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Welcome to the third installment of our January ranking breakdowns! If you’re like us here at RotoBaller, you’ve been huddled around the stove awaiting that precious heat for a while now. While there are still some free agent dominoes yet to fall, we've seen quite the flurry of moves.
This round of rankings features seven of our experts. They are Brad Johnson, Max Petrie, Kyle Bishop, Harris Yudin, Jeff Kahntroff, Bill Dubiel, and Nick Mariano. Today we'll cover second base. Assume a standard 5x5 redraft league when reading.
Don't forget to also read the rest of our 2016 fantasy baseball rankings columns and analysis. Aside from our January tiered rankings, we also have lots of great content on MLB prospects, dynasty leagues and keeper values.
2016 Fantasy Baseball Rankings Analysis: Second Base
"The keystone" is a bit of a misnomer when speaking in terms of fantasy baseball. Second base is typically one of the shallowest pools of talent for those seeking counting stats, but there are still some bona fide studs and budding superstars there. In this review, I'll take a look at the players I specifically like in 2016 and explain any of my rankings that differ significantly from my colleagues.
When drafting second basemen, many fantasy owners will either try and shoot the moon with a superstar like Jose Altuve or Robinson Cano, but they always end up a bit too pricey for my tastes. More often than not you can find value in what many consider the dregs of the second base rankings, as we saw on several occasions last year--Devon Travis, for example, was off to a red-hot start after going undrafted in nearly all leagues. 2016 is shaping up similarly, with a lot of relative nobodies making up the bottom half of the rankings.
The top tier remains the same as it was last year--Altuve and Dee Gordon are the clear 1-2 thanks to their potent combinations of speed and average. I was tempted to sneak Cano back in there after his absurdly hot second half, but the memory of his painful first half stayed my hand. I expect him to finish right around where he was last year as long as he remains healthy--.280 with 20 homers and 80 RBIs should be well within his grasp.
The second tier guys are who I'll be aiming for in most of my drafts, as all have the potential to be the number one second baseman come October. Most of these guys have more power than the top two, but their average and steal totals will be much lower.
Jason Kipnis had a huge bounce back season in 2015, and I think he's capable of continuing that success in 2016. Brian Dozier has the most power upside at the position, but his low batting average and high strikeout rate will keep him out of the top five for me. I'm higher than any of my colleagues on Anthony Rendon, and I suspect his relative fragility plays a large role in that. I'm expecting him to get at least 130 games in, and if he does he should approach the line he posted in 2014 (.287/21 HR, 83 RBI, 17 SB).
The third tier has a mix of up-and-comers and reliable veterans, and of this group I'll be leaning towards the young guys. I loved what I saw from Rougned Odor last year, and I think he's going to be pushing towards the top five at the position in 2016 with his mix of power and speed. I'll also have my eye on Kolten Wong in 2016, as he's improved in each season since his debut in 2012. He has 20/20 potential, although the 20 homers will likely be a tall task as he works on his plate discipline. Joe Panik hit .312 in 2015, and he should thrive once again at the top of the young and talented Giants roster.
I really think DJ LeMahieu is poised for a true breakout year after an excellent 2015 season in which he hit .301 with 23 steals. No matter where he is in that lineup, he'll produce counting stats. If he improves his power stroke a bit he could be a true five-category fantasy asset. I would love to rank Travis higher, but with shoulder surgery keeping him out until at least May, there's no upside on draft day.
In the fifth tier I seem to be lower than everyone on Brock Holt, and I'm not quite sure what they're seeing that I'm not. I'm concerned about the lack of opportunities for Holt, as he's behind someone at every position. He's versatile to be sure, but I always shy away from players who don't have a starting gig on lock down. I'm interested to see how Starlin Castro plays in New York, as Yankee Stadium isn't the easiest park for righties. Fun fact--only 25 players in MLB history have more hits through their age-25 season than the new Yankee second baseman. Perhaps Harris is on to something!
The rest of the rankings are full of players who are essentially lottery picks, but I'll point out a couple of my favorites. Cesar Hernandez flashed some potential in 2015, and the speedster may bat leadoff for the Phillies. Ryan Goins will fill in at second base while Travis recovers from the aforementioned shoulder surgery, and should be given every opportunity to establish a role for himself in the explosive Toronto offense. Jace Peterson didn't blow anyone away last season, but he did enough to establish himself as the starter in Atlanta, and he should be able to take a couple steps forward if he can improve his contact.
