Updated Second Base Rankings (May) - 2018 Fantasy Baseball

We are a quarter of the way through the regular season for Major League Baseball, so our crack staff at RotoBaller has updated our rest-of-season fantasy baseball rankings. Let's take a closer look at the second base rankings.

Second base has been an interesting position this season. There have been some impressive performances from the likes of Ozzie Albies but we have also had some disappointments, such as Jonathan Schoop and Brian Dozier. The most shocking news at the position was the suspension to Robinson Cano, who has been a fixture around the top of the second base rankings in the recent past. It is important at this stage of the season to keep monitoring the waiver wire and hoping to pick up players that can help you, be that at second base or at the middle infield spot on your roster.

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2018 Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings: Second Base (May)

Tier 1

Jose Altuve stands alone atop this position by quite some distance. However, by Altuve’s standards he is actually underperforming in 2018. At the time of writing, Altuve has a .313 batting average, two home runs and four stolen bases. We are almost a third of the way through the season, which puts Altuve on pace for just six HR and 12 SB. His current ISO and HR/FB rate are the lowest they have been since his 2014 season. Interestingly, Altuve is generally hitting the ball harder than ever before with a 35.4% hard hit rate and just a 13.1% soft hit rate. However, some of that may be countered by the fact he is currently hitting a higher percentage of balls in play to center field than ever before, where parks are generally larger and homers are harder to hit. The lack of steals is a more interesting point as he has attempted to steal just five times this season. Stolen bases often come down to will to run rather than anything else, and with a talented lineup around him we may just be seeing that Altuve is willing to run less. I expect Altuve to end the season somewhere in the region of 20 HR and 20 SB while hitting over .300, meaning he may be someone you can buy a little bit low on at this stage of the season.

Tier 2

Much like Altuve, Jose Ramirez stands alone in this tier. However, where they differ is that Ramirez may actually be over performing slightly so far in 2018. Ramirez is currently on pace to hit roughly 40 HRs with around 20 SBs, and he is hitting .297 on the season. The average and SBs are what I expected at the start of the season, but Ramirez has never hit more than 29 HRs in a full season. You may note that Ramirez jumped from 11 to 29 HRs between 2016 and 2017 so another big jump is possible. However, his current HR/FB rate is 20.9%, which I do not expect him to be able to sustain all season. My expectations are that Ramirez will finish with around 30 HRs this season, meaning that you have already had half of his production in that category this season. Saying that, I would not look to sell high on Ramirez as he is one of the most consistent hitters in the league and there is a slim chance he could carry on at this pace and get to 40 HRs to combine with that expected 15 to 20 SBs.

Tier 3

Anthony Rizzo has struggled so far in 2018. Through 173 plate appearances he has just a .207 batting average with six home runs. I expect his average to rebound, as his current BABIP is just .207, and I expect him to hit for more power in the second half of the season, given that his HR/FB rate is just 10.6% compared to 16% from the last couple of years.

Brian Dozier is hitting just .238 with seven HRs and two SBs this season through 205 PAs. Unfortunately, it is possible that this is what Dozier will give you in 2018, as these are similar numbers to what he put up in 2014 and 2015.

Dee Gordon was doing a great job of matching his impressive 2017 numbers prior to going on the disabled list. Gordon was hitting .299 with 16 SBs and has been providing fantasy owners with exactly what they expected from him.

Tier 4

Ozzie Albies has been superb through the first part of this season. In 224 PAs he has a .280 batting average with 14 HRs and six SBs. The batting average and speed may be real but I do not expect him to continue on his current pace when it comes to power. Albies has a 19.7% HR/FB rate, which he is unlikely to sustain this season.

Tier 5

Javier Baez has been off to a good start in 2018. He currently has 11 HRs and six SBs with a .267 batting average. His batting average may have room to grow as his BABIP is .036 below his career average. Much like Albies and Ramirez, expect Baez to slow down on the power front in the remainder of the season as he currently has a 25% HR/FB rate.

Tier 6

Jonathan Schoop has been struggling this year with just four home runs and a .234 batting average. All of Schoop’s numbers indicate that he should be in line for an improvement in the second half of the season. Now might be a good time to look to buy-low.

Tier 7

Daniel Murphy has yet to appear in a competitive game in 2018 but his return is nearing. Murphy has averaged 24 home runs and hit a least .322 over the last two seasons. Murphy should be in line to return in the next month or so and fantasy owners could hope for a .300 batting average and 10 home runs from the veteran second baseman.

While Whit Merrifield is not completely in line to match his 2017 numbers he is still having a successful season. Merrifield has four HR, 12 SB and a .286 batting average and should be able to give owners close to double digit HRs and somewhere in the region of 20 steals the rest of the way.

Tier 8 and lower

It has been a relatively impressive season from Yoan Moncada so far in 2018. Moncada is on pace to have 20 or more HRs, around 15 SBs and is hitting .255 so far on the season. The power Moncada is showing is a nice addition on top of the speed he has previously shown in the minor leagues.

There are some other names which stand out to me in the lower tiers. Ian Happ has cut his strikeout rate recently and has been walking more. Hopefully this will lead to better results and more consistent playing time. Matt Carpenter has got hot in the past couple of weeks hitting .361 and cutting his strikeout rate from 26% to 20%. His recent change in fortunes makes now a good time to try and buy-low on Carpenter. Jonathan Villar has eight SBs so far this season and a .283 batting average. Steals are always valuable in roto leagues and Villar is worth a gamble given that his batting average is significantly better than in 2017.

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