 61/18/64/.206/15 in 458 ABs, Final Numbers: 70/18/53/.248/23 in 464 ABs
19. Nicky Lopez – Absolutely ranked and projected Nicky Lopez. Absolutely absolutely absolutely ABSOLUTELY ab-sol-ute-ly didn’t expect him in the year-end top 20 for any position, especially not one that wasn’t that shallow. Preseason Rank #53, 2021 Projections: 21/2/26/.268/7 in 306 ABs, Final Numbers: 78/2/43/.300/22 in 497 ABs
20. Luis Urias – Ya know what’s a little crazy — Willem Dafoe. Ya know what’s a lot crazy? 2nd basemen aren’t as stacked as the shortstops up top, but actually go deeper in the middle until the end. The shortstops fall off quickly. Didn’t help missing out on the top 20 shortstops was: Lindor, Eugenio, Gleyber, Colonel Mustard, well, there were quite a few disappointments. “Shortstops coming up short shortly,” chomps on a cigar, “Get me the story!” On our next recap! Preseason Rank #39, 2021 Projections: 51/16/60/.234/5 in 491 ABs, Final Numbers: 77/23/75/.249/5 in 490 ABs