Second Base Tiered Fantasy Baseball Rankings (January)
| Rank | Tier | Name | Brad | Max | Kyle | Nick | Harris | Jeff | Bill |
| 1 | 1 | Jose Altuve | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2 | 1 | Dee Gordon | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| 3 | 2 | Robinson Cano | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 4 | 2 | Jason Kipnis | 3 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
| 5 | 2 | Brian Dozier | 6 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| 6 | 2 | Anthony Rendon | 5 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 4 |
| 7 | 3 | Rougned Odor | 9 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 4 | 8 |
| 8 | 3 | Ian Kinsler | 7 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 17 | 10 | 7 |
| 9 | 3 | Dustin Pedroia | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 18 | 11 | 9 |
| 10 | 3 | Kolten Wong | 12 | 15 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 7 | 11 |
| 11 | 3 | Ben Zobrist | 11 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 7 | 20 | 12 |
| 12 | 4 | Joe Panik | 10 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 21 | 19 | 10 |
| 13 | 4 | Neil Walker | 14 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 8 | 14 | 16 |
| 14 | 4 | Daniel Murphy | 13 | 13 | 18 | 16 | 9 | 12 | 13 |
| 15 | 4 | Josh Harrison | 21 | 12 | 22 | 15 | 16 | 8 | 22 |
| 16 | 4 | Devon Travis | 23 | 16 | 15 | 11 | 14 | 26 | 15 |
| 17 | 4 | DJ LeMahieu | 17 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 15 | 14 |
| 18 | 4 | Jonathan Schoop | 16 | 20 | 14 | 18 | 22 | 16 | 19 |
| 19 | 4 | Howie Kendrick | 15 | 17 | 20 | 20 | 24 | 13 | 17 |
| 20 | 5 | Logan Forsythe | 18 | 22 | 16 | 21 | 10 | 23 | 18 |
| 21 | 5 | Addison Russell | 19 | 21 | 21 | 17 | 15 | 17 | 21 |
| 22 | 5 | Brandon Phillips | 20 | 19 | 17 | 22 | 25 | 18 | 23 |
| 23 | 5 | Starlin Castro | 22 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 13 | 21 | 20 |
| 24 | 5 | Brett Lawrie | 29 | 26 | 26 | 29 | 23 | 22 | 24 |
| 25 | 5 | Brock Holt | 25 | 27 | 27 | 25 | 34 | 27 | 30 |
| 26 | 5 | Chase Utley | 28 | 31 | 24 | 30 | 35 | 28 | 28 |
| 27 | 6 | Cesar Hernandez | 24 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 32 | - | 25 |
| 28 | 6 | Enrique Hernandez | - | 32 | 31 | 24 | 36 | 30 | - |
| 29 | 6 | Javier Baez | 33 | 28 | 29 | 27 | 26 | 25 | - |
| 30 | 6 | Jedd Gyorko | 27 | 29 | 32 | - | 28 | - | 27 |
| 31 | 6 | Chris Owings | 26 | 31 | 34 | - | 29 | 29 | - |
| 32 | 6 | Jace Peterson | - | 30 | 33 | - | 30 | - | 32 |
| 33 | 6 | Cory Spangenberg | - | 33 | 28 | - | 31 | - | - |
| 34 | 6 | Ryan Goins | 30 | 34 | 35 | - | - | - | 30 |
| 35 | 6 | Kelly Johnson | 31 | 37 | - | - | 40 | - | - |
| 36 | 7 | Trea Turner | 32 | 25 | 30 | 28 | 19 | 24 | 31 |
| 37 | 7 | Wilmer Flores | - | 30 | - | - | 27 | - | - |
| 38 | 7 | Dilson Herrera | - | 40 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 39 | 7 | Scooter Gennett | - | 35 | - | - | 33 | - | - |
| 40 | 7 | Jose Ramirez | - | 36 | - | - | 37 | - | - |
| - | 7 | Jose Peraza | - | 38 | - | - | 38 | - | - |
| - | 7 | Darnell Sweeney | - | 39 | - | - | 39 | - | - |
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