2014 Fantasy Baseball: Breakout Players — Second Basemen

Every position goes through ebs and flows just like pitchers and hitters do in general. Second base is going through a down period at the moment. Most of the big time stars from the previous decade are either out of the game or are no longer elite players. Robinson Cano is the last big name we will see among the top six guys. Guys like Brian Roberts, Dustin Pedroia, and Ben Zobrist are no longer elite players. Time marches on and stands undefeated against mankind. On a long enough timeline, the survival rate drops to zero.

As always, a new generation must take over and that is where the breakout series really gets its fuel. The fun part of fantasy sports is always seeing which players will emerge to be the elite performers that season. Sometimes it’s only for that season, but sometimes a star shines out of nowhere and stays in the limelight. Of course, the tough part is always telling the difference between the flash of the pans and the stars of the future.

This time, we will include stolen bases in the profiles because stolen bases are huge for second basemen. Of the top six second basemen, only the aforementioned Cano does not have ten stolen bases and he seems like a good bet to get there by the end of the season. Meanwhile, one player already has more than 50 and one other will likely get there before the end of the season. We will focus our attention on runs produced and runs created yet again.

When we were covering the real offensive values for various players, we also looked at the ratio between runs produced and runs created. Some players (like Brian Dozier and Anthony Rendon) produced nearly twice as many runs and they created. Others (like Jose Altuve) were almost on a one to one ratio. Those numbers indicate more the kind of support a player gets from his team than anything with the player specifically. However, a fantasy player still must consider that when considering who to draft.

Jose Altuve– Houston Astros

Altuve leads the American League in batting average, hits, and stolen bases. Despite playing in nearly every game and getting on base at a .372 clip, he has not scored a ton of runs. That is more about his team than it is about him. It is one of the many reasons why I wasn’t big on Jose Altuve coming into the season. However, he has taken his game to the next level after seeming to plateau the last two seasons.

The key for Altuve will be what he does over the last six or seven weeks of the season. He has finished slowly each of the last three seasons, so there is some question as to whether he will be amongst the elite players when the season ends. Still, he has overcome the odds at each and every turn, so he is the clear choice for the breakout performer this season. If there were only a few more breakout performers on his team.

Anthony Rendon– Washington Nationals

This one is not so much of a surprise. He was the best college hitter in the country when he was drafted by the Nationals, so it really was only a matter of time for him to arrive. The funny thing is that his arrival seems to have come at the same time as Bryce Harper taking a step back. The only question from here moving forward is whether he will land at third base or second base. Ryan Zimmerman has been the regular third baseman, but his shoulder might force him to move to first base or the outfield.

Danny Espinosa has seemingly failed at second base. So, he fits at both positions. For the time being, he will be eligible at both slots in your fantasy league. Considering the dearth of talented second basemen, he probably has more value here, but it doesn’t really matter. He will likely be an elite performer anywhere you put him.

Brian Dozier– Minnesota Twins

Who leads the American League in runs scored? If you answered Brian Dozier you would be right. If you didn’t get that one right, don’t feel bad. Most people probably missed it. He may not end up that way, but the fact that he holds that mark as of August 10th is something to behold. The Twins aren’t exactly a juggernaught offensively and Dozier is not exactly an on base machine.

What he is is probably the best power/speed combination at the position. WIth Cano struggling to hit home runs (and steal bases) Dozier is the most exciting power hitter at the position. His only weakness is a lower batting average. Yet, the numbers above don’t include his walks. He plays up in walks/OBP leagues. When you consider that he went undrafted in some leagues, he might be the biggest surprise at the position.

Dee Gordon– Los Angeles Dodgers

This was supposed to be Alexander Guerrero’s position. Everyone knew Gordon was fast and that he would open the season as the guy. That by itself probably kept within the 288 magic mark for a pre-draft rating. That being said, I understand the reluctance of people to take him. In order to steal second base, you have to steal first. That was his problem before, but with a .290+ average most of the season, he has hit enough to steal more than 50 bases.

It remains to be seen whether he will hold down the position in the future. Hanley Ramirez is an impending free agent, so they may let him walk and move Gordon over to his natural position. If Gordon is eligible at both positions he could shoot up the draft boards next season. He is still limited because of a complete lack of power, but anyone that can steal that many bases is going to be valuable.