Ranking the projected 15 starting National League second basemen

Ozzie Albies won a Silver Slugger last year. [Image Source: Flickr | Bryan Green]
Ozzie Albies won a Silver Slugger last year. [Image Source: Flickr | Bryan Green]

Ketel Marte leads the way after a fantastic 2019 season with the Diamondbacks.

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With less than two months remaining until the 2020 regular season, we have been taking a look at the projected starters at each position. After ranking the second basemen in the American League, let’s do likewise for those in the Senior Circuit.

As a subjective list, many of these players can almost be considered interchangeable as to where they are ranked. Projected depth charts were taken from Fangraphs.

1

Ketel Marte, Diamondbacks

What a breakout 2019 season it was for Marte as he finished fourth in NL MVP voting. The 26-year-old hit .329 with a .981 OPS, 32 homers, and 36 doubles. He manned center field about twice as much as second base last year, but should mostly stay in the infield in 2020 with the addition of Starling Marte.

2

Ozzie Albies, Braves

In his third season last year, Albies won his first Silver Slugger. His excellent year at the plate consisted of a .295 batting average, .852 OPS, 24 homers, 43 doubles, 102 runs, and 15 stolen bases. He’s also as sure-handed as they come in the field making just four errors in 2019.

3

Keston Hiura, Brewers

Hiura put together an excellent rookie campaign in 2019, albeit one in which he made an unsightly 16 errors at second base. He was phenomenal at the plate batting .303 with 19 home runs, 23 doubles, and a .938 OPS in 348 plate appearances.

4

Mike Moustakas, Reds

Moustakas got his first taste at second base (40 starts) last year with Milwaukee, and he is likely to play full-time there in 2019 with Eugenio Suarez entrenched at third for the Reds. He’s a free swinger, but one with loads of power as he has connected on 101 homers over the last three seasons.

5

Kolten Wong, Cardinals

Last year was likely Wong’s best in the majors, and he took home his first Gold Glove (also finished 20th in NL MVP voting). He’s someone who doesn’t strikeout all that often, and he has became more of a threat at the plate than in previous years (.285 batting average, .784 OPS in 2019).

6

Jean Segura, Phillies

It was a disappointing season for the Phillies as a whole in 2019, and one can say the same for Segura as an individual. According to Baseball Reference, he averaged about 4.4 WAR from 2016-18 but ended with just 1.3 last year. With the signing of Didi Gregorius, Segura will transition from shortstop to second base.

7

Gavin Lux, Dodgers

Last year’s 40th-best prospect according to Baseball America, Lux made his big league debut on September 2 last year. He went 18-75 with two homers, four doubles, and two steals. In 49 games at AAA in 2019, he hit an incredible .392 with a 1.197 OPS.

8

Adam Frazier, Pirates

Frazier is one of the more underrated players at his position as he has provided anywhere from league average to slightly above that at the plate while possessing a solid glove. He has been consistent as well with his batting average rising a point each of the last two seasons (.276 in 2017, .277 in 2018, .278 in 2019).

9

Robinson Cano, Mets

His first season with the Mets was a major disappointment for the eight-time All-Star. Cano’s .246 batting average in 2019 was a career-low as was his .307 on-base percentage. Now 37 years old, he has also seen his range decrease at second base.

10

Starlin Castro, Nationals

Very few hitters draw walks less often than Castro, but he did post career-best numbers of 22 home runs and 86 RBIs in 2019. He’s also been extremely durable throughout his career as he’s appeared in at least 151 games in seven of the last nine years.

11

David Bote, Cubs

Bote provides slightly above-average offense (103 OPS+) in 2019 while providing adequate defense at both second and third base. He can have an even better 2020 if he improves his hitting on the road. He had 19 extra-base hits at home compared to just nine in away games despite the same number of plate appearances. Nico Hoerner is listed as the primary second baseman on other websites.

12

Mauricio Dubon, Giants

Dubon was traded to the Giants on July 31 of last year, and appeared in 28 games for them (had just two career games for the Brewers prior to that). The 25-year-old performed fairly well in his 104 at bats with San Francisco hitting .279 with four homers and five doubles. He has a career .299 batting average and .813 OPS in 208 games at AAA.

13

Ryan McMahon, Rockies

McMahon is someone who takes full advantage of playing his home games at Coors Field. Last season, he hit .270 with an .863 OPS at home compared to just .226 with a .680 OPS on the road. This position could eventually go to Brendan Rogers, who is recovering from labrum surgery.

14

Jurickson Profar, Padres

It wasn’t a good 2019 for Profar with Oakland, and he hopes to rebound this year as a member of the Padres. He hit just .217 last year, but he did hit 20 home runs for the second straight season.

15

Isan Diaz, Marlins

While he’s hit well at AAA (29 homers and an .885 OPS in 590 plate appearances), Diaz struggled mightily once the Marlins brought him up. In 201 plate appearances with Miami last year, he hit an unhealthy .173 with a .566 OPS. Despite just 47 starts at second base in the majors, he made a high number of errors (nine).

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