2B next year

[RAmst23]

Wow, what one year can do for a position? Actually looks like some useful players in this crop, as opposed to last year where one could just sit back and wait for the 2B to come to them.

[thomasps3]

Oh wait a minute......how can a guy who is hitting .290, with 26 HR and 107 RBI get no love? Cantu is sooooo overlooked. Only 23 years old, he can post some monster numbers for years to come with a little bit of positional versatility thrown in. I would put him Top 3, and no lower.

[Pogotheostrich]

I'd say it looks something like this:

1. Sori
2. Utley
3. Kent
4. Figgs
5. Giles
6. Weeks
7. Roberts
8. Cantu
9. Loretta
10. Cano

Seems like a big drop off after 8 to me.

[BritSox]

I'm well and truly on the weeks bandwagon for next year.... hopefully he will be a real sleeper, though if he's the sixth 2B, that's still enough for me.

[prhood]

I found this discussion quite interesting and valuable in the fact that over the winter i, along with most of you, will be evaulating players for 2006. To this end I have undertaken a somewhat preliminary anlsis of the 2005 "production" of the various positions.

This analysis involved ranking the various 2b eligible players according to certain measurable criteria. The ones I selected were: BA, R, Hr, RBIs, SB and OPS. In addition since not all players are equally proficient in all categories, I included only the best 5 of the 6 elements for each player.

The top 15 2B players that the rankings identified were:

Player Pt Tot
1. Soriano 15
2. Kent 17
3. Roberts 18
4. Utley 29
5. Giles 32
6. F. Lopez 36
7. Cantu 36
8. Biggio 45
9. Polanco 48
10. Iguchi 50
11. Figgins 50
12. Durham 52
13. Ellis 54
14. Hall 56
15. Belliard 57
16. Cano 58
17. Walker 58
18. Reyes 60
19. Mueller 63
20. Aurilla 69

What seems clear is that there are at least 3 clear Tiers:
A: Soriano, Kent and Roberts
B: Utley, Giles, Lopez and Cantu (which could shrink if Lopez is not 2B eligible next year)
C: Biggio, Polanco, Iguchi and Figgins
and
D: Durham, Ellis, Hall, Belliard, Cano, Walker, Reyes, Mueller, Aurilla

Of primary interest of course is the potential movement next year of a player from one group to another.
I suspect Roberts will move down to group B and Utley to move up to A and Cano to C at least. Kent's productivity does not seem to have declined in 2005 and there's no physical reason to expect it to decline significantly in 2006.

I'd be interested in the reaction to this process. It's certainly can be done for other positions.

[Patella Tendon]

Most leagues will not include Lopez for 2B - only 7 games played there this year.

[Havok1517]

Yeah, I like Polanco much more than Cano for next year

[Pogotheostrich]

I'm surprised Figgins was so low. Problem with the system is that you don't quantify the differences. Say someone leads all 2B with 40 HR and the next 2B has 25 HR and the next one has 24 HR. You credit the same amout for 15 HR as 1 HR. To get a better idea of where everyone stand you need to find a way to show those differences.

[Pogotheostrich]

Most leagues will not include Lopez for 2B - only 7 games played there this year.

He has 5 GS at 2nd so he will qualify for Yahoo.

[chadlincoln]

Reyes doesn't have 2B eligibility next year. Only SS.