Wednesday February 29th, 2012

Bryan Sheehan (MLB Reports Intern):

5. Chase Utley: Utley, thought of as the hands-down best second baseman just a few years ago, makes this list after coming off an injury that caused him to have arguably the worst season of his career. Chase has seen a downward trend offensively since 2009, and his history of downplaying and withholding information about injuries to get more playing time and avoid the DL has in fact hurt his play. Though an amazing show of his dedication to the game, Utley’s willingness to play hurt has limited his hitting, as evidenced by his total 109 RBIs over the last two seasons. Coming into 2012, though, Chase seems 100 percent healthy, and may bring some of his 30 plus-home run power back with him. Add this to the fact that his all-star caliber fielding hasn’t shown any decline, and Utley stacks up as a great player.

4. Brandon Phillips: Speaking of defense, how about the two-time defending NL Gold Glove winner, Brandon Phillips? A complete monster in the field, Phillips committed just six errors in 2011, boosting his fielding percentage to a great .992%. But the Gold Glove was not the only hardware Phillips brought home last year: his .300 average and 82 RBIs helped him win the NL Silver Slugger at second base. The biggest part of Phillips’ game may be his consistency, as he is the only player to have at least a .260 average, 15 home runs and 10 steals in each of the last six seasons. When looking at Brandon, it is pretty much assured that he will bring contact, gold-glove fielding and a bit of power and speed to the Reds in 2012.

3. Ian Kinsler: Kinsler is coming off of the best season of his career in Texas. With more power than Phillips, Ian had a .477 slugging percentage and .223 ISO last year, and his 32 home runs helped critics overlook a .255 batting average. His 30 stolen bases was tops among second basemen, giving him a dangerous combination of power and speed. Kinsler also has a great eye, as evident by his 12.3 BB% and 9.8 K%, both best at the position. Going even further into stats that Kinsler led all second-basemen in last year, he scored 121 times, no doubt helped by Josh Hamilton and Adrian Beltre hitting behind him. His WAR was second only to Dustin Pedroia, but his fielding percentage of .984 isn’t good enough to warrant the top spot on this list.

2. Robinson Cano: Cano was the only second baseman in 2011 to have at least 100 RBIs (118). He was one of only three to hit at least .300 in 2011 (.302).  His 46 doubles tied for best in the league, and his seven triples was second only to Omar Infante. There isn’t a stat that portrays Robinson Cano in a negative light. His stats speak for themselves, but playing in the largest market in the MLB doesn’t hurt his exposure or value either. Like Kinsler, Cano hits in front of a powerhouse in the form of Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeria, helping him to score 104 times last year. At age 29, it is unlikely that Cano will decline in 2012, and if he does indeed repeat the season he had in 2011 (and 2010) , he’ll be the second-best second-baseman in the MLB.

1. Dustin Pedroia: If there’s one player better than Cano, it would be rival Boston Red Sox Dustin Pedroia. Nearly matching Cano in power last year with 91 RBIs and 21 home runs, his batting average of .307 beat out the Yankee and took the top spot amongst second basemen. As mentioned before, his 8.0 WAR was also the best of any second baseman. The main advantage Pedroia has over Cano is his speed, as he stole 26 bases last year, compared to Cano’s eight. His fielding also earned him Gold Glove honors, and he committed just seven errors over 159 games last year. Cano and Pedroia are very similar, but Dustin’s speed and fielding make him the better player, and therefore the best second baseman in baseball.

Today’s feature was prepared by our Intern, Bryan Sheehan.  You can follow Bryan on Twitter (@BaseballHipster), read his interviews with Phillies’ minor league prospects at PhightingOn.com, and catch him writing the occasional article for BleacherReport.com (search his name). Tweet him about this article and he will follow you back!

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