Despite plenty of star power amongst American League second basemen, the obvious choice for the top-ranked one is the reigning American League MVP.

Here are rankings for the projected Starting second basemen in the American League. A subjective list, many of the players towards the middle and end can almost be considered interchangeable regarding where they should be ranked.

To see projected starting American League catcher rankings, click here. For National League, click here.

To see projected starting American League first basemen rankings, click here.

For National League, click here.

1. Jose Altuve - Houston Astros

  • 2017 stats: 662 PA, .346 BA, .957 OPS, 24 HR, 39 2B, 4 3B, 81 RBI, 112 R, 32 SB

Altuve earned his third batting title in four years and was named American League MVP in 2017. He reached career-highs last year in batting average, on-base percentage (.410), slugging percentage (.547), and runs while tying a career-best in homers.

2. Brian Dozier - Minnesota Twins

  • 2017 stats: 701 PA, .271 BA, .856 OPS, 34 HR, 30 2B, 4 3B, 93 RBI, 106 R, 16 SB

Not just a power bat, Dozier won his first Gold Glove last season. He has 76 home runs in the last two years and has at least 30 doubles in each of the last five. He finished 11th in American League MVP voting in 2017.

3. Jonathan Schoop - Baltimore Orioles

  • 2017 stats: 675 PA, .293 BA, .841 OPS, 32 HR, 35 2B, 0 3B, 105 RBI, 92 R, 1 SB

Schoop had a breakout 2017 where he was named to his first All-Star team. Where the 26-year-old showed vast improvement was his ability to better draw walks. While still not a strong point (one walk per 19.3 plate appearances in 2017), it still was much better than the one walk per 33.3 plate appearances he had in his career entering last season.

4. Robinson Cano - Seattle Mariners

  • 2017 stats: 648 PA, .280 BA, .791 OPS, 23 HR, 33 2B, 0 3B, 97 RBI, 79 R, 1 SB

Cano was named to his eighth All-Star team in 2017. He continues to be a strong defender despite his advanced age of 35. While his .280 batting average was his lowest since 2007, he hit at least 33 doubles for the 13th consecutive season.

5. Ian Kinsler - Los Angeles Angels

  • 2017 stats: 613 PA, .236 BA, .725 OPS, 22 HR, 25 2B, 3 3B, 52 RBI, 90 R, 14 SB

Kinsler had the lowest batting average and OPS of his 12-year career last season. He hit .292 in 2015-16 so it’s too soon to write him off as not being one of the best second basemen in the game. Sure-handed, he won a Gold Glove in 2016.

6. Whit Merrifield - Kansas City Royals

  • 2017 stats: 630 PA, .288 BA, .784 OPS, 19 HR, 32 2B, 6 3B, 78 RBI, 80 R, 34 SB

Merrifield didn’t even begin last year as the Royals starting second basemen as the team manned Raul Mondesi Jr. there in the beginning. Merrifield was quite the surprise especially in the power department as he hit just two homers in 332 plate appearances in 2016.

He led the American League with his 34 steals.

7. Jason Kipnis - Cleveland Indians

  • 2017 stats: 373 PA, .232 BA, .705 OPS, 12 HR, 25 2B, 0 3B, 35 RBI, 25 R, 6 SB

2017 was a down year for Kipnis as injuries limited him to just 90 games. The two-time All-Star will look to rebound and put up numbers similar to the .289 batting average and .817 OPS from 2015-16.

8. Dustin Pedroia - Boston Red Sox

  • 2017 stats: 463 PA, .293 BA, .760 OPS, 7 HR, 19 2B, 0 3B, 62 RBI, 46 R, 4 SB

The 2008 American League MVP is not expected to make his season debut until the end of May due to a knee injury. Injuries have kept Pedroia from currently still being considered as one of the elite second basemen as he played just 105 games last year and 93 in 2015.

9. Jed Lowrie - Oakland Athletics

  • 2017 stats: 645 PA, .277 BA, .808 OPS, 14 HR, 49 2B, 3 3B, 69 RBI, 86 R, 0 SB

Lowrie had his best season in 2017 as his 49 doubles were the second-most in the American League. His .808 OPS last year was a large improvement over the .637 he sported in 2016.

10. Yoan Moncada - Chicago White Sox

  • 2017 stats: 231 PA, .231 BA, .750 OPS, 8 HR, 8 2B, 2 3B, 22 RBI, 31 R, 2 SB

The main piece acquired by the White Sox in the Chris Sale trade, Moncada was the second-ranked prospect according to Baseball America entering 2017. The White Sox hope he cuts down on his strikeouts as he had one per 3.1 plate appearances last year.

11. Neil Walker - New York Yankees

  • 2017 stats: 448 PA, .265 BA, .801 OPS, 14 HR, 21 2B, 2 3B, 49 RBI, 59 R, 0 SB

Unsigned less than a week ago, Walker will start the year as the Yankees second baseman.

He hit at least 14 home runs for the sixth straight season last year and had over an .800 OPS for the third time in four years.

12. Rougned Odor - Texas Rangers

  • 2017 stats: 651 PA, .204 BA, .649 OPS, 30 HR, 21 2B, 3 3B, 75 RBI, 79 R, 15 SB

Sixty-three home runs in the last two years, Odor still has far too many holes in his game to be considered one of the best. He doesn’t draw walks as evidenced by his .252 on-base percentage last year and .287 for his career. He also has graded as one of the worst defenders at his position.

13. Devon Travis - Toronto Blue Jays

  • 2017 stats: 197 PA, .259 BA, .729 OPS, 5 HR, 18 2B, 0 3B, 24 RBI, 22 R, 4 SB

Travis has shown the ability to hit, but he hasn’t shown the ability to stay on the field.

In his three seasons, he has appeared in just 62, 101, and 50 games. He hit at least .300 in both 2015 and 2016.

14. Brad Miller - Tampa Bay Rays

  • 2017 stats: 407 PA, .201 BA, .664 OPS, 9 HR, 13 2B, 3 3B, 40 RBI, 43 R, 5 SB

Miller was a major surprise in 2016 when he hit 30 home runs. He didn’t duplicate that same success in what was a disappointment of a year in 2017. Where he did show improvement though was in his 63 walks, 16 more than he had in 2016 despite 194 less plate appearances.

15. Dixon Machado - Detroit Tigers

  • 2017 stats: 181 PA, .259 BA, .621 OPS, 1 HR, 5 2B, 1 3B, 11 RBI, 17 R, 1 SB

After 91 plate appearances in 2015-16, Machado saw a little more extended time last year. He wasn’t exactly impressive though, with only seven extra-base hits in 166 at-bats. After trading Ian Kinsler, the Tigers are hopeful that he can become a reliable regular for them this year.