Our review of the 2016 fantasy baseball season begins with a look at some of the breakout performances at second base. Rest assured that I did not forget about Trea Turner. He’ll be covered in the outfield breakouts piece for two reasons: 1) That was his primary position in 2016 and 2) There were too many other guys at the keystone who deserved a write-up.

Breakout Second Basemen in 2016

Daniel Murphy, Washington Nationals

Through 2015, his age-30 season, Murphy had established himself as a solid regular for the Mets. He was not, however, a particularly exciting fantasy option – prorate his first eight seasons to 600 plate appearances, and you got a player who hit for average (.288) but provided only modest production everywhere else. Given this track record, Murphy’s postseason dominance was taken with a grain of salt, but it was a sign of things to come. He hit .347 with 25 homers and 192 R+RBI in his first season with the Nationals.

Murphy's transformation has been nothing short of remarkable. Always a high-contact hitter, he’s managed to add a healthy dose of power to his profile while maintaining a swinging strike rate identical to his career average. He’s hitting the ball in the air more often, and hitting it harder. Murphy is one of only five players this decade to have hit 25 homers while posting a strikeout rate below 10 percent. The others: Albert Pujols, Ian Kinsler, Edwin Encarnacion, and Victor Martinez. Murphy figures to be an early draft pick in 2017, and he’s earned it.

Rougned Odor, Texas Rangers

From 2012 to 2015, no second baseman reached the 30 HR mark. Odor was one of three players at the position to do so in 2016, adding 177 R+RBI and 14 stolen bases for good measure. This production is even more impressive when you consider that Odor was just 22 years old. That’s not to say there aren’t some flaws in his profile. If you play in an OBP league, for instance, Odor’s paltry .296 mark takes a chunk out of his value. There are some troubling trends in his plate discipline data, too:

Source: Fangraphs.com

Odor swung at more pitches out of the zone while also making less contact – both on those outside pitches and in general. That’s an obvious approach for pitchers to exploit, and an area in which he’ll need to make adjustments. Again, though, he’s 22. Most players that age are still developing in the minors. Odor has also already made strides in other areas of his game, improving his quality of contact and drastically reducing his popup rate. He was also a much more effective base stealer than in his first two seasons, and has the speed to increase his theft total.

Jean Segura, Arizona Diamondbacks

Not much went right in the desert in 2016, as the Diamondbacks began the season with postseason aspirations and ended it with 93 losses. Improbably, Segura was a bright spot. After dazzling in the first half of his rookie season in 2013, Segura was one of the worst hitters in baseball for the next two and a half years. So naturally, he set career highs in batting average (.319), OPS (.867), home runs (20), and runs scored (102) while also stealing 33 bases.

How did this happen? It’s impossible to quantify the impact that Segura’s personal tragedy may have had on his performance. As easy as that narrative would be to accept, he had struggled for a full year prior to the death of his child. What we can quantify is that Segura showed much better pitch recognition in 2016:

Source: Fangraphs.com

By laying off more pitches outside the zone – particularly on the inner half – Segura was able to make better contact. Assuming he can maintain this newfound discipline, the 26 year old’s blend of pop and speed will make him an attractive target in 2017 drafts. Keep in mind, though, that we’ve seen the floor here, and it ain’t pretty. If nothing else, Segura can be counted on to provide stolen bases – he’s averaged 30 per season as a big leaguer.