Tuesday August 7th, 2012

John Burns:  It is easy to say that Robinson Cano is the best all-around second baseman in baseball right now. Cano has been the top second baseman for a couple of years now. What makes Cano so great is his ability to just flat-out hit and his much improved defense at second base.  Cano is having another great season with the Yankees. With a .316 average and 24 homers, Cano has been one of the most feared hitters in the stacked Yankees lineup.

At age 29, Cano has very impressive career numbers, including a .309 average with 168 career homers. Since being called up to the Yankees in 2005, Cano has been a 4x All-Star, 3x Silver Slugger Award Winner, 2009 World Series Champion, 2010 Gold Glove Winner, and he even won the 2011 Home Run Derby. Now that is a very impressive line for a 29-year-old 2^nd baseman! There is much more in store for Cano in the future as well in my opinion. Cano is not only the best second baseman, but I strongly believe that he is the best player in baseball. He does it all: he will consistently 25-30 homers a season and is almost a lock to hit .300 every season. Combine his bat with gold glove defense and you have one of the best all-around players in the game. Cano has been criticized in the past about being “Lazy” which I find absurd; As Derek Jeter has said before: Robinson Cano plays the game very smoothly and has one of the best work ethics around. Personally, I will take Jeter’s word at face value.

Ian Kinsler would have to be behind Cano as the top second basemen. Kinsler is having another good season this year with a .279 average and 30 doubles. The Rangers second baseman really emerged last year as a power hitting second baseman, when he hit 32 homers and a .477 slugging percentage. Kinsler has been with Texas since 2006 and has only hit over .300 once in his career, which is the main reason why his career batting average is .276. Therein lies another reason why Cano is better than Kinsler: Cano has hit over .300 six times in his career and is actually 1 year younger than Cano. There is no question though that Kinsler comes in at second. Even though Kinsler has not YET won a ring, he has been to two World Series. Much like Cano, Kinsler is a key factor in stacked lineups. The main issue for Kinsler is staying healthy, as he has been prone to injuries thoughout his career. The baseball world is on notice, as Kinsler and Cano could battle it out for the best second baseman title this year in the playoffs.

Some honorable mentions for the top second baseman title include Rickie Weeks, Dustin Pedroia, Brandon Phillips, Neil Walker, and Jose Altuve. If it wasn’t for injuries, Chase Utley could have very well been one of the top second baseman right now. With a rare combo of power and non-stop hustle, Utley is one of the greatest all-around second basemen that the game has ever seen.

Ultimately, it is very rare to find a power hitting second baseman. That’s what makes Robinson Cano so intriguing because he can hit homers, but will hit over .300 almost every single season.  At the end of the day the best second baseman and arguably player in baseball is Cano… don’t ya know.

(*The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com*)

John Burns- MLB reports Intern: I am a highschool junior, play 1st base and catcher. I am a diehard Phillies fan. I was born in Philadelphia but now live in Virginia. I come from a huge baseball family and just love the game. My cousin was drafted by the New York Mets in the 2008 MLB draft. My favorite players are Shane Victorino, Carlos Ruiz, and Ryan Howard. I tweet all the time and you can follow me on twitter (@JohnBurns_MLB)***

Please e-mail us at: mlbreports@gmail.com with any questions and feedback. You can follow us on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook . To subscribe to our website and have the daily Reports sent directly to your inbox , click here and follow the link at the top of our homepage.