Phanatic Phantasy Baseball

Today's position: 2B

By Michael Rushton and Greg Wiley
The Phanatic Magazine

Drafting a second baseman is like buying a new suit. If you don’t go all out and get a really nice one then you might as well go to a the hand-me-down store. The lack of quality second baseman available year after year is stunning. Unless you get one of the top three players in the draft, you might as well put it on the back burner, because the difference between drafting Dan Uggla and Ian Kinsler is pretty slim.

Legend: (HR/RBI/AVE/RS/SB)

Wiley’s List

1). Chase Utley (PHI) - Head and shoulders the best of the bunch. The rest is a crap-shoot.
2). Brian Roberts (BAL) - Speed, average, runs scored, some power potential.
3). Rickie Weeks (Mil) - Has speed and power. Lacks the average you'd expect.
4). Robinson Cano (NYY) - Hit .342 last season. His powers numbers should improve.
5). Chone Figgins (LAA) - Qualifies at 2B in some leagues. His stolen base total makes him this valuable.
6). Dan Uggla (FLA) - Monster rookie year. I'm expecting a down year. But who else is there?
7). Ray Durham (SFG) - Seems to always have a good year. He'll be a safe choice.
8). Ian Kinsler (TEX) - Is rounding into a nice option. He'll be hitting in front of Young and Teixeira.
9). Julio Lugo (BOS) - Decent at best. Might give you a lot of runs scored.
10). Jorge Cantu (TAM) - Really bad 2006. Has big-time power potential for 2B.
11). Josh Barfield (CLE) - Don’t know why the Padres traded him. I'd give him a shot, though. He might surprise in the power department.
12). Jeff Kent (LAD) - He's on the decline.

The other 13-20: Brandon Phillips (CIN), Freddy Sanchez (PIT), Tadahito Iguchi (CHW), Marcus Giles (SDP), Chris Burke (HOU), Luis Castillo (MIN), Orlando Hudson (ARI), Ryan Freel (CIN).

Rushton’s List

1) Utley - Will put up great numbers for his position. Get him in the first round and have an instant advantage.
2). Cano - I bash Cano as a product of the Yankees lineup, but does that matter in fantasy? Just look at his supporting cast.
3) Roberts - Will get you steals and will put some balls in the seats.
4) Weeks - An injury risk, but worth it.
5) Figgins - We’re putting him on this list because of lack of depth.
6) Kinsler - Is another nice player who will benefit from depth in the lineup.
7) Uggla - Will be tough to duplicate last season but could be worth the chance.
8) Phillps - Came out of nowhere last year. Hopefully if you take him, your team will end up somewhere.
9) Iguchi - You will love his consistency.
10) Cantu - Injuries are to blame for last year. Hope he rebounds.
11) Barfield - Will look to prove himself after being traded. Has a nice swing.
12) Kent - 39 and coming of an injury season. Won’t see his name on this list next year.

The other 13-20: Durham, Lugo, Sanchez, Burke, Freel, Hudson, Giles, Castillo.

Phanatic Sleepers: Yikes. With the lack of any really good 2B, Barfield (CLE), Phillips (CIN), Kinsler (TEX) might all qualify for this. Boston’s Dustin Pedroia is a long-shot rookie sleeper.