Best "Under the Radar" Second Baseman

[j24jags]

I'm going to set these up for each position in order. By under the radar I mean guys who are not being talked about, even on here. They are mid to late round guys to target after missing out of the upper level players at their positions. This does not mean we have to end the discussion of the previous position.

For second base the candidates are;

Assuming Utley, Roberts, Uggla, Cano, Figgins, Weeks, Kent, Iguchi, Kinsler, Kendrick (I've seen him as the #3 2B on some sites) and Giles are "on" the radar, here are the rest.

Ray Durham (SF)
At age 34, Durham put up an impressive line of .293/79/26/93/7. The 26 homers more than doubled his 05 production, and the guys who grabbed him early reaped the benefits. Can he continue to improve or at least maintain his numbers with his age?

Josh Barfield (CLE)
As a rookie in PETCO he posted a more than solid line of .280/72/13/58/21, and depending on where he bats in Cleveland his situation could be better. If Barfield ends up in the 2-hole between Sizemore and Martinez/Hafner you can bank on solid numbers.

Brandon Phillips (CIN)
Phillips had a streaky 05 but when he was hot, he carried fantasy teams. The product of the season was .276/65/17/75/25. However, his post ASB .243 avg could cause some worries. His upside is tremendous though.

Freddy Sanchez (PIT)
How could a batting champion be underrated? A few reasons, he only hit 6 homeruns, he plays in Pittsburgh, he only stole 3 bases, and he plays in Pittsburgh.

Luis Castillo (MIN)
Hitting above Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau was great for him due to their breakout campaigns. He is a lock to hit .290-300 and if healthy he will steal upwards of 20 bases. He should score 85 runs, but his power numbers will not exist.

Chris Burke (HOU)
Former highly touted prospect finally has a spot to play. He'll start in centerfield after Willy Taveras was sent to Coors. He has not played a full season yet, but it is not unreasonable to think he could end up somewhere around .275/85/15/55/18.

Jorge Cantu (TB)
Yes, the same Jorge Cantu who hit 28 homers and drove in 117 runs in 2005. He was hampered by a broken foot all of last year and it brought his average down from .286 to .249 and caused him to hit just 14 homers in 107 games. If he is healthy there is a great chance that he will outperform his draft status.

Placido Polanco (DET)
If you're looking for the definition of consistancy, this is it. If you want a guy who doesn't get the fancy stuff but will definitely boost your team's average here's your guy. He has some durability issues (He hasn't played over 130 games in any of the last 3 years) that don't help his value too.

Mark DeRosa (CHC)
DeRosa came out of nowhere last year. He broke out at age 31 with an impressive .296/78/13/74/4 campaign. His 102:44 K:BB ratio is not promising at all though. I expect to see some regression in just about everything except the homerun category here.

Take your pick and explain. If you see somebody not listed, feel free to post it.

[suppasonic]

I'd take Phillips or Barfield and get about equal production of the Kent, Kinsler, Kenrick, Weeks eschelon.

[upyourstats]

Going by the mocks I've been apart of so far, I'll go with Josh Barfield.

[deerayfan072]

Barfield. The guy is a player, in a great park, with a good lineup, but everyone remembers last season

[Niffoc4]

I went with Burke. With him not having a starting job last year many people may assume he isn't starting this year. Also, some fantasy magazines will have been published before Taveras was traded.
The same may be true of Barfield, but at least he started last year and his first year was promising.

[PlayingWithFire]

I'm going out on a limb and say Castillo. On the pure gut feeling that he'll be healthy. And unlike those unproven youngsters(Barfield lacks OBP skill and is at best a lesser Corey Patterson this year, Burke lacks consistensy but I like him better than Barfield
). Still for 07 alone, I'd say Castillo is pretty under the radar.

I like Jorge Cantu, but he lacks track record. And I really don't know what to expect from him at all.

Durham is in the same boat as Castillo. Change SB to HR. Except he's in a lesser lineup. He's also an injury concern.

Phillips-Inconsistent. Former Expos. Never been all that consistent, never will.

Sanchez-lacks power, lacks speed, plays for Pittsburgh, what else you need to NOT look at him? Having competition for starting job and a dumb GM? He has that too? Geez.

Polanco-probably the safest bet among this group. I don't want to be stuck with him but if the rest of your team is rock solid. He won't hurt you too much.

DeRosa-plain out doesn't believe in him.

[ukrneal]

I would say Giles. He's not even on your list.

Maybe he stinks, but I have to think that his fall was linked to leading off, which just didn't seem to work for him. He can be had late, so low risk too.

[PlayingWithFire]

I would say Giles. He's not even on your list.

Maybe he stinks, but I have to think that his fall was linked to leading off, which just didn't seem to work for him. He can be had late, so low risk too.

Assuming Utley, Roberts, Uggla, Cano, Figgins, Weeks, Kent, Iguchi, Kinsler, Kendrick (I've seen him as the #3 2B on some sites) and Giles are "on" the radar, here are the rest.

[gostanford07]

I also went with Barfield, hoping/expecting him to hit #2. Obviously if he is towards the bottom, his numbers will take a hit.

Also, anyone expecting to get production out of Durham is a fool. He has had one good year as a Giant and it just so happened to be in his contract year. I'm not trying to take anything away from ast year, but I think it was a major fluke and he will be very hard pressed to even be CLOSE to those numbers

[ukrneal]

I would say Giles. He's not even on your list.

Maybe he stinks, but I have to think that his fall was linked to leading off, which just didn't seem to work for him. He can be had late, so low risk too.

Assuming Utley, Roberts, Uggla, Cano, Figgins, Weeks, Kent, Iguchi, Kinsler, Kendrick (I've seen him as the #3 2B on some sites) and Giles are "on" the radar, here are the rest.

Doh!

Note to self: READ the post CAREFULLY!

Fair enough. Thing is, I am doing a slow draft in one of my keeper leagues. All of the guys in the first list are gone (except Giles) and many are gone in the second list, while Giles is still out there. And to be honest, I don't blame them considering where he will now hit for half his games. So I had that in my head when I was looking over the list.